GOLDEN, Colo. - #9/8 Colorado School of Mines was put to the test by New Mexico Highlands, but prevailed 31-21 in their RMAC opener at Marv Kay Stadium.
The Orediggers (2-0, 1-0 RMAC) went 6-for-6 on fourth-down conversions and capitalized on penalties to get past the Cowboys (1-1, 1-1 RMAC) and their high-powered offense. The game was delayed nearly an hour due to lightning early in the fourth quarter.
John Matocha threw for 196 yards and three touchdowns, while
Michael Zeman ran for 122 yards and a score.
Josh Johnston caught two touchdowns and
Max McLeod snagged a critical game-sealing score late in the fourth quarter.
The Mines defense held NMHU to just 18 yards rushing and 248 total yards a week after the Cowboys rolled out 653 total yards in a 44-7 win at Fort Lewis. Ramone Atkins threw for 230 yards and three touchdowns with CJ Sims catching 114 yards and two touchdowns.
An opening-drive interception by the Cowboys led to their first score, a 12-yard strike by Arkins to Ronald Jamison, but Mines responded with a grinding 14-play drive to tie it on Zeman's one-yard plunge late in the first quarter.
Highlands opened the second quarter with a 31-yard pass over the top to Sims to lead 14-7, but Mines again hit back on the next series with a
Josh Johnston touchdown to level it at 14-14. Mines' 16-play drive to end the first half resulted in
Matthew Eich's 33-yard field goal and a 17-14 lead at halftime.
Neither team scored in the third quarter, but Mines opened the fourth with Matocha's 15-yard dart to Johnston, extending their lead to 24-14 with 13:48 to go, but a lightning-producing storm cell moved off the foothills and delayed the game for nearly an hour at that point. After resuming the game, Highlands needed only four plays to score as Atkins found Sims for a 51-yard catch-and-run touchdowns, cutting the lead to 24-21.
Mines went three-and-out on their next possession but received a superb 56-yard punt from
Jacob Click to back the Cowboys up, and a third-down sack by
Zach Hester stopped NMHU at midfield on the ensuing series. That gave Mines the ball with 7:13 remaining and they did a masterful job of clock management, eating up nearly six minutes with 11 plays and ultimately scoring on Matocha's 21-pass to McLeod on a 4th-and-9 situation. The Cowboys couldn't get going on their final possession, and a tackle for loss by
Peyton Rose on 4th down sealed the final result.
NOTABLES
- Mines has not lost a home regular-season game since 2016, a span of 1,820 days and 22 games.
- The Orediggers won their eighth in a row over the Cowboys and lead the all-time series 28-26-2.
- New Mexico Highlands was hurt by 109 yards of penalties on 10 flags.
- Zeman crossed 100 yards rushing for the second straight week as he lost only 1 yard against 123 gained on 31 carries. The co-captain has six 100+ yard games in his last eight outings dating back to 2019.
-
Gabriel Kortz had a career game with a game-high 12 tackles, 1.5 TFL, and a sack.
Nolan Reeve made nine stops including 1.5 behind the line while
Mack Minnehan had seven.
Kobe Brewster broke up three passes to go with four tackles.
- The Mines defense produced four sacks and has now held opponents to a combined 19 total yards rushing in two games.
- The Orediggers were once again outstanding in critical situations, holding the Cowboys to 4-of-14 on third down and 0-for-1 on fourth.
- Eich's field goal was the first of his career. The true freshman remains perfect this season at 10-for-10 on PATs.
- The Orediggers are 5-1 in RMAC openers under
Gregg Brandon, who won his 49th game with the Orediggers.
NEXT UP
Mines visits Fort Lewis in Week 3 with a noon kickoff on Sept. 18.
