SAN ANGELO, Texas - John Matocha guided #10/7 Colorado School of Mines back to the NCAA semifinals, willing the Orediggers past #2/2 Angelo State 42-24 to avenge a regular-season loss to the Rams in the Super Region IV final.

Matocha accounted for all six of Mines' touchdowns - four passing and two rushing - as the Orediggers (12-2) capitalized on special teams errors to pull away from the top-seeded Rams (12-1) in the second half.

The Orediggers advance to the national semifinals as the #2 seed and for the first time ever will host Shepherd at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 10, live on ESPN+. Ferris State will host West Florida in the other semifinal kicking off at 10 a.m. MT. 

On a day where the nation's #1 defense did all it could to shut down Mines' passing game, Matocha turned in his second consecutive 100-yard rushing day with two touchdowns on the ground, and still managed to throw for four touchdowns despite being limited to 162 yards in the air. Tristan Smith became the third different Oredigger received to catch three touchdowns in this year's NCAA tournament, and Michael Zeman had the other as he also pounded out 48 hard-earned yards in the run game.

"Three different guys with three touchdowns in the playoffs, that's a crazy stat," Matocha said after the game. "We have so many weapons. Any one of those guys at any moment, they're all clutch in important situations. Today was Tristan Smith's day." 

Angelo State quarterback Zach Bronkhorst was outstanding throwing for 323 yards and three touchdowns, hitting nine different receivers, but Mines largely stifled Angelo State's prolific rushing attack holding the Rams to just 73 yards on the ground.

"They do an amazing job, they have a great defense, a great offense, and they gave us a lot of problems today," said head coach Brandon Moore about Angelo State, which defeated Mines 30-27 in overtime in the regular season. "I'm sure Angelo knew we were going to come in and try to impact the run and try to contain [Omayebu] as much as we can, the kid is an incredible player. Bronkhorst came out and we was slinging it around, put it into some windows we couldn't effect, and he did a very good job of being an effective player."

For all of ASU's offensive success, their turnovers proved costly as Mines scored off an opening-drive fumble and then jumped on two muffed punts later in the game.

Adrian Moreno's strip of a Nate Omayebu III carry on the game's first possession was returned 39 yards by Cam Forrest to give the Orediggers a short field for a nine-yard touchdown pass from Matocha to a wide-open Zeman, but Angelo State would tie the game later in the quarter when they used a dozen plays to go 85 yards and score on a short Bronkhorst pass to Omayebu. 

Mines punched back on their next drive as a spectacular one-handed Josh Johnston catch saved 3rd-and-18 to set up Matocha's pinpoint back-corner 10-yard touchdown pass to Smith, and Mines would never trail again. Asa Fuller missed a 43-yard field goal for ASU on the first drive of the second quarter, and the visitors later scored off the first muffed punt to extend a series that led to Smith's 28-yard catch and run. Fuller was true from 30 as time expired in the first half to make it a 21-10 game at the break.

Angelo State tightened the game to start the third quarter, forcing a Mines three-and-out and then popping off multiple big plays to score on a 28-yard Noah Massey catch, cutting Mines' lead to 21-17. 

Then, it was Matocha's time.

The Harlon Hill Award finalist faced 3rd and 19 at midfield against an increasingly aggressive Ram pass rush. Facing a blitz, Matocha sliced up the middle to reach the line to gain, then kept going, made three defenders miss, and strolled into the end zone on a 53-yard run, the longest of his career. That put Mines ahead 28-17 midway through the third but Angelo State responded with another explosive touchdown, with Bronkhorst hitting Kyle Bradford on a 31-yard bomb to draw it back to 28-24 with 5:08 left in the third. 

That would ultimately turn out to be the Rams' final points of the game.

The second muffed punt of the game extended a long Mines drive and led to a six-yard dive to the pylon by Smith, and Mines' defense stepped up to force three straight punts through the middle of the fourth quarter, including a critical two-sack sequence by Nolan Reeve to force the Rams to kick from their own end zone. That would give Mines another short field and they did a masterful job of controlling the clock, bleeding nearly five minutes off and cashing in on Matocha's second rushing touchdown of the half as he took off on 3rd and 7 to score from the 10 and ice the game. ASU went 4-and-out on their final try, and Mines was able to kneel it out for the win.

NOTABLES
- It was by far the most points scored this season against Angelo State, which owned the #1 total defense in NCAA Division II, as Mines' #1 scoring offense came up just shy of its 47.2-point average. Mines' 27 in their regular-season meeting was the previous high mark. Angelo State came into the game allowing only 11.3 points per game.
- Early in the game Matocha became the second Mines quarterback to join the 10,000-career-yard club, joining Justin Dvorak. He now has 10,130 in three seasons. 
- Angelo State's #2 ranking in both the AFCA and D2football.com polls marks the biggest win by the Orediggers against a ranked team in either poll. 
- After a tough game against Minnesota State last week, Mines' special teams shined in San Angelo as Jacob Click punted eight times with a long of 62 and two inside the 20, and Mines allowed just six yards of punt returns and no kick returns. 
- With 50 passing attempts by the Rams, cornerback Mason Pierce had a lot to do as he made 11 tackles to lead the defnese.
- Nolan Reeve ended up with 1.5 sacks and 2.5 TFL among five tackles, and Mack Minnehan also produced five tackles with two break-ups from the other side of the line. 
- Angelo State averaged 190.4 yards rushing per game and was held to 73.
- Mines improved to 2-1 all-time against Angelo State and 2-0 in the postseason. It was the Orediggers' first trip to San Angelo.
- Mines is now 10-0 this season when leading at halftime.