GOLDEN, Colo. - #1 Colorado School of Mines combined its trademark stifling defense with John Matocha's final masterpiece at Marv Kay Stadium, returning to the NCAA Division II Championship game with a 35-7 win over Kutztown.

The Orediggers, setting a program record for wins at 14-0, will play another undefeated team in Harding in the national final on Saturday, Dec. 16 at McKinney ISD Stadium in McKinney, Texas. Kickoff will be at noon Central televised on ESPNU. Ticket information will be announced Sunday. It will be Mines' second consecutive trip to the final.

Playing in his final home game, Matocha was 30-of-37 for 292 yards and three touchdowns, and ran for another score as he broke the college football all-time record for passing touchdowns in a career, surpassing Tyson Bagent to now stand at 161. Flynn Schiele had a career game with 11 catches for 181 yards and two touchdowns, while the Mines defense got red-zone turnovers from Collin Romero and Zach Hester to hold the Golden Bears to 236 total yards.

Mines never trailed, getting out to a 14-0 lead with touchdowns on their first two possessions before Kutztown worked its way back into the game; an Oredigger two-minute drill before halftime gave them breathing room, and the defense worked another second-half shutout to help them win going away.

KU quarterback Judd Novak was 19-of-30 for 128 yards and rushed for 82, including the Golden Bears' lone score on a 59-yard run; Kurtis Ravenal Jr. led their receivers with 55 yards on six catches.

The Orediggers wasted no time, needing only three plays to reach the end zone after Braelon Tate's game-opening 48-yard kick return set up Schiele's 30-yard grab only 1:16 in. A quick out led to a longer field but Matocha drove his team 68 yards to break the passing touchdowns record on a short four-yard shot to Noah Roper for the 14-0 lead.

Romero intercepted Novak in the end zone to halt their next advance, but Kutztown would get on the board later in the second quarter when Novak ripped off an impressive 59-yard run, breaking multiple tackles to get on the board with 2:28 to go in the half. That left Mines wanting to shift the momentum back, and Matocha did just that going 6-for-8 to drive Mines 75 yards and connecting with Schiele on a 12-yard back-shoulder pass with 30 seconds remaining in the second to take a 21-7 lead into the intermission.

Neither team scored until late the third quarter when Mines got good field position and worked an eight-play, 60-yard drive that ended with Matocha keeping it for a seven-yard rushing score; both teams turned it over on downs on their next go-arounds, and Kutztown moved to the Mines 2 yard-line midway through the fourth quarter before a fumbled hand-off by Novak was pounced on by Hester to all but seal the win. The Orediggers then marched 95 yards, keyed by a Schiele 42-yard hit across midfield before Landon Walker broke loose with a savage stiff arm to run in from 26 yards and seal the 35-7 win.

NOTABLES
- Mines advances to the title game for a second straight year, and will face Harding for the first time. It will mark a postseason in which Mines has played a new opponent in all four rounds.
- Mines' 14 wins bests last year's team (13-3) for the most in program history.
- Matocha now is both the leading overall touchdown producer in college football history (a record he broke in Week 11) at 190, and adds the passing touchdowns record as well. He surpassed West Liberty's Zach Amedro for third on the D-II career passing yards list with 14,736, and moved to second all-time in D-II in total offensive yards with 16,731, surpassing Tusculum's Bo Cordell. 
- The Mines defense held its opponent to 250 or less yards for the third time this postseason. The Orediggers have allowed just a single second-half touchdown this postseason.
- Noah Roper led Mines' rushing attack with 73 yards on 11 carries, and Walker averaged a whopping 9.2 yards per carry for 46 on five atempts. Mines ran for 165 yards overall.
- Against one of D-II's best scoring defenses, Mines scored the most points of any opponent against Kutztown this season.
- Mines has generated a national-best 33 turnovers this season. 
- Nolan Reeve led Mines with seven tackles including a sack, and Jackson Zimmermann had six stops with a break-up at corner. Jack Peterson also had a sack. 
- Playing a program-record ninth home game of the season, Mines won its 50 overall game at Marv Kay Stadium since it opened in 2015. They won their 16th consecutive home game and ninth consecutive in the postseason. 

NEXT UP
#1 Mines will play #3 Harding in the NCAA Division II championship game Saturday, Dec. 16 at McKinney ISD Stadium in Texas. The game will be at noon CT televised exclusively on ESPNU.