ALAMOSA, Colo. - #12/14 Colorado School of Mines was in its offensive groove as it routed Adams State 56-14 at Rex Stadium.

The Orediggers (6-1, 4-1 RMAC) generated a season-high 638 yards of offense - including 288 yards rushing - as they scored on the opening drive and exploded for a 35-14 halftime lead.

Evan Foster was 25-of-31 for 326 yards and four touchdowns, plus 57 yards on the ground, and he also caught a touchdown courtesy of a trick play from Landon Walker, who ran for a score of his own on 44 yards. Both Flynn Schiele (133 yards, 2 TD) and Max McLeod (111 yards, 1 TD) went over 100 yards for the second straight game, while Jack Walters caught an additional TD and Braelon Tate and Joseph Capra added ground scores.

The Grizzlies (0-7, 0-5 RMAC) lost starting quarterback Chase Nelson early in the game, with Alexander Grado taking over to go 27-of-44 for 173 yards and a touchdown. Alex Reid had seven catches for 109 yards and a score. 

Mines had no lack of offense in the first half, but penalties and turnovers halted their scoring progress on several drives after a fast start. The Orediggers needed only four plays to get on the board, winning the toss and electing to take the ball. Foster ripped off a career-long 48-yard run on the second play, and Walker finished off the drive with an 11-yard dive into the end zone. The Grizzlies moved the ball effectively in response, scoring on Nelson's 11-yard pass to Noel Moreno to tie the game. The two then traded punts, with Mines being set up deep in Grizzly territory thanks to Konnor Mickelsen's 24-yard return; two plays later, Braelon Tate broke through traffic at the first level and went 24 yards to score.

Mines then used some trickery to get seven on the board late in the second quarter as Walker took a handoff and stepped back to throw, finding Foster in stride as the quarterback dove for the goal line to score. That sparked a flurry of Oredigger scoring to end the first half as they ran off 21 points in the final 4:03. With 2:29 left, a quick three-and-out, 30-yard Mickelsen punt return, and a 37-yard Foster toss to a wide-open Schiele made it 28-7, and Schiele would score only 1:11 later on a nearly identical play with Foster going over the top for a 49-yard strike to lead 35-7.  Adams State got a score back before the end of the half as backup quarterback Alex Grado threw a pinpoint 13-yard touchdown at the right boundary to Alex Reid.

Mines' scoring continued into the second half with Jack Walters catching his first career touchdown on a wide-open look from Foster. Adams State controlled the ball for the next 20 plays on a penalty-marred drive that ended on Brady Zingelmann's 4th-down sack to turn the ball over, and McLeod's touchdown came as a result after Foster found him for a 43-yard strike. The backups continued to produce, and Capra quarterbacked a touchdown drive that ended in his first career score, a 14-yard slash up the middle early in the fourth.

NOTABLES
- It was the first career touchdown pass for Walker, who played quarterback in high school at Keller Central (Texas). Foster became the first Oredigger quarterback to catch a touchdown since John Matocha from Michael Zeman against Fort Lewis in 2019. 
- Konnor Mickelsen ended up as Mines' leading rusher with a career-high 80 yards, and played a key part in the punt return game averaging 21.7 yards per return. Max Barnes also had a career-high 65. 
- McLeod and Schiele came into the game as the nation's only tandem of receivers to average 100+ yards per game, and they both exceeded that mark for a second consecutive week. Schiele had five catches for 133, while McLeod had a game-high seven for 111.
- The game was filled with flags as Mines had 11 for 111 yards and ASU six for 30. 
- Mines held Adams State to just 3-for-18 on third downs. The Grizzlies had 310 total yards in the game. 
- Sean Gilbert led all Mines defenders with a career-high seven tackles. 
- Zingelmann and Jaden Healy had sacks, while Jackson Zimmermann led the secondary with a pair of end-zone break-ups among three tackles.
- Matthew Eich was a perfect 9-of-9 on touchbacks on kickoffs.

NEXT UP
Mines returns home to host unbeaten and nationally-ranked Western Colorado on Oct. 26 at noon.