GOLDEN, Colo. - #10/12 Colorado School of Mines' fourth-quarter comeback attempt wasn't enough as #8/10 Western Colorado held on to win, 38-28, at Marv Kay Stadium.
The Orediggers (6-2, 4-2 RMAC) trailed 31-7 in the fourth quarter before reeling off three touchdowns, but ran out of time in front of a stadium-record crowd of 7,813.
Evan Foster was 21-of-30 for 323 yards and four touchdowns. Both
Flynn Schiele and
Max McLeod crossed 100 receiving yards for a third consecutive game as Schiele had 136 with two touchdowns and McLeod 107 with a score;
Mark McCurdy also caught a touchdown on 71 yards.
Mountaineers (8-0, 6-0 RMAC) quarterback Drew Nash threw for 209 yards and two touchdowns, and ran for another on 88 yards, while Braeden Hogan rushed for 148 yards and two scores. Ricky Freymond led a stout WCU defense with three sacks as they compiled seven overall.
After a scoreless first quarter, Mines fell behind two scores as the Mountaineers scored on a 32-yard Elias Zarate throw from Nash, then a tackle-breaking 53-yard run by Hogan to lead 13-0 with 2:41 to go in the first half. Mines worked a two-minute drill to score on Schiele's 28-yard catch from Foster with 33 seconds to go, but the Mountaineers had just enough time to get across midfield and add points on Adam Tasei's 49-yard field goal as time expired to lead 17-7.
The third quarter's only score came on a six-yard Daniel Parsek catch from Nash to go up 24-7, and Nash's 30-yard run capped a 98-yard, 6:49 drive early in the fourth quarter to seemingly ice the game at 31-7.
Mines had life, however, as it needed only one play to score with Foster going over the top to McLeod for a 42-yard score; the two-point conversion failed to cut the score to 31-13. Mines' next possession needed only three plays to find the end zone on McCurdy's 43-yard catch, and a
Landon Walker-to-
Blake Smotherman trick play added two to make it 31-21. Mines then needed a stop, but WCU continued its masterful use of the clock with a 3:12 drive that spanned 75 yards and ended with Hogan's 21-yard touchdown to dash the Orediggers' hopes despite an 85-yard Schiele touchdown catch-and-run on the ensuing drive.
Blake Doud highlighted Mines' special teams averaging 53.5 yards per punt with a long of 72 and three of 50 or more yards;
Jaden Healy led the defense with eight tackles and one for loss, with
Joey Beckner,
Eli Krawczuk,
James Hess, and
Brady Zingelmann recording sacks.
NEXT UP
Mines will visit New Mexico Highlands next Saturday for a noon kickoff.
