#18/20 Colorado School of Mines (6-2, 4-2 RMAC) at New Mexico Highlands (2-6, 2-4 RMAC) // Saturday, Nov. 2 // 12 p.m.
Sanchez Family Stadium - Las Vegas, N.M.
[RMAC Network] [Live Stats] [Tickets] [Mines Media Notes]

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#18/20 Colorado School of Mines heads south looking to bounce back in a Week 9 match-up at New Mexico Highlands.

LIVE COVERAGE
Saturday's game will stream live and for free on the RMAC Network.

WEATHER REPORT
Saturday's forecast in New Mexico calls for partly cloudy skies and a high of 64, but increasing winds throughout the game up to 17 miles per hour out of the southwest.

AT THE HELM
Pete Sterbick enters his second season as head coach of Colorado School of Mines, going 14-1 in 2023 and earning AFCA Regional Coach of the Year honors. The Orediggers' coaching staff returns largely intact with offensive coordinator Tim Brandon and defensive coordinator Tripp Thomas back for their second and third seasons, respectively, in those positions, while a familiar face in Yon Boone rejoins the staff as special teams coordinator.

MINES NAMES CAPTAINS
Mines has elected four captains for the 2024 season: quarterback Evan Foster, offensive tackle Nic Van de Graaf, and linebackers Jaden Healy and Adrian Moreno. All are first-year captains.

IN THE POLLS
Mines was selected atop the RMAC preseason coaches' poll on July 31, earning 79 points and seven of 10 first-place votes to lead Western Colorado and CSU Pueblo. In the national polls, Mines fell to #18 in the AFCA coaches' poll and #20 in the D2football.com media poll this week. Mines has appeared in 71 straight AFCA and 72 consecutive D2football.com polls.

RMAC PICTURE
With three Saturdays to go, the RMAC race is down to a pair of teams unbeaten in the league - Western Colorado and CSU Pueblo at 6-0 - and Colorado Mesa at 5-1. WCU and CSUP play each other in Gunnison this weekend, while Mesa still has to face Western in Grand Junction in Week 11. Mines, at 4-2, is in fourth place and has a key game next week at CSU Pueblo.

AROUND THE REGION
The first NCAA regional rankings, which list the 10 teams under consideration in alphabetical order, were announced earlier this week and Mines was in the 10 ranked in Super Region 4. The first ordered ranking will be announced after this weekend's games. The top seven teams in each of the four super regions are selected for the NCAA Championship; that field comes out on Nov. 17. 

NOTING THE SERIES
Mines and New Mexico Highlands are meeting for the 59th time since 1938 ... The all-time series is close, with Mines taking the lead in 2019 and now standing at 30-26-2 ... The Orediggers have won 10 straight dating back to 2013 and 20 of the last 23 dating to 2000 ... The Cowboys are 14-12-1 all-time at home ... New Mexico represents the fourth different state Mines has played a game in this season and their first trip out of Colorado since Week 3 at Chadron State.

SCOUTING THE COWBOYS
New Mexico Highlands is 2-6 under first-year head coach Kurt Taufa'asau featuring a run-heavy offense that generates 223.3 yards per game on the ground. Tevita Valeti leads the Cowboys with 772 yards and six touchdowns, four of them last week vs. Adams State to earn him the RMAC Offensive Player of the Week award as he had an even 200 yards rushing. QB Joey Cave is a run threat as well with four touchdowns and 342 yards; he completes 58 percent of his passes averaging 125.7 yards per game with 10 touchdowns in six games. Teneil Nichols leads their receiver room with six touchdowns and 472 yards. Defensively, NMHU allows 42 points and 470 yards per game; Fabiano Valdez is the team's tackles leader with 49. 

LAST YEAR VS. HIGHLANDS
#1 Mines dominated every phase of the game beat New Mexico Highlands 77-3 late in the 2023 season. John Matocha completed his first 15 passes in the most efficient outing of his career, completing 17-of-19 passes for 289 yards and four touchdowns, and rushing for 21 yards and a score, in only two quarters. Max McLeod became the third Mines receiver to cross 3,000 career yards as he caught two touchdowns in a 127-yard first half. The Mines defense continued to dominate, holding one of the RMAC's most run-heavy offenses to only 68 yards on the ground and 126 yards of offense in total. Mines was +3 with a Joel Diaz interception, Eb Alfred-Igbokwe fumble recovery, and Joey Beckner/Aaron Rhea fumble combination generating turnovers. Mines scored a touchdown on all but one of its 12 drives.

WEEK 8 REWIND
#10/12 Mines' fourth-quarter comeback attempt wasn't enough as #8/10 Western Colorado held on to win, 38-28, last week. The Orediggers 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.

WEEK 8 QUICK HITS

- Evan Foster completed 21 of 30 passes for 323 yards and four touchdowns.
- Both Flynn Schiele and Max McLeod went over 100 receiving yards for a third straight week as Schiele had 136 yards and two touchdowns (including Mines' longest of the year at 85 yards) and McLeod had a game-high eight catches for 107 and 42. 
- Mark McCurdy had his best game yet as an Oredigger with six catches for 71 yards and a touchdown.
- Jaden Healy led all players with eight tackles.
- Joey Beckner, Eli Krawczuk, Brady Zingelmann, and James Hess all got in on sacks; it was the third consecutive game with a sack for Zingelmann.
- Blake Doud averaged 53.5 yards per punt including a 72-yarder that was downed at the 2. 

WITH HONORS
For the third time this season, punter Blake Doud earned the RMAC Special Teams Player of the Week award on Monday after another standout performance in the Western Colorado game. Doud produced a 53.5-yard average on six punts, booting three of 50 or more yards including a 72-yarder that was downed at the WCU 2-yard line. The Mountaineers attempted four returns but managed only six yards.

TO THE MAX
Max McLeod continues to move up the all-time lists in Mines, RMAC, and NCAA Division II history, making a big jump last week from 10th to fifth all-time in D-II history in receiving yards at 4,484. Already the Orediggers' all-time leader in that category, McLeod stands 398 yards from the RMAC record of 4,882 held by Nebraska-Kearney's Richie Ross, and 499 yards from the D-II record held by Clarence Coleman of Ferris State. As it stands, McLeod has more receiving yards than any D-II player since 2008, and he is college football's active leader (all divisions) in career yards while ranking second in touchdowns at 53. McLeod is also six touchdowns away from tying Brody Oliver's Mines and RMAC record of 59. The 26th 4,000-yard receiver in D-II history, he and Oliver are the only two to reach 4K from the same program; he is only the 12th D-II player to reach 50 career touchdown receptions, as well. 

Mines Career Receiving Yards Leaders        
1. Max McLeod (2021-pres.)    4,484        
2. Brody Oliver (2014-2018)    4,010        
3. Justin Gallas (2001-2005)    3,561        

Mines Career Receiving Touchdowns Leaders        
1. Brody Oliver (2014-2018)    59        
2. Max McLeod (2021-pres.)    53        
3. Josh Johnston (2018-22)    40        

NCAA Active Receiving Yards Leaders        
1. Max McLeod, Mines (D-II)    4,484        
2. Collin Brunstein, Illinois Col. (D-III)    4,388        
3. Zakhari Franklin, Illinois (FBS)    3,830        

NCAA Active Receiving TDs Leaders        
1. Collin Brunstein, Illinois Col. (D-III)    64        
2. Max McLeod, Mines (D-II)    53        
3. Trey Madsen, North Central (D-III)    48        

NCAA D-II Career Receiving Yards Leaders        
1. Clarence Coleman, Ferris St. (98-01)    4,983    
2. Richie Ross, UNK (02-05)        4,882    
3. Michael Washington, W. Chester (05-08)    4,715    
4. Jamaica Rector, NW Mo. St. (01-04)    4,497    
5. Max McLeod, Mines (21-24)        4,484    
6. Chris Samp, Winona St. (01-04)        4,471    
7. James Roe, Norfolk St. (92-95)        4,468    

DYNAMIC DUO
Max McLeod and Flynn Schiele have been a problem for opposing defenses this fall, and the duo stand out in the national statistics as a result. They both rank in the top 10 in NCAA Division II in receiving yards per game (Schiele 4th at 119.8, McLeod 7th at 109.3), and they are the only teammates averaging 100+ yards per game this season. The pair have each gone over 100 receiving yards in each of the past three games, and now both are nearing 1,000 yards for the season as Schiele is at 958 and McLeod 874. They each have nine touchdown catches to tie for sixth nationally, and their 18 combined are more than 129 entire teams (out of 159) in D-II this season. Schiele still owns D-II's best receiving yardage game of the year with his 297 against Black Hills State.

OREDIGGERS AMONG D-II LEADERS
Mines is all over the NCAA Division II statistical leaders report this week, most notably in punting where Blake Doud leads the nation with an average of 47.5 yards per punt and Mines also tops D-II in net punting at 44.68 ypp. Other top-10 team categories include completion percentage (2nd, 68.7%), total offense (9th, 454.3), passing efficiency (9th, 165.24), and passing offense (9th, 298.0). Individually, as mentioned earlier the duo of Max McLeod and Flynn Schiele rank highly in just about every receiving category as they are in the top 10 in receiving yards, receptions per game, and receiving touchdowns and McLeod; on the ground, Landon Walker is just outside the top 10 ranked 11 in rushing touchdowns with 10. Evan Foster appears in the top 10 in passing yards, passing touchdowns, passing efficiency, completion percentage, and total offense.

GO FOR TWO
Last week saw the Orediggers do something they hadn't done in nearly a decade - score a two-point conversion. Mines doesn't go for two very often as it is, but playing from behind against Western Colorado, the Orediggers went for it and converted on a Landon Walker pass to Blake Smotherman; it was the first two-point conversion for Mines since the 2015 season against Colorado Mesa.

DEFENSIVE DEPTH
Mines' defensive trademark over the past few seasons has been its depth in rotation, and that has continued in 2024. Jaden Healy leads the way in both tackles (46) and tackles for loss (10.5) with Adrian Moreno's 39 tackles and Hayden Gregg and Joel Diaz's 34 ranking second and tried for third. Will Ramsey, Joel Diaz, Will Drogosch, and Devyn Lauer-Duarte have interceptions, as well, while Brady Zingelmann took over the team lead in sacks last week with 3.0. Three players - Jackson Zimmermann, Drogosch, and Lauer-Duarte - co-lead the team with five pass break-ups.

START ME UP
Veteran left tackle Nic Van de Graaf is the Orediggers' active leader in starts as he is projected to make his 49th career start against New Mexico Highlands. Long snapper Josh Wojciechowicz (41) and linebacker Adrian Moreno (43) are the Orediggers' other two members of the 40-start club; Wojciechowicz will start his team-best 40th consecutive game this week, as well.

NEXT UP
Mines visits #10/10 CSU Pueblo in Week 10 for a 1 p.m. kickoff on Nov. 9.