#24 Colorado School of Mines (1-0, 0-0 RMAC) vs. Washburn (1-1, 0-1 MIAA)) // Saturday, Sept. 13 // 12 p.m.
Alumni Field at Marv Kay Stadium - Golden, Colo.
[TV: Local3 KCDO] [RMAC Network PPV] [Live Stats] [Tickets] [Mines Media Notes] [WU Media Notes]

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Two old rivals meet up as Washburn visits Golden for the first time since 2010. Colorado School of Mines looks to improve to 2-0 after a Week 1 win at West Texas A&M.

LIVE COVERAGE
This week's game will stream on the RMAC Network and air live on KCDO Local3 in Denver. Miles Dunklin and Josh Dover have the call. All six of Mines' 2025 home games will air live on Local3. 

RMAC NETWORK CHANGES
Beginning this fall the RMAC Network is moving to a pay-per-view model for all events. Fans can purchase monthly and annual subscriptions that will provide them access to all regular-season, championship, and archived broadcasts on the RMAC Network. A monthly subscription costs $25, and an annual subscription costs $130. Single-game passes are available for $10, which grants access to a single game for 24 hours. For technical support questions, fans can contact Hudl Support or email the RMAC directly (rmac@rmacsports.org). For further support, fans can visit the RMAC Network Help page.

FAN INFORMATION
For this week's game, please note the following important pieces of information:

- The Ore Cart Shuttles will run on game day for fans - visit the Parking page for more information.
- Fans are strongly encouraged to purchase digital tickets or print at home tickets ahead of time at tickets.minesathletics.com. Mines students and employees can access their free tickets by logging in with their Mines SSO.
- Gates and the tailgating lot open two hours before kickoff.
- Tailgating is permitted in Lot K only (next to Stermole Soccer Stadium). Fans are encouraged to park for free in the parking garage at 1400 Maple Street, located two blocks south of Marv Kay Stadium. Visit the Parking page for more information.
- The City of Golden's street parking requires a permit seven days a week. Fans can not park in the neighborhood surrounding the stadium. 
- The Kraemer Beer Garden in the McKee West End Zone will be open for all fans 21+. 

WEATHER REPORT
Saturday is forecast to be a high of 73 with a 50% chance of scattered thunderstorms in the afternoon. Winds will be light from the west.

LEADING THE WAY
Mines will rotate captains on a weekly basis in 2025, with JJ Lee, Michael Magar, Landon Walker, and Jackson Zimmermann leading the Orediggers in Week 2 against Washburn.

STITT HAPPENS... AGAIN
Bob Stitt was announced as the new head coach of Mines Football on Feb. 7, returning to Golden after 10 years away to take over the program that he built into a national contender. Stitt was originally the Orediggers' head coach from 2000 to 2014, winning three RMAC titles, earning the first three NCAA playoff appearances in program history, and compiling a record of 108-62. The winningest head coach in Mines history, Stitt built Mines into a power program in the RMAC and NCAA Division II, winning the program's first conference title in more than 50 years in 2004 and going on to have 19 all-Americans and 168 all-RMAC selections over 15 seasons.

FIRST TIME?
The Orediggers' win at West Texas A&M marked the second "first" win for Head Coach Bob Stitt, and it came nearly 25 years to the day after his first head coaching victory with the Orediggers. Stitt's first tenure began in 2000 and Mines won 55-19 at Oklahoma Panhandle State on Sept. 9 that season to give him his first victory. Stitt now has a program-record 109 wins in his 16th season overall.

IN THE POLLS
Mines' Week 1 win at West Texas A&M got them back into the national rankings, debuting at #24 in the D2football.com poll. Mines continued to receive votes in this week's AFCA coaches' poll, as well, as they did in preseason.

LAST WEEK
Mines got the 2025 campaign off to a winning start with a 33-31 win at West Texas A&M in Week 1. The Orediggers combined a punishing ground game with timely defensive stops to get past the high-tempo offense of the Buffs (0-2), and it was Justin Vaughn's strip-sack in the end zone that gave Mines the fourth-quarter lead to build on a three-touchdown night by quarterback Joseph Capra. Pierce Richards caught two touchdowns, Nick Stone another, and Braelon Tate ran for one as Landon Walker pummeled his way to 138 yards on 30 carries. Capra was an efficient 18-of-24 for 201 yards and the three scores, while also rushing for 32 yards. The Buffs were led by the outstanding quarterback play of RJ Martinez, who ran for 133 yards and three touchdowns and was 33-of-47 for 273 yards in the air. 

NOTING THE SERIES
Mines and Washburn are old rivals, playing 18 times between 1953 and 2010 before renewing the series last year ... The Ichabods own a 13-6 all-time record against Mines ... The Orediggers' win last year was their first in the series since 2004 ... Although technically a meeting of first-year head coaches in Bob Stitt and Zach Watkins, Stitt has faced Washburn seven times before during his first tenure in Golden, going 1-6 ... The two first played in 1953, a 13-0 Washburn win in Golden ... This will be Washburn's first official visit to Golden since 2010; they did come to Marv Kay Stadium in the spring of 2021 to play an unofficial scrimmage with Mines.

SCOUTING THE ICHABODS
Washburn is 1-1, winning 20-17 against Truman State in Week 0 before being dealt a 34-7 loss to Northwest Missouri State last week. Offensively, the Ichabods are pass-first with quarterback Justin Lewis throwing for 514 yards and three touchdowns (65.3%) this season; Chase Allen Jackman (149 yards, 2 TD) and D.J. Bell (184 yards, 1 TD) have been the featured targets. Washburn has struggled to run the ball, however, with negative net rushing yardage in both of their games leading to 229 total offensive yards and 13.5 points per game overall. Defensively, safety Kamble Haverkamp has a pair of sacks plus an interception among 12 tackles, and J.C. Heim leads the team with 26 total stops including a forced fumble. 

LAST YEAR AT WASHBURN
Landon Walker's four touchdown day powered Mines to a 31-28 win at Washburn last season. Walker went for 142 yards and Evan Foster passed for 255 as the Ichabods went score-for-score with the Orediggers until the third quarter, when Mines went up 31-21 on Walker's fourth touchdown of the day; Washburn held Mines scoreless in the fourth quarter, however, and gave themselves a chance on a Maury Sullivan touchdown catch midway through the quarter. Special teams were consequential as Matthew Eich drilled a 47-yard field goal at the end of the first half, Washburn had a 100-yard D.J. Bell kick return touchdown, and the Ichabods missed two field goals in the game, including one that would have sent the game to OT.

OREDIGGERS VS. ICHABODS
The Mines vs. Washburn series represents one of the great nickname matchups in NCAA Division II as the Orediggers visit the Ichabods. An Oredigger is fairly self-explanatory for a school named Mines, but what's an Ichabod? The university is named for an early benefactor, Ichabod Washburn, and the student body began to call themselves that in the late 1800s.

NO PLACE LIKE HOME
At 5,707 feet above sea level, Marv Kay Stadium is a challenging place for opposing teams to play since it reopened in 2015, with Mines owning a .901 home winning percentage (55-6) at home. Part of the tough environment is thanks to the fans - Mines has averaged greater than a sellout of its 4,090-seat capacity each of the past two seasons, and broke the stadium single-game attendance record twice last season culminating in 7,813 fans packing in for the Western Colorado game in late October.

LESIEUR'S DEBUT EARNS HONORs
Lucas LeSieur's debut performance at punter earned him D2football.com National Specialist of the Week on Tuesday, and RMAC Specialist of the Week honors on Monday, averaging 45.5 yards per punt with three inside the 10 at West Texas A&M. LeSieur was 3-for-4 on punts inside the 10 and had a career-long 65-yarder to open; his third punt, which bounced out at the WT7, led to Mines' decisive safety two plays later. LeSieur also held for a perfect kicking unit that was 1-for-1 on field goals and 4-for-4 on PATs. 

CAPRA SHINES IN OPENER
Quarterback Joseph Capra earned the starting job in preseason and shined in the Orediggers' opener, throwing for 201 yards and three touchdowns on an exceptional 18-for-24 (75%) clip. He also ran eight times for 26 yards while taking only one late sack. Capra threw all three of his touchdowns in the first half, finding Pierce Richards for 8 and 38 yards and Nick Stone for a pinpoint eight-yard back-corner hit. Capra - a Denver South product - was the first Coloradan to be Mines' opening-day quarterback since 2013 when Matt Brown (Limon) helmed the team. 

DOING THE HARD WORK
Playing in his home state, Landon Walker was the Orediggers' offensive workhorse at West Texas A&M, carrying a career-high 30 times for 138 yards and a 4.6-yard-per-carry average. Walker is the first Oredigger to rush 30 times in a game since Michael Zeman against Angelo State in 2021 as he set the third-highest rushing yardage total of his career. Walker also caught one pass for 23 yards in the game.

BREAKOUT GAME FOR RICHARDS
Perhaps the biggest breakout performance on offensve in Week 1 for Mines was that of receiver Pierce Richards, who earned his first career start and responded with seven catches on seven targets for a team-high 74 yards and two touchdowns. Richards caught touchdown passes of eight and 38 yards from Joseph Capra, both in the first half. 

MOB SCENE
Heading into the season, Mines' offensive line figured to be a position of strength with four returning starters back in center Chandler Poggensee, guards Cade Myer and Ben James, and right tackle Michael Magar, along with experienced backup Tyson Kestner elevated to the starting left tackle spot. The unit lived up to expectations in Week 1 as Mines controlled the ground game and time of possession (33:42), and that was most apparent on the game's decisive final drive. Leading 33-31 with 5:27 remaining, Mines got the ball back at their own 41 and managed to run the clock out on seven Landon Walker and two Braelon Tate carries, not losing yardage on any play to enable victory formation in the red zone. The offensive line allowed only one sack and one penalty in the game. 

WE CAN DANCE IF WE WANT TO
The decisive moment at West Texas A&M came two plays into the fourth quarter when the Buffs, backed up to their own goal line, had protection break down against Mines pressure. Linebacker Brady Zingelmann shot in unblocked to cause quarterback RJ Martinez to leave the pocket, and lineman Justin Vaughn slipped through his initial block and stripped the ball out from Martinez, causing it to bounce out of the back of the end zone for two points. It held up as the winning score with Mines finishing ahead 33-31. It was a rare sight for Oredigger fans - the last time Mines had a safety was all the way back in 2018, when Logan Bock generated one against Fort Lewis.

I'LL TAKE THAT
The first turnover of the season belonged to safety Joel Diaz, who punctuated a big game overall at West Texas A&M with his midfield pick. Diaz had three total passes defended in the game, including a 4th-and-5 stop deep in the fourth quarter that got Mines the ball back for good; he added four total tackles, as well. His interception - the fourth of his career - came in the second quarter.

PORTAL ADDS BOLSTER DEFENSE
Mines got better through the transfer portal this offseason, adding two graduates and one undergraduate transfer to the 2025 team, all on the defensive side of the ball. On signing day in February, the Orediggers added a pair of experienced defensive backs in Joseph Gonzales (Yale) and Matt Soderdahl (Hillsdale) after Gonzales appeared in 17 games over the past two seasons at FCS member Yale, while Soderdahl was a Second-Team All-GMAC selection last year at Hillsdale and played in 33 games over three seasons. This summer, Mines added defensive lineman Russ Woodward from Army West Point as the Evergreen HS graduate returns home to Colorado after redshirting in 2024. At WT, Soderdahl started at corner and made three tackles, while Gonzales made four stops at safety. 

BLASTER RECOGNIZED BY ESPN
Blaster the Burro is a beloved figured at Mines football games, and his post-touchdown runs were recently recognized by ESPN as one of the "36 Greatest College Football Gameday Traditions", the only one outside of NCAA Division I. Blaster, who is handled by student group Blue Key Honor Society, has been a symbol of Mines since the 1930s, and his running the field after touchdowns evolved in the 1990s. 

NEXT UP
Mines will stay home to open RMAC play with Chadron State on Sept. 20.