GOLDEN, Colo. - Defense ruled the day as Colorado School of Mines outlasted South Dakota Mines, 17-10, at Marv Kay Stadium.
In an old-school, smash-mouth football game between the RMAC's two best run defenses, the Orediggers (5-2-1, 5-1 RMAC) held on to win their fifth in a row despite being shutout in the second half by the Hardrockers (5-3, 3-3 RMAC).
Both teams only just broke 200 yards of total offense as the Orediggers shut down the RMAC's leading rusher in SDM's Dawson Dunbar (46 yards) and held the Hardrockers to only 69 total rushing yards, while the Orediggers were equally held in check with only 88 yards on the ground and 120 in the air.
Despite spending nearly 36 minutes on the field - including 22 just in the second half - the Oredigger defense held to generate three turnovers and three sacks.
Will Ramsey had an interception and a forced fumble and
Justin Vaughn had two key sacks to lead the defense, with both
Mo Russolillo and
Luke Johnson recording 10 tackles each.
Joseph Capra had a rushing touchdown and threw another to
Tyson Mauck, while
Preston Kyle hit a 50-yard field goal at the first-half buzzer. The Hardrockers scored on a Blake Borchers touchdown catch to open the game, and Sam Eccles added a 43-yard field goal in the fourth quarter.
The Hardrockers turned their first possession into points with an 11-play, 80-yard series that finished with Gage Baker hitting Borchers in the back corner for six and the early lead. Mines had a great opportunity to respond later in the first quarter when a booming
Lucas LeSieur punt was fumbled by returner Jadon Lemmons and recovered by long snapper
Josh Hildebrand to set them up just outside the red zone; Mines was stopped at the goal line, however, when
Max Barnes' fourth-and-1 try was judged to have not broken the plane on review.
The defense got the ball back with great field position and the Orediggers finally broke through on their next drive, eventually scoring on a Capra keeper to tie it 7-7. They then embarked on a long drive following a Hardrocker three-and-out, culminating in a toe-tap catch in the end zone by Mauck to go up 14-7. Another SDM punt gave the Orediggers the ball with 1:50 left in the half, and they cashed in with Kyle's 50-yarder at the buzzer.
Eccles missed from 35 to begin the third quarter, but Mines had to punt before Ramsey's interception got the ball back at the SDM21. The Hardrocker defense went 4-and-out, however, with Mines coming away empty on a bad field goal snap to end the third. Eccles was good from 43 midway through the fourth to make it a one-score game, but then the Orediggers had to get two straight defensive stops to see out the win, first with
Aaron Gall and Johnson's stop of Baker on fourth down, and then with a bend-don't-break final series where back-to-back sacks by Vaughn and Gall forced a 4th-and-31 lateral play to end the game.
NOTABLES
- A standing-room-only crowd of 6,056 watched the game on Friends and Family Weekend. It was the fourth-largest crowd in Marv Kay Stadium history and the 18th sellout since opening in 2015.
- The Oredigger defense played 50 snaps in the second half as SDM dominated time of possession.
- Gall also forced a fumble to go with his sack. Russolillo, in addition to 10 tackles and recovering the final fumbled lateral play, had three hurries.
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Max Barnes had 41 rushing yards and Capra went for 33 to lead Mines.
Aksel Richard was Mines' leading receiver with 34 yards.
- Baker was 13-of-28 for 151 yards, while Capra went 12-of-26 for 120 yards. Both had a touchdown and an interception.
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Lucas LeSieur was a weapon in the punt game, averaging 49.4 yards on five attempts including a long of 58 that he coffin-cornered at the 4-yardline.
- The Orediggers improved to 26-1 all-time against the Hardrockers.
NEXT UP
Mines visits Adams State next Saturday.
