GOLDEN, Colo. - #22/14 Western Oregon rallied late after a back-and-forth second half to defeat Colorado School of Mines, 22-20, in the 2026 season opener at Marv Kay Stadium.
Pierce Richards set the Mines program record for receptions in a game with 18 catches for 153 yards and a touchdown as the favored target of
Joseph Capra, who went 30-of-49 for 232 yards and a touchdown. The Orediggers (0-1) rallied back from 16-7 at halftime sparked by
Mo Russolillo's 32-yard scoop and score off
Parker Johnson's forced fumble to open the third quarter.
The Wolves (1-0) held Mines to 41 rushing yards and went ahead on Jordan McCarty's fourth-quarter touchdown pass to Jaydan Burns, one of two scores for Burns on the day.
The Orediggers were frustrated in the first half by WOU's experienced defensive line, turning the ball over three time on downs as they struggled to get their run game working. The visitors went ahead two scores in the meantime - both thanks to great field position - as Burns caught a 26-yard pass from McCarty in the first quarter and Carson Workman ran in a two-yard touchdown to make it 13-0 early in the second quarter.
Richards began to heat up and it led to a 39-yard catch-and-run around an edge block from
Nick Stone midway through the second, but the Wolves answered with Ashton Wolff's 27-yard field goal to lead 16-7 at the half.
The second half began with the Orediggers' defensive score, with Johnson ripping the ball from Burns' hands on the second play of the drive for Russolillo to pick and score untouched. That cut it to a 16-14 lead, and Mines took their first lead on their next possession when
Preston Kyle hit the first of his two field goals, a 49-yarder, to set the score at 17-16 with 11:39 left in the third. A promising Mines drive late in the quarter ended on a Malik Ross interception in the end zone, and the Wolves went the length of the field on an 11-play scoring drive capped by Burns' second touchdown to go up 22-17.
Mines ground out a 15-play series in response but had to settle for Kyle's 24-yard chip shot with 4:57 to go, gambling for a defensive stop that never came. WOU converted two first downs and got another via penalty on their possession, holding the ball to the buzzer.
NOTABLES
- The Wolves came in with preseason rankings of #14 from D2football and #22 by the AFCA.
- Richards snapped the program record of 16 receptions co-held by David Pawelek and Jerrod Doucet, who both did it in 2012. Richards' 153 yards were a career high.
- Russolillo, in his first career start at linebacker, led all Orediggers with eight tackles.
Devyn Lauer-Duarte,
Will Ramsey, and
Luke Johnson each had seven.
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Aaron Gall and
Dominic Caggiano combined for Mines' lone sack. The Orediggers pressured McCarty effectively, however, with eight hurries as the dual-threat quarterback went 14-for-29 for 146 yards and was limited to 17 rushing yards.
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Lucas LeSieur averaged 52.7 yards per punt including a 71-yarder. Kyle was perfect on the day with his two field goals, two PATs, and a 5-for-5 rate of touchbacks on kickoffs.
- Western Oregon improved to 2-1 all-time against Mines. It was their first meeting since 2021.
NEXT UP
Mines heads to Washburn next week for a 12 p.m. CT kickoff.
