At Golden, the Colorado School of Mines routed Western New Mexico 43-0 today, moving to 2-0 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference.
The Orediggers (3-1) led 29-0 at halftime and totaled 587 yards of total offense against Western New Mexico (1-3, 0-2).
Mines quarterback Clay Garcia threw five touchdown passes, including two to Jerrod Doucet (10 receptions, 123 yards). Garcia threw for 444 yards, completing 33-of-53 passes.
Dan Palmer was the Orediggers’ leading rusher with 93 yards on eight carries.
CSU-Pueblo 49, Fort Lewis 14
At Durango, the Colorado State-Pueblo Thunderwolves scored 35 unanswered points to blitz Fort Lewis. The Thunderwolves improved to 4-0 and 2-0 in the RMAC. Their win streak, dating back to last season, reached eight games, the second-longest streak in school history.
Near the close of the second half, a huge play was turned in by freshman defensive lineman Beau Martin, who forced a fumble with less than 3 minutes remaining in the half. That led to a score and a 21-14 CSU-Pueblo lead at halftime. From that point on, the game was a rout.
“I knew we had to be patient,” coach John Wristen told reporters after the game. “Sooner or later, we were going to get some big plays and that’s what we got.”
CSU-Pueblo churned out a season-high 324 rushing yards, including 100-plus yard rushing performances from Jesse Lewis and Jamaal Johnson.
The Skyhawks (1-2, 1-1) twice tied the game on long pass plays to keep pace in the first half. Quarterback Tim Jenkins found wide receiver Deric Davis wide open across the middle for a 45-yard scored, tying the game 7-7 in the second quarter. He later found senior Justin Johnson for a 41-yard TD with 5:47 remaining in the first half to level the score at 14-14.
Mesa St. 40, New Mexico Highlands 6
At Grand Junction, Mesa State (1-2, 1-1) overwhelmed visiting New Mexico Highlands (0-4, 0-2) for its first victory of the season.
The Mavericks racked up 408 total yards of offense (247 yards passing, 161 rushing), and held the Cowboys to just 43 rushing yards. Mesa also picked off four passes for 119 return yards.
Sophomore kicker Caleb Pavy got the Mavericks on the board with a 32-yard field goal on their opening drive. Mesa extended its lead to 10-0 on its next possession with a 70-yard, seven-play drive. Quarterback Michael Mankoff was 4-for-5 on the drive including two passes to backup quarterback Robert Felberg. Mankoff hit Nathan Neville on a 34-yard strike to start the series. Zach Adair’s five-yard touchdown run sealed the drive.
Chadron 21, Adams State 10
At Alamosa, the visiting Eagles ran for 249 yards and held on to the ball for more than 38 minutes en route to a RMAC win over host Adams State.
The Grizzlies led 3-0 at halftime, but Chadron State drove 83 yards on 13 plays on their first drive of the second half to take the lead for good, 7-3. The Eagles extended their lead to 14-3 when redshirt freshman quarterback Jonn McLain found a wide-open Nathan Ross for a 63-yard touchdown.
The Eagles’ defense, ranked first in the RMAC, held the Grizzlies to just 145 yards of total offense as the visitors claimed their fifth straight win in the series.
Adams State (1-3, 0-2) lost its third straight game.
The Grizzlies scored their lone touchdown with 8 minutes left in the game. With Chadron facing a third-and-10 play, Grizzlies junior safety Will Naas put a big hit on Glen Clinton, forcing a fumble. Fabrice Nolen scooped up the ball and returned it 46 yards for the touchdown, closing the gap to 14-10.
Nebraska-Kearney 13, Western State 6
At Gunnison, the No. 19 Lopers rushed for 254 yards and used two late interceptions to edge Western State. UNK (3-1, 2-0 RMAC) won its 12th consecutive league game, beating the Mountaineers (0-4, 0-2 RMAC) for a seventh time in a row.
Western State’s Shaun Suttorp caught a 9-yard pass in the fourth quarter for his 164th career reception to become the school’s all-time leader, surpassing Tyrone Johnson.
