GOLDEN — Clay Garcia’s pass whizzed just over the outstretched hands of Robbin Vinnola, and the hearts of the Colorado Mines players and the packed house at Campbell Field sank in unison Saturday afternoon.
It appeared the Orediggers had come up short against a top-25 team once again.
Few noticed the flag — offside on Colorado State-Pueblo — that afforded Mines one more chance. This time, Garcia’s fourth-down, 4-yard pass was snagged by Jerrod Doucet in the right corner of the end zone with 30 seconds left, propelling the Orediggers to a 19-16 win over the No. 25 ThunderWolves in a Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference thriller.
“Everything dropped and I just couldn’t believe it,” Doucet said of his emotions when he initially thought Mines had lost. “Then when I saw there was a penalty and we had another chance, it was like Christmas almost.”
Doucet finished with 141 yards on 11 catches, including two fourth-quarter scores for Mines (5-1, 4-0), which had been 0-14 against ranked teams since the AFCA Division II top 25 was unveiled in 2000. The Orediggers, who hadn’t been ranked since 2005, have a good chance of sliding in this week.
“Big statement game,” Mines coach Bob Stitt said. “To come in here and beat Pueblo, with all the momentum they had, it says a lot about or football team.”
The ThunderWolves (5-1, 3-1) had one last gasp, but Kyle Major’s 64-yard field-goal attempt fell well short as time expired. It put to rest a tumultuous fourth quarter in which each team scored 13 points, a quarter Mines entered with a 6-3 advantage in an expected offensive showdown.
CSU-Pueblo took a 16-12 lead with 3:40 to play when quarterback Ross Dausin hit tight end Koby Wittek with a 25-yard score. It appeared Wittek would be the star, fitting considering he attended Golden High School and was returning as the enemy.
“This is a high-powered team in Mines,” Dausin said. “I have every belief in the world in my defense, but they’re a hard team to put away. I didn’t think for a second it was going to be over that easy.”
Garcia finished 38-for-61 for 396 yards, helping atone for a first half in which he was picked off twice inside the ThunderWolves’ 10-yard line. Mines, which also had a field goal blocked in the first half, outgained CSU-Pueblo 281-94 in the half but trailed 3-0.
“We were moving the ball, but I made a few mistakes,” Garcia said.
Doucet’s first touchdown was a 41-yarder that he snatched away from cornerback Grant Crunkleton, who appeared to have solid position, and put Mines up 12-10 with 5:55 left. On his winner, Doucet beat freshman cornerback Stephan Dickens.
“We saw he was getting a lot of one-on-one coverage, and we told him he had to make some plays in the second half,” Stitt said. “They couldn’t be any bigger than the last two he made.”
Nebraska-Kearney 35, Chadron State 21
CHADRON, NEB. — The 14th-ranked Lopers intercepted five passes, including one returned for a touchdown, in staying unbeaten (5-1, 4-0) in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference. The Eagles dropped to 3-3, 2-2.
Kearney remained tied atop the RMAC with Colorado Mines and travels to Golden to face Mines in the final week of the season.
The Lopers jumped to a 28-0 lead over their in-state rival, behind two running TDs from Rustin Dring, from 57 and 21 yards.
Sam Kuck’s 38-yard interception return for a TD capped the Lopers’ scoring. The Kearney defense held Chadron to 1 yard rushing.
Western N.M. 25, Western State 7
GUNNISON — Kevin Breaker ran for 153 yards and Western New Mexico (3-3, 2-2) collected 253 yars rushing as a team in dropping Western State (0-6, 0-4).
Shaun Suttorp led Western State with 12 receptions for 85 yards.
Mario Wren’s 51 yard run for a TD in the fourth quarter for Western N.M. put the game out of reach.
Adams State 55, N.M. Highlands 0
ALAMOSA — Terjean Saffold scored four touchdowns and Trevor Zott a punt 78 yards for a score as Adams State (2-4, 1-3) routed Highlands (1-5, 1-3).
Saffold ran for 113 on 17 carries and three TDs and caught four passes for 17 yards and a score in leading the Grizzlies. The Adams defense held Highlands to 26 yards rushing, as the Grizzlies outgained the Cowboys 441-110 in total yards.
