ALLENDALE, Mich. — Colorado Mines received everything it expected Saturday in the opening round of the Division II playoffs, but Grand Valley State proved too much to handle.
The Lakers sacked Mines quarterback Clay Garcia 10 times and the Orediggers were shut out for three quarters in a 35-13 loss at Lubbers Stadium.
“Physically, I think that they surprised us a little bit,” Mines coach Bob Stitt said. “I think we thought we could protect the quarterback a little better than we did.”
Mines (9-3) finished with just 197 yards of total offense on 74 plays (2.7 yards per play), and the Orediggers’ lone touchdown against the GVSU starters came on a fumble recovery in the end zone by defensive lineman Kaleb Anderson early in the fourth quarter.
Garcia, a finalist for the Harlon Hill Trophy given annually to the best player in D-II, completed 34-of-55 passes for 253 yards, two interceptions and a 22-yard touchdown pass to Tom Kastens against Grand Valley State’s second-string defense in the fourth quarter.
The Orediggers lost yardage on sacks (minus-68 yards) and their running game stalled.
“It was definitely hard to get into a rhythm early,” Garcia said. “They really got some good pressure. I mean, they did a good job up front and they have some real good athletes in the secondary.”
Behind quarterback Kyle McMahon, who completed 13-of-22 passes for 216 yards and three touchdowns, Grand Valley State totaled 365 yards and took a 28-0 lead into the fourth quarter.
Grand Valley State (11-1) next plays Augustana College (S.D.) in the second round next Saturday.
Mines trailed 14-0 at halftime — the first time the Orediggers were blanked in the opening half since facing Western Oregon in 2007.
“We left the defense on the field too much in the first half,” Stitt said. “If we would have done anything offensively in the first half, maybe we would have had some gas left in the tank to shut down the run. Our defense was out there a lot.”
Grand Valley State added three touchdowns through the air in the second half, while the rushing game controlled the clock. The Lakers rushed for 149 yards.
“Grand Valley has a lot of good players,” said Mines defensive lineman Marc Schiechl, who had half of a sack to extend his D-II record total to 45. “When you have a lot of good players like that, you can’t make mistakes and you have to play a really good game.”
Grand Valley State’s 10 sacks tied the school’s all-time record. McMahon rushed for two scores, and receiver Jovonne Augustus had three catches for 67 yards and two touchdowns.
“I think a lot of the credit has to go to some of our guys in our secondary,” Grand Valley State coach Matt Mitchell said.
“We were able to play man coverage on their wideouts. I think the ability to play man and have (Garcia) hold the ball a little bit allowed us to get some pressure on the quarterback. I think that was obviously key.”
Colorado Mines 0 0 0 13 — 13
Grand Valley St. 7 7 14 7 — 35
First quarter: GVSU — McMahon 10 run (Briggs kick), 5:45. Second quarter: GVSU — McMahon 19 run (Briggs kick), 9:58. Third quarter: GVSU — Augustus 25 pass from McMahon (Briggs kick), 10:26. GVSU — Sherrod 13 pass from McMahon (Briggs kick), 3:27. Fourth quarter: CSM — Kaleb Anderson fumble recovery (kick failed), 13:17. GVSU — Augustus 31 pass from McMahon (Briggs kick), 11:53. CSM — Kastens 22 pass from Garcia (Baker kick), 5:53. A — 4,709.
CSM GVSU
First downs 18 21
Rushes-yards 18-(-56) 48-149
Passing 253 216
Comp-att-int 34-56-2 13-22-1
Return yards 0 106
Punts-avg. 7-44.0 5-31.2
Fumbles-lost 1-1 2-2
Penalties-yards 2-20 11-88
Time of poss. 26:08 33:52
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING — Colorado Mines, Palmer 6-12, Garcia 12-(minus 68). Grand Valley State, Sherrod 12-94, Shuford 8-40, McMahon 18-22, Ware 1-14, Jackson 3-8, Neasman 1-(minus 7), Team 5-(minus 22).
PASSING — Colorado Mines, Garcia 34-55-2-253, Team 0-1-0-0. Grand Valley State, McMahon 13-22-1-216.
RECEIVING — Colorado Mines, Vinnola 14-59, Kastens 6-94, Palmer 5-34, Renken 5-32, Doucet 2-7, Moos 1-14, McManigal 1-13. Grand Valley State, Bass 5-89, Augustus 3-67, Sherrod 2-40, Gay 2-3, Woolfork 1-17.
