2002 Colorado School of Mines Football
(3-0 Overall, 0-0 RMAC)
Week #4 Notes - vs. Chadron State (2-1, 1-0 RMAC)

THE HEAD COACHES: Bob Stitt (Doane College ‘86) is in his third season at the helm of the Oredigger football program. He claims an overall record of 12-12, including a 5-11 mark in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference. A year ago, Stitt coached CSM to a 7-4 mark, which marked the most wins for a football team at Mines since 1958 and the first winning season in Golden since 1991. Chadron State is led by 16th-year Head Coach Brad Smith, who owns a record of 112-50-1 during his time at Chadron. Smith was honored as the RMAC Coach of the Year in 1996, 1999 and 2001.

ALL-TIME SERIES: Chadron State leads the all-time series with CSM, 16-8, and has won 11 of the last 12 meetings, including eight in a row. The Orediggers have not defeated Chadron since 1993 (51-28).

NEXT WEEK: The Orediggers will host Fort Hays State at 1:00 pm.

WELCOME TO THE SHOW: The Oredigger’s game against Chadron will be the RMAC opener for CSM.

LAST TIME VS. CHADRON STATE (9/15/01): Chadron State scored 30 second quarter points en route to a 44-7 halftime lead and a 58-28 victory over Colorado School of Mines in the 2001 RMAC opener for both teams in Chadron, Neb. Travis Covey scored three first half touchdowns for the Eagles and finished with 76 yards on 18 carries. CSM scored its lone first half touchdown on a 100 yard kickoff return by Brian Sump. The Eagles would end up gaining 550 yards of total offense on 81 plays, while the Orediggers were limited to just 286 yards of total offense. Chadron State outgained CSM on the ground, 203-34.

LAST TIME OUT (9/21/02): Colorado School of Mines senior wide receiver Brian Sump caught eight passes for 233 yards and three touchdowns to help lead the Orediggers to a 34-10 victory at Western New Mexico in a non-conference football game on Saturday afternoon. The Orediggers jumped out to a 13-0 lead midway through the first quarter as senior qurterback Nate Jackson hit sophomore wide receiver Jonny Chan for a 48 yard touchdown and also connected with Sump on a 77 yard scoring strike. The Mustangs responded with 10 second quarter points to cut their deficit to 13-10 at halftime. Following a scoreless third quarter, the Orediggers broke the game open with 21 fourth quarter points, highlighted by two touchdown receptions from Sump. Mines began its scoring run just nine seconds into the final quarter as backup and a 93 yard interception return for a touchdown by sophomore cornerback Grant Newton. Jackson and Friehauf each completed 9-of-15 passes with two touchdowns and one interception. Jackson threw for 182 yards before leaving the game in the second quarter, while Friehauf threw for 198 yards. The Oredigger defense was led by senior free safety Matt Oliver and redshirt freshman linebacker Jared Heath who each tallied a game-high nine tackles.

FOUR STRAIGHT: With their 34-10 victory at Western New Mexico on Sunday afternoon, the Orediggers opened a season with three straight wins for the first time since the 1963 season, when that team opened the season with four straight wins. No CSM football team has won five in a row to open the season since 1939 when that squad completed a perfect 8-0 season.

TAKE IT TO THE HOUSE: Senior wide receiver/kick returner Brian Sump recorded his sixth career touchdown off a return with a 45-yard punt return for a touchdown in the victory over South Dakota Tech. He now has five career kickoff returns for touchdowns and one career touchdown off a punt return.

LONG AND LONGER: The Orediggers executed the two longest plays in school history in the 49-7 victory over South Dakota Tech on September 7. Senior quarterback Nate Jackson tied an NCAA record when he connected with sophomore Jonny Chan for a 99-yard touchdown pass. Not to be outdone, backup sophomore quarterback Chad Friehauf threw a 97-yard touchdown strike to sophomore Andrew Schmid.

THE TRIFECTA: Sophomore cornerback Grant Newton is quietly making a name for himself early in the season. Through the first three games, Newton has intercepted an RMAC-best three passes, one in each game. His pick against Western New Mexico proved to be a pivotal one as he took it 93 yards for a touchdown to extend the Oredigger lead to 27-10 early in the fourth quarter. In addition, Newton has posted seven tackles through the first three games.

IT’S BEEN AWHILE: The CSM football team has not compiled back-to-back winning seasons in more than 25 years. In fact, the last time it happened was 1975 and 1976. The 1975 squad posted a 6-4 record and the 1976 team followed with a 5-4 record. Head Coach Bob Stitt and his unit will be out to follow last year’s 7-4 record with another winning season and post CSM’s first consecutive winning seasons in 26 years.

AND THEN THERE WAS ONE: CSM’s victory at Western New Mexico combined with Nebraska-Kearney’s 20-3 setback to Western State leaves the Orediggers as the only unbeaten team in the RMAC this season at 3-0.

BUSTIN LOOSE: Senior wide receiver Brian Sump enjoyed his best day as a receiver this season and in his career in the 34-10 victory at Western New Mexico. Sump caught eight passes for 233 yards and three scores. The 233 receiving yards was a career high and were just 11 shy of the school record for receiving yards set by Dayven Johnston in last year’s 52-45 overtime victory at Fort Hays. Through three games, Sump leads the squad with 17 catches for 348 yards and three scores. In addition, he leads the RMAC with 116 receiving yards per game, 198.7 all-purpose yards per contest, five touchdowns and an average of 10 points per game.

RECORD SETTER: With his three TD receptions at Western New Mexico, senior wide receiver Brian Sump broke the school record for career touchdown receptions and now has 21 for his career. In addition, Sump is just 27 catches shy of breaking the CSM record for career receptions (144).

I’VE GOT YOUR BACK: After senior quarteback Nate Jackson went down with an injury in the second quarter of the victory over Western New Mexico, sophomore Chad Friehauf entered and steered the Orediggers to victory. Jackson left the game after completing 9-of-15 passes for 198 yards, one touchdown and one interception. Friehauf finished 9-of-15 for 182 yards, two touchdowns and one pick. Friehauf is the top-rated passer in the confernce with a rating of 195.8, while Jackson is a close second at 193.1 and also leads the RMAC with seven touchdown tosses.

ON THE OFFENSE: Through three games, the School of Mines offense is ranked first in several offensive categories. Below is a list of where the team ranks in several categories in the RMAC...

SCORING OFFENSE - 1st, 32.3 ppg
PASS OFFENSE - 1st, 336.3 ypg
TOTAL OFFENSE - 1st, 446.3 ypg
PASS EFFICIENCY - 1st, 186.7
TIME OF POSSESSION - 1st, 35:04 per game
SCORING POINTS - 1st, 97
FIRST DOWNS - 2nd, 65

BUT DON’T FORGET THE DEFENSE: Not to be outdone, the Mines defense has been extremely impressive in the first three games. After allowing more than 480 yards of total offense and 35 points per game last season, the Oredigger defense is one of the top-ranked in the conference. Below is a list of where CSM ranks in several team categories in the RMAC...

SCORING DEFENSE - 1st, 5.7 ppg
PASS DEFENSE EFFICIENCY - 1st, 74.7
RED ZONE DEFENSE - 1st, 1-of-6 (16.7 percent)
POINTS ALLOWED - 1st, 17
PASS DEFENSE - 3rd, 148.3 ypg
TOTAL DEFENSE - 3rd, 266.0 ypg
TURNOVER MARGIN - 3rd, +2
SACKS - 3rd, 9 for loss of 84 yards
RUSHING DEFENSE - 4th, 117.7 ypg

SCOUTING CHADRON STATE: The Eagles enter the week at 2-1 overall and 1-0 in the RMAC following a 52-23 victory at Fort Hays on Saturday. Chadron State is averaging 360 yards of offense and 27.3 points per game through three games this season, while the defense is surrendering just 236.7 yards and 19.3 points per contest. Shawn Eisenreich has completed 61-of-109 passes for 684 yards and four touchdowns this season. His favorite target has been Mike Wahlstrom who has caught a team-high 25 passes for 333 yards and two scores. Austin Forster leads the ground attack as he has toted the ball 53 times for 211 yards and one score. Aric Lopez leads the Eagle defense with 22 tackles, including three for loss. Cornerback Marvin Jackson, chosen as the RMAC Preseason Defensive Player of the Year, has tallied 15 tackles, three pass breakups and one interception.