2002 Colorado School of Mines Football
(4-2 Overall, 1-2RMAC)
Week #7 Notes - at Fort Lewis (0-6, 0-4 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 13-14, including a 6-13 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. Fort Lewis is led by third-year Head Coach Todd Throckmorton. In his two plus years with the program, he claims an overall record of 5-23, inlcuding a 4-20 mark in the RMAC.

ALL-TIME SERIES: Fort Lewis leads the all-time series with Mines, 25-15.

NEXT WEEK: The Orediggers return to Golden, Colo., to host New Mexico Highlands at 1:00 pm in the annual Homecoming game.

M.I.A.: Senior All-American Brian Sump missed the Oredigger’s game at Nebraska-Kearney with an ankle injury. It marked the first game he has missed since week two of the 1999 season, a span of 35 consecutive games played.

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.

TAKE IT TO THE HOUSE PART DEUX: Sophomore wide receiver/return specialist Jonny Chan, filling in for the injured Brian Sump, scored his first career touchdown off a return when he went 100-yards on a kickoff during CSM’s loss at Nebraska-Kearney on Saturday.

LAST TIME OUT (10/12/02): The Colorado School of Mines football team dropped to 4-2 overall and 1-2 in the conference following a 58-14 setback against 23rd-ranked Nebraska-Kearney on Saturday afternoon in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference football action at Foster Field. The Lopers scored the game’s first 48 points to claim a 48-0 lead midway through the third quarter. The Orediggers got on the board at the 8:40 mark of the third quarter as they marched 70 yards in five plays. Sophomore quarterback Chad Friehauf completed the drive by hitting sophomore wide receiver Andrew Schmid from 10 yards out. Following a CSM turnover on downs to open the fourth quarter, UNK’s Marcus Goldstein connected with Darnell Wood for a 76-yard touchdown to make the score 58-7 in favor of UNK with 10:11 remaining in the game. On the ensuing kickoff, Oredigger sophomore Jonny Chan went 100 yards for a touchdown to conclude the scoring. Friehauf finished the game 21-of-37 for 206 yards and a score, while sophomore wide receiver Derek Lis made six catches for 64 yards. Redshirt freshman linebacker Jared Heath and sophomore cornerback Grant Newton tied for game-high honors with nine tackles each, while Newton also deflected two passes.

LAST TIME VS. FORT LEWIS (10/6/01): CSM scored 48 second half points to turn a 17-14 halftime lead into a 65-30 victory over the Skyhawks at Brooks Field. Nate Jackson and Chad Friehauf combined to complete 26-of-47 passes for 433 yards and four touchdowns, while Brian Sump caught five passes for 147 yards and two scores. Daniel Leger led the Mines defense with a game-high eight tackles, as CSM outgained the Skyhawks, 594-371.

THANK YOU, VERY MUCH: The Oredigger defense has come up with at least one interception in each of the first six games this season, including a season-high three at Western New Mexico on Sept. 21. Senior free safety Matt Oliver kept the streak alive with his first interception of the season at UNK on Saturday. Through six games, CSM is ranked second in the RMAC with eight picks. Sophomore cornerback Grant Newton leads the team with three picks, including one for a 93-yard touchdown return, while sophomore strong safety Daniel Leger has picked off two passes.

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. Mines needs two wins in its final five games to assure itself of a winning season.

RULE OF TWO: The number two seems to be the lucky number for the Oredigger football team over the last nine games. Saturday’s contest at Nebraska-Kearney marked the first time since October 20, 2001 that CSM failed to have at least one player score two touchdowns, a span of nine games. During those nine contests, Colorado Mines has posted a 6-3 record.

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 23 for his career. In addition, Sump is just 13 catches shy of breaking the CSM record for career receptions (145). In all, Sump claims 21 game, season and career records as an Oredigger.

I’VE GOT YOUR BACK: Backup sophomore quarterback Chad Friehauf has been sensational while filling in for the injured Nate Jackson this year. Through five games, Friehauf has completed 79-of-124 passes for 1,019 yards and nine touchdowns, while Jackson is 51-of-77 for 745 yards and eight TD tosses this season. Jackson (174.00) and Friehauf (150.2) are the top-rated passers in the conference.

FOURTH QUARTER DOMINANCE: Colorado Mines has outscored its opponents, 56-21, in the final quarters of games this season. In fact, Mines has blanked three of its opponents in the final stanza, while holding two others to seven points each.

LEADER OF THE PACK: Sophomore strong safety Daniel Leger is the top tackler in the RMAC as he is averaging 9.2 tackles per game. In addition, Leger has posted 55 stops this season which ranks second in the conference. Through six games this season, Leger, an Honorable Mention All-RMAC pick as a true freshman last season, has made 55 tackles, seven pass breakups, four tackles for loss, two sacks and a fumble recovery which he returned 40 yards for a touchdown.

CAPTAIN CASEY: Senior defensive end and co-captain Casey Kraft has made a smooth transition from linebacker to defensive end this season. After six games from his defensive end position, Kraft is ranked third in the RMAC with 4.5 sacks. In addition, he has tallied 24 tackles, including nine for losses totaling 51 yards, which ranks him seventh in the conference.

SCOUTING FORT LEWIS: The Skyhawks enter this weekend’s game at 0-6 overall and 0-4 in the conference following Saturday’s 58-27 setback at Fort Hays State. Fort Lewis claimed a 27-13 lead with 12:36 remaining in the first half, however, the Tigers scored 45 unanswered points from that point on to earn the win. Skyhawk quarterback Andrew Webb completed 26-of-43 passes for 349 yards, four touchdowns and three interceptions, while Chris Brewer made seven catches for 115 yards and three scores. Fort Lewis gained 456 yards of offense, however, surrendered 607 yards to the Tigers. For the season, Webb has completed 109-of-190 passes for 1,321 yards, 10 touchdowns and six picks. Brewer is his favorite receiver as he has caught 29 passes for 313 yards and seven scores, while Joe Moore leads the ground attack with 61 carries for 348 yards and three touchdowns. Joseph Suter has amassed a team-best 44 tackles to lead the Skyhawk defense. As a team, Fort Lewis is averaging 372.8 yards per game, but their defense is allowing the opposition to gain 529.8 yards each game.

ON THE WEB: Be sure to follow all the latest news, game recpas, stats and updates of all the Oredigger athletic teams on the web at athletics.mines.edu