2002 Colorado School of Mines Football
(5-3 Overall, 2-3 RMAC)
Week #9 Notes - vs. Mesa State (3-5 Overall, 3-2 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 14-15, including a 7-14 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. Mesa State is led by fifth-year Head Coach Joe Ramunno, who claims a record of 31-23 in his time at the helm of the Maverick program. He was also named the 2000 RMAC Coach of the Year after guiding MSC to a 10-3 mark and a berth in the NCAA Division II Quarterfinals.

ALL-TIME SERIES: Mesa leads the all-time series with Mines, 20-4. Mines has not defeated MSC since the 1997 season, 21-18.

NEXT WEEK: The Orediggers will travel to Adams State for a 1:00 pm game.

FAREWELL SENIORS: The Oredigger seniors will be playing their final home game of their careers against Mesa State and will be honored during the pregame introductions.

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 returned a kickoff for a touchdown for the second time in three weeks against New Mexico Highlands as he took the opening kickoff 97 yards for a score. Chan also went 100 yards for a touchdown on Oct. 12 at Nebraska-Kearney.

LAST TIME OUT (10/26/02): The Colorado School of Mines football team scored 27 unanswered second half points and broke a two-game losing streak with a 55-24 victory over New Mexico Highlands in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference action on Saturday afternoon at Brooks Field. Mines struck quickly as sophomore wide receiver Jonny Chan returned the opening kickoff 97 yards for a touchdown. Mines extended its lead to 21-0 with three minutes left in the first quarter as sophomore running back Craig Van Horn scored on a 33 yard scamper and Chan hauled in a 33 yard pass from sophomore quarterback Chad Friehauf on a fourth down play. However, the Cowboys scored the next 24 points to take a 24-21 lead late in the first half. But CSM responded with a touchdown right before halftime and scored 27 straight second half points to preserve the win. Friehauf finished the afternoon 23-of-32 for 268 yards and two scores, while freshman wide receiver Justin Gallas registered career highs in receptions (10) and yards (133). Van Horn toted the ball 16 times for 99 yards and two scores and also caught five passes for 43 yards. The Oredigger defense, which surrendered just four first downs and 98 yards in the second half, was led by sophomore strong safety Daniel Leger who amassed a game-high 10 tackles and two sacks.

LAST TIME VS. MESA (10/20/01): Mesa State calaimed a 42-10 halftime lead and defeated CSM, 66-20, in Grand Junction, Colo. The Mavericks, who amassed 36 first downs and 769 yards of offense, were led by Brandon Miholland who completed 13-of-16 passes for 251 yards and four touchdowns. Logan Briscoe rushed for 135 yards on four carries, including a 77 yard scamper. For Mines, Nate Jackson completed 17-of-37 passes for 167 yards, while Zach Snyder hauled in a team-high six passes for 73 yards.

THANK YOU, VERY MUCH: The Oredigger defense has come up with at least one interception in each of the first eight games this season, including a season-high three at Western New Mexico on Sept. 21. As a team, Mines leads the RMAC with 12 interceptions and sophomore cornerback Grant Newton is tied for the conference lead with four picks.

FIVE DOWN ONE TO GO: 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 when 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 one win in its final three games to assure itself of a winning season in 2002.

13 OVER 2: The CSM football team has not won a total of 13 games over a two season span since the 1912-13 seasons. One win in the final three games will give Mines 13 wins over the 2001-02 seasons. In addition, no CSM teams have earned 14 victories over a two season span meaning with two more wins this season, the 2001-02 squads will be the first teams in Mines football history to record 14 victories over a two season span.

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 8 catches shy of breaking the CSM record for career receptions (145). In all, Sump claims 21 game, season and career records as an Oredigger.

JUST IN CASE: True freshman wide receiver Justin Gallas has been prepared to step in in case one of the starting wide receivers went down this season. Such was the instance on Saturday against New Mexico Highlands when Gallas started in place of an injured Oredigger and responded with career-highs in receptions (10) and receiving yards (133). He also caught his first career collegiate touchdown, a 33 yarder.

STICK A FORK IN IT: In CSM’s Oct. 19 game at Fort Lewis, the two teams combined for 13 fumbles. Mines fumbled the ball six times and lost two, while the Skyhawks committed seven fumbles and lost four. CSM also threw one interception, while FLC quarterbacks threw two interceptions as Mines forced six turnovers in the game.

FOURTH QUARTER DOMINANCE: Colorado Mines has outscored its opponents, 88-31, in the final quarters of games this season. In fact, Mines has blanked four of its opponents in the final stanza, while holding two others to seven points each. On Saturday, CSM limited Highlands to just four first downs and 98 total yards in the second half.

NO SOPHOMORE SLUMP HERE: Sophomore strong safety Daniel Leger is tied for first in the RMAC with 9.5 tackles per game and is also tied for tops in the conference with 76 tackles. In addition, Leger, an Honorable Mention All-RMAC pick as a true freshman last season, has posted four sacks, eight tackles for loss, eight pass deflections, two interceptions and two fumble recoveries. In addition, he returned a fumble recovery 40 yards for his first career touchdown on Oct. 5 against Fort Hays State.

FOR ALL-PURPOSES: Colorado Mines claims two fo the top all-purpose yardage players in all of the country. Senior Brian Sump has totaled 910 all-purpose yards in just six games this season and is averaging 151.7 all-purpose yards per game this season which ranks 18th in Division II. Sophomore Jonny Chan is ranked 34th in the country in all-purpose yards as he is averaging 132.3 yards per game. Chan leads Mines with 926 all-pupose yards this season.

“THE VAN”: In Pittsburgh, the Steelers have Jerome Bettis, also known as “The Bus”, to run through defenses. In Golden, the Orediggers may have found their version of the bus in sophomore running back Craig Van Horn, who leads the team in rushing with 431 yards on 64 carries for an average of 6.7 yards per run and three touchdowns. In addition, he has also caught 24 passes for 246 yards and two scores. After running for 107 yards in the season opener, Van Horn was held in check for much of the next five games, gaining just 115 yards in those five contests. However, he ran for 110 yards and a score at Fort Lewis two weeks ago and just missed his second consecutive 100 yard game as he gained 99 yards and scored twice on 16 carries in Saturday’s win over New Mexico Highlands.

AND JONNY B. GREAT: After eight games, sophomore Jonny Chan has earned the No. 1 kickoff return spot as he has returned 12 kicks for 487 yards and two scores. His average of 40.6 yards per return leads not only Division II, but all of NCAA Football.

MAKING A NAME: Redshirt freshman linebacker Jared Heath has been outstanding while filling in for injured CSM players. Heath, who did not play in the season opener, has recorded at least six tackles in six of the last seven games including a career-high 13 in the loss at Fort Lewis on Oct. 19. Heath is ranked third on the team with 50 stops this season.

SCOUTING MESA STATE: The Mavericks enter the week at 3-5 overall and 3-2 in the RMAC after a 20-16 setback at Fort Hays State on Saturday. The Mavericks claimed a 10-7 lead as the teams headed into the fourth quarter and a 7-yard touchdown run from Charles Dukes extended Mesa’s lead to 17-7 just nine seconds into the fourth quarter. However, FHSU tacked on two scores, the final one with 1:58 left in the game to earn the win. Dukes finished the game with 12 carries for 110 yards, while Brandon Milholland completed 12-of-26 passes for 165 yards and also registered 14 carries for 36 yards and a score. For the season, the Mavericks are averaging 338.2 yards of offense and surrendering 340.6 yards. Milholland has completed 71-of-146 passes for 1,069 yards and seven touchdowns, while Dukes has carried the ball 88 times for 483 yards and three scores.

SILVER AND BLUE LUNCHEON: Every Wednesday throughout the season, the Colorado Mines athletics department will host a Silver and Blue Luncheon in the Ben Parker Student Center. The lunch, which begins at 11:30 am, features speeches by all of the in-season coaches. For more information, call 303-384-2254.

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