2005 COLORADO SCHOOL OF MINES
FOOTBALL WEEKLY RELEASE #11

Colorado School of Mines vs. Adams State
Saturday, November 5, 2005 - 1:00 pm
Brooks Field - Golden, Colo.

Click HERE for a complete .PDF version of the notes

ABOUT THE SERIES
Saturday’s game between Colorado School of Mines and Adams State will be the 56th all-time meeting between the schools. Adams State holds a 32-21-2 advantage in the series, however, the Orediggers have won four straight, including a 31-21 win in Alamosa last season that clinched the RMAC Championship outright for CSM. The Orediggers have won the last three games by a total of 25 points.

THE HEAD COACHES
Bob Stitt is in his sixth season as the head coach at CSM and claims a 39-27 (.591) overall record. Stitt’s winning percentage is the highest by a CSM football coach who has coached in at least 20 games and the highest for a modern day coach at CSM. In addition, his 39 wins are the third most in CSM history and trail only Marv Kay (84 wins from 1969-1995) and Fritz Brennecke (78 wins from 1947-1969). Stitt is 1-4 all-time against Mesa State.

Adams State is led by sixth-year Head Coach Wayne McGinn who is 27-37 during his tenure in Alamosa. A win over CSM on Saturday would give McGinn his second straight 7-4 season.

ALL-TIME RECORD
CSM claims a 363-507-30 all-time record since its first collegiate football game in 1888, a 6-4 win over Denver University.

CSM vs. THE “A’s”
CSM is 21-33-2 all-time against schools that begin with the letter “A”. CSM has played 55 of the 56 games against Adams State and is 0-1 all-time against Air Force, a 49-6 loss in 1956.

RMAC OPENERS
CSM’s 45-13 win over Western State on Sept. 10 was the second straight year that the Orediggers won their RMAC opener. CSM is now 2-11-1 record in 14 all-time RMAC openers since 1992. Last year’s 58-0 win at Western State was the first time CSM won its RMAC opener in school history.

UP NEXT FOR CSM
Saturday’s game against Adams State is the regular season finale for CSM. The Orediggers are slated to open the 2006 season on Sept. 2 at Washburn.

COLORADO SCHOOL OF MINES ON THE INTERNET
Now you can get all the latest and most comprehensive news on Oredigger football and Colorado School of Mines athletics 24 hours a day by visiting the Colorado School of Mines Athletics Department official website at ...
http://athletics.mines.edu.

MINES INTERNET RADIO
CSM fans can now listen to all 11 Oredigger football games online. Simply visit radio.mines.edu and click on the listen live link to access the game live online.

JOIN THE OREDIGGER EMAIL LIST
Get all the latest news on all of Colorado School of Mines Athletics by signing up for the Orediggers’ E-Mail List. Receive daily updates, game recaps and press releases on all of CSM’s athletic teams by emailing Sports Information Director Gregory Murphy at gjmurphy@mines.edu. You can sign up to receive updates on one sport, numerous sports or all sports. Please indicate in your email what sports you would like to be included on or if you would like to be included for all sports.

ALL ABOUT ADAMS STATE
Adams State enters the week at 6-4 overall and 5-2 in the RMAC following a 42-0 blanking of Western State on Saturday to run its win streak to four in a row. It was the second straight shutout win for the Grizzlies who knocked off Oklahoma Panhandle State, 43-0, a week earlier. ASC raced out to a 26-0 lead at halftime against Western in cruising to the win. Marcus Sias led the way as he ran for 151 yards and three scores on 26 carries. The Grizzly defense held the Mountaineers to just 118 total offensive yards and was paced by Ernesto Villasenor who posted six tackles and 2.5 sacks.

WHEN THE GRIZZLIES HAVE THE BALL
As a team, the Grizzlies average 28.2 points and 376.5 yards of offense per game. Quarterback Scott Coxon has completed 174-of-381 passes for 2,176 yards, 17 touchdowns and 12 picks. Chris Ross has caught a team-best 43 passes for 460 yards and is tied with Dave Copelan for the team lead with five touchdown catches. Gene Mejia leads ASC with 621 receiving yards, while Marcus Sias has run 183 times for 704 yards and nine scores.

AND WHEN THEY DON’T
As a team, the Grizzlies give up 24.0 points and 292.6 yards per game. The defense is led by reigning RMAC Defensive Player of the Year Adam McGurk who has posted 74 tackles, including 14 for loss, eight pass break ups and three forced fumbles. George Holley leads the squad with 20 tackles for loss and nine sacks, while Tony Gibalski has recorded a team-leading five interceptions.

SOMETHING SPECIAL
The Grizzlies boast one of the top special teams players in the country in punter Jeff Williams who leads the nation in punting with a 46.1 average on 47 punts. His long punt is 70 yards this year and 10 have been downed inside the 20 yard line.

LAST TIME vs. ADAMS STATE (11/6/2004)
The 8th-ranked Colorado School of Mines football team earned its first conference championship since 1958 with a 31-21 victory over Adams State in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference action at Rex Field. Senior quarterback and Harlon Hill Candidate Chad Friehauf capped one of the best regular seasons in Division II history as he went 30-of-40 for 282 yards and a touchdown and also ran 12 times for 53 yards and two touchdowns. His 335 yards of total offense for the game put him at 4,319 for the season, a Division II record. The old record was 4,301 yards set by Wilkie Perez of Glenville State (WV) in 1997. CSM took a 24-0 lead at the 6:51 mark of the second quarter and hung on for the win. make it 24-0. ASC cut its deficit to 24-14 with 1:28 to play in the third stanza when Scott Coxon hooked up with Gene Mejia from 4-yards out. But, the Orediggers extended their lead back to 17 points (31-14) on the final play of the third quarter when Friehauf hit Derek Lis for a 4-yard touchdown pass. Coxon added his third scoring pass of the game two minutes into the final quarter when he found Abdul-Aziz for a 40-yard touchdown to cut the lead back to 10 points (31-21). But that was as close as the Grizzlies would get. Craig Van Horn ran the ball 18 times for 49 yards and a score and also caught eight passes for 57 yards, while Jonny Chan led the squad with 83 receiving yards on four catches. Linebacker Austin Wagner posted a team-best 12 tackles. Coxon finished 16-of-34 for 174 yards, three touchdowns and three picks and also ran 10 times for 19 yards. Abdul-Aziz caught five balls for 71 yards and two scores. Jason Semore led the Grizzly defense with a game-best 13 tackles, while Adam McGurk registered 12, including a sack.

LAST TIME OUT (10/29/2005)
The Colorado School of Mines football team dropped a 21-14 decision at Mesa State in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference action Saturday afternoon at Stocker Stadium. Mesa State running back Bobby Coy scored on touchdown runs of 62 and 2 yards to give the Mavericks a 14-0 lead just five seconds into the second quarter. However, CSM junior running back Bryan Florendo found paydirt from 1-yard out with 8:40 to play in the first half to slice the lead to 14-7 at the half. MSC regained a 14 point lead (21-7) as Drew Bohannan caught a 25-yard scoring strike from Sean McGraw six minutes into the second half. CSM was able to cut the lead to 21-14 with 3:28 to play in the game when senior wideout Justin Gallas caught an 18-yard touchdown pass from junior quarterback Garrett Mehl. But the Mavericks took the ensuing kickoff and ran out the clock to improve to 5-5 overall and 4-3 in the RMAC. The loss puts CSM at 5-5 (5-2 RMAC). Mehl finished 19-of-30 for 205 yards, one touchdown and three picks and also ran 11 times for 109 yards. Gallas caught a career best 13 passes for 110 yards and a score, while Florendo ran 24 times for 94 yards and a touchdown. Senior linebacker Jared Heath led the defense, which allowed just 241 yards to Mesa State, with nine tackles. Coy finished with 129 yards and two scores on 23 carries, while McGraw was 9-of-13 for 91 yards and a score. Bohannan caught six balls for 69 yards and a touchdown, while Brandan Charles led the Maverick defense with a game high 10 tackles.

STITT IN OPENERS
CSM Head Coach Bob Stitt is 4-2 in season openers at CSM after a 28-17 loss to Washburn to open the 2005 season. CSM lost its first game under Stitt, 43-34, to MidAmerica Nazarene but rebounded to win four straight season openers before the loss to Washburn. In the last 19 openers, CSM is 15-4. In overall season openers, CSM is 57-54-5.

BACK IT UP
Last season, the CSM football team captured its first RMAC Championship since 1958. A second consecutive RMAC Championship in 2005 would give CSM back-to-back conference titles for the first time since 1906-07. CSM is currently tied for second place in the RMAC with Fort Lewis and Adams State at 5-2. Nebraska-Kearney holds a one game lead over all three teams at 6-1. CSM plays host to Adams State on Saturday, while Fort Lewis hosts New Mexico Highlands and Kearney hosts Mesa State.

PRESEASON RMAC POLL
CSM was picked second in the Preseason RMAC Poll with 17 points and three first place votes. Chadron State was voted first with 12 points and four first place votes, while Adams State received the other two first place votes and 25 points to finish third. Nebraska-Kearney was fourth with 30 points and was followed by Fort Hays (35), Mesa State (42), Fort Lewis (47), Western State (54) and New Mexico Highlands (62).

PRESEASON ALL-RMAC SELECTIONS
CSM had six players named to the Preseason All-RMAC Team. Senior Justin Gallas was named to the team as a wide receiver and punt return speacialist. Also earning honors were senior right guard Travis Yenne, junior linebacker Danny Sprague, senior linebacker Jared Heath, senior defensive end Mark Donnelly and senior cornerback Nick Gilbreath.

PRESEASON ALL-AMERICANS
The following CSM players received 2005 Preseason All-American honors

Justin Gallas Senior WR 6-1 185 Westminster, Colo.
Street and Smith’s First Team Lindy’s Second Team
CollegeSportsReport.com Fourth Team Don Hansen’s National Football Gazette

Travis Yenne Senior OL 6-4 290 Murietta, Calif.
Lindy’s Second Team Don Hansen’s National Football Gazette

Jared Heath Senior LB 6-0 220 Highlnds Ranch, CO
Don Hansen’s National Football Gazette

THE DRIVE FOR FIVE
With four straight winning seasons in the books, CSM will be going after its fifth straight winning season, a feat that has never been accomplished in program history. The squad needs to defeat Adams State on Saturday afternoon to finish at 6-5 and assure itself of another winning season.

RULE OF TWO
The number two has been pretty kind to CSM recently. In 27 of the last 34 games, including all 13 last season, CSM had at least one player find the end zone two times. The Orediggers are 23-11 during that span.

RMAC SMACK
CSM’s loss to Nebraska-Kearney on Oct. 8 snapped its RMAC winning streak at 13 straight games. The last time CSM lost an RMAC game prior to that was Nov. 1, 2003, a 48-18 setback at Mesa State.

ON THE ROAD
CSM’s 21-14 loss at Mesa State on Saturday was its first conference road loss in two years, a span of seven games. Mesa State also handed CSM its last RMAC road loss, 48-18, on Nov. 1, 2003.

IT WAS ALL REGULAR
CSM had won 13 straight regular season games dating to the 2003 season before the season opener loss to Washburn. The last time it lost a regular season game before that was Nov. 1, 2003, at Mesa State (48-18).

HOME SWEET HOME
Prior to the Aug. 27 loss to Washburn, CSM had won nine straight at home, six last season and three in 2003. From 2001 to present, CSM is 19-9 at Brooks Field, but only 2-3 in 2005.

TOPPING THE CENTURY MARK
CSM has had at least one wide receiver top the 100-yard plateau in 25 of the last 28 games. The only three times it did not happen was the 2004 regular season finale at Adams State when Jonny Chan led the team with 83 yards, the Sept. 24 win at Chadron State when Brent Chacon led the squad with 40 yards and the Oct. 22 win at N.M. Highlands when Michael Curl posted a team-best 91 yards.

THIS JUST IN
Senior wide receiver Justin Gallas, who was named a Harlon Hill Trophy Finalist earlier in the week, has proven he is among the best receivers in the RMAC and all of Division II. Through 10 games, he leads the team with 85 receptions, just 10 shy of tying his school record set last season, 1,094 yards and eight touchdowns. In his stellar career, Gallas has totaled a school-record 260 catches, a school-record 3,457 receiving yards and 23 touchdowns. His 260 career receptions are 11th all-time in Division II and second all-time in the RMAC (behind UNK Richie Ross’ 267), while his 3,457 receiving are fourth all-time in the RMAC and 155 yards shy of 18th all-time in Division II. Gallas has gone over 100 receiving yards 16 times in his career, including eight of the 10 games this year, and has at least 10 catches in five games this season, including a career high 13 in Saturday’s loss at Mesa State. He is averaging 247.3 all-purpose yards per game this season, which is tops in Division II. He also leads the nation in receptions per game (8.5 rpg) and is third in the country in kickoff returns (31.0 ypr).

MEHL ON THE MOVE
Junior Garrett Mehl made his first career start Sept. 3 at Northern Colorado and completed 37-of-54 passes for 395 yards and a touchdown. His 395 yards passing were the most by a CSM quarterback in his first career start. He followed that effort by accounting for 463 yards of total offense and six touchdowns in a 45-13 win over Western State on Sept. 10. He completed 23-of-33 passes for 349 yards and three scores and also ran 16 times for 114 yards and three more touchdowns.

FUNKY COLD MEDINA
Senior quarterback Danny Medina came into the Sept. 17 game against South Dakota in the fourth quarter and led CSM back from a 41-13 deficit to tie the game at 41-41 and send it into overtime. Medina completed 17-of-22 passes for 242 yards and two touchdowns, including a 27-yard “Hail Mary” touchdown pass to Justin Gallas on the final play of regulation. Since that time, Medina has gone 99-of-149 for 1,235 yards, eight touchdowns and just three picks in wins at Chadron State, Fort Hays State and New Mexico Highlands, at home against Fort Lewis and losses to Nebraska-Kearney at home and at Mesa State. He has thrown for more than 320 yards in three of the last six weeks.

MEDINA PART DEUX
Medina is also serving as the CSM punter this season and is averaging 37.6 yards per kick. Of his 31 punts, 12 have landed inside the opponent 20-yard line. In the Oct. 8 loss to Neb-Kearney, Medina punted five times for an average of 45.6 yards. His long was 51 yards and four of his kicks landed inside the UNK 20-yard line.

THE TRIFECTA
Medina and junior running back Bryan Florendo both came through with the trifecta in the Oct. 15 win over Fort Lewis as each threw for, ran for and caught a touchdown pass. It was the first time in program history a player had accomplished the feat. The feat was also accomlished the following day by San Diego Charger star running back LaDainian Tomlinson which marked the first time it happened in the NFL since 2001.

GO FLO
Junior running back Bryan Florendo has been solid as the No. 1 running back this season. He has 218 touches (rushing and receiving) for 1,331 yards and a team-best 16 touchdowns this year, including four scores in the Sept. 17 loss to South Dakota (three rush and one receiving). In the Sept. 24 win over Chadron State, Florendo ran 21 times for a career-best 171 yards and followed that up with 21 carries for 141 yards and three more touchdowns in the Oct. 1 win at Fort Hays State. He has three 100 yard rushing games, two 100 yard receiving games this year and has scored at least three touchdowns in four different games this year.

THE CURL ROUTE
Sophomore wide receiver Michael Curl is making his prescence felt on the field. The Blinn J.C. transfer has caught 31 passes for 506 yards and three touchdowns this season and his 16.3 yards per catch is tops on the team. In the Oct. 8 loss to Nebraska-Kearney, he caught five passes for 100 yards. It was his first 100-yard game at CSM. He had three catches for 91 yards, including a 68-yard TD in Saturday’s win at Highlands.

EXPERIENCE UP FRONT
The CSM offensive line is one of the most experienced groups this year. The line features four returning starters from last year’s group which allowed just 15 sacks in 13 games and none through the first three games. The group has given up 20 sacks this year. The four returnees include junior left tackle Zach Ballard, senior All-American right guard Travis Yenne, junior two-time All-RMAC honoree Nick Belden and sophomore right guard Stephen Immel. In addition, sophomore James Reeves has seen significant playing time on the right side due to injuries.

ON THE DEFENSIVE
The CSM defense returns nine starters from last season, along with senior cornerback Grant Newton, who was a two year starter before missing last season with an injury. In all, eight of the projected 11 starters on defense have earned All-RMAC honors, while three players have earned All-American accolades in Newton, senior cornerback Nick Gilbreath and senior linebacker Jared Heath at some point in their careers.

TURNING IT OVER
Last season, the CSM defense forced 32 turnovers in 13 games and had three or more turnovers six times. CSM forced a season-high six turnovers in its 52-33 win over Midwestern State in the first round of the NCAA II Playoffs. In 2005, the Oredigger defense has forced 16 turnovers and is minus-6 in turnover margin.

IT’S MILLER TIME
Junior free safety Tim Miller enjoyed a breakout season last year en route to First Team All-RMAC honors after leading the team with six interceptions, five of which came in the first four games. He is currently fourth on the team with 48 tackles.

TURN UP THE “HEAT”HER
Senior linebacker Jared Heath has begun the season just as expected as he earned RMAC Defensive Player of the Week honors following his 11 tackle performance in the season opening loss to Washburn on Aug. 27. In addition, he posted three tackles for loss, two sacks and recovered a fumble. In the Sept. 17 loss to South Dakota, Heath posted a school-record 20 tackles en route to RMAC Defensive Player of the Week honors. He currently leads the team with 92 tackles, eight tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks. During his tenure in Golden, Heath has amassed 379 tackles and 44.5 tackles for loss. Last year, he recorded 117 tackles and as a sophomore, Heath was in on a then school-record 114 stops. With his nine stops last week at Mesa State, Heath ran his season total to 101, his third straight 100 tackle season.

OH DANNY BOY
Junior linebacker Danny Sprague is once again being counted on to control the middle of the field. Sprague has been a regular for the CSM defense since making his first career start two seasons ago in a 37-7 win over Fort Lewis. In that game, Sprague posted eight tackles and two sacks en route to RMAC Defensive Player of the Week honors. Last year, he totaled 103 tackles, including 17 in a 40-39 win over Chadron State. In the Sept. 24 win against the Eagles, Sprague was in on a team-high 10 tackles. He is currently second on the squad with 74 tackles, including a season-high 15 in the Oct. 22 win at N.M. Highlands.

RING ‘EM UP
Senior defensive lineman Caleb Ring had one of his finer games in a 45-13 win over Western State. Ring posted three tackles, a half sack and also recovered a fumble. In the Oct. 1 win at Fort Hays, Ring was in on two tackles, both sacks. He has 15 tackles and three sacks this year.

MAR “IN” THE BACKFIELD
Sophomore defensive end Marin Richardson, last seasons RMAC Defensive Freshman of the Year, is having another solid season. He is ranked 45th in Division II in sacks per game (0.7 spg), leads the team with six sacks and is tied for the team lead with 8.5 tackles per loss.

READY, WILLING AND ABEL
Sophomore placekicker Aaron Abel is having a great year. In the Sept. 3 loss at Northern Colorado, Abel broke the CSM career record for extra points as he made all four PAT’s to raise his career total to 70 (now at 103) . Abel has nailed 41-of-42 extra point attempts and 13-of-17 field goals, including a career long 45-yarder in the win at Chadron State on Sept. 24. He also connected on the game-winning 24-yard field goal with three seconds left against Chadron State on Sept. 24. In the Oct. 1 win at FHSU, Abel nailed all four of his field goal attempts. Abel, who is second on the team with 80 points this year, is a perfect 3-of-3 on field goals between 40 and 49 yards.

WELCOME BACK
CSM will welcome back a pair of seniors after the duo missed last season due to injuries. Returning are senior cornerback Grant Newton and senior wide receiver Andrew Schmid. Newton, an All-American honoree in 2002 after leading the RMAC with eight interceptions, has notched 203 career tackles and 11 interceptions, which is four off tying the school-record. Schmid has hauled in 83 passes for 1,018 yards and 10 touchdowns in his career. As a sophomore, Schmid tied for the team lead with seven touchdown catches.

WORKIN’ OVERTIME
The 44-41 overtime loss to South Dakota on Sept. 17 was the first overtime game for CSM since a 52-45 overtime victory at Fort Hays State on Sept. 22, 2001, a span of 45 games.

EDGING THE EAGLES
The Sept. 24 win at Chadron State (27-26) in the last seconds was the second consecutive year that CSM defeated the Eagles in the final seconds. This year, CSM trailed 26-24 with a minute to play and drove 55 yards for Aaron Abel’s game-winning kick. Last year, CSM trailed 39-25 with just over six minutes to play and won it with 39 seconds left when Chad Friehauf scored on a QB keeper and then hit Derek Dykstra for a two-point conversion.

POINTS ON THE BOARD
CSM’s win on Saturday extended its streak of not being shutout to 63 straight games dating back to a 47-0 loss at Mesa State on Oct. 16, 1999. During Bob Stitt’s tenure as coach at CSM, the Orediggers have scored at least 30 points 39 times (out of 63 games).