2005 COLORADO SCHOOL OF MINES
FOOTBALL WEEKLY RELEASE #1

Colorado School of Mines vs. Washburn
Saturday, August 27, 2004 - 1:00 pm
Brooks Field - Golden, Colo.

Click HERE for a complete .PDF version of the notes

ABOUT THE SERIES
Colorado School of Mines and Washburn have met on the gridiron 12 times with the Ichabods holding an 8-4 advantage in the all-time series dating back to 1953. The two teams played every year from 1953-1959 and again from 1961-1964 before resuming the series last year when the Orediggers defeated Washburn, 34-27, in the season opener for both teams in Topeka, Kan.

THE HEAD COACHES
Bob Stitt is in his sixth season as the head coach at CSM and claims a 34-22 (.608) overall record. Stitt’s .607 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 34 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 1-0 all-time vs. Washburn.

Washburn is led by fourth-year Head Coach Craig Schurig, who played his collegiate football at Colorado School of Mines. He was a four-year letterman as a defensive back for the Orediggers and was selected team captain as a senior when he garnered Second Team All-Conference accolades. Schurig earned a bachelor’s degree in petroleum engineering in 1987. He claims an overall mark of 16-18 at Washburn. Schurig is 0-1 all-time against CSM.

ALL-TIME RECORD
CSM claims a 358-502-30 all-time record since its first collegiate football game in 1888, a 6-4 win over Denver University.

CSM vs. THE “W’s”
CSM is 64-84-3 all-time against the seven schools it has played that begin with the letter “W”. The Orediggers have won their last seven games against schools that begin with the letter “W”. Over those seven games, CSM has outscored its opponents, 324-133. The last loss was Nov. 3, 2001, 40-17, at home to Western State.

UP NEXT FOR CSM
CSM will return to action on Sept. 3 when it travels to Northern Colorado for a 3:00 pm kickoff. It will be the first meeting between the two teams since 1975 and the game will be broadcast live on Altitude Sports.

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.

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 WASHBURN
The Ichabods finished the 2004 season with an overall record of 8-4 and placed third in the MIAA with a 6-3 mark. Their third place finish qualified them for the Mineral Water Bowl, a game in which they defeated Northern State, 36-33, on Dec. 4.

WHEN THE ICHABODS HAVE THE BALL
Washburn returns a lot of talent on the offensive side of the ball, including a pair of 1,000-yard rushers. Sophomore Ra’Shawn Mosley posted 1,084 yards last season, while junior Trent Hearn, who was a 1,000-yard rusher in 2003, is also back. Also returning is top receiver Sam Sissom who last season caught 65 passes for 1,109 yards and 15 scores. Sophomore Jordan Brill is the new WU signal caller and saw action in seven games last season completing 45-of-80 passes for 542 yards and five TD’s. Washburn’s offense gained 424.9 yards of offense per game a season ago.

AND WHEN THEY DON’T
Senior linebacker Grant Gould returns to lead Washburn’s defense. Last year, he led the squad with 127 tackles, two interceptions and one sack. Also back is junior cornerback Terrell Fletcher who notched 61 tackles and a team-best five interceptions last season. The Ichabod defense surrendered 429.7 yards of offense per game last year.

COLORADO CONNECTION
Washburn has just one player on its roster from the State of Colorado in sophomore offensive lineman Jeff Rickard. He is a native of Westminster, Colo., and graduated from Standley Lake. In addition, WU Offensive Coordinator Brian Miller is a native of Golden, Colo.

LAST TIME vs. WASHBURN (8/26/04)
Colorado School of Mines quarterback Chad Friehauf threw for three touchdowns and ran for two more scores to lead his squad to a 34-27 victory at Washburn’s Moore Field at Yager Bowl in nonconference action. Friehauf finished the game 31-of-42 for 267 yards and three touchdowns and also ran eight times for 29 yards and a pair of scores. After neither team scored in the third, Washburn tied the game (27-27) on a 64 yard pass from Tyler Schuerman to Sam Sissom. However, Friehauf found Jonny Chan in the end zone from 10 yards out with 4:55 left in the game and that score proved to be the difference. Justin Gallas finished with 11 catches for 110 yards and a score, while Tim Miller led the CSM defense with 11 tackles, one forced fumble, a fumble recovery, two interceptions and a pass breakup. Schuerman went 14-of-23 for 178 yards and two scores, while Sissom caught three balls, all touchdowns, for 113 yards.

STITT IN OPENERS
CSM Head Coach Bob Stitt is 4-1 in season openers at CSM after a 34-27 win at Washburn to open the 2004 season. CSM lost its first game under Stitt, 43-34, to MidAmerica Nazarene but has rebounded to win its last four season openers. In the last 18 openers, CSM is 15-3. In overall season openers, CSM is 57-53-5.

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.

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 NATIONAL RANKINGS
CSM received a preseason national ranking from three different publications. The Orediggers are ranked 14th in Lindy’s College Football Preview, 16th by Street and Smith’s and 16th by d2football.com. Don Hansen’s National Football Gazette, the American Football Coaches Association and dopke.com have not yet released their preseason polls.

PRESEASON ALL-AMERICANS
The following CSM players received 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, Colo.
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.

RULE OF TWO
The number two has been pretty kind to CSM recently. In 21 of the last 24 games, including all 13 last season, CSM had at least one player find the end zone two times. The Orediggers are 18-6 record in those games.

IT’S ALL REGULAR
CSM has won 13 straight regular season games dating to the 2003 season. The last time it lost a regular season game was Nov. 1, 2003, at Mesa State (48-18).

TOPPING THE CENTURY MARK
CSM has had at least one wide receiver top the 100-yard plateau in 17 of the last 18 games. The only time it did not happen was the 2004 regular season finale when Jonny Chan led the team with 83 yards.

THIS JUST IN
Senior wide receiver Justin Gallas returns as one of the top players in all of Division II. The All-American is closing in on several CSM career records as he needs just 22 catches, 940 receiving yards and 16 touchdowns to break CSM career records in those categories. In 2004, Gallas caught a school-record 95 passes for 1,352 yards and 10 touchdowns. His receiving yards total would have been a school-record, but Jonny Chan tallied 1,376 receiving yards last season.

FUNKY COLD MEDINA
Senior Danny Medina has held onto the No. 1 quarterback position through camp. He enters the season opener having completed 69-of-116 (.595) passes for 674 yards, five touchdowns and four interceptions in 18 career games. Medina has also run 62 times for 204 yards and two scores.

MEHL ON THE MOVE
Junior Garrett Mehl, the backup quarterback, is prone to big plays. Last season, he saw limited action, but always seemed to be making a big play as he completed 1-of-2 passes for seven yards and a touchdown and also ran six times for 86 yards and three scores. His TD runs were from 27, 48 and four yards out.

GO FLO
Junior running back Bryan Florendo is poised to step in and take the reigns as CSM’s No. 1 running back after Craig Van Horn held down the position for the last three years. Florendo, who earned All-RMAC honors as a tight end last season, has run 63 times for 363 yards and two scores in two years. He also has 93 catches for 791 yards and six touchdowns.

EXPERIENCE UP FRONT
The Oredigger offensive line is one of the most experienced groups under Head Coach Bob Stitt. 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 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.

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.

PICK OFFS
In each of the last four seasons, a CSM defensive back has recorded at least five interceptions. Three of the players who accomplished the feat return this year. Junior free safety Tim Miller posted six last season, while senior cornerback Nick Gilbreath tallied five in 2003 and senior cornerback Grant Newton notched eight in 2002.

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 cam in the first four games. He also finished with 72 tackles, three forced fumbles and three pass breakups.

TURN UP THE “HEAT”HER
Senior linebacker Jared Heath should once again post solid numbers. During his three years in Golden, Heath has amassed 286 tackles and 36 tackles for loss. Last year, he recorded 117 tackles and as a sophomore, Heath was in on a then school-record 114 stops.

OH DANNY BOY
Junior linebacker Danny Sprague will once again be 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, one short of tying the school-record.

AUSTIN WAGNER; LINEBACKER WHO TACKLES
Junior linebacker Austin Wagner made quite a name for himself in the final games of the 2004 regular season. In the second to last regular season game against Mesa State, he posted 13 tackles and then came back to lead the squad with 12 tackles, including two for losses, in a 31-21 win at Adams State in the regular season finale that helped CSM clinch its first RMAC title since 1958.

CAN’T PICK ON NICK
Senior cornerback Nick Gilbreath is back for his third year as a starting cornerback. The All-RMAC, All-Region and All-American selection has notched nine career interceptions, including a team-best five in 2003.

READY, WILLING AND ABEL
Sophomore placekicker Aaron Abel returns after earning Second Team All-RMAC accolades a year ago. As a true freshman, Abel finished third on the team with 79 points as he connected on 64-of-69 extra points and 5-of-8 field goals, including a long of 37 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 is 2002 after leading the RMAC with eight interceptions, has notched 164 career tackles and nine interceptions. Schmid has hauled in 64 passes for 849 yards and nine touchdowns in his career. As a sophomore, Schmid tied for the team lead with seven touchdown catches.