2005 COLORADO SCHOOL OF MINES
FOOTBALL WEEKLY RELEASE #3

Colorado School of Mines vs. Western State
Saturday, September 10, 2005 - 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 Western State have met on the gridiron 79 times with the Mountaineers holding a 46-30-3 advantage in the all-time series dating back to 1925. CSM has defeated Western State in each of the past three seasons. The combined score in those three games is 143-58.

THE HEAD COACHES
Bob Stitt is in his sixth season as the head coach at CSM and claims a 34-24 (.596) overall record. Stitt’s .596 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 3-2 all-time vs. WSC.

Western State is led by fifth-year Head Coach Jeff Zenisek. He claims an overall mark of 20-26 at WSC, including 1-3 against the Orediggers

ALL-TIME RECORD
CSM claims a 358-504-30 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 64-85-3 all-time against the seven schools it has played that begin with the letter “W”. Prior to the season opener, a 28-17 loss to Washburn, the Orediggers had won their last seven games against schools that begin with the letter “W”. Over those seven games, CSM outscored its opponents, 324-133.

RMAC OPENERS
Saturday’s game will be the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference opener for both teams. CSM claims a 1-11-1 record in 13 all-time RMAC openers since 1992. Last year’s 58-0 win at Western State was the first time CSM has won its RMAC opener in school history.

UP NEXT FOR CSM
CSM will return to action on Sept. 17 when it hosts South Dakota at 1:00 pm at Brooks Field. It will be the final nonconference game of the season for the Orediggers.

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 WESTERN STATE
Western State enters the week with an overall record of 0-2. The Mountaineers lost their season opener two weeks ago, 26-7, to Angelo State, before falling at Division I-AA Weber State, 61-0, on Saturday.

WHEN THE MOUNTAINEERS HAVE THE BALL
Western State is led on offense by quarterback Daniel Brethauer who has completed 38-of-74 passes for 414 yards, one touchdown and three interceptions. JR Finley has caught eight balls for 110 yards, while Chris Clark has six receptions for 83 yards and Western State’s lone touchdown. Avionne James leads the ground game with 27 carries for 100 yards. The Mountaineers are averaging 276.5 yards of offense and 3.5 points per game.

AND WHEN THEY DON’T
The Western State defense is allowing 392.0 yards and 43.5 points per game early this season. Adrian Trujillo leads the squad with 15 tackles and one fumble recovery, while Brad Koschel has tallied 13 tackels and a team-best three pass breakups. Garrett Wright has the lone sack for WSC.

LAST TIME vs. WSC (9/11/04)
Colorado School of Mines quarterback Chad Friehauf went 26-of-33 for 415 yards and three touchdowns as the CSM offense gained 686 yards and the Oredigger defense posted its first shutout since the 2002 season opener in a 58-0 victory at Western State’s Mountaineer Bowl. Running back Craig Van Horn opened the scoring with a 1-yard run five minutes into the game. Friehauf added a 6-yard scamper and a 52-yard pass to wide receiver Derek Lis in the second quarter to extend the Oredigger lead to 23-0 at halftime and never looked back. Jonny Chan caught seven balls for 118 yards, while Justin Gallas caught seven passes for 71 yards and a score. Strong safety Daniel Leger notched 11 tackles, including three for losses, a forced fumble and a sack to lead the CSM defense. Linebacker Jared Heath tied Leger for team-honors with 11 tackles, as the Oredigger defense produced four sacks and two turnovers.

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 Saturday’s 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.

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 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, 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 22 of the last 26 games, including all 13 last season, CSM had at least one player find the end zone two times. The Orediggers are 18-8 during that span.

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, the Orediggers had won nine straight games at home, six last season and three in 2003. From 2001 to present, CSM is 17-6 at Brooks Field.

TOPPING THE CENTURY MARK
CSM has had at least one wide receiver top the 100-yard plateau in 19 of the last 20 games. The only time it did not happen was the 2004 regular season finale at Adams State 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 set one CSM career record in Saturday’s loss at Northern Colorado and is closing in on several CSM other career records. Gallas’ 11 receptions against the Bears gave him 198 for his career and broke the old mark of 197 catches set by Jonny Chan (2000-04). Gallas also needs just 664 receiving yards and 15 touchdowns to break CSM career records in those categories. Through two games, he has 23 catches for 276 yards and a score. He has gone over 100 receiving yards 10 times in his career, including four straight games overall. Gallas is averaging 290.5 all-purpose yards per game this season.

MEHL ON THE MOVE
Junior Garrett Mehl is now the No. 1 quarterback for CSM. In his first career start Saturday at Northern Colorado, Mehl completed 37-of-54 passes for 395 yards and a touchdown. His 395 yards passing was the most by a CSM quarterback in his first career start.

GO FLO
Junior running back Bryan Florendo is now 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 40 touches (rushing and receiving) for 212 yards and two touchdowns.

“H” IS FOR HUCK
Redshirt freshman Corey Huck will remain the starting H-Back for Saturday’s game. In his first two collegiate games, Huck has run two times for 23 yards (11.5 ypc) and also caught nine balls for 56 yards and a touchdown.

THE CURL ROUTE
Sophomore wide receiver Michael Curl made his prescence felt in Saturday’s loss at Northern Colorado. The Blinn J.C. transfer hauled in 2 passes for 37 yards, including a 15-yard touchdown. He is averaging 16.3 yards per catch (3 catches) this season.

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. However, in 2005, the Oredigger defense has forced just four turnovers in the first two games.

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. Miller picked off his first pass of the season in Saturday’s loss at Northern Colorado and returned in 33 yards.

TURN UP THE “HEAT”HER
Senior linebacker Jared Heath began the season just as expected as he earned RMAC Defensive Player of the Week honors following his 11 tackle performance in a loss to Washburn on Aug. 27. In addition, he posted three tackles for loss, two sacks and recovered a fumble. During his tenure in Golden, Heath has amassed 308 tackles and 41 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 picked off his 10th career pass in a loss to Washburn on Aug. 27. He is five short of tying the school-record of 15 set by Tolu Lasaki from 1998-2001.

READY, WILLING AND ABEL
Sophomore placekicker Aaron Abel is off to a great start in 2005. In Saturday’s 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. Abel is perfect on kicks this year as he has nailed all six of his extra point attempts and two field goals, including a career long 38-yard field goal right before the end of the first half against Washburn.

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 171 career tackles and nine interceptions. Schmid has hauled in 66 passes for 866 yards and nine touchdowns in his career. As a sophomore, Schmid tied for the team lead with seven touchdown catches.

“MAR” IN THE BACKFIELD
Sophomore defensive end Marin Richardson, the RMAC Freshman Defensive Player of the Year last season, has made a smooth transition from defensive tackle to defensive end this season. Through the first two games, Richardson has posted nine tackles, including two for losses.

FIRST QUARTER WOES
Through the first two games, CSM can point to the first quarter as one of the main downfalls to a pair of losses. In the losses, the Orediggers have been outscored, 31-3, in the first 15 minutes of the game. After that, CSM has been outscored 14-10 in the second quarter and 21-14 in the final 15 minutes, while outscoring its opposition, 21-14, in the third stanza.