2004 COLORADO SCHOOL OF MINES
FOOTBALL WEEKLY RELEASE #9

#16 Colorado School of Mines (8-0, 5-0 RMAC) vs. N.M. Highlands (3-5, 2-3 RMAC)
Saturday, October 23, 2004 - 1:00 pm
Brooks Field - Golden, Colorado
2004 Homecoming Game Sponsored by Sprint

Click HERE for a complete .PDF version of the notes

BOB STITT • DOANE (1986)
5th season as Mines Head Coach
30-21 Overall Record
18-19 RMAC Record
The 2004 season is Bob Stitt’s fifth as the head coach of the Colorado School of Mines football squad. He has Mines off to school record tying 8-0 start (5-0 RMAC) and has guided the team to a school-record 10 straight wins dating back to last season and wins in 12 of the last 13 games. Stitt has also guided the Orediggers to their fourth straight winning season, a feat that had not been accomplished at CSM since 1912-15. During his time at the helm, Stitt has led the Orediggers to an overall record of 30-21, including a 18-19 mark in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference. Stitt’s .588 winning percentage is the second-highest by a Mines football coach who has coached in at least 30 games and the highest for a modern day coach at CSM. In 2003, Stitt led Mines to a 6-5 mark, marking the third consecutive winning season by the program. It was the first time since 1913-15 that the Orediggers had posted three straight winning seasons. Stitt led the 2001 and 2002 teams to identical 7-4 marks and the seven wins in 2001 were the most by the program since 1958 and also the first winning season for Mines since 1991. The 2001-02 seasons also marked the first time since 1975-76 that Mines football produced back-to-back winning seasons. In addition, it marked the first time in the history of the program that CSM teams produced a combined 14 victories in consecutive seasons. During his tenure at Mines, Stitt has coached 36 All-Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference honorees. He has also developed nine All-Region players and two All-Americans, including Brian Sump, who was named the National Special Teams Player of the Year in 2001 and signed a free agent contract with the San Diego Chargers in April of 2003.

SERIES HISTORY: New Mexico Highlands leads the all-time series with Mines, 24-13-4, but the Orediggers have won the last three meetings, including last year’s 74-45 win in Las Vegas, NM.

LAST TIME vs. NMHU (10/25/03): The Colorado Mines football team piled up 721 yards of offense, including 421 passing yards and 300 rushing yards, in claiming a 75-40 victory at New Mexico Highlands. The 75 points scored by Mines were the fourth most in program history. Mines claimed a 28-7 lead at the end of the first quarter and cruised to the win. Chad Friehauf, Danny Medina and Garrett Mehl combined to complete 20-of-32 passes for 421 yards and six touchdowns, while Jonny Chan hauled in five balls for 123 yards and three touchdowns. The Mines defense, which produced five turnovers, was led by Jared Heath who was in on 11 tackles. NMHU was led by Nick Higgs who completed 23-of-38 passes for 328 yards and three scores and Justin Watson’s 10 tackles.

LAST CSM WIN: 75-45 in 2003
LAST NMHU WIN: 27-23 in 2000
LARGEST CSM WIN: 48-7 (41 points) in 1963
LARGEST NMHU WIN: 85-14 (71 points) in 1968

UP NEXT FOR MINES: CSM play its regular season home finale next Saturday, Oct. 30, against Mesa State at Brooks Field. Kickoff is slated for 1:00 pm.

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 Athletic Department’s 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 Mines’ athletic teams by emailing Sports Information Director Greg 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.

SILVER AND BLUE LUNCHEONS
Every Wednesday throughout the season, the Colorado School of 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.

PRESEASON ALL-AMERICAN
Junior cornerback Nick Gilbreath was named to the 2004 Don Hansen’s National Football Gazette Preseason All-American Team. A year ago, Gilbreath led the team with nine pass breakups and five interceptions en route to First Team All-RMAC, Second Team All-State and Second Team All-Region honors. Gilbreath, who picked off four passes in the first five games of the 2003 season, also totaled 49 tackles, including one for loss.

PRESEASON ALL-RMAC HONOREES
Nick Gilbreath, senior wide receiver Jonny Chan and junior punt returner Justin Gallas were all named to the 2004 All-Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) Preseason Team as voted on by the nine conference coaches. The trio was also named to the d2football.com Preseason All-Southwest Region Team.

MINES PICKED FIFTH IN RMAC POLL
CSM was picked to finish fifth out of nine teams in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Preseason Coaches Poll. Mesa State, the defending RMAC Champions, received six first place votes and 12 points to top the poll. Chadron State earned the other three first place votes and 13 total points to finish second in the voting. Nebraska-Kearney (23 points) was third and was followed by Fort Hays State (34), Colorado Mines (35), Adams State and Western State (44 points), Fort Lewis (57) and New Mexico Highlands (62).

NEW MEXICO HIGHLANDS HEAD COACH
The Cowboys are coached by second-year Head Coach John Fassel, a 1998 graduate of Weber State. Fassel, who is 3-16 in his one plus years at the helm, is the son of former New York Giant Head Coach and current Baltimore Raven assistant coach, Jim Fassel.

ABOUT NEW MEXICO HIGHLANDS
The Cowboys are 3-5 overall and 2-3 in the RMAC following a 17-10 win at Western State last weekend. Trailing 10-7 at halftime, NMHU scored 10 unanswered third quarter points and held the Mountaineers off the scoreboard to earn the win. Jonny Ruff ran for 150 yards to lead the offense, while Seth Morris scored the game-winning touchdown as he intercepted a pass and returned it four yards for a touchdown.

WHEN THE COWBOYS HAVE THE BALL
NMHU is led by Jonny Ruff who has run 120 times for 554 yards and three touchdowns. The quarterback duo of Monty Hoffman and Alton Tomlin have combined to complete 116-of-247 passes for 1,370 yards, 10 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. As a team, Highlands averages 18.1 points and 281.4 yards of offense per game.

AND WHEN THEY DON’T
NMHU gives up 32.1 points and 366.8 yards of offense per game. The defense is led by Nick Dominelli who has totaled 68 tackles, two sacks, two interceptions and five pass breakups. He was named the RMAC Defensive Player of the Week for his performance in Saturday’s 17-10 win at Western State in which he amassed 10 tackles, a forced fumble, a sack and an interception which he returned 38 yards and then lateraled to teammate Seth Morris who took it the remaining four yards for the winning touchdown late in the third quarter. Morris is second on the team with 51 tackles.

THE RANKINGS
Colorado School of Mines moved up in every national poll following its 37-17 win at Fort Lewis on Saturday. The Orediggers moved up one spot in the d2football.com poll to 13th and the American Football Coaches Association Poll to 15th, two slots in Don Hansen’s Football Gazette Top-40 to 16th and four spots in the CollegeSportsReport.com Polls to ninth.

IN THE REGION
Following is the fourth edition of the Southwest Regional Rankings with records and conference. The top six teams qualify for the postseason and the top two teams will earn byes in the first round The No. 3 and No. 4 seeds will host the opening round with the top two seeds hosting second round games.

1. Texas A&M Kingsville (6-0) - Lone Star
2. Northwest Missouri (8-0) - Mid-America Intercollegiate
3. Pittsburgh State (8-0) - Mid-America Intercollegiate
4. COLORADO SCHOOL OF MINES (8-0) - RMAC
5. Central Oklahoma (7-1) - Lone Star
6. Midwestern State (5-2) - Lone Star
7. Southeast Oklahoma (5-2) - Lone Star
8. East Central (5-2) - Lone Star

Pittsburgh State is the top-ranked team in all four national polls, while Texas A&M Kingsville and Northwest Missouri State come in at No. 2 and No. 3 in the national polls.

MINES LAST TIME OUT (10/16/04)
The 16th-ranked Colorado School of Mines football team won its 10th straight game and tied for the best start in school-history with a 37-17 victory at Fort Lewis Saturday afternoon. The victory moves Mines to 8-0 overall (5-0 RMAC) and ties them with the 1939 team for the best start in program history. With the game knotted at 10-10 at halftime, the Orediggers would outscore the Skyhawks, 20-7, in the third quarter and 27-7 in the second half to claim the win. Senior quarterback Chad Friehauf threw a 25-yard scoring pass to sophomore running back Bryan Florendo and a 15-yard TD pass to junior wide receiver Justin Gallas and also added a 7-yard scoring run in the fourth quarter. Senior wide receiver Jonny Chan also added a 13-yard run in the third quarter. Friehauf finished 33-of-50 for 375 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions and also added 42 rushing yards and another score. Gallas caught 12 passes for 166 yards and a touchdown, while Florendo ran for 58 yards and registered 63 yards receiving and accounted for two touchdowns. The Oredigger defense recorded four interceptions and three sacks on the afternoon and held the Fort Lewis offense to just 255 yards of offense. Junior cornerback Nick Gilbreath tallied two picks and had four pass breakups to go along with three tackles. Senior cornerback Brian Yureskes and sophomore safety Luke Salmans registered one interception each, while Salmans finished with a team-best seven tackles.

STITT IN OPENERS
CSM Head Coach Bob Stitt is now 4-1 in season openers at Mines after a 34-28 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 17 openers, CSM is 15-3. In overall season openers, CSM is 57-53-5.

THE DRIVE FOR FIVE BEGINS ... IN 2005
The win over Fort Hays State on Oct. 2 assured the Orediggers of finishing above .500 for the fourth straight season, a first since 1912-15. In 2005, the Orediggers will go after their fifth consecutive winning season, a feat that has never occured at CSM.

65 YEAR ANNIVERSARY
The Oredigger Football Program is celebrating the 65th Anniversary of arguably the greatest team in school-history. The 1939 team posted a perfect 8-0 record and outscored its opponents, 268-45, that season. Leading the way was running back Lloyd Madden who was college football’s leading scorer that year with 141 points and ended the season rushing for 1,316 yards on 92 carries (14.3 yards per carry) and scoring 23 touchdowns. That same year, he captured the Blanchard Trophy as Colorado’s Most Outstanding Athlete.

NINE IS FINE
Saturday’s win at Fort Lewis extended the Orediggers school-recordw winning streak to nine straight dating back to 2003. Dating back to last year, CSM has won 12 of its last 13 contests on the gridiron.

NINE WOULD BE FINE, PART II
As the season continues, the Orediggers could have their sights set on the number nine. Why? In addition to nine being the school-record for most consecutive wins, no team in CSM history has won more than eight games in a season. The 1939 team posted a perfect 8-0 mark, while the 1912 team went 8-1.

RECORD BREAKER
Senior quarterback Chad Friehauf keeps adding to the career records he has broken at Mines. He holds school records for pass attempts (969), completions (612), passing yards (8,038) and touchdowns (69).

“HAUF” THE HOOK
Senior quarterback Chad Friehauf has been on fire through the first eight weeks of the season and is seriously contending for the Harlon Hill Trophy, presented annually to the top player in Division II. He has completed 223-of-302 passes (73.8%) for 2,811 yards and 24 touchdowns. Friehauf, whose passing efficiency is 174.9, has thrown just five interceptions and had his streak of consecutive passes without an interception end at 180 against Fort Hays. Friehauf is ranked first in the nation in total offense (402.2 ypg), second in passing efficiency (174.9) and has the Mines passing game ranked first in the nation at 361.0 yards per game, second in total offense (539.3 ypg) and ninth in scoring (39.1 ppg) among Division II schools.

GREAT GAMES IN 2004
Senior quarterback Chad Friehauf has turned in some outstanding performances in 2004. He has turned in the fourth and seventh best single game total offensive yards performances this season against Western State (502 yds) and Chadron State (484 yds). He also holds the 14th best passing day of 415 yards against Western State and the 15th best against Chadron State (411 yds). In addition, Friehauf has completed 33 passes against Fort Hays State and Fort Lewis, good enough for the 11th best in Division II this year in a single game.

CHASING THE RECORD BOOK
With his 417 yards of total offense at Nebraska-Kearney, Friehauf moved into 31st place all-time in Division II with 8,579 career yards. He is also just 494 passing yards and 15 touchdowns from entering the top-15 all-time in both categories. If he keep his pace of 351.4 passing yards per game, Friehauf will finish the regular season with 3,865 yards, fourth best in a single season in Division II.

FRIEHAUF vs. WESTERN STATE
Senior quarterback Chad Friehauf will be sad not to see Western State on the schedule anymore. In three career games against the Mountaineers, he completed 67-of-101 (.663) passes for 1,135 yards, 10 touchdowns and one interception. He surpassed the 400 yard mark two times and CSM was 3-0 against the Mountaineers.

THE EAGLES HAVE FINALLY LANDED
CSM’s 40-39 victory over Chadron State on Sept. 25 was the Oredigger’s first over CSC since a 51-28 victory on Oct. 16, 1993, a span of 10 games. It was also just the second win over the Eagles in the last 17 meetings.

AND SO HAVE THE LOPERS
CSM’s 34-10 victory at Nebraska-Kearney on Oct. 9 was the team’s first win over Kearney since 1939. UNK had won the previous nine meetings between the schools.

RULE OF TWO
The number two has been pretty kind to Mines recently. In 16 of the last 19 games, Mines had at least one player find the end zone two times and CSM has posted a 14-5 record in those games.

TWO IS BETTER THAN ONE
How many coaches in the country would go for two points to win a game in the final minute at home? Not many, but one resides in Golden, Colo. CSM Head Coach Bob Stitt opted to go for two points after pulling to within 39-38 with 35 seconds left against Chadron State on Saturday. The gamble paid off as quarterback Chad Friehauf hit a wide open Derek Dykstra in the end zone for the win.

HOP ON THE “VAN”
In Pittsburgh, the Steelers have tended to ride Jerome “The Bus” Bettis in dire times. Here in Golden, the Oredigger football team can always turn to senior running back Craig Van Horn when a big play is needed or when the team needs to grind out yards. Case in point, the win over Missouri Rolla on Sept. 4 when Van Horn ran 20 times for a career-high 185 yards and a touchdown. In addition, Van Horn came through in a large way against Chadron State as he busted through the line and went 36 yards to the house on a fourth-and-one on the first play of the fourth quarter to cut the CSM deficit to 25-22. He also grinded out 123 yards and two touchdowns on 22 carries in a win over Fort Hays State on Oct. 2. His run of 71 yards against UMR was the longest by an Oredigger in more than 15 years and second best in the RMAC this season.

GO FLO GO
Van Horn’s backup, sophomore Bryan Florendo, is showing why the loss of the senior at the end of the season won’t be a tough pill to swallow. In Saturday’s win at Fort Lewis, Florendo stepped in for the injured Van Horn and ran 17 times for 58 yards and a touchdown and also caught six balls for 63 yards and another score. He has carried the ball 42 times this year, for 272 yards and has 33 catches for 344 yards and three scores. He has runs of 69, 18, 16 and 14 yards this season. He caught six passes for 101 yards, including a 54-yard touchdown in a Sept. 25 win over Chadron State.

THE CHAN CHAN MAN
Senior wide receiver Jonny Chan is now the all-time leading receiver in Mines history. He holds CSM career records in receptions (158), receiving yards (2,694) and receiving touchdowns (27). For the year, he has caught 48 passes for 768 yards and a team-best eight touchdowns. His 96.0 yards per game is second in the RMAC and 21st in Division II. Chan has four 100-yard receiving games and one 99-yard game this season. He has also caught a touchdown in six of the eight games this season.

JUST IN CASE
Junior wide receiver Justin Gallas has molded into an outstanding No. 2 receiver opposite senior Jonny Chan. Through seven games this season, Gallas leads the team in receptions (63) and yards (810) and is second in touchdowns (6). His 101.2 yards per game is best in the conference and 16th in Division II. He has four 100-yard receiving games this season, including a 12-catch, 166-yard, one touchdown performance in Saturday’s win at Fort Lewis. His 12 cathces were tied for sixth most in a single game in Division II this year.

S “LEDGE” HAMMER
Senior strong safety Daniel Leger, a three-time Honorable Mention All-RMAC selection, is on pace to become the first CSM player to record at least 100 tackles in four straight seasons. Leger posted a team-high 109 tackles as a freshman, set a school-record and led the conference with 110 stops as a sophomore and made 103 tackles a year ago. He leads the team with 78 stops this season, including 12 for losses. Leger was named the RMAC and d2football.com Defensive Player of the Week for his performance in a Oct. 9 win at Nebraska-Kearney. He led the team with 10 tackles, three for losses, a sack and two interceptions in the game.

THE “HEAT”HER
Junior linebacker Jared Heath made quite a name for himself last season as he led the team and finished second in the RMAC with 114 tackles. His efforts led him to Honorable Mention All-RMAC and Third Team All-Region accolades. His 10.4 tackles per game ranked 26th in Division II a year ago. He has been in on 67 tackles this year, third on the team, and eight for losses.

FOR ALL-PURPOSES
Last year, the Orediggers had three players who amassed more than 100 all-purpose yards per game. That includes rushing and receiving yards, as well as punt, kick and interception return yards. After eight weeks, the Orediggers appear to be on their way to the same feat as senior running back Criag Van Horn (160.7), senior wideout Jonny Chan (139.5) and junior wide receiver Justin Gallas (123.1) are above the century mark and rank third, fourth and sixth, respectively in the RMAC. Van Horn is also ranked 14th in Division II and Chan 32nd.

100/100 MEN
Last season, the Orediggers experienced a rare feat as wide receiver Jonny Chan and running back Craig VanHorn each went over the 100-yard mark in the same game on two occasions. This season, the duo of Van Horn and junior wide receiver Justin Gallas have each topped the 100-yard mark on two occasions, including the Oct. 2 win over Fort Hays State. In that game, Chan just missed the century mark with 99 receiving yards.

TOPPING THE CENTURY MARK
The Orediggers have had at least one wide receiver top the 100-yard plateau in each of the last 13 games. Jonny Chan has done it nine times, while Justin Gallas has been over 100 yards four times during that span.

EXPERIENCE UP FRONT
The Oredigger offensive line is one of the most experienced groups under Head Coach Bob Stitt. The line features senior Gary Metz and junior Travis Yenne at right tackle and left guard, respectively, while sophomores Nick Belden, an Honorable Mention All-RMAC pick last season, (center) and Zach Ballard (left tackle) and redshirt freshman Stephen Immel (right guard) are listed at No. 1 on the depth chart at their respective positions. Metz is a four-year starter and Yenne a three-year starter, while Belden started nine games last season and Ballard the final seven games. The five up front have allowed just seven sacks all season. Last season, the Orediggers had allowed nine sacks after three games.

OH DANNY BOY
Sophomore linebacker Danny Sprague has made quite a name for himself since making his first collegiate start in a 37-7 win over Fort Lewis on Oct. 18, 2003. In that game, the Wheat Ridge High School graduate racked up a team-high eight tackles, including two for loss, and two sacks en route to RMAC Defensive Player of the Week honors. In a 40-39 win over Chadron State on Sept. 25, he tied the school-record with 17 tackles, which is tied for 11th best in a Division II game this season. He is second on the team with 68 tackles this year.
PICK OFFS
Over the last four seasons, the Orediggers have featured a defensive back who has notched at least five interceptions. Sophomore free safety Tim Miller has kept the streak alive this year with five interceptions through seven games. Last year, cornerback Nick Gilbreath recorded five picks, in 2002, Grant Newton picked off an RMAC-leading eight passes, while Tolu Lasaki recorded seven picks in 2001.

IT’S MILLER TIME
Sophomore free safety Tim Miller seems to have a nose for the ball. In addition to his team-leading five picks, Miller has broken up eight passes, forced a team-leading three fumbles and recovered one fumble He is fourth on the team with 50 tackles and ranks fifth in Division II in interceptions (0.7 ipg) and ninth in forced fumbles (0.4 ffpg).

READY, WILLING AND ABEL
True freshman kicker Aaron Abel has been reliable after the first eight games as he has converted 36-of-41 extra point attempts. He is also 3-of-5 on field goal attempts, including a long of 30 yards.

BEND, BUT DON’T BREAK
The Oredigger defense has adopted the “Bend, but Don’t Break” philosophy so far this season. The group has come up with the big play when needed, as evidenced with two interceptions in the end zone against Missouri-Rolla and a third one to stop a drive deep in CSM territory. One week earlier in the season opener, the Orediggers stopped Washburn on a 4th and one play at midfield with 55 seconds to play that sealed the win. In a win over Chadron State on Sept. 25, the defense stopped Chadron State three times all afternoon. Late in the first half, CSM forced a fumble on its own 2-yard line, on the second last drive for the Eagles, Mines stopped them on a fourth and eight from the CSM 25-yard line and also the final drive of the game when sophomore free safety Tim Miller picked off a deep pass.

DEFENSE IN THE SECOND HALF
The CSM defense has been close to lights out in the second half, surrendering just 6.7 points over the final 30 minutes. If you take away the 21 points allowed in the second half to Chadron State, the total comes down to just 4.1 over the other seven games. Mines has held seven of its eight opponents to seven or fewer points in the second half and has posted two second half shutouts.

ZERO ON THE BOARD
The shutout of Western State on Sept. 11 was the first for the Oredigger defense since the 2002 season opener at Oklahoma Panhandle State on Aug. 31. CSM won that game, 14-0. Mines has not had two shutouts in the same season since 1958 when they blanked Omaha and Colorado State.

GOOD FINISHERS
The Orediggers have proved that they are good finishers this season as they have outscored their opposition, 163-54, in the final 30 minutes of play.

CAN’T PICK ON NICK
Colorado School of Mines junior cornerback Nick Gilbreath turned in his best game of the season Saturday at Fort Lewis. The Preseason All-American intercepted his first two passes of the season and broke up four passes en route to Don Hansen’s National Weekly Football Gazette Player of the Week Honors.

STREAKS
Several Orediggers will be looking to keep streaks alive this week. Senior quarterback Chad Friehauf has thrown a touchdown pass in 14 straight games and has a streak of six straight 300-yard passing games, while senior wide receiver Jonny Chan has caught at least one pass in 19 straight games, dating back to the 2002 season finale. Mines has also had a 100-yard receiver in 13 consecutive games.

PARTY CRASHERS
The Orediggers have played the roll of spoiler three times this season as they have crashed their opponents Homecoming Party. The first time was on Sept. 11 when CSM blanked Western State, 58-0. On Oct. 9, the Orediggers spoiled Nebraska-Kearney’s Homecoming with a 34-10 victory and on Saturday, CSM ruined Fort Lewis’ Homecoming with a 37-17 win. This Saturday, the Orediggers will try to make it 4-for-4 in Homecoming Games when they host New Mexico Highlands in the 2004 Colorado School of Mines Homecoming Game Sponsored by Sprint.

HOMECOMING GAME TO BE TELEVISED LIVE
The Colorado School of Mines 2004 Homecoming Football Game Sponsored by Sprint against New Mexico Highlands on Oct. 23 will be televised live by Altitude Sports. Kickoff is slated for 1:30 pm at Brooks Field. Mike Haynes (play-by-play) and Alfred Williams (color) will have the call of the game, while Brandon Cruz will provide analysis from the sidelines. Altitude Sports can be seen on Channel 410 on the Dish Network, but the station is not carried on Comcast.