2004 COLORADO SCHOOL OF MINES
FOOTBALL WEEKLY RELEASE #7

Colorado School of Mines (6-0, 3-0 RMAC) at Nebraska-Kearney (3-3, 2-1 RMAC)
Saturday, October 9, 2004 - 1:00 pm
Foster Field - Kearney, Nebraska

Click HERE for a complete .PDF version of the notes

BOB STITT • DOANE (1986)
5th season as Mines Head Coach
28-21 Overall Record
16-19 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 its best start since 1939 at 6-0 overall (3-0 RMAC) and has guided the team to a school-record tying eight straight wins dating back to last season and wins in 10 of the last 11 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 28-21, including a 16-19 mark in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference. Stitt’s .563 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: Nebraska-Kearney leads the all-time series with Mines, 13-2, including victories in the last nine meetings. UNK won last year’s game, 42-21, in Golden.

LAST TIME vs. KEARNEY (10/4/03): Nebraska-Kearney’s Mike Miller carried the ball 37 times for 222 yards and a score and the Lopers racked up 618 yards of offense and 33 first downs in claiming a 42-21 victory over Colorado Mines at Brooks Field. UNK took a 28-0 lead with 12:53 to play in the third quarter, but Mines kept fighting and cut its deficit to 28-13 with 7:14 to play in the third quarter. Chad Friehauf began the rally with an 11 yard scoring run, while Craig Van Horn scampered 26 yards to cut the deficit to 28-13 with 7:14 left in the third quarter. But the Lopers used a 44 yard field goal from Jessup Pfeifer with 2:39 to play in the third quarter and a four yard touchdown run by Steve Bremmer with 13:45 to play in the game to regain a 26 point advantage (39-13). Friehauf finished 16-of-36 for 206 yards and also ran for 61 yards and two scores on 10 carries and Van Horn toted the ball 21 times for 132 yards. Pat Korth aided Miller’s offensive performance by going 22-of-27 for 283 yards and two scores. The Loper defense was led by Ryan Krueger who totaled 10 tackles and a half sack.

LAST CSM WIN: 32-0 in 1939
LAST UNK WIN: 42-21 in 2003
LARGEST CSM WIN: 32-0 (32 points) in 1939
LARGEST FHSU WIN: 70-0 (70 points) in 1999

UP NEXT FOR MINES: CSM will travel to Fort Lewis for a 1:00 pm kickoff next Saturday.

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 each), Fort Lewis (57) and New Mexico Highlands (62).

NEBRASKA-KEARNEY HEAD COACH
The Lopers are coached by fifth-year Head Coach Darrell Morris, a 1983 graduate of Northwest Missouri State. He claims a 32-15 mark during his time at UNK.

ABOUT NEBRASKA-KEARNEY
The Lopers are 3-3 overall and 2-1 in the RMAC following a 34-13 loss at Adams State on Saturday. The Grizzlies led 20-13 with just over two minutes in the third quarter and UNK driving, but Branden Smith intercepted a pass and returned in 42 yards for a touchdown to push the ASC lead to 27-13. Mike Miller ran for 74 yards on 18 carries, while Richie Ross, the Preseason RMAC Player of the Year, and Garth Mins recorded 88 receiving yards each. Ryan Bowers led the defense with nine tackles, including three for losses and 1.5 sacks.

WHEN THE LOPERS HAVE THE BALL
UNK is led by Richie Ross, who has caught 37 passes for 544 yards and seven touchdowns and Mike Miller who has run for 457 yards and two touchdowns on 116 carries. The Lopers have three quarterbacks who have thrown at least 25 passes and three touchdowns this season. Eric Parry leads the team with 112 attempts and 799 yards, while Casey Samuelson has a team-best four scores. As a team, Kearney averages 350 yards of offense and 24.3 points per game.

AND WHEN THEY DON’T
Kearney gives up just 287.8 yards of offense and 22.7 points per game. However, if you throw out the 62 points Nebraska-Omaha put on the board in the season opener, the Loper defense has allowed just 14.8 points in five games since. Yly Rock leads the team with 33 tackles, while Jared Goodwin has posted 32 tackles, seven tackles for loss and is tied with two others for the team lead with two picks.

THE RANKINGS
Colorado School of Mines moved up in several national polls following its 35-21 victory over Fort Hays State on Saturday. The Orediggers moved up four spots in the d2football.com poll to 15th and five spots in the American Football Coaches Association Poll to 19th, in Don Hansen’s Football Gazette Top-40 to 21st and the CollegeSportsReport.com Polls to 19th.

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

MINES LAST TIME OUT (9/25/04)
The Colorado School of Mines football team tied a school-record with its eighth straight win, dating back to last season, won its 10th of 11 overall and moved to 6-0 overall and 3-0 in the conference with a 35-21 victory over Fort Hays State in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference action Saturday afternoon at Brooks Field. With the game tied at 14-14 at halftime, the Orediggers scored the first two touchdowns of the second half to claim a 28-14 lead with 5:39 to go in the third quarter. Senior running back Craig Van Horn opened the second half with a 15-yard scamper less than two minutes into the quarter and senior quarterback Chad Friehauf found sophomore wide receiver Derek Dykstra from 1-yard out with 5:39 to go in the quarter. FHSU sliced the lead to 28-21 on a 4-yard scoring run from John Montgomery, his second of the day, but the Orediggers regained a 14 point cushion when Van Horn found paydirt for the third time on the afternoon on a 9-yard toss from Friehauf. Friehauf finished the game 33-of-43 for 394 yards and three touchdowns. He threw an interception on his 40th pass of the game, ending his streak of consecutive passes without an interception at 180 straight. Van Horn toted the ball 22 times for 123 yards and two scores and also caught four balls for 62 yards and a touchdown. Junior wide receiver Justin Gallas caught eight balls for 127 yards, while senior wideout Jonny Chan hauled in eight balls for 99 yards and a touchdown. In the process, Chan broke CSM career records for receptions, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns. Sophomore free safety Tim Miller led four Mines defensive players in double digit tackles with 13. Senior strong safety Daniel Leger added 12, including a sack, while junior linebacker Jared Heath added 11 and junior cornerback Nick Gilbreath 10.

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
Saturday’s win over Fort Hays State 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 not 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 also 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 WOULD BE FINE
Saturday’s win over Fort Hays State was the Orediggers eighth straight dating back to 2003, which tied the school-record for most consecutive wins set by the 1939 team (8-0). The 1938 team lost its season finale, while the 1940 team lost its season opener. A win over Nebraska-Kearney on Saturday would give Mines a school-record ninth consecutive win.

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.

ON A ROLL
After winning four of its last five games to end the 2003 season, the Orediggers have opened with six straight wins in 2004 for wins in 10 of their last 11 games.

RECORD BREAKER
Senior quarterback Chad Friehauf keeps adding to the career records he has broken at Mines. He holds school records for pass attempts (881), completions (551), passing yards (7,343) and touchdowns (63).

“HAUF” THE HOOK
Senior quarterback Chad Friehauf has been on fire through the first six weeks of the season and is on his way to seriously contending for the Harlon Hill Trophy, presented annually to the top player in Division II. He has completed 162-of-214 passes (75.7%) for 2,116 yards and 18 touchdowns. Friehauf, whose efficiency is 184.7, has thrown just two 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 (400.3 ypg), second in passing efficiency (184.6) and has the Mines passing game ranked first in the nation at 365.3 yards per game, second in total offense (548.8 ypg) and 10th in scoring (40.3 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 10th best passing day of 415 yards against Western State and the 11th best against Chadron State (411 yds). In addition, Friehauf has completed 33 passes against Fort Hays State and 31 against Washburn, good enough for eighth and 10th best in Division II this year in a single game.

CHASING THE RECORD BOOK
If Friehauf keeps his current pace of 352.7 passing yards per game, he will finish the 11 game regular season with 3,879 yards, fourth best in the history of Division II. The all-time record is 4,189 yards held by Wilkie Perez of Glenville State in 1997.

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 the Orediggers were 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.

RULE OF TWO
The number two has been pretty kind to Mines recently. In 14 of the last 17 games, Mines had at least one player find the end zone two times and CSM has posted a 12-5 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. In addition, he grinded out 123 yards and two touchdowns on 22 carries in Saturday’s win over Fort Hays State. His run of 71 yards against UMR was the longest by an Oredigger in more than 15 years.

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. He has carried the ball just 19 times this year, but has gained 169 yards for an RMAC leading 8.9 yards per carry. He has runs of 69, 18, 16 and 14 yards this season. In addition, Florendo has caught 22 passes for 240 yards and a touchdown. 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 after his six catch for 99 yards and a touchdown in Saturday’s win over Fort Hays. He now holds CSM career records in receptions (151), receiving yards (2,534) and receiving touchdowns (25). For the year, he has caught 41 passes for 608 yards and a team-best six touchdowns. His 101.3 yards per game is ranked second in the RMAC and 16th in the nation.

JUST IN CASE
Junior wide receiver Justin Gallas has molded into an outstanding No. 2 receiver opposite senior Jonny Chan. Through six games this season, Gallas leads the team in receptions (46), yards (615) and has five touchdowns. His 102.5 yards per game is tops in the conference and 14th in Division II. He has three 100 yard receiving games this season.

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 62 stops this season, including nine for losses.

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 56 tackles this year, second on the team.

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 six weeks, the Orediggers appear to be on their way to the same feat as senior running back Criag Van Horn (170.0), senior wideout Jonny Chan (149.5) and junior wide receiver Justin Gallas (128.7) are above the century mark and rank third, fourth and fifth, respectively in the RMAC. Van Horn is also ranked 12th in Division II and Chan 25th.

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 Saturday’s win over Fort Hays State. In that game, Chan just missed the century mark with 99 receiving yards.

100/100 MEN PART II
Senior wide receiver Jonny Chan and junior wideout Justin Gallas are currently the only two receivers in the RMAC averaging more than 100 yards per game. Gallas tops the conference with 102.5 yards per game and Chan is right behind at 101.3 ypg.

EXPERIENCE UP FRONT
The Oredigger offensive line comes into the season as 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 four sacks all season. Last season, the Orediggers allowed for or more sacks in five 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 seventh best in a Division II game this season. He is third on the team with 55 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 in six games. Last year, cornerback Nick Gilbreath kept the streak alive with five picks. In 2002, Grant Newton picked off an RMAC-leading eight passes, while Tolu Lasaki recorded seven picks in 2001.

IT’S MILLE R 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 three fumbles and recovered one fumble He is fourth on the team with 49 tackles and ranks fourth in Division II in interceptions (0.8 ipg) and ninth in forced fumbles (0.5 ffpg).

READY, WILLING AND ABEL
True freshman kicker Aaron Abel has been reliable after the first six games as he has converted 28-of-31 extra point attempts. Abel is also 2-of-3 on field goal attempts, including a long of 29 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, 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.

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 that year.

GOOD FINISHERS
The Orediggers have proved that they are good finishers this season. Through six games, Mines has outscored its opposition, 73-27, in the final 60 minutes of play. The defense also seems to play its best coming out of the locker room as it has allowed just 27 second half points this year. The defense has allowed seven or fewer points to five of the six teams in the second half this year.

STREAKS
Several Orediggers will be looking to keep streaks alive this week. Senior quarterback Chad Friehauf has thrown a touchdown pass in 12 straight games, while senior wide receiver Jonny Chan has caught at least one pass in 17 straight games, dating back to the 2002 season finale. Mines has also had a 100-yard receiver in 11 consecutive games.

OREDIGGER OFFENSE ROLLING
The Oredigger offense is rolling after six games and is ranked first or second in several categories in the RMAC. Following is a list of where CSM ranks in the RMAC after six weeks.

CATEGORY RANK TOTAL
Scoring Offense 1st 40.3 ppg
Pass Offense 1st 365.3 ypg
Total Offense 1st 551.2 ypg
First Downs 1st 161
Sacks Against 1st 4
Pass Efficiency 1st 179.6
3rd down conversions 1st 41-71 (.580)
Red Zone Offense 2nd 23-27 (.852)
Rush Offense 2nd 183.5 ypg
Punt Returns 3rd 15.0 ypr

BUT DON’T FORGET THE DEFENSE
As much success as the Oredigger offense is having, the same can be said of the CSM defense. After finishing in the lower part of the conference the last few seasons, the defense is one of the best in the RMAC. Following is a list of where CSM ranks in the RMAC after four weeks.

CATEGORY RANK TOTAL
Red Zone Defense 1st 11-17 (.647)
Turnover Margin T-1st +6
Scoring Defense 2nd 18.7 ppg
Total Defense 3rd 388.7 ypg