2004 COLORADO SCHOOL OF MINES
FOOTBALL WEEKLY RELEASE #1

Colorado School of Mines at Washburn
Saturday, August 28, 2004 - 1:00 pm
Yager Stadium and Moore Bowl - Topeka, Kansas

Click HERE for a complete .PDF version of the notes

SERIES HISTORY: Washburn leads the all-time series with CSM, 8-3, with Mines winning two of the last three games played between the two teams. The series began with a 13-0 Washburn win in 1953 and continued for the next 11 years with the Ichabods claiming a 16-0 win the last time the two teams met in 1964.

LAST TIME vs. WASHBURN (10/3/64): Washburn broke a two-game losing streak to the Orediggers with a 16-0 win at Brooks Field in Golden, Colo.

LAST CSM WIN: 22-13 on Oct. 5, 1963
LAST WU WIN: 16-0 on Oct. 3, 1964
LARGEST CSM WIN: 34-16 on Oct. 6, 1962
LARGEST WU WIN: 26-6 in 1957

UP NEXT FOR MINES: Mines will return to Golden for its home opener on Sept. 4 against Missouri-Rolla. Kickoff for the Second Annual “Mineral Rights Bowl” is slated for 1:00 pm at Brooks Field. The game will also serve as the annual Hall of Fame Game for the Orediggers.

COLORADO 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.

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.

FAMILIAR FACE
Washburn is coached by Craig Schurig, who played his collegiate football at Colorado School of Mines. Schurig 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 from Mines. He is in his third year as the head coach at Washburn as claims an 8-14 overall mark.

FAMILIAR FACE II
In addition to Schurig, there is another connection to the Golden area on the Ichabod coaching staff as third-year offensive coordinator Brian Miller is a native of the city. Miller went on to play football at Hastings

ABOUT WASHBURN
The Ichabods are coming off a season in which they went 5-6 overall (3-6 MIAA), an improvement of two games from the 2002 season. Washburn also won three of its final five games of the season, including a 38-35 win over Missouri Southern in the season finale.

WHEN THE ICHABODS HAVE THE BALL
The Ichabod offense will be led by sophomore running back Trent Hearn who was the MIAA Freshman of the Year last season when he produced 1,116 yards and 16 touchdowns on 235 carries. Senior quarterback Tyler Schuerman also returns after throwing for 1,247 yards and six scores last season. Washburn also returns three starting receivers, including Sam Sissom who led the squad with 39 catches for 555 yards and six touchdowns in 2003. Perhaps the only question mark for the Ichabod offense is on the line where the team loses three starters due to graduation. However, senior left tackle Tyrone Barrett, a Second Team All-MIAA pick a year ago, and senior center Matt Durler return to anchor the line.

AND WHEN THEY DON’T
The Washburn defense allowed almost 42 points per game in 2002, but dropped close to two touchdowns per game off their points allowed average allowing 28 points per game last season. The Ichabods return all four starting linebackers from last season, including junior inside backer Grant Gould who finished third in the MIAA with 111 tackles. The defensive line has just one starter back in sophomore Blake Nichols (33 tackles, 6 for loss), while two starters return in the secondary, including sophomore Fletcher Terrell who led the conference with 19 passes defended and posted four interceptions last season.

COLORADO TIES
Washburn has just one player listed on its roster from the State of Colorado. Freshman offensive lineman Jeff Rickard who is from Westminster, Colo., and prepped at Standley Lake High School. The roster features 62 homegrown Kansans.

MINES LAST TIME OUT (11/15/03)
Junior quarterback Chad Friehauf completed 17-of-30 passes for 299 yards and three touchdowns and added 56 rushing yards and a touchdown to help lead the Orediggers to a 38-21 victory over Western State at Brooks Field. Jonny Chan hauled in four balls for 109 yards and two touchdowns, while Daniel Leger posted 12 tackles and recovered a fumble.

STITT IN OPENERS
CSM Head Coach Bob Stitt is 3-1 in season openers at Mines. CSM lost its first game under Stitt, 43-34, to MidAmerica Nazarene but has rebounded to win its last three season openers, including a 51-10 triumph over Western New Mexico last year. In the last 17 openers, CSM is 14-3. In overall season openers, the Orediggers are 56-53-5.

FOUR SCORE AND NINE YEARS AGO
With three straight winning seasons in the books, the Orediggers will be going after their fourth straight winning season, a feat that has not been accomplished by the program since 1912-15, or, 89 years ago.

65 YEAR ANNIVERSARY
The Oredigger Football Program will be 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.

RULE OF TWO
The number two has been pretty kind to the Orediggers. In eight of the 11 games last season, Mines had at least one player find the end zone two times. CSM posted a 6-2 record in those games.

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 junior running back Craig VanHorn when a big play is needed. Last season, VanHorn ran for 913 yards and scored 10 times. He also caught 31 passes for 179 yards en route to Second Team All-RMAC honors for the second straight season.

THE CHAN CHAN MAN
Senior wide receiver Jonny Chan returns at the No. 1 receiver for Mines after posting 1,021 receiving yards and 11 touchdowns a year ago. The speedster enters the season on a hot streak as he has tallied five straight games with at least 100 receiving yards. Over that five game stretch to end the 2003 season, Chan caught 23 passes for 579 yards and seven scores. Chan also returned 15 kicks for an average of 26.9 yards. As a sophomore, Chan averaged 31.7 yards per kick return to finish third in the nation.

CHAN PART II
Senoir wide receiver Jonny Chan is poised to shatter the Oredigger receiving records currently held by former All-American Brian Sump. Chan needs just 538 receiving yards (2,464), six touchdowns (24), and 36 catches (146) to break the CSM career records.

FREE TO THROW
Senior quarterback Chad Friehauf returns for his third year under center and poised to break several CSM career QB records. The 6-foot-7 slinger needs 349 yards (5,552) six touchdowns (49), 53 completions (441) and 138 pass attempts (803) to break Mines career records held by Nate Jackson. He threw for 2,600 yards and 18 touchdowns last 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 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.

JUST IN CASE
Junior wide receiver Justin Gallas has molded into an outstanding No. 2 receiver oppositte senior Jonny Chan. After not playing in the first two of the first three games of the 2002 season, Gallas was pressed into action due to injuries. He responded by finishing second on the team with 36 catches for 408 yards and a score en route to Team Newcomer of the Year honors. Last season, Gallas again finished second on the team with 44 catches for 602 yards and four touchdowns.

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 his 10.4 tackles per game ranked 26th in Division II a year ago.

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. Leading the way was wide receiver Jonny Chan who posted 134.8 yards per game. He was followed by Craig VanHorn (118.4 ypg) and Justin Gallas (100.8 ypg).

NINE WOULD BE FINE
As the season approaches, the Orediggers could have their sights set on the number nine. Why? No team in CSM Football history has won more than eight games in a season. The 1898 and 1939 teams each posted perfect 8-0 marks, while the 1912 team went 8-1.

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. In a win at Fort Lewis over Fort Lewis on Oct. 18, Chan recorded 103 receiving yards, while VanHorn posted 123 yards rushing. One week later, Chan has 123 receiving yards in a win at New Mexico Highlands, while VanHorn registered a season-high 150 rushing yards. In all, Chan had six 100-yard receiving games, while VanHorn had four 100-yard rushing games.

EXPERIENCE UP FRONT
The Oredigger offensive line will come into the season as one of the most experienced groups under Head Coach Bob Stitt. The line features seniors Gary Metz and Travis Yenne at right tackle and left guard, respectively, while sophomores Nick Belden, an Honorable Mention All-RMAC pick last season, (center), Zach Ballard (left tackle) and Brandon Richardson right guard) are listed at No. 1 on the depth chart at their respective positions. Metz and Yenne are each four-year starters, while Belden started nine games last season and Richardson and Ballard the final seven 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. 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. He finished the year with 40 tackles, including five for losses, and a fumble recovery.

PICK OFFS
Over the last three seasons, the Orediggers have featured a cornerback who has notched at least five interceptions. 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.

STREAKS
Several Orediggers will be looking to keep streaks alive in the season opener. Senior quarterback Chad Friehauf has thrown a touchdown pass in six straight games, senior running back Craig VanHorn has scored a rushing touchdown in six straight games, senior strong safety Daniel Leger has two straight games with double digit tackles and senior wide receiver Jonny Chan has five straight 100-yard receiving games and has caught at least one pass in 12 straight games, dating back to the 2002 season finale.