CSM football defeats Chadron State in overtime, 30-27

GOLDEN, Colo. - Colorado School of Mines got a 29-yard field goal in overtime from Dalton Lane to defeat Chadron State College by the score of 30-27 in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) football action on Saturday afternoon, October 24th, at Brooks Field.  For the box score, click here.

Lane's 37 (6:15) and 36-yard (3:21) field goals, along with Keegan Moyer's 36-yard touchdown reception from David Pesek (00:47), provided the Orediggers with a 13-0 lead after one quarter of play.

The Eagles responded when Garrett Treffer tossed a 29-yard scoring pass to Brandon Harrington at the 10:50 mark in the second quarter.  CSM's Blaine Sumner, a nose tackle by trade, scored on a one-yard plunge with 28 seconds left in the first half to give the Orediggers a 20-7 advantage.  However, two plays after Harrington returned the ensuing kickoff 47 yards, Travis Atter booted a 40-yard field goal as the first-half clock expired to trim the Eagles' deficit to 10 points (20-10).

On their opening drive of the second half, the Eagles went 63 yards on 13 plays and wound up getting a 34-yard field goal from Atter with 8:13 remaining in the third period.  Chadron State recovered Atter's subsequent high, end-over-end kickoff into a stiff wind, which came down untouched at the CSM 13 yard line.  Treffer was sacked on two of the next three plays, and Atter, who missed a 57-yard effort wide right with the wind at his back early in the first quarter, misfired on a 42-yard attempt (wide left) into the wind.  Mines then capped a nine-play, 75-yard drive with a 25-yard touchdown pass from Pesek to Tom Kastens to take a 27-13 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

After the Orediggers punted on their first drive of the fourth quarter, Treffer threw a 28-yard touchdown pass to Harrington at 7:13 to cap a 12-play, 90-yard drive.  Mines went three-and-out on its next drive, and after a 27-yard punt into the wind was downed at the Chadron State 48 yard line, the Eagles tied the contest at 27-27 on Treffer's 15-yard scoring connection to Tyler Watson with 3:52 remaining in regulation.  On their subsequent drive, the Orediggers went 74 yards down to the CSC six-yard line.  However, Mines lost a fumble on a second-and-goal play with just 62 ticks left on the clock, and the game went into overtime.

CSM won the coin toss in overtime and elected to play defense.  On the Eagles' second-and-goal play at the CSM one yard line, a hit on Chadron running back Mark Haag by the Orediggers' Alex Vigil jarred the ball loose just shy of the goal line.  Mines' Jeff Hutsell recovered the fumble and the CSM offense took the field.  On their seventh play of the drive from the Chadron State 12-yard line, Lane's 29-yard field goal provided Mines with its seventh straight victory.

Pesek completed 29-of-38 passes for 372 yards and two scores (no interceptions) as two CSM receivers - Robbin Vinnola (nine receptions; 105 yards) and Adam Saur (seven receptions, 100 yards) - surpassed 100 yards receiving.  Dominic Bravo added seven catches for 93 yards for the Orediggers, who posted their first victory over the Eagles since September 24th, 2005 (27-26 in Chadron, Neb.).  CSM's Nick Haniszewski, who had four tackles for a loss and one sack, led all players with 13 total tackles (11 solo).  Vigil and reigning RMAC Defensive Player of the Week Kyle Goracke (three passes defended) each came away with nine total tackles.  Goracke added his team-leading fourth interception, James Tucker recorded eight total stops and Marc Schiechl (five total tackles) had two stops behind the line of scrimmage.  Schiechl also had one sack on Saturday, increasing his CSM individual career record to 34.0 in that category.

Treffer completed 29-of-42 passes for 318 yards and three touchdowns (one interception) as the Eagles saw their record slip to 5-4 overall (4-3 RMAC).  Haag had 19 carries for 56 yards and 11 receptions for 50 yards, while Watson caught seven passes for 105 yards.  Jeff Lyster led Chadron with 11 total tackles.

The Orediggers (7-2 overall, 7-0 RMAC), who were listed in the "receiving votes" section of the AFCA's most recent NCAA Division II Top 25 Poll (October 19th), will play at 13th-ranked Nebraska-Kearney (8-1 overall, 7-0 RMAC) on Saturday afternoon, October 31st, at 12:00 p.m. MST (1:00 p.m. CST in Kearney, Neb.) at Ron and Carol Cope Stadium at Foster Field.  Mines and UNK are the only two RMAC schools who remain undefeated in conference play.  Mines will then conclude its 2009 regular-season schedule by hosting New Mexico Highlands University on Saturday afternoon, November 7th, at 12:00 p.m. (MST) at Brooks Field.  November 7th will be Senior Day at Brooks Field.

The 24-team field for the 2009 NCAA Division II football championships is scheduled to be announced on Sunday afternoon, November 8th, at 1:00 p.m. (MST) on ESPNEWS.  Six teams from each of the four Super Regions will qualify for the 2009 NCAA Division II football championships.  Regular-season champions from all of the NCAA Division II conferences do not automatically qualify for the 2009 NCAA Division II football championships.  However, earned access into the 2009 NCAA Division II football championships can be gained if a regular-season conference champion finishes in the top eight of the final super regional rankings.  The RMAC resides in Super Region Three.  The only RMAC school ranked in the current Super Region Three top 10 poll (October 19th) is Nebraska-Kearney at #6.

-- OREDIGGERS --