THE MOUNTAINEERS HEADING INTO THIS WEEK | 2019 SEASON STATS
Western Colorado is coming off its first shutout since 2016 in blanking Fort Lewis 31-0. The Mountaineer defense held Fort Lewis to 224 yards of offense and to 3-for-14 on third downs. Desmond Marfizo led the charge for the WCU defense with 10 tackles, six tackles for a loss and two sacks to go along with a pass breakup and a blocked field goal - leading him to be named RMAC Defensive Player of the Week. Backup quarterback Luke Nethercot (in for the injured Connor Desch) managed the game well while going 8-for-15 passing for 128 yards - including a 60-yard touchdown pass to Xander Witt. The ground game racked up 111 yards led by Ty Leyba's 60 yards.

On the season, Leyba leads the team in rushing with 385 yards while Josh Cummings is second with 225 yards and a team-best five touchdowns. The top pass catcher this season for the Mountaineers is James Bryant with 27 receptions for 294 yards and a touchdown while Zach Manchester lead the team with three touchdown receptions to go along with 17 catches for 286 yards.

Defensively, Marfizo leads the team with 53 tackles and 9.5 tackles for a loss to go along with 3.5 sacks. Lane Farris, the team's leading tackler before missing last week due to injury, is second on the team with 47 tackles while Dominick Fletcher is third (43) and Robert Garlock is fourth (41). Josh Nelson had his team-best fourth interception against Fort Lewis last week to go along with his 31 tackles, five pass breakups and two fumble recoveries. Will Lydle continues to lead the team in sacks at 4.5 this season.

BLACK HILLS STATE HEADING INTO THIS WEEK | 2019 SEASON STATS
The Yellow Jackets have dropped their last two games - both on the road - to Colorado Mesa last week 58-21 and to New Mexico Highlands the week before 17-13. It was a rough first quarter (down 28-0) and first half (down 41-14) for BHSU last week as it allowed 475 yards to the Mavs as it turned the ball over three times.

Chance Eben has started at quarterback as of late for BHSU and has thrown for 836 yards, five touchdowns and three interceptions while completing passes at a 56.8 percent clip. The top target by far this season for the Yellow Jackets has been Kielar Harpham as he has 45 receptions (fourth in the RMAC) for 553 yards (fifth in the RMAC) and four touchdowns. The next closest receiver is Isaac Jefferson with 20 catches for 216 yards. On the ground, Payten Gilmore leads the team with 466 yards and six touchdowns while Nolan Susel has been the more explosive back - averaging 6.1 yards per carry on his way to 321 yards and a touchdown this season.

Defensively, Josh Gurnaby leads the team and is third in the conference in tackles at 77 to go along with seven pass breakups. Bailey Rosenstrauch is second on the team in tackles with 57. Korby Campbell has a team-best two sacks while BHSU has just two interceptions on the season.

2019 WESTERN COLORADO NOTES

SERIES VS. BLACK HILLS STATE
This will be the eighth matchup between these teams with WCU leading the series 4-3 after defeating the Yellow Jackets last season in Gunnison, the fourth win in the last five meetings between the teams after BHSU won the first two contests.

MARFIZO NAMED RMAC DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK (Oct. 28)
Senior linebacker Desmond Marfizo was the catalyst for the Mountaineers' 31-0 win over Fort Lewis on Oct. 26 and was named the RMAC Defensive Player of the Week after racking up 10 tackles, six tackles for a loss, two sacks, a blocked field goal and a pass breakup. It's the second time this season the Mountaineers have won the conference's weekly defensive award and the fourth time overall a WCU player has earned a conference weekly honor.

BAINS MOVES TO FIFTH ON WESTERN WINS LIST
WCU head coach Jas Bains moved to fifth on the Mountaineers' all-time wins list with 23 after beating Chadron State on Oct. 5 in Gunnison - passing Jeff Zenisek (2001-05). No. 4 on the list is O. Kay Dalton (1961-65) with 33 victories. Bill Noxon (1971-84) holds the No. 1 spot on the Mountaineer wins list with 87. Bains currently sits with 24 wins in his career.

THE LONGEST CONTINUOUS RIVALRY IN COLORADO COLLEGE FOOTBALL
There isn't a longer continuous college football rivalry in Colorado than the Mountaineers and Colorado School of Mines as the teams have played each other every year since 1946. This year was the 95th meeting between these teams with CSM winning 28-0 to narrow WCU's lead in the series to 52-41-2.

AGAINST RANKED OPPONENTS
The Mountaineers in a loss to No. 11 Colorado School of Mines on Oct. 12 continued a skid against ranked opponents that now sits at seven games. WCU's last win against a ranked opponent was a 45-31 win over No. 23 Colorado School of Mines on Sept. 24, 2016.

DAVIS NAMED RMAC SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE WEEK ... AGAIN (Oct.  7)
For the second time this season, WCU kicker Chandler Davis was named the RMAC Special Teams Player of the Week on Oct. 7 after going 2-for-2 on field goals and 3-for-3 on extra points in the Mountaineers' one-point win over Chadron State.

The first time Davis earned the honor was when he booted arguably one of the biggest kicks in recent memory for the Western Colorado football program as he drilled a 29-yard field goal as time expired to beat Colorado Mesa 30-28 in Grand Junction. Davis connected on that field goal after waiting out four timeouts to help the Mountaineers beat Colorado Mesa for the first time since 2013 and for the first time in Grand Junction since 2001 along with propelling WCU to its first 2-0 start in RMAC play since 2003.

A PAIR OF WINS THAT WERE A LONG TIME COMING
Five games into the season the Mountaineers have already knocked off a pair of teams in places they haven't won in a long time. WCU defeated Colorado Mesa this season in Grand Junction for the first time since 2001 and the Mountaineers defeated Chadron State at home in the Mountaineer Bowl for the first time since 1997.

AGAINST THE CORNHUSKER STATE
The Mountaineers after their 33-32 win over Chadron State this season are 21-33-1 against teams from Nebraska, including 12-15-1 at home against teams from the Cornhusker state.

COLORADO CLASSIC
The history between Western Colorado and Adams State - i.e. the Colorado Classic - dates back to 1934 (a 14-0 Mountaineers win in Gunnison) and the Mountaineers and Grizzlies have played every year since 1950 - making it the second-longest continual rivalry in Colorado. The teams play for the Colorado Classic Trophy, which travels with the winning institution.

The Mountaineers now hold a 40-33 advantage after falling just short against Adams State this season 38-31 in a game that went down to the final two minutes.

The longest continual rivalry in Colorado is between Western Colorado and Colorado School of Mines as the two teams have played each year since 1946 and have played each other 93 times overall - the first meeting coming in 1925.

BEST START IN CONFERENCE PLAY SINCE 2003
With wins over South Dakota Mines and Colorado Mesa to begin RMAC play, WCU won their first two conference contests for the first time since 2003. 

GARLOCK NAMED RMAC DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK (Sept. 16)
Western Colorado linebacker Robert Garlock was named RMAC Defensive Player of the Week on Sept. 16 after the sophomore from Reno, Nevada, had a team-high seven tackles in the contest - including five solo tackles - in helping the Mountaineer defense not allow an offensive score (the Hardrockers' only score came on returning a blocked field goal for a touchdown) during a 27-7 win over South Dakota Mines. The Western Colorado defense allowed just 177 yards in helping the Mountaineers win their first RMAC opener since 2006.

AGAINST TEAMS FROM SOUTH DAKOTA
The Mountaineers are now 5-7 against teams from South Dakota - including going 3-3 at home against teams from the Mount Rushmore state.

SEASON OPENERS
Western Colorado is now 32-62 all-time in season openers after falling to Idaho State this season. The last season-opening win for the Mountaineers came in 2014 against Wayland Baptist, 38-21, on the road. Of their 32 season opening wins, the Mountaineers have finished those seasons with a winning record 19 times (59.4 percent) and won the conference title 12 times (37.5 percent).

AGAINST TEAMS FROM IDAHO
Against all teams from Idaho, the Mountaineers now have a 9-23-1 record after falling in their season opener at Idaho State this season. Western has played the College of Idaho and Southern Idaho twice, splitting both games against both teams, to go along with the 29 games against Idaho State. In the state of Idaho, the Mountaineers have a 3-17 record.