No. 9 Western Colorado (8-0) vs No. 1 Colorado School of Mines (8-0)
12 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 28| Alumni Field at Marv Kay Stadium| Golden, Colo.
Watch | Live Stats
GOLDEN, Colo. No. 9 Western Colorado travels to Golden, Colo., to take on the No. 1 team in the country, Colorado School of Mines in a battle for first place in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) on the line.
The Mountaineers and Orediggers are meeting for the 98th time, which is the longest continuous rivalry in Colorado College football. Western Colorado leads the series 52-43-2 but Mines has won the past five contests. The two squads have never met while both teams were 8-0 or better.
A reminder that this game is completely sold out and tickets will not be sold at the gate. For those who have tickets or plan on attending the tailgate, the tailgate will begin at 10 a.m. in parking lot K.
MOUNTAINEERS HEADING INTO THE WEEKEND | 2023 Stats
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The Mountaineers have not trailed in their first eight games of the season by getting the ball to Drew Nash and the offense early in the game. The offense is averaging 38.8 points per game and is outscoring their opponent by an average of 20 points per game.
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Nash has thrown for 1,675 yards this season, including 14 touchdowns this season. His 1,675 passing yards rank fifth in the conference and 39th nationally. Nash is not afraid to run the ball as well, registering 298 rushing yards and four rushing TDs this season.
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Deyvon Butler is the RMACs leading scorer with 12 touchdowns while averaging nine points per game. He also has been a large presence for the Mountaineers on special teams with 272 total punt return yards.
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Not only has the Mountaineers offense been putting up points this season, but the Western Colorado defense is also the RMAC's No. 1 scoring defense in the conference.
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Kendall Lightfoot leads the Mountaineers with 51 tackles this season, while Trevor Riters has registered 30 tackles. Ricky Freymond has recorded seven sacks, ten tackles for loss and forced four fumbles this season on a defense that has 11 fumble recoveries and 10 interceptions this season.
OREDIGGERS HEADING INTO THE WEEKEND | 2023 Stats
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The Orediggers come into this weekend coming off a comeback win (42-17) against Black Hills State where they ended the first half down 17-14. Throughout eight games this season, Mines is averaging 45.13 points per game.
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John Matocha is coming off a 2022 season where he won the Harlon Hill award and led the Orediggers to the NCAA Division II Championship game and is still breaking record after record. He is ranked fifth nationally in passing yards with 2,389 yards so far this season with 26 touchdown passes.
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Max McCloud is Matocha's number one target with 116.5 receiving yards per game which ranks first in NCAA Division II football. He is also ranked seventh with nine touchdowns this season,
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The defense led by Nolan Reeve and Jaden Healy has held opponents to 14.5 points per game, 138 rushing yards and 1,555 passing yards.
ON THE FIELD NEXT
Western Colorado football will return to Gunnison, Colo., for their final home game of the season against Fort Lewis College on Saturday, Nov. 4 at 1 p.m., at Katy O. Rady Field.
