GOLDEN, Colo.  Western Colorado opened up a 24-point advantage then hung on for a 38-28 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference win over host and 10th-ranked Colorado School of Mines as the No. 8 Mountaineers improved to 8-0.

Western never trailed in the contest as Elias Zarate finished off a 32-yard pass and catch down the seam from quarterback Drew Nash to open the scoring late in the second quarter.

JUST THE FACTS
Final score: Western def. Mines, 38-28
Records: Western 8-0 overall (6-0 RMAC), Mines 6-2 (4-2)
Location: Marv Kay Stadium, Golden, Colo.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Zarate's touchdown with 4:28 remaining in the second quarter initiated a quick scoring outburst as Braeden Hogan scampered 53 yards through the middle not even two minutes later for a 14-0 Western lead.
• Mines struck back on a 28-yard TD pass with 33 seconds left but Nash drove the Mountaineers 49 yards over those remaining seconds, setting up Adam Tasei's 49-yard field goal to take the sting of the Mines TD and send Western into the halftime break leading 17-7.
• The Mountaineers had limited Mines to just 138 total yards through two quarters, while themselves rolling to 111 yards on the ground and 110 through the air for 221 yards.
• The Tasei field goal was an important answer for Western, which started the second half with the ball. And that opening possession produced another Mountaineer touchdown as Nash and company went 77 yards in 9 plays, culminating in a Daniel Parsek touchdown grab of six yards on a Nash play-action that left the tight end uncovered in the back left of the end zone.
• The 17-point advantage widened on the first play of the fourth quarter when Nash kept the ball on a zone-read and went untouched around the right tackle for a 30-yard touchdown gallop. His run capped off an 11-play, 98-yard drive that took 6:49 off the clock.
• Mines would storm back into contention with three touchdown passes in seven plays, but a Hogan run of 21 yards to paydirt before the final of those three Oredigger touchdowns allowed the Mountaineers a reasonable cushion.
• Mines started its final drive on its own 10 yard line and got to the Western 33 before Jaydon Young forced an Evan Foster fumble with a sack, the loose ball then recovered by the Mountaineers' Ernesto Lopez with only 22 ticks left on the clock.

TURF NOTES

• The victory improves Westerns' record to 53-44-2 over Mines in the longest unbroken football series in Colorado.
• The Mountaineers equaled their season scoring average of 38 points while surpassing their season rushing average (221 YPG) with 260 in the game, led by by Hogan's 150 yards and Nash's 111 yards.
• With the running game working so well, especially aiding clock management in the game, the Mountaineers didn't have to take to the air as they've had to in recent games. Still, though, Nash was 17-of-24 for 209 yards and 2 touchdowns, and without an interception on the day.
• Seven different receivers caught two or more passes from Nash. Caden Measner's 61 yards on 4 receptions led the pack with both Zarate and Parsek catching a touchdown pass in the victory.
• The Mountaineer defense held Mines to 56 yards rushing but surrendered 323 yards through the air, 170 yards of which came on the three fourth-quarter touchdown passes from Foster.
• Foster was under duress all game long as the Western defensive line and linebackers were making consistent penetration into the Mines backfield. Foster was sacked seven times, three by Ricky Freymond for minus-20 yards, and the Mountaineers accumulated 10 tackles for loss.
• Linebackers Cy Shope, Cameron Cooper and Kade Musser led the team in tackles, each with six on the day.

UP NEXT

• Western continues on with ranked opponents in the second half of its schedule, bringing No. 12 Colorado State University Pueblo to the Mountaineer Bowl at The Rady Family Sports Complext on Saturday, November 2 for a 1 p.m. game.
• The day will carry the theme of Military and First Responders Appreciation Day.