No. 5 WESTERN COLORADO at SOUTH DAKOTA MINES
12 p.m., Sat., Oct. 18 | O'Harra Stadium | Rapid City, S.D.
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RAPID CITY, S.D.  Fifth-ranked Western Colorado is on the road Saturday with a stingy defense and an offense that is scoring 44 points a game, taking on host South Dakota Mines in a 12 p.m. Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference game at the Hardrockers' O'Harra Stadium.

WESTERN COLORADO HEADING INTO THE GAME | 2025 Stats

• The Mountaineers – 6-0 overall and 4-0 in the RMAC – are coming off a 56-17 home win over Black Hills State, a game that saw Western scored 35 third-quarter points and quarterback Drew Nash earn RMAC Offensive Player of the Week honors after throwing for 399 yards and five touchdowns while adding 20 yards on the ground with one touchdown.
• Western's defense is sure to attack the Hardrockers' offense, which is 103rd in the country at just 328 yards per game. The Mountaineers rank 13th nationally in total defense (277 YPG), 8th in scoring defense (12.8 PPG), ninth in rush defense (78 YPG), and 12th in first downs allowed (91). Averaging 10.0 tackles for loss per game, the defense ranks second in NCAA Division II.
• Ian Loomis, Cameron Cooper, Kaden Stewart and Kade Musser populate a linebacking group that has combined for 115 tackles, 24 tackles for loss, 10.5 sacks and 2 interceptions.
• Defensive end Drew Johnson leads the team in TFLs, though, with 10 of his 13 total tackles occurring behind the line of scrimmage. His 1.42 TFL per game mark is 30th among DII defenders.
• The Mountaineers have also accumulated 22.0 sacks, led by Loomis' 4 and Johnson's and Musser's 3 apiece.
• The defense has also picked off six passes, one each from six different players, including pick-6's from Loomis and Easton Peterson.
• Nash is the general of the offense, which ranks fourth nationally averaging 44 points per game. Nash's 17 touchdown passes are eighth most in DII, and he leads the nation in points responsible for per game (27.6).
• Caden Measner and DJ Allen Jr. are just two of Western's dangerous receivers for Nash. Measner has seven TD catches, ninth most nationally, while Allen Jr. has 4 TD receptions. The two combine to total nearly 600 receiving yards.
• The two teams began playing each other with the 2016 season, with Western winning the last two games to improve its all-time mark to 5-3 against the Hardrockers.

SOUTH DAKOTA MINES COMING INTO THE GAME | 2025 Stats

• The Hardrockers are 2-5 overall and 2-3 in RMAC play. They had a two-game winning streak halted in their previous game, a 24-14 loss to Colorado School of Mines.
• Gage Baker leads an offense that gets contributions from its two main running backs as well as a pair of receivers.
• Baker's 22 completions per game leads the RMAC and ranks 10th nationally. His 1,443 total yards through the air are 10th most in DII.
• Baker's two main targets have been Jacoby Ogbonna and Mason Galbreath. Ogbonna has 36 receptions for 382 yard and 3 touchdowns, while Galbreath has come down with 30 receptions for 351 yards and 1 touchdown.
• The rushing attack is captained by Ty Harris and Dawson Dunbar, who have each scored two touchdowns. Harris has gained 360 yards and Dunbar 338 yards on the ground this season.
• Defensive back Will Lester and linebacker Charlie Johnson are the two leaders on the defensive side of the ball for SDM. Lester has 57 tackles while Johnson chimes in with 52. Johnson has one of the team's three interceptions, while Lester has three pass breakups and a blocked kick.

UP NEXT
Western is back at home for its next game, taking on Colorado School of Mines on October 25 at the Mountaineer Bowl at the Rady Family Sports Complex on Hall of Fame weekend.