GUNNISON, Colo. The offense led by
Drew Nash and
Quinn Bailey deserves much of the credit for Saturday's 40-17 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference win over visiting Colorado School of Mines, but the key to the victory was the shutout pitched by the Western Colorado defense, which held the Orediggers scoreless in the second half.
JUST THE FACTS
Final score: No. 5 Western def. Colo. Sch. of Mines, 40-17
Records: Western 8-0 overall (6-0 RMAC), CSM 5-3 (3-3)
Location: Mountaineer Bowl at the Rady Family Sports Complex, Gunnison, Colo.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Mines jumped out to the lead on its first possession, getting a 44-yard rushing touchdown from Max Barnes to open the scoring for an early 7-0 lead. It held the Mountaineers to a total of 19 yards on their first two possessions before finishing off a 61-yard drive with a 35-yard field goal to a 10-0 lead.
- Nash got Western on track, though, starting a late first quarter drive and finishing it early in the second with a 4-yard touchdown pass to DJ Allen Jr.
- The Mountaineers would take the lead, 13-10, with a scoring drive on their next possession, gaining the advantage on the scoreboard when Nash hit Caden Measner for an 11-yard scoring strike.
- Mines answered right back, though, with a 75-yard touchdown drive to take a 17-13 lead into the halftime break after putting up 226 yards of total offense.
- The lead – and the tone – changed quickly in the third quarter. Nash led Western on a 75-yard march that Quinn Bailey finished with a 4-yard rushing touchdown to put Western back in front, 20-17.
- The Mountaineer defense took it from there. In Mines' seven second-half possessions, it gained a total of 54 yards, punting six times and turning the ball over on downs once. Four of its drives were 3-and-outs, and three drives ended in negative yardage.
- Meanwhile, Nash added a 63-yard gallop up the middle for a third-quarter touchdown, and Bailey would add a 14-yard touchdown reception and an 8-yard scoring run in the fourth quarter to widen the gap between the two teams.
MOJO NOTES
- Mines would own possession for 9 minutes, 29 seconds in the first quarter, but Western would command the clock the rest of the way, 25:48 to 19:12.
- Held to just 19 yards on its first two possessions, the Mountaineers would finish the afternoon with 442 total yards, against Mines' total of only 285 yards.
- The Mountaineers scored touchdowns on all five possessions in which they reached the Red Zone.
- Nash would finish the day with game-high honors in both rushing, with 119 yards, and passing on a 234 yard, three touchdown day through the air.
- Six different Mountaineer receivers caught at least two passes, with Ramon Ruiz topping the list with eight catches for 85 yards.
- Cam Cooper's eight total tackles, four solo and four assists, included an eight-yard sack of Mines quarterback Joseph Capra, who came into the game as the 10th leading rusher in the RMAC but who would only gain a net total of two yards on the ground against Cooper and the Mountaineer defense.
- Kaden Stewart, Ian Loomis and Kade Musser were right with Cooper as the linebackers dominated the second half. Stewart would finish with six solo tackles, two behind the line of scrimmage, and an assist; Loomis had three and four, respectively, with a sack; and Musser ended with three solo and three tackle assists for a total of seven on the day.
- Cooper, Loomis and Connor Trinca would each record one sack during the win, and the Mountaineer defense would total 7.0 tackles for loss.
THEY SAID IT
UP NEXT
The win Saturday sets up a top-10 matchup at the Mountaineer Bowl on Sat., November 1 against No. 7 Colorado State University Pueblo.
