Sports Reporter
The football team has had one of the most successful starts to a season in recent memory. With a top-ranked defense and a four-game winning streak, the Mavs had a lot riding on Saturday’s Homecoming game against Colorado School of Mines (5-3, 4-2) in what coaches and players were calling “potentially the biggest game of the year.”
The tone was set Friday night at the Homecoming bonfire on campus, where the captains, along with head coach Russ Martin, gave a speech urging all students to attend the game. In front of a large crowd, the captains and coach set fire to a pinata mule, labeled in Oredigger logos and colors.
The Mavs appeared primed and ready in pregame warm ups and for the first three quarters proved to a packed stadium why their defense is considered the best in the league. However, offensive woes and costly turnovers caught up to CMU in the fourth quarter, resulting in a 27-10 loss to Mines.
“They are a well-coached football team,” Martin said. “When you give them more opportunities on offense, they’re going to make plays and they did.”
After the Orediggers drove the length of the field in the first, they were stopped five yards short of the endzone on a stout defensive stand by the Mavs. The Mavericks offense took over and after stringing together a few plays, attempted a field goal which would be blocked to maintain a 0-0 tie.
Both teams made defensive plays to set up their offense with great field position, but neither team could produce. Of the first five drives for the Orediggers, the Mavs forced a turnover on downs on three of them and got a fumble and an interception on the following two.
The Mavs’ offense, however, didn’t fare any better. On their first five drives, they had two interceptions, a missed field goal and a turnover on downs.
The first score in the game came after 29 minutes of play, when Tanner Donahue hit a 33-yard field goal with 10 seconds remaining in the first half to go up 3-0.
The third quarter was another scoreless affair, but the fourth was a dominating performance by the upset-minded Orediggers.
Oredigger quarterback Justin Dvorak found a wide open Ty Young on a 73-yard pass completion that set up a two-yard run to take the lead 6-3 after the PAT was blocked by the Mavs.
The Maverick offense never found its rhythm.
Of the nine second-half possessions, the Orediggers forced a punt or a turnover on eight of them. The end result was a Maverick defense that spent too much time on the field, which allowed the Orediggers to take control.
The Orediggers scored three more touchdowns to put away the game, spoiling the Mavericks’ Homecoming.
“We felt prepared heading into the game,” Martin said. “You have to give Mines credit though. They won the battle up front on both sides of the ball, and we couldn’t run with any sort of consistency.”
Two of the scoring drives for the Orediggers were set up by very controversial penalties, one being a pass interference negating what would have been a clutch time interception by Jordan Price.
“It is tough,” senior safety Michael Brady said. “But when it comes down to it, we can’t control those things, and we just have to worry about us. We had to make plays, and ultimately we didn’t end up making plays, and that’s the difference in the game.”
Brady served as the Mavericks catalyst for four turnovers on defense, racking up two interceptions and recovering two fumbles.
Edmiston continued his incredible statistical season totaling 20 tackles, nine of them solo.
Starting quarterback Aric Kaiser finished 23-49 for 210 yards with one touchdown and three interceptions.
The Mavericks now have the task of preparing for Colorado State University at Pueblo on Nov. 2. The Thunderwolves, who are currently ranked third in the nation, are riding a 34-game win streak and have won an RMAC-record 28 straight conference games.
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