Orediggers punch ticket to Division II semifinals
GOLDEN» It was the kind of play Colorado School of Mines redshirt senior running back Michael Zeman had been practicing, but even still, it made the fans at Marv Kay Stadium rise to their feet.
Zeman, a Harlon Hill Award finalist, got low and put Angelo State cornerback Kason Cooper on his back with a block that fired up the crowd. Then quarterback John Matocha scrambled and found receiver Mason Karp, who ran it in for a 42-yard score.
“He came in full-speed ahead,” Zeman said. “I don’t wanna fit that up because ultimately he could knock me back into John, but being able to get him on the ground and then giving John that edge to make a play and then have Karp bust it, yeah, it was awesome.”
It was a game-defining play that helped the Orediggers (12-1) to their first NCAA Division II national semifinals in program history with a 34-26 win over the Rams (11-2) on Saturday afternoon.
With the NCAA re-seeding the final four teams, Mines was tabbed the No. 3 seed and will head to Georgia to play No. 2 Valdosta State (11-1) next Saturday at 10 a.m. MST.
Matocha threw for 254 yards and four touchdowns on 13-of-24 passing, while Zeman had 138 yards on the ground and two scores.
It was a slow start for Mines, as the Orediggers notched just one first down and 26 total yards (five rushing) and trailed 3-0 after one quarter.
But in a big spot early in the second quarter, the Orediggers found life. Facing third-and-15, Matocha looked across the middle and found Max Mcleod, who took it the rest of the way for a 60-yard score to give the Orediggers a 7-3 lead.
On the Rams’ next drive, they had three first downs to get inside Mines’ territory. The Rams opted to go for it on fourth-and-short, but Mines coach Greg Brandon called a timeout. It worked, as linebackers Cameron Reller and Hayden Greg stuffed backup running back Carl Odom. (Starting running back Nathaniel Omayebu III did not play due to injury.)
“I didn’t tell our defense anything,” Brandon said, referencing the timeout. “When they went for it, our guys rose to the occasion. We’ve done that all season. We’ve made plays on both sides and our defense has been lights out for four months.”
The Orediggers took advantage of the momentum as Matocha capped an excellent drive with a 21yard strike to Josh Johnston. The extra point was blocked, which made it 13-3.
Special teams played a role in the victory as Mason Pierce got Mines moving with a 28-yard punt return. It made short work of a short field, and went five plays, 42 yards, and Zeman plowed his way from a yard out to make it 20-3 with 2:24 left in the half.
Facing a three-score deficit, the Rams responded in the third quarter. Rams running back Alfred Grear gained the edge on the corner and was gone for a 90-yard run to cut the deficit to 20-10.
“Alfred is capable of doing that on any play, he really is,” Angelo State Jeff Girsch said. “If you miss one tackle, he’s really hard to tackle in the open field if he can get through. There was that belief that we could get back into the game.”
Soon after, Zeman delivered his ferocious block, and Karp’s score proved to be the last big action of the third quarter, with Mines leading 27-10.
In the last frame, the Rams pulled within two possessions again, as quarterback Zach Bronkhorst found Noah Massey in the back left corner of the end zone to make it 27-17 with 6:09 left. Bronkhorst finished 23 of 41 for 331 yards, two TDS and an interception.
After recovering an onside kick, the Orediggers made the most of it, again. On third-and-5 from the 39, Matocha pitched a shovel pass to Zeman who weaved his way past another defender for a score and 34-17 lead.