The Colorado School of Mines football team continues to live dangerously on the road.
For the second week in a row, the Orediggers held off a fourth-quarter rally as Devyn Lauer-Duarte’s interception sealed a 13-12 win over Chadron State in both teams’ RMAC opener Saturday in Chadron, Neb.
Chadron State got a pair of field goals in the final frame to pull within a point with 5:19 to go, but the fourth-ranked Orediggers (3-0, 1-0 RMAC) ground out a 10-play, 44-yard drive that chewed up 4 minutes, 56 seconds of clock. By the time the Eagles (1-2, 0-1) got the ball back at their 15-yard line, there were only 23 seconds remaining.
Lauer-Duarte picked off Holyoke graduate Wyatt Sprague on the very next play, and the Orediggers claimed their 22nd straight win in RMAC play.
Quarterback Evan Foster completed 24 of 28 passes for 235 yards and ran in the Orediggers’ only touchdown from 2 yards out with 10:26 left in the third quarter for a 13-6 lead.
Special teams and the Mines defense ended up playing major roles in the win. Kicker Matthew Eich drilled field goals of 22 and 30 yards in the second quarter, punter Blake Doud put three punts inside the Chadron 20, and the Orediggers registered three sacks and what ended up being a critical two-point conversion stop.
The win marked the second week in a row that Mines withstood a late rally on the road, with the Orediggers sweating out a missed field goal in the waning moments of a 31-28 win at Washburn.
Mines will host Black Hills State for homecoming next Saturday at 1 p.m.
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RMAC football
Saturday’s scores
CSU Pueblo 38, Colorado Mesa 14
Black Hills State 33, Fort Lewis 7
South Dakota Mines 40, New Mexico Highlands 19
Adams State at Western Colorado, 6 p.m.
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