DURANGO, Colo. – October 1, 2016 – Fort Lewis College and Colorado School of Mines combined for 1,131 yards and 80 points Saturday afternoon at Ray Dennison Memorial Field.  At the end of the game, the Orediggers out-scored the Skyhawks, 45-35.
 
FLC averaged nearly 10 yards per play.  The Skyhawks ran 57 plays for 566 yards, an average of 9.9 yards per play.  Mines finished with 565 yards on 82 plays.
 
The Skyhawks were forced to punt on the opening drive of the game, giving the Orediggers their first drive of the game on their own 42-yard line at 12:20 in the first quarter.  Nine plays later the Orediggers found the end zone for a quick 7-0 lead. 
 
FLC was held to three and out on the following drive, which led to Joseph Cavale's second punt of the game.  Mines' second drive of the game ended in a 25-yard field goal by Scott Marshall to give the Orediggers a 10-0 lead with 2:32 left in the first quarter.
 
Fort Lewis cut the lead down to four points, 10-6, on their third drive of the game.  Quarterback Bo Coleman found Jordan Gillen for a 47-yard touchdown strike (extra point attempt failed).
 
Colorado Mines scored on their third straight drive to open the second quarter on a 75-yard, five play drive that took only 76 seconds.
 
FLC responded on the ensuing drive when Coleman and Gillen connected again for a 15-yard touchdown score, capping an eight-play, 76-yard drive.  PJ Hall rushed it in from two yards out to bring the Skyhawks to within three points, 17-14. 
 
For the fourth straight drive, the Orediggers tacked on points on the scoreboard, extending their lead to 10, 24-14.  Quarterback Just Dvorak found Brody Oliver for the third straight touchdown pass for the Orediggers.
 
A three-and-out series by the Skyhawks led the Orediggers to their fifth drive and fifth straight score.  CSM ate up over four minutes of the clock while driving down the field 70 yards for their fourth touchdown of the half.
 
FLC headed into halftime trailing the Orediggers, 31-14.
 
The Skyhawks started the second half forcing the Orediggers to turn the ball over on downs.  The Skyhawks defense held Mines on the FLC 24-yard line on fourth and two to take over for the first time of the second half.  The turnover on downs led to a Skyhawks touchdown.  Coleman threw a 13-yard pass to Arealous Hughes to cap a nine-play, 76-yard drive and bring the Skyhawks to within 10 points of CSM, 31-21. 
 
The defense held the Orediggers again on the next drive to a three-and-out series.  The Skyhawks ran eight plays and drove the field 77-yards that ended on a Coleman-Gillen connection for the third time today.  Gillen caught an 18-yard pass as part of his 97 receiving yards.
 
For the second straight drive, FLC held the Orediggers to a three-and-out series.  With 41 ticks left in the third quarter and the Skyhawks starting their drive on their own 32-yard line, Coleman handed Drake Griffin the ball and rushed it in from 68 yards out to give FLC their first lead of the game, 35-31.
 
Mines out-scored FLC in the final stanza, 14-0. 
 
The Skyhawks finished the game with 293 rushing yards and 273 passing yards.
 
Coleman completed 13-of-18 passes for 273 yards and four touchdowns.  He added 88 rushing yards on 12 carries.  Griffin led the ground game with 160 yards on 15 carries, an average of 10.7 yards per carry.  Gillen caught five passes for 97 yards, three of which resulted in touchdowns.
 
Austin Nelson led the defensive unit with a career high 15 tackles (three solo) and a quarterback hurry.  Andrew Ike added 14 tackles, one pass breakup and two quarterback hurries.
 
Dvorak led CSM with 432 yards on 28-of-44 attempts and four touchdowns.  Oliver caught nine passes for 205 yards and three scores while Sam Seeton carried the ball 26 times for 106 yards.
 
The Skyhawks will play their third straight game at home on Oct. 8 when they host Western State Colorado University in the annual Homecoming Game.  Kickoff is at 12 p.m.