Mountaineers 10-0 After Senior Day Win

November 8th, 2026 5:00am

GUNNISON, Colo. Fifth-ranked Western Colorado broke free from visiting Colorado School of Mines in the second half Saturday, taking a 41-20 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference decision over the Orediggers in the 101st meeting between the two programs, the longest running football rivalry in the state of Colorado.

Western found itself trailing twice in the first half but managed to head into the halftime break knotted at 17-17 after JT Miller's 53-yard field goal on the final play of the second quarter.
The Mountaineer defense rose up after the break, though, keeping the Orediggers out of the end zone and after allowing the Mines offense 262 first-half yards, limiting it to just 113 yards in the second half.
Both of Western's touchdown drives in the first half were lengthy, but one took only three plays and other just four.
The key play on the first drive was an 84-yard catch and run by senior Caden Measner from senior Josiah Roy, and the score came on a 5-yard rush on a jet sweep by senior DJ Allen Jr.
Isaiah Jones provided the key play on the next scoring drive, ripping off a 55-yard 1st down gallop down the left sideline, with Roy finishing the drive with a short pass to Ramon Ruiz.
It was in the third quarter when Western took command of the game, generating a 10-play, 92-yard scoring drive to break the halftime deadlock, then marching downfield on a 10-play 75-yard scoring drive that spanned the end of the third and beginning of the fourth quarter.
Jones closed out the longer of the drives with a 2-yard punch into the end zone, and Measner collected a toss in the back of the end zone from Roy to finish the second of the drives.
The clincher was a 25-yard pick-six by linebacker Ian Loomis, stepping in front of a pass to the left from Mines quarterback Joseph Capra then racing untouched down the right sideline for the final score of the game.

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