Mines gridders reach rare territory

By Padraic Duffy, Journal staff Sunday, October 05, 2008

RAPID CITY — It took a little while for South Dakota Mines to get into its M-Day game, but once the Hardrockers did, things got ugly.

Mines scored 36 second-half points to run away with its homecoming game against Mayville State for a 46-7 win on Saturday at O’Harra Stadium. The win moved Mines to 4-1 on the season overall and 2-0 in the Dakota Athletic Conference. The last time Mines started a season 4-1 was 1984.

The Hardrockers were far from spectacular in the first half, but they came up with the important plays in all the right spots.

“We were just talking about it,” Mines senior defensive lineman Michael Kennedy said. “We haven’t been able to put together a full game yet. We come out and we’re weak in the first half and played strong in the second half. Sometimes it’s the opposite of that. We still have yet to put together a full game.”

While Mines may have struggled a bit, the ‘Rocker defense did make two huge stops on Mayville’s first two drives. The Comets rolled down the field on their first drive behind sophomore quarterback Jake McLain, but Mines came together on a 4th and goal from the 1-yard line to turn Mayville (1-4, 0-2) away. The ’Rockers fumbled the ball away on their next possession, giving Mayville a short field, but Mines once again stopped the Comets on a 4th and goal inside the 5-yard line.

“They were huge,” Mines head coach Dan Kratzer said of the 4th down stops. “Our defense has kind of been that way all year. They’ve bent a little bit, but they haven’t broke at the right time. Obviously, you give them (Mayville) a touchdown or two without (the stops).”

While the defense was keeping Mines around in the first half, the offense struggled as they were victimized by numerous drops in the opening 30 minutes. Fortunately for the ‘Rockers things turned around in a big way in the second half, keyed by a couple of California freshmen who are already starting to put their stamp on the Mines program.

Quarterback Nick Russell, from San Diego, and Jamie Dale, from Alpine, once again sparked the Hardrocker offense. Dale scored two rushing touchdowns, caught one touchdown pass and rushed for 149 yards on 19 carries as he tied the school’s single-season record for points scored with 78.

“I don’t really think about stuff like that,” Dale said of the record after the game. “As long as we win, that’s all I’m worried about. I just want to help this team try to win a conference title. That’s all I’m thinking about.”

Russell was plagued by his receivers dropping balls and also he threw an interception in the first half, but he bounced back and ended up throwing for 233 yards and three touchdowns. Mines ended up with 420 yards of total offense, but fumbled the ball three times, losing one, and also had two interceptions.

“Our kids know how efficient they can be, and know how good they can be, when we do things right,” Kratzer said. “I think they were pressing a little bit, trying to make a big play and drop the ball, trying to break a tackle and lose the ball. Little things like that can make a big difference in a ball game.”

A fumble made a huge difference for Mines, when linebacker Zach Marcus picked up a McLain fumble and took it 8 yards for a touchdown early in the third quarter to make it 17-7.

The Hardrockers then got rolling on offense as Russell threw back-to-back touchdown passes to Edward Waliczek and Dale for 20 and 27 yards to make it 30-7 before Dale broke scoring runs of 18 and 58 yards to close out the scoring and give the Hardrockers a big win.

“It feels great,” Kennedy said. “I’ve actually been here five years and this is the most games I’ve won on a college football team and we’re only halfway through (the season). I can’t tell you how excited I am.”