Hardrockers strike early in win over Trojans
MADISON, S.D. ---The South Dakota School of Mines football team opened Dakota Athletic Conference play against the Dakota State Trojans this past Saturday in Madison, S.D. where the Hardrockers earned another victory and first conference win , with a 30-18 tilt, pushing SDM’s overall record to 3-1 and 1-0 in the DAC.
The Hardrockers got things going early in Saturday’s contest as freshman running back Jamie Dale (Alpine, Calif.) returned the opening kickoff 82 yards for a touchdown. He wasn’t done there though as the Interdisciplinary Science major found the end zone three more times throughout the game. Dale finished the game with 118 yards rushing on 25 carries. That performance was good enough to earn his the DAC Offensive Player of the Week award. Dale racked up 121 yards on three kickoff returns and tallied 250 all-purpose yards for the day. Dale also currently leads the conference in scoring with nine touchdowns for 56 points.
The SD Mines defensive unit also earned some accolades from the conference as sophomore linebacker Tim Luchini was named the DAC Defensive Player of Week. The sophomore Mechanical Engineering major from Findlay, Ohio, led the Hardrockers with 13 tackles, two of which were for a loss, and also had an interception with a two yard-return.
Senior Chad Westendorf, a Mechanical Engineering major from Geddes, S.D., also had an outstanding performance with 11 tackles and a fumble recovery.
Freshman quarterback Nick Russell, from San Diego, Calif., totaled 138 yards on the day, completing 9-11 passes with one interception. He connected on a 74-yard strike to Logan Smidt (a sophomore Civil Engineering major from Menno, S.D.) for the longest of the day as well as the season. Smidt ended the day with 91 receiving yards.
Looking at the big picture, the Hardrockers are leading the DAC in scoring offense, putting up 46.8 points a game and also top the list passing defense allowing 128.8 yards through the air a game. SDM is second in scoring defense, allowing just 14.5 points a game and second in rushing offense, averaging 187.5 yards a game.
In the NAIA, the ‘Rockers are listed in the Top 10 in eight different categories. SDM is rated third in punt return yards per attempt(19.8), fourth in scoring offense, sixth in opponents third down conversion (23.2), seventh in pass defense per game, ninth in both fourth down conversions (66.7) and opponent penalties (106), and 10th in scoring defense per game and kickoff return yards per attempt (26.1).
The Hardrockers performance has not gone unnoticed by the rest of the NAIA as the SDM football team received votes for the Top 25 poll for the second time this season. The last time the Hardrocker football program was in the Top 25 was back in the early 1980’s when the team snapped off 13 wins in a row. They climbed as high as third in the nation.
After a prolonged road trip, the Hardrockers will finally be back in the friendly confines of O’Harra Stadium as SDM hosts Mayville State this Saturday for ‘M’ Day. Kickoff is slated for 1 p.m.