GOLDEN — Leave it to one of the nation’s most electric offenses, the NCAA Division II preseason No. 2 Colorado School of Mines Orediggers, to create opening night college football drama.
After blowing a three-score fourth-quarter lead against No. 3 Grand Valley State, redshirt senior kicker Hunter Pearson drilled a 41-yard game-winning field goal into the wind with two seconds remaining to give Mines a dramatic 31-28 win at Marv Kay Stadium on Thursday.
It was only Pearson’s third career field goal but smashed a previous college-best of 28 yards when he was at Virginia. He walked onto the team in 2023 after working a corporate job for over a year in downtown Denver and only found out he was slated to kick on Wednesday. The “corporate transfer” as he joked, came through.
“I knew I had to be ready and if it were a longer field goal, it would’ve been Jacob Click,” Pearson said. “We got close enough and we both knew it was coming. … It started straight, trailed left and it was a close one. Not my best kick but, I mean it went through, it counts.”
Reigning Harlon Hill Trophy winner John Matocha, who went 27-of-41 for 341 yards passing and two touchdowns, had a memorable last drive to calm Mines fans’ nerves as he found 6-foot-4 redshirt sophomore Flynn Schiele three times on the seven-play drive. It only came about after the Lakers stormed back in stunning fashion with three fourth-quarter scores. From the 25-yard line, the Orediggers went 63 yards when the drive started with 36 seconds remaining.
First-year head coach and offensive coordinator, Pete Sterbick, known for his attention to detail, went over the scenario Wednesday night just in case.
“We watched the two-minute drive last year (against GVSU) that we didn’t come through on,” Sterbick said. “…We took the time with where ‘the spaces’ what I would call were gonna be. John had a really good expectation because of that meeting, our O-line protected him and our receivers were in the right spot … It was awesome to see that exact situation come up like we talked about and the guys were ready.”
Earlier in the evening, Erie native Noah Roper (61 yards on 13 rushes), who transferred in from Dartmouth in the offseason, scored half as many touchdowns (2) in the opening half for Mines as he did in his entire career with the Big Green (4).
“Coming back to Colorado it just feels so good,” Roper said postgame. “I don’t think there’s any place I’d rather be playing right now. The guys have welcomed me in and it’s amazing to be here.”
GVSU took an early lead on its opening possession on a six-play, 99-yard drive with Kyle Nott on a 9-yard pitch.
Matocha, however, found his groove early as on an 11-play drive in the first quarter, he completed 5 of 6 passes and Roper scored to even it up. With 1:27 left in the half, Roper scored his second of the game on a 12-yard pass from Matocha to make it 14-7.
Running back Landon Walker scored twice in the third quarter to put the game seemingly on ice, once on a 34-yard cross-field improvisation pass from Matocha in which he flared out and ran it in, and another from a few yards out to extend the lead to 28-7.
The Lakers (0-1) stormed back as they scored early in the final frame, another with 1:17 left to cut the deficit to one score, and subsequently recovered an onside kick. It resulted in a 21-yard scamper from quarterback Cade Peterson as he avoided Mines defenders on a fourth down to even up the score. However, it was a bit too early as it set up Matocha’s final drive and eventual game-winning kick.
With a home win under their belts, the Orediggers will travel to San Angelo, Texas, next Saturday to face a familiar foe in Angelo State. The teams have faced off in each of the last two Week 2 games as well as in the two NCAA Division II playoff runs, the 2021 and ’22 quarterfinals.
“Our guys did not give up hope,” Sterbick said. “I gotta do a better job to help our guys out. We didn’t play good team football which is a huge emphasis for us, but, we were able to rise up and find a way.”
