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GOLDEN — Tyson Bagent is cramming for the Broncos. John Matocha is cramming for a theory of computations final.
“It’s pretty hard,” the Colorado School of Mines senior quarterback explained, leaning back in his chair after his Orediggers buried Shepherd (W.Va.), 44-13, on Saturday to clinch the school’s first-ever berth in the Division II football national championship game.
“It’s not very fun. But I just need to pass.”
Pass? Baby, this kid can pass.
The 5-foot-11 Texan did his best Drew Brees all over the Rams on Saturday at Marv Kay Stadium, where they packed the stands so quickly the university started turning folks away at the gate.
Once the dust settled, Matocha had put up 371 passing yards and five touchdowns in the first home NCAA semifinal game in school history. They’ll debate the best of the five for years, but my vote goes to his second score of the second half — a Brees-esque heave on the move, rolling right, during which the kid spun out of one attempt at a tackle, then, while being dragged to the ground, managed to keep his spit together long enough to find an open Josh Johnston for a 33-yard score and a 30-3 lead.
“For little Colorado School of Mines to be THE team in Colorado …” Mines president Paul Johnson chuckled as he watched — and cheered — from just outside the west end zone, wearing a gray hoodie and a grin from here to Genesee.
“First time this has ever happened at this university. You never know when it’s going to happen again. (A full house), having a great time, seeing something that you might never get to see again in your lifetime. But we’re going to enjoy it while we can.”
Helluva engineer.
Helluva team.
From the second quarter on, Saturday’s semi was one big football hootenanny for Johnson, Blaster & company. Miners-Rams took about 20 minutes to turn into the second coming of Cherry Creek vs. ThunderRidge, where a good team winds up getting boat-raced by an elite one.
Shepherd brought the sexiest name to the party in quarterback Tyson Bagent, a senior who’d considered transferring to an FBS program prior to the season. Bagent’s a big dude (6-3) with a big arm, so naturally, NFL scouts think they can turn him into something. But while the guy getting ready for a theory of computation final went nuts, the guy going to the Senior Bowl got sacked eight times and gave it away four times to the school of piranhas on the Mines’ defense.
On a third-and-2 at his own 24 with 1:02 left in the first half, Bagent backpedaled out of shotgun and got about as far as “1-Mississippi” when a gaggle of Orediggers shot the ‘A’ gap and converged on his ribcage. Linebacker Nolan Reeve trucked the Shepherd QB at full-tilt, jarring the ball loose a good four or five yards behind the sardined signal-caller. Safety Logan Rayburn raced in, scooped up the rock and ran untouched to the end zone for a 16-3 lead.
“Hey, it’s the semifinals; everyone’s good here,” said Reeve, who finished with five stops and three tackles for losses. “But it’s just that mindset that, if you’re going against someone good, guess what? You’re good, too. So let’s get at it.”
Helluva engineer.
Helluva defense.
While the piranhas were getting at it, the alumni up in the boxes were pinching themselves, toasting the most fun college football team in the Front Range and looking for a clapper to stir it ‘round. Only Ferris State (13-1) stands between Mines (13-2) and a national title next Saturday in McKinney, Texas. Pretty cool.
“Pretty cool would be an understatement,” former Mines QB Justin Dvorak laughed. “That’s for sure.”
For a generation, the bar at cozy Marv Kay, home to one of the sweetest views in college football, kept rising. Dvorak did some of that heavy lifting six years ago, winning the Harlon Hill Trophy, the Heisman Trophy of Division II, in 2016. He joked to some coaches and fellow alums before the game that the idea of a milestone when he first got to Golden was a season that landed on the right side of .500.
“(We’re) way beyond that, right?” Dvorak said.
Just a little.
And, oh, sweet irony. Ferris State was the bunch that knocked Mines out of the D-II playoffs up in Michigan in November 2016, Dvorak’s senior season.
“Cold, dreary day,” Dvorak recalled. “It was close up until the end of the third quarter, then they just kind of ran away with it.”
Ferris 38, Mines 17.
You know what they say about payback.
“So I’ll give them that,” Dvorak continued with a smile, “if we can have this next one. I’m hoping that’s the way it works out.”
Those piranhas? They’re coming. And they’re hungry.
“Job’s not done,” Matocha said, straightening in his seat. “We’ve still got one more game. I’m eager to start watching film and get ready for it.”
Helluva engineer.
Helluva ride.
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