Rachel Heaton
The Paw Print
Led by senior Ron Gaudin (Miami, Fla.) who racked up 144 receiving yards and two receiving touchdowns and also registered a 100 yard kickoff return for a touchdown, the Adams State Grizzlies topped the Colorado School of Mines Orediggers 36-25 on Saturday.
The Grizzlies are now fourth in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, advancing to a 7-3 overall record and a 5-3 conference record.
Gaudin and Senior Trevor Eggleston (Tucson, Ariz.) both received honors for their performances in Saturday’s game. Eggleston was named RMAC/Rawlings Offensive Player of the Week after passing for 370 yards and two touchdowns.
Gaudin was named RMAC/Rawlings Special Teams Player of the Week as well as being named Division II Special Teams Player of the Week by NCAA.com. He was then honored as the National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame – Colorado Chapter Player of the Week. He was also named the asugrizzlies.com athlete of the week. Gaudin had 252 all-purpose yards in Saturday’s contest.
Mines was on the board first on Saturday. Eggleston was intercepted and the Orediggers took over on ASU’s 10 yard line. The Adams State defense came up big, however, holding Mines to only a field goal by Avery Llewellyn.
Not long later, Gaudin would score his first touchdown of the day. Redshirt freshman Dominique Mathews (Brighton, Colo.) rushed 40 yards to set the Grizzlies up on the CSM 34 yard line. A 20-yard pass to Harry Adjei (San Jose, Calif.) put ASU inside the red zone. Eggleston then connected with Gaudin, good for 12 yards and the score.
The Grizzlies would score on their next drive on a 35 yard field goal by senior David Van Voris (Elizabeth, Colo.). The kick capped a 9 play, 22-yard drive led mainly by redshirt freshman Justin Kauffman (Anchorage, Alaska).
Mines answered right back, going 75 yards in 6 plays, the last of which was a 37 yard pass from quarterback Matt Brown to Eric Shannon. Llewellyn’s PAT attempt was no good, so the Grizzlies held onto a slight 10-9 lead with 1:57 left in the first quarter.
Eggleston was intercepted again in the second quarter and this time, the Orediggers capitalized on the mistake and returned the ball 13 yards for a touchdown. Several drives later, they added to the score on a 29 yard field goal by Llewellyn.
With only 29 seconds remaining in the first half, Llewellyn kicked off to the Grizzlies. The ball was taken by Gaudin who returned it 100 yards for a touchdown. Gaudin’s kickoff return was the third 100-yard return in Grizzly history. After a failed two-point conversion attempt, ASU entered the half trailing 18-16.
The Grizzlies came out strong in the second half, scoring on their first possession. Eggleston passes to junior Chris Jamison (Mesa, Ariz.) and sophomore Drew Edwards (Longmont, Colo.) of 36 and 14 yards, respectively, helped put ASU within scoring range. Gaudin then found the end zone for the third time on the day on a nine yard pass from Eggleston.
A few drives later, the Grizzly defense stepped up big when senior James Ackel (Riverside, Calif.) forced a fumble that was recovered by senior Brent Lush (Tucson, Ariz.). Lush returned the ball 18 yards to set the Grizzlies up on the CSM 25. However, the ASU offense was unable to find the end zone and was forced to settle for a 21 yard field goal by Van Voris.
The Grizzlies did find the end zone on their next possession, though, on a 7 yard rush by Kauffman, set up by 26 and 37 yard receptions by Gaudin and Adjei. Van Voris kicked another field goal early in the fourth quarter to put the Grizzlies up 36-18.
The Orediggers were not ready to give up, as they put one final touchdown before time expired.
The Grizzlies put up 580 yards of total offense, while holding the Orediggers to 330, with only 27 rushing yards. Eggleston went 29-46 in the contest. Kauffman had 102 yards on the ground, followed by Mathews who had 70. Adjei had 90 yards on 5 receptions and Edwards recorded 6 catches for 72 yards. Defensively, Ackel tallied seven tackles, all of which were solo.
Adams State will wrap up their season this weekend as Colorado Mesa comes to town. Mesa sits at 4-4 in conference play and 6-4 overall. The game will kickoff at 1 p.m. and will also be senior/parent day, honoring all of the seniors on the Grizzly squad this season.
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