Colorado School of Mines’ Flynn Schiele is the National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame Player of the Week for last week’s performance.
In the Orediggers 52-24 win over Black Hills State in Golden, Schiele caught 13 of the 16 passes he was targeted on, averaging 22.8 yards per reception, and had three touchdown receptions.
The 297 receiving yards is the third-most in the history of collegiate football in the state of Colorado, with only Patrick Walker of Northern Colorado (315 yards on 10 receptions with two touchdowns) versus North Dakota on October 29, 2011, and Mike Collodi of Mines (310, 10, 3) versus Westminster on October 3, 1970, being better.
Schiele is the 18th player from Mines to be honored as a NFF Colorado Chapter POW. Oredigger gridders have now been recognized 36 times since the start of the POW program in 2003. Current teammate Max McLeod was an NFFCC recipient twice, including last November 28.
Other nominees for the games played on Saturday (September 28) were Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders, Colorado Mesa’s Jason Thome, CSU Pueblo’s Howard Russell V, and Western Colorado’s Royce Pao.
The recipients of the first four POW certificates were Devin Larsen (games played August 29 & 31) and Reggie Retzlaff (games played September 5 & 7) of Colorado State Pueblo, and Travis Hunter (games played September 14 & 21).
Colorado (W, 48-21 at Central Florida
| Name: Shedeur Sanders | Year: SR | Position: QB | Ht: 6-2 | Wt: 215 |
| Hometown/Previous School/High School: Dallas, Texas / Trinity/Jackson | ||||
INDIVIDUAL STATS: 28-of-35 290 yards, 3TDs, 5 rushes for 18 yads
INDIVIDUAL NOTES: Shedeur Sanders was 28-of-35 passing for 290 yards and three touchdowns to three different receivers. He added three carries for 28 yards taking out sack yardage.
Colorado Mesa (W, 18-3 vs. Chadron State)
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Name: Jason Thome |
Year: So. |
Position: S |
Ht: 6-0 |
Wt: 190 |
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Hometown/Previous School/High School: Arvada, Colo. / Ralston Valley |
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INDIVIDUAL STATS: 4 tackles, 2 INTs, 1 INT return for a touchdown
INDIVIDUAL NOTES: Sophomore Jason Thome helped the Maverick defense allow just 123 yards of total offense from Chadron State in an 18-3 win over the Eagles. Thome finished with four tackles and two interceptions, one of which he returned 55 yards for a touchdown. Chadron State had just 75 yards passing in the game. Thome now has eight interceptions in his career that spans just 15 games at this point with two of those being returned for touchdowns.
Colorado School of Mines (W, 52-24 vs. Black Hills State)
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Name: Flynn Schiele |
Year: R-Jr. |
Position: WR |
Ht: 6-4 |
Wt: 205 |
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Hometown/Previous School/High School: West Linn, Ore. / West Linn |
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INDIVIDUAL STATS: 13 receptions, 297 yards, 3 touchdowns.
INDIVIDUAL NOTES: Flynn Schiele had a record-setting receiving performance to help Mines defeat Black Hills State, 52-24, in Week 4. Schiele was targeted 16 times for 13 catches to produce 297 yards, the most by a player in NCAA Division II and the second-most in all of college football this season. It was the Orediggers’ biggest receiving yardage total since 1970 as he was 13 yards shy of the long-standing program record; Schiele did break the Marv Kay Stadium record for yards, however. His touchdowns came on strikes of 36, 8, and 41 yards as he averaged 22.8 yards per catch with a long of 53.
CSU Pueblo (W, 66-10 at Adams State)
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Name: Howard Russell |
Year: Sr. |
Position: RB |
Ht: 6-1 |
Wt: 200 |
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Hometown/Previous School/High School: Phoenix, Ariz. / Eastern New Mexico / Phoenix Christian Prep |
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INDIVIDUAL STATS: In the No. 22 Pack’s 66-10 win Saturday at Adams State, Howard Russell V continued his hot play as he carried the ball 13 times for 168 yards and scored two of the Pack’s seven offensive touchdowns. He did not lose yards in the game as all his rushes went for either no gain or positive yards. Against the Grizzlies, he averaged 12.9 yards per rush and had a long rush of 33 yards and scored his touchdowns on runs of 26 yards to give the Pack a 29-10 lead at the half and scored his second touchdown on a 6-yard run about four-plus minutes into the third quarter to provide the Pack with a 43-10 lead. He also caught two passes for 11 yards and finished with a game and season-high 179 all-purpose yards. Over his last two games, Russell has carried the ball 31 times for 310 yards and has scored five touchdowns and is averaging 10 yards per carry and 155 yards rushing per game.
INDIVIDUAL NOTES: Russell is now the leading rusher in the RMAC as he has gained 541 yards on 76 carries and has scored six touchdowns and has added a pass receiving touchdown as his seven touchdowns are tied for tops in the league. His 168 rushing yards are tops on the team this season and tops among all RMAC running backs this season. The seven touchdowns are eighth-best in Division II football.
Western Colorado (W, 53-12 at NMHU)
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Name: Royce Pao |
Year: R-So. |
Position: RB |
Ht: 5-8 |
Wt: 200 |
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Hometown/Previous School/High School: Oahu, Hawai’i / Kahuku |
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INDIVIDUAL STATS: 10 carries – 74 yards (7.4 YPC), 3 TDs, long of 32
INDIVIDUAL NOTES: Pao hit paydirt 3 times in #13 Western’s road victory at NM Highlands, scoring half of the Mountaineers’ touchdowns on the day.
NFF & CHOF Colorado Chapter 2024 Player of the Week.
- August 29 & 31 – Devin Larsen, CSU Pueblo
- September 5 & 7 – Reggie Retzlaff, CSU Pueblo
- September 14 – Travis Hunter, Colorado
- September 21 – Travis Hunter, Colorado
- September 28 – to be named (Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders, Colorado Mesa’s Jason Thome, Colorado Mines’ Flynn Schiele, CSU Pueblo’s Howard Russell V and Western Colorado’s Royce Pao)
