Cowboys Face Nationally Ranked Colorado School Of Mines Saturday

Las Vegas, New Mexico - The Cowboys play at home again this week welcoming Colorado School of Mines to historic Las Vegas for a 12:00 pm contest. NMHU is 2-6 overall and 2-4 in the RMAC.

COACH TAUFA'ASAU: Taufa'asau was named the head football coach at New Mexico Highlands on May 29th. He comes to Las Vegas after a very successful tenure at New Mexico Military Institute where he compiled a 27-10 record and led the Broncos to the 2021 NJCAA Division National Championship. A graduate of the University of Wyoming, Taufa'asau played for the Cowboys in 2011 and 2012. After his career in Laramie, he spent time with the Raiders, Titans and Colts. Taufa'asau earned his first win at the helm of the Cowboys on October 11, 2024 with a 33-30 win over Chadron State.

COWBOYS AT A GLANCE: The Cowboys defeated Adams State last Saturday 44-27 at Sanchez Family Stadium on First Responders Night sponsored by the City of Las Vegas. As a team the Cowboys amassed 430 yards of total offense and dominated the time of possession against the visiting Grizzlies. Freshman Tevita Valeti had 200 yards rushing and four touchdowns to help lead the Cowboys.

Defensively the Cowboys forced three Adams State turnovers on the night. Freshman Adrian Bonilla was NMHU's leading tackler with six.

"We are a young team that is starting to grow up," said Coach Taufa'asau. "The win over Adams State was the result of hard work and preparation during the course of the week."

RMAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Tevita Valeti was named the RMAC Offensive player of the Week on Monday.

The freshman from Springville, Utah, had a monster night on Saturday rushing for 200 yards and scoring four touchdowns in NMHU's 44-27 win over Adams State. Valeti is currently second in the conference with 756 rushing yards through eight games.

"Tevita is special. He came in as a freshman and got his opportunity to play and he is making the most of it," said Coach Kurt Taufa'asau. "Credit to the offensive line for playing well in front of him on Saturday."

Valeti is the first Cowboy to earn RMAC Player of the Week since Devin Coney in Week 9 of the 2021 season.

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING: The Cowboys currently rank fifth in the RMAC scoring at 27.0 points per game. On the defensive side, they are allowing 42.1 per outing.

The Cowboys lead the RMAC and are 9th in Division II with 222.3 rushing yards per game.

Joey Cave is 10th in the RMAC in passing yards at 125.7 per game and is fifth in the RMAC in passing efficiency at 143.9. He is seventh in the RMAC in total offense at 182.7 yards per game.

Tevita Valeti is second in the RMAC and 24th in NCAA Division II in rushing at 94.5 yards per game. He is fifth in the RMAC with 94.9 all purpose yards per game.

Mike Jones is second in the RMAC with 25.6 kick return yards per game. Maurice Newton is sixth in the RMAC with 7.8 punt return yards per game and eighth with 19.3 kick return yards per game.

Teneil Nichols is sixth in the RMAC with 59.3 receiving yards per and eighth in TD scoring at 4.8 points per game.

SCOUTING THE OREDIGGERS: Colorado School of Mines is 6-2 overall and 4-2 in the RMAC and are ranked 18th in the week's AFCA Division II Top 25. The Orediggers lost to Western Colorado 38-28 last Saturday in Golden.

Pete Sterbick is in his fourth season at the Colorado School of Mines. He has a 29-14 record at the helm of the Orediggers.

Colorado School of Mines averages 34.9 points per game on offense while allowing 20.4 points per game.

Evan Foster leads the Colorado School of Mines with 2320 passing yards and 21 touchdowns. Landon Walker is the Oredisggers leading rusher with 605 yards on the ground this season.

"Colorado School of Mines is a very good team, they have been on the top of the mountain the past couple of seasons," said Head Coach Kurt Taufa'asau. "Our defense needs to make plays and get off the field on Saturday and we need to capitalize on our opportunities."

FOLLOW THE COWBOYS: Links for the RMAC Network broadcast and LiveStats for Saturday's game can be found at NMHUAthletics.com.

RMAC NETWORK: Ten of the Cowboys' eleven games this season will be broadcast on the RMAC Network. New Mexico Broadcaster of the Year Scott Galetti returns as the Voice of the Cowboys this season.

NEW MEXICO REPRESENTED: This year's NMHU football roster features 44 players who hail from a New Mexico High School, including seven who are tabbed as starters on this week's Two-Deep Roster.

UP NEXT: The Cowboys head to Durango next Saturday for a 12:00 pm game with Fort Lewis.

NMHU TICKETS: Single game tickets for NMHU Football and Volleyball remaining homes games are available for purchase at NMHUAthletics.com/tickets.