GOLDEN — Since quarterback John Matocha and offensive coordinator Pete Sterbick first began working with each other in the spring of 2019, they’ve had one goal in mind: Capture lightning in a bottle to win a title with the Colorado School of Mines football program.
If there’s one team that can do it, it’s Mines. The NCAA Division II preseason No. 2 Orediggers will begin their season at 6 p.m. Thursday against No. 3 Grand Valley State at Marv Kay Stadium. Matocha, now a redshirt senior, will look to reignite the electrifying, nation-leading offense from 2022 that reached the national championship game last December but fell 41-14 to Ferris State. Meanwhile, Sterbick took over head coaching duties in May after former coach Brandon Moore departed to FCS-level San Diego — the program’s third head coach in the last three years.
After falling one game short, Sterbick, who remains the offensive coordinator, is eager to prove the Orediggers can not only capture lightning, but seal the jar rock-solid shut.
“One of the main things is that we, for not a moment, sat around and felt good about how last year went,” Sterbick told The Post last week. “We were pretty displeased with how it ended. Similar to the year before when we were coming off of a super semifinal run, but we felt we didn’t put our best foot forward in the last game.
“Having 17 sixth-year seniors, having the veteran leadership that we have back on all three phases is huge. That’s probably the biggest thing: We’ve got guys that know what we’re about and the mission hasn’t changed. I told that them right away was that the mission wouldn’t change.”
Matocha said he’s got “full faith” in the changes at the top. Mines kept each of its last two hires in-house as both Moore and Sterbick were on Greg Brandon’s staff when he retired at the end of the 2021 season. The Magnolia, Texas, native picked up habits from each: how best to step into a leadership role as captain from Moore, and from Sterbick, how to do the little things well.
“Coach Sterbick’s motto is ‘attention to detail,’” Matocha said. “He lives that with everything he does, and I think it’s kind of transitioned into the team.”
At times last season, the details churned into eye-popping stats that resulted in a Harlon Hill Trophy for the computer science master’s student as the nation’s top Division II player: 4,778 yards passing, 52 passing touchdowns and the third-most total yards (5,221) in D-II history for a single season.
If he has anything like the season he had last year, he’ll have the chance to surpass current Chicago Bears rookie Tyson Bagent of Shepherd University for the all-time D-II touchdown record. Matocha is just 40 TDs short.
He’ll have weapons to match his play as the Orediggers return 18 starters on both sides of the ball from the 2022 season: seven on offense, five of whom are on the offensive line, as well as Matocha’s top target, Max McLeod, who led the nation in receiving yards (1,492) and touchdowns (18).
Matocha said to expect more big-time playmakers stepping up in 2023. Following the national championship game loss, Matocha, a team captain, stepped up in the locker room and personally acknowledged what the then-seniors had done for the program, but emphasized looking forward.
“Honestly, it hurt a lot when you’re playing for (a title), and I know football doesn’t define individuals, but you’re able to get over it and start looking for next season pretty quickly,” he said.
Appropriate for a coach at an elite engineering school, Sterbick will take a methodical approach to Saturdays and has seen his quarterback and offense operate at a higher level so far. He knows the other side of the ball will be vital, too: Mines led all of college football with 71 sacks last season, and its big three — Nolan Reeve (13.5 sacks), Jack Peterson (9.0) and Jaden Healy (7.5) — will be busy again.
“Each week is kind of its own case study,” Sterbick said. “It’s hard to not be excited, but as far as leading the country again? All I wanna do is win every game. We’ve got a great defense to help our offense out, and our special teams has to be the glue. It really puts things in perspective, and if we do that, all those other things will happen.”
For his final ride in the silver and blue, to reach the summit, above all else Matocha knows it’s about staying true to the program roots.
“In order for Mines to have a good start or end to the season, I think we have to play Mines football,” Matocha said. “It sounds super simple, but our brand of football is extremely unique to this institution.”
“What we do athletically, what we do academically is extremely special, and I think if we stick to our brand, stick to the culture we built up over the last 10, 20, 30 or even 100 years, I wanna think we can surprise people — but we’ve already done that, so now it’s about surpassing those expectations.”
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