Remember the old adage that games are won and lost on the line of scrimmage?
The Miners certainly took that to heart Saturday afternoon, as they took control of the contest over the final three quarters and scored 38 unanswered points to record a 48-10 win over Lincoln on Hall of Fame Day at Allgood-Bailey Stadium.
UMR pounded out 268 yards on the ground, the most in a game since it had 271 two seasons ago in a victory over Peru State. Miner running backs Jerome Miller and David Shields were the beneficiaries of the work done by the Miner offensive line that busted open holes all day, as Miller finished with 106 yards on 18 carries and Shields picked up 102 yards on 13 carries.
It marked the first time in 10 seasons that two Miners went over the 100-yard mark in the same game.
For the afternoon, the Miners had 460 yards of total offense and averaged six yards per play; the average was 8.4 per play until the final two possessions when UMR kept the ball on the ground to run the clock out.
On the other side, the Miner defense held Lincoln to just 168 yards on the afternoon, including just 58 in the final three quarters. The Miners also forced three Lincoln turnovers with a fumble and interceptions by Robbie Woodard and Phillip Tillman.
The Blue Tigers got on the scoreboard first, however, by taking advantage of the Miners' only turnover of the day. UMR had stopped Lincoln on fourth-and-goal at the one when Oliver Carter crashed the line and stopped Darius Baker for a loss, but Steve Watson fumbled the snap two plays later and the Blue Tigers recovered it on UMR's one-yard line. Baker scored on the next play to put Lincoln in front.
UMR came right back when Ashton Gronewold -- one of 15 Miner seniors playing in their final home game -- returned the ensuing kickoff back to the Lincoln 38. Watson finished a three-play drive by throwing a 24-yard scoring pass to Bryan Crider to tie the game at seven.
Lincoln's Kevin Brown fumbled away the kickoff at his own 26, but the Miners had to settle for a 29-yard field goal from Tim Valencia to take a 10-7 lead. The Blue Tigers answered back with a 35-yard field goal from Charles Christensen to even the contest again at 10.
The Miners took over matters from that point, starting the next time they got the football. UMR moved 64 yards for the go-ahead score when Chad Shockley caught a six-yard scoring pass from Watson, then Jamel Anderson blocked a 47-yard field goal attempt by Christensen to halt Lincoln's next drive.
UMR needed just 2:13 to cover 65 yards, with Shields running for 14 yards and catching a pass for 18 to set up a 16-yard touchdown pass from Watson to Gronewold with 9:21 left in the half. The scoring catch was Gronewold's 50th as a Miner, making him the sixth player in NCAA Division II history with 50 touchdown receptions.
Valencia closed out the first half scoring by booting a 26-yard field goal just before the half ended to give UMR a 27-10 halftime lead.
The Miners smothered the Blue Tiger offense in the second half, as Lincoln managed only 36 yards after the intermission. Meanwhile, the Miners continued to pound the Blue Tigers on the ground, extending the lead on a 22-yard scoring run by Miller and a seven-yard touchdown run by Shields.
Reserve quarterback Matt Sachtleben closed out the scoring by running seven yards on a bootleg for a touchdown early in the fourth quarter.
Watson completed 16-of-22 passes on the afternoon for 165 yards and three scores, with Gronewold catching a team-high five passes. UMR had three players with over 120 all-purpose yards, as Shields finished with 169, Gronewold with 139 and Miller with 121.
UMR had the ball for 37:35 in the game as it scored 40 or more points in back-to-back home games for the first time since 1923.
Linebacker Steve Edwards led the Miner defense with seven tackles.
The Miners will head to the road for their final two games of the 2007 season, beginning next Saturday at Tiffin.
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