BURNABY, B.C. --- The South Dakota School of Mines' defense was a force Saturday night as the Hardrockers recorded two interceptions which were returned for touchdowns in the second half of play and defeated the Simon Fraser Clan(0-3), 26-7, Saturday night in a non-conference bout in Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada.

It was the Hardrockers first win of the season (1-2). It was also the third straight game that the Hardrocker defense got into the end zone and it was the second time this year that SD Mines had scored two defensive touchdowns.

Linebacker Will Carroll was credit with the first INT, stepping in front of a pass deep in Clan territory and dashing to the end zone in the third quarter from 17 yards out.

The second interception was a deep pass that Dominick Jackson snagged and then returned 69 yards up the sideline, hurdling defenders to bust in for the score. Jackson now has two pick-sixes on the season and has three on the year.

The Hardrockers first score came at the end of the first quarter when quarterback Toby Smith delivered a shuttle pass to tight end Ira Murphey over the middle who took the ball in from six yards out.

Enis Sefa also had two field goals in the second quarter, the first was good from 38 yards and the second was a 40-yarder. He also added two extra points.

Offensively, the Hardrockers  rushed the ball very effectively, racking up 231 yards on 47 carries. Ahmad Lewis led the way with 94 yards on 23 carries, Kaleb Roth added 83 yards on 15 rushes and Zach Hoopman tacked on 46 yards on five carries.

Toby Smith got the start at quarterback Saturday, completing 15-28 passes for 149 yards and a TD throw. He found seven different Hardrocker receivers in the game.

Anthony Ullrich collected eight receptions for 59 yards, Joe Luebers had two catches for 11 yards while Lewis, Collin Zur, Carson Hunt, Murphey and Roth were all credit with one catch.
Defensively, Steven Nolasco led the team with 11 tackles, Justin Broekemeier had 10 and Cole Peterson recorded nine.

SD Mines also recorded four sacks in the game. Thomas Chapman was credited with three sacks and Logan Godwin had the other.