Sports March: Victory! By Bill Anderson December 1951 It just wasn't supposed to happen, but it did! A fighting Oredigger football team came through with a solid 14-6 win over Colorado College to wrap up the 1951 Rocky Mountain Football Championship. The Miners were undefeated in conference play, boasting a 12-point margin in their four conference wins. Outweighed in all games and the underdogs in the pre-game selections in all of their winning efforts but one, this scrappy band of footballers weren't to be denied. The success of the 1951 season is not attributable to "luck", but to a defensive line that was downright nasty in the clutch and an extra-point artist- Mr. Automatic Toe personified. There were no "stars" on the 1951 squad, as team play and team spirit keynoted the success of this year's football season. The team had its most punch with Ron Bethurum at the tailback spot, but Ron missed four games due to injuries and the Orediggers still kept winning. Ed Tuner's 14 conversions out of 15 attempts were instrumental in the victories, but so was Guard Wally Arnold's blocking of a Colorado State try for a point in Mines' 14-13 win over the Greeleyites. A hard charging forward wall smothered Western State and Idaho State conversion attempts in other one- and two- point decisions.     The defensive line was terrific when deep in its own territory. Tackles Joe Rebeck, Bill Cooke and Darrell Beckley were spoilers for opponents with scoring notions. Ends Tom Wyman, Ted Bergstro and Max Settlemyre would not be turned. The middle guard on the five man line was Ken Dunn, one of the most underrated ball players on the team. Linebackers Wayne Siltanen, LeRoy Little and Ed Ziolkowski were hard, vicious tacklers. The defensive halfbacks were probably the best in the league. Senior Ray Govett intercepted nine passes, just three short of the intercollegiate record. Sophomore Loren Whitescarver will be heard from for another two years. He is fast, a sure tackler and loves to play football. Chuck Andrews, another sophomore at safety is extremely fast. His 95-yard touchdown jaunt with an intercepted pass provided the 7-0 win over New Mexico A & M.