GOLDEN, Colorado — Mines running back Noah Roper is a stud! And as he leads the Orediggers high flying offense, he thinks back to his Erie High School days.
“I remember them. Absolutely, it’s pretty wild to think about how long ago it was.”
Five years ago, Roper led Colorado in rushing touchdowns. Six years ago was his most memorable play, in the state championship game at the Air Force Academy.
“I’m running out of my mind, I’m scrambling, I run all the way to the right, I take a sharp turn, run all the way back to the left, and I just chuck the ball basically … like a hail mary. That was really cool. That game was really cool.”
The Dartmouth transfer is the next local star to thrive in Golden. First it was Wheat Ridge native Michael Zeman. Now it’s Roper’s turn.
“To come back here and to see other Colorado guys do amazing, and then I come here and I’m doing great cuz I’m surrounded by these guys who are just letting me into this atmosphere, I think it’s really powerful. I came in with a mindset that I wanted to absolutely dominate.”
Dominate in front of his loved ones, “Every single home game I have at least 10 family members here. For them to all come out and support me and be able to be here with me, this last year playing football is amazing.”
And with the Orediggers losing in last year’s Division II National Championship, Roper can feel their sense of urgency, “They’re so passionate. Passionate to a different degree. You can tell how close they were. Every single game you can tell, no one wants to lose a single game. Everyone wants to leave every single thing they have out on that field and it absolutely rubs off on me.”