Zach Hester and Noah Roper were nervous to run into one another in the Colorado School of Mines weight room after how their first meeting went.

The pair of redshirt seniors were opponents before they ever became Orediggers. A state title matchup in 2017 pitted Erie — Roper’s alma mater — against Palmer Ridge — Hester’s. The latter came out with a win, and though the two knew of each other before the game, they did not have enough familiarity to recognize one another in the weight room.

The first interaction, after a month of “buffering” was a positive one and allowed each to take a deep breath. As Mines readies for a quarterfinal battle Saturday with Central Washington, Hester’s younger brother Derek is looking to make the rivalry more lopsided — No. 1 Palmer Ridge (13-0) and No. 2 Erie (12-1) play in the CHSAA 4A State Championship Saturday at Canvas Stadium.

Memories of the first meeting flooded back as Zach and Roper spoke, but the latter’s chuckle and eye roll told the true feelings. The two’s competitive nature has aided the Orediggers’ climb to their own No. 1 ranking. Roper has benefitted the backfield with a team-high 783 yards and Hester accounted for 2 1/2 sacks and four tackles for loss to aid the team’s top-10 defensive unit.

Colorado players are represented on the Mines’ roster more than any other state.

“It’s amazing how a team will bring people together,” Roper said. “It’s awesome to be around all the Colorado people, and kids you knew in high school and how much they’ve grown.”

Colorado School of Mines relies on in-school athletes as much as any school in the state, and for good reason.

As a Division II school, full-ride athletic scholarships are not available. Portions are, but the ability to pay off a student’s entire time at the school is reserved for higher classifications. So, they split the recruiting up and put the microscope on in-state students who can pay in-state tuition.

Each coach gets a region of the state, on top of their out-of-state recruiting areas. Mines houses 49 Colorado high school football players, led by Valor Christian’s six.

The state is not one known as a fertile recruiting ground. While California, Texas and Georgia put dozens of players in Division I colleges every year, it is rare in Colorado. For every Blake Purchase — a 2022 Cherry Creek graduate who was the state’s top recruit and now plays for Oregon — there are several Ropers and Hesters, and the Orediggers have enjoyed bringing in the latter.

The strategy aids out-of-state athletes, too. Hester’s family has hosted out-of-state athletes at Thanksgiving each year he has been at Mines. Roper does the same, and each has family packing the stands each game to cheer on every Oredigger, even if several out-of-state players will not have the same allotment.

Once Mines starts practice, the developed relationships and skills make it harder to pick out where players were recruited from.

“(Colorado players) are gritty,” Roper said. “But it’s hard to tell sometimes. If you’re on this team, you want (a title), and everyone is very similar in that. Maybe if you went somewhere else, you could tell the difference.”

Erie, Palmer Ridge, Valor Christian and others are all represented at the school. Each has a winning history, and for college-prep schools like Valor, an academic rigor that readies players for the studying side of going up the hill.

That winning history comes in handy. Hester knew what it meant to play in and win the biggest game of his life to that point. Roper learned a different, but equally important lesson in Erie’s runner-up finish. Colorado’s recruiting may not blow away rankings sites, but the winning traditions carry over the same.

“You learn how to win — being around it makes you want it even more, too,” Hester said. “I think that makes you play better.”

“Once you’ve experienced that winning, you never want to experience anything else,” Roper added.

Hester and Roper are still active with the programs.

During Thanksgiving break, Hester attended his younger brother’s winning playoff game, and Erie coach Jeff Giger still asks Roper to come and speak to the team for inspiration.

Neither will be in attendance for Saturday’s playoff game, as they will be fighting for their own postseason lives to continue to the Division II semifinals.

Even so, the two score predictions were as expected. It is a 35-28 win for Palmer Ridge in Hester’s estimation. Roper has Erie taking it 24-21.

Both have Mines over Central Washington.