Con Marshall
CHADRON, Neb.. – South Dakota Mines held the ball for 43 minutes and ran 79 plays compared to Chadron State’s 43 while slipping past the Eagles 24-17 Saturday afternoon in a Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference football game in Chadron. The victory gave the Hardrockers possession of the Eagle-Rock Trophy for the second time in three years.
The Eagles fall to 3-6 on the season, with a 2-5 record in the RMAC. They now have four RMAC losses this season by a touchdown or less. South Dakota Mines improved to 4-5, 3-4 in the RMAC.
On their first possession, the Hardrockers used half of the first quarter while driving 78 yards in 15 plays and scoring on Dawson Dunbar’s three-yard run. The Eagles’ Wilson Yee kicked a 49-yard field goal late in the first period and South Dakota Mines kicker Connor Taylor booted a 32-yarder late in the second quarter to make it 10-3 in favor of the Hardrockers at halftime. Both placekickers also made all of their extra point attempts.
Chadron State tied the score at 10-10 with less than three minutes gone in the third frame when redshirt freshman Liam Blaser blocked a Mines punt and CSC senior Brodie Roden took it 26 yards to the end zone.
The third quarter proved fateful as the Hardrockers cashed in on two turnovers to go ahead 24-10. Initially, Mines’ defensive tackle Caleb Franklin intercepted a pass at the Chadron State 32. Quarterback Jake Martinelli immediately connected with tight end Henry Dryden on an 18-yard pass and three plays later running back Holden Gilbert went three yards up the middle for the touchdown.
On the second play of the Eagles’ ensuing possession, wide receiver Jamahd Monroe made a beautiful reception of a 47-yard pass thrown by quarterback Miguel Larios. However, on the next play, Larios was sacked by linebacker Charlie Johnson and also lost the ball, which was recovered by the Hardrockers’ Jarin Allen at Mines’ 43-yard line.
Larios was designated the Eagles’ starting quarterback shortly before the game when it was determined that starter DJ Ralph, who had performed well the previous four games, could not play because of a recurring shoulder injury. Larios completed 11 of 22 passes for 181 yards.
Bolstered by a 22-yard run by Orlando Westbook-Sanchez and a 12-yard pass from Martinelli to Colton Grover, Mines scored on Dunbar’s five-yard burst on the first play of the fourth quarter.
The Eagles closed the gap to 24-17 with 10:32 left in the final period by gaining 54 yards on two passes. Larios hooked up with Monroe on a 39-yard shot and Tommy Thomas took a quick slant 15 yards to the end zone. CSC had two more possessions, but were unable to sustain them.
For the game, Thomas caught eight passes for 76 yards while Monroe’s two grabs covered 86 yards to serve as CSC’s leading receivers. Jake Marschall had 14 carries for 48 yards, but the Eagles finished with only 35 yards net rushing.
For South Dakota Mines, Martinelli completed 13 of 20 passes for 92 yards. Dryden was his top target with four catches for 46 yards. Gilbert carried 22 times for 89 yards and Dunbar, the former Chadron High School standout, 16 times for 61 yards.
The two punters, Brodie Eisenbraun for Chadron State and Taylor for Mines, each averaged more than 43 yards on five punts, not counting Taylor’s blocked attempt. Taylor had a 66-yarder and Eisenbraun booted a 58-yarder.
Another telling comparison was the Hardrockers’ 10 of 20 on third down conversions compared to the Eagles’ one of nine. With the Hardrockers running so many plays, the Eagles made lots of tackles. Defensive end William Stemler led with 10, while Xavier Harrell, Omar Ali, Dax Yeradi, and Hunter O’Connor each had eight. Charlie Johnson paced South Dakota Mines with seven besides forcing the fumble that led to a touchdown.
Chadron State has two games remaining, both against teams that entered the week ranked in the top-10 nationally. The Eagles will head to No. 8 Western Colorado in Gunnison next Saturday before hosting No. 10 CSU Pueblo on November 16 in the regular season finale at Elliott Field.