By Con Marshall
Western Nebraska football fans are in for a rare treat. The Chadron State Eagles will kick off the season by hosting the Nebraska-Kearney Lopers at 6 p.m. Thursday, August 29 at Elliott Field.
It will be the 73rd game in the schools’ all-time series and the first time the intrastate rivals have played a season-opener. It was made possible when the NCAA ruled in January that teams from different conferences but in close proximity of one another could play an early-season game during what has been labeled 0 Week.
The ruling has re-established the CSC-UNK rivalry. Beginning next year, the Eagles and the Lopers are due to play one another the second game of each season. They will be “trophy games,” with the winner taking home the newly-minted “Good Life Trophy” that will be unveiled at the season-opener Thursday night.
Both teams hope to be improved this fall. The Eagles had a 5-6 record last season while the Lopers fell to 3-8. Both have added numerous transfers to the roster in an effort to regain their winning traditions.
Chadron State Head Coach said he’s been pleased how his team has developed. He said the Eagles “came together really well” during spring drills and have continued on that path this fall. That’s a total of 38 practices, he added.
“I like where we’re at,” he said Saturday following a two-hour non-contact workout. “We haven’t changed much this fall. Our depth chart is about the same as it was at the end of the spring. I know we’ve got more depth (than we had a year ago). I think we’re ready to play. We’ve practiced long enough.”
Both Chadron State and Kearney have recruited a new quarterback. The Eagles’ is D.J. Ralph, formerly the starter at Saddleback College in California, while the Lopers have brought in Reagan Jones, who was the starting quarterback for 14 games at Missouri Western in 2021 and ’22.
The Eagles’ top players include senior defensive end Hunter O’Connor of Broomfield, Colo. He’s been a first-team Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference choice each of the last two seasons. Last fall, he made 18 tackles for 77 negative yards, including 8.5 quarterback sacks.
Two more Eagles also were first-team all-RMAC last year. They are another defensive lineman, junior Tanner True of Eaton, Colo., and wide receiver Tommy Thomas of Fort Collins, Colo., who caught 55 passes for 908 yards and 10 touchdowns a year ago.
Another of the Eagles’ weapons is senior tight end Peter Krohn, also from Fort Collins. He’s caught 49 passes for 478 yards and six TDs the past two years while earning back-to-back second-team RMAC honors.
Chadron State also features outstanding kickers. Junior Brodie Eisenbraun of Sturgis, S.D., punted 57 times for a 41.8-yard average and senior Wilson Yee of Littleton, Colo., booted 10 field goals, including a school-record 61-yarder last season
Yee also plays the piano for the Chadron State jazz band.
Area players on the Eagles’ two-deep depth chart include center Tyler Smith of Scottsbluff and running back Rylan Aguallo of Mitchell. Long said 85 players will suit up for the first game. Almost 45 more players, most of them freshmen who will redshirt this fall, also are on the roster.
Kearney’s top players include defensive end Quillan Felton, who had 10 tackles for a minus 60 yards last season while earning honorable mention all-conference. All of the other UNK all-conference choices a year ago were fifth-year seniors.
However, Coach Ryan Held and his staff have added at least 16 transfers, most of whom participated in spring practice. Eight of them are listed as probable starters for the season-opener.