By Con Marshall
The margin of victory was slim, but after trailing 21-10 at halftime the Chadron State College football team didn’t give up any more points and pulled out a 24-21 win over New Mexico Highlands in a Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference clash on the road Saturday.
It was the Eagles’ third win in four games, improving their record to 4-5 overall and 3-4 in the conference.
Highland scored on its first two possessions and its final possession in the first half, but was limited to just 81 yards of total offense in the second half.
Meanwhile, the Eagles scored on an interception and 25-yard sprint to the end zone by freshman safety Tucker Peterson midway in the third quarter. A two-point conversion pass from quarterback Preston Pearson to wide receiver Tommy Thomas cut the deficit to 21-18.
Both teams had struggled to keep their offenses on the field during the second half until Chadron State finally completed a 60-yard drive in nine plays when Pearson hit tight end Peter Krohn with an eight-yard pass in the end zone with only 71 seconds remaining.
Chadron State Head Coach Jay Long said was Peterson’s “pick-six” was motivator that helped the Eagles “find a way to win.”
“Our offense wasn’t very consistent most of the game, but the defense and special teams kept us in it,” Long said. “The Highlands’ defensive coordinator also had done a good job of preparing for our offense. I am proud that our team found a way to win.”
Although Highlands kicked off to open the game, the Cowboys scored just 53 seconds later. On the Eagles’ first play from scrimmage a pass was deflected at the line of scrimmage and intercepted Cowboys’ safety Nigil Thomas, who returned it 13 yards to the CSC 15. Running back Shawntay Mills took the ball 14 yards on his first carry and into the end zone on his second.
Chadron State drove 68 yards on its second possession, but had to settle for a 20-yard field goal by Wilson Yee.
Aided by a pass interference penalty against the Eagles, Highlands need just two plays to go ahead 14-3 with 8:52 left in the opening quarter: Mills ran 23 yards up the middle and quarterback Jonathan Jerry hit Teneil Nichols with a pass that went for a 37-yard touchdown.
After being forced to punt four times and missing a 32-yard field goal, Chadron State scored its first touchdown when Pearson connected with Tommy Thomas on a 41-yard pass with two minutes left in the second quarter.
That was enough time for Highlands to answer with a 12-play, 75-yard scoring drive. Mills’ 26-yard burst on fourth down was the big play. Quarterback Joey Cave, who had taken over when Jerry was injured earlier in the quarter, scored on a nine-yard draw play with six seconds left on the first half clock. Will McDaniel’s third extra point made the score 21-10.
But the Cowboys never threatened in the second half and the Eagles prevailed.
Chadron State finished with 281 total net yards that included 116 yards on 23 carries by freshman running back Jake Marschall and Pearson’s 11 pass completions on 22 attempts for 124 yards. Thomas caught five of the passes for 95 yards, including his 41-yard TD reception.
The pesky Mills led Highlands with 22 rushes for 128 yards. Cave carried 10 times for 42 yards, but his three pass completions netted just one yard. Before leaving the game, Jerry had completed three of seven tosses for 43 yards—37 of them on the TD pass to Nichols.
The stout CSC defense was credited with 11 tackles for a negative 50 yards. Reed Henkel, Hunter O’Connor and Tanner True all made two of the behind the line of scrimmage stops. Henkel and fellow linebacker Logan O’Brien each participated in eight tackles and Dax Yeradi six, according to the stats sheet.
Highlands linebacker Devin Coney had a game-high 10 tackles. The Cowboys are now 2-7 overall and 1-6 in the RMAC.
CSC NMHU
First Downs 17 15
Total Net Yards 281 270
Rushes, Yards 40-157 49-226
Passing Yards 124 44
Passing 11-22-1 6-19-2
Return Yards 57 65
Punts, Average 7-40.3 8-37.5
Fumbles, Lost 1-1 0-0
Penalties, Yards 4-40 9-75
Chadron State 3 7 8 6 —24
N.M. Highlands 14 7 0 0 —21
NMHU—Shawntay Mills 1 run (Will McDaniel kick)
CSC—Wilson Yee 20 field goal
NMHU—Teneil Nichols 37 pass from Jonathan Jerry (McDaniel kick)
CSC—Tommy Thomas 41 pass from Preston Pearson (Yee kick)
NMHU—Joey Cave 9 run (McDaniel kick)
CSC—Tucker Peterson 25 interception return (Thomas pass from Pearson)
CSC—Peter Krohn 8 pass from Pearson (kick failed)