No doubt about it, the Chadron State College football team put things together well Saturday during its resounding 57-20 victory over Fort Lewis during the Eagles’ homecoming game
After scoring just 46 points during their previous four games, the Eagles tallied 50 through the first three quarters Saturday and added another touchdown late in the game. Their 238 yards rushing, 321 yards passing and 559 total net yards are all season-highs.
The Eagles definitely had some highlights, topped by their sophomore passing combination. Quarterback Preston Pearson complete 14 of 16 passes for 305 yards and five touchdowns, while Tommy Thomas caught half of those completions for 225 yards and four TDs.
Thomas’s stats netted him the RMAC Offensive Player of the Week Award. He tied the school record for most TD receptions in a game and his yardage total is sixth on the Eagles’ all-time list.
We have to go back to the McLain brothers to match Pearson’s completion success. Joe tops the all-time passing proficiency list for having competed all eight of his passes in 2006 against Western Colorado. He also clicked on 13 of 15 tosses against Colorado Mines that season. Jonn had a great day six years later while completing 29 of 34 passes against Black Hills State in 2012.
Chadron State’s outpouring of success last Saturday came against probably the weakest team in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, but it was exhilarating to see it happen while so many alumni were looking on. The crowd included about 70 football players from the 1970s and 50 from the early 1980s who returned for Reunion Weekend.
During the post-game radio show, one of the Eagles’ captains, Joey Geil said it well: “We needed this. It feels good. We need to rally off this and keep it going.”
Head Coach Jay Long also summed it up well: “We had both big plays and good drives, and the defense also did it’s job well.” He may not have said it, but it seems he was inferring: “We need to build off this for the rest of the season.”
Now at 2-4, the Eagles have played six games and have five to go. The next opponent is Adams State in Alamosa this Saturday with kickoff at noon.
Despite a 3-3 record, the Grizzlies apparently weren’t much better than the Skyhawks a few weeks ago. When those teams met in Alamosa on Sept. 23, Adams State won by just 25-24. Fort Lewis led 24-16 going into the fourth quarter before the Grizzlies drove 77 yards for a touchdown midway in the period and then kicked a field goal with less than a minute remaining for the verdict.
That was one of Adams State’s three wins. The Grizzlies also defeated Lincoln College of California 36-14 in their season-opener and following the win over Fort Lewis, slipped by New Mexico Highland 21-14. Located in Oakland, this is Lincoln College’s third season of football
Adams State’s losses have been to West Texas A&M 28-7, Colorado Mines 70-7 and last week to CSU-Pueblo 43-10.
Coached by Jarrell Harrison, who is in his third year as the Grizzlies head coach after being on the coaching staff for six years previously, Adams State has used lots players apparently while searching for the right combination.
According to their six-game cumulative stat sheet, 15 different players have carried the ball and 17 Grizzlies have caught passes. None of the running backs has carried more than 25 times for 175 yards and none of the receivers has caught more than 20 passes for 212 yards.
Chase Nelson, a 6-5, 225-pound freshman from Oregon, appears to have become the top quarterback He’s played in four games and has completed 41 of 62 passes for 381 yards and three touchdowns. He was 15 of 26 for 165 yards against Pueblo after completing 19 of 24 for 156 yards against Highlands. He apparently is not much of a threat to run.
There’s been a big turnover of personnel on defense. Only three of the players listed as starters for the Grizzlies when they visited Chadron last season are on this year’s roster. One of the returnees is senior safety Daniel Mendoza, 6-1, 195. He leads the team with 58 tackles, 20 more than anyone else, and six pass breakups.
Last year’s game in Chadron was a donnybrook. It saw the Eagles’ Gunnar Jones kick two 57-yard field goals with the wind at his back and a 35-yarder with the wind in his face. CSC finally won 29-27 by completing a 67-yard drive when massive Jalen Starks dove into the end zone with 68 seconds remaining. Mendoza was the game’s leading tackler with 15.