By Paxton Ritchey- CSC Sports Information
CHADRON, Neb. – Four interceptions on four consecutive passes for the Eagle defense, including two returned for touchdowns, kickstarted a 24-point third quarter as the Chadron State football team put on a show for its homecoming crowd with a 55-13 win over Fort Lewis at Elliott Field at Don Beebe Stadium in Chadron.
The win propels the Eagles’ 2024 record up to 3-4 overall and 2-3 in the RMAC. Fort Lewis fell to 1-6 overall and 0-5 in RMAC play. In addition, Chadron State football improved its record on homecoming to 19-5 since the year 2000.
Safeties Dax Yeradi and Tucker Peterson each recorded pick-sixes as the Eagle defense overwhelmed the Grizzlies with four picks and 24 points in the span of five minutes of game time, turning a 24-0 halftime advantage into a 48-3 lead after three quarters.
Peterson also had a second interception, which he returned to the Fort Lewis seven-yard-line to set up a rushing score, while linebacker Xavier Harrell also came away with a pick.
Quarterback DJ Ralph threw for 157 yards while completing 12 of 21 attempts for a touchdown. Ralph also rushed for 44 net yards and a score on the ground, one of four rushing touchdowns for the Eagles on the day.
Jake Marschall had a pair of rushing touchdowns, from eight and three yards out, while freshman running back and Sargent, Nebraska native Quincey Ryker electrified the crowd in the second half with a 72-yard touchdown on his first college carry.
Both teams punted on their first possession of the game, but Chadron State found the end zone on their second. Ralph found Jamahd Monroe twice, once for 23 yards and once on a flea flicker deep down the middle for 42 yards, setting up a Ralph rushing touchdown from four yards out as the home team led 7-0 after one quarter of play.
In the second quarter, a 12-yard Dax Yeradi punt return gave Chadron State possession at the Fort Lewis 24-yard line to start their drive. A Ralph scramble picked up a first down before Jake Marschall punched it in on third-and-goal for an eight-yard touchdown to make it 14-0.
The Eagles’ next drive stalled, but Wilson Yee nailed a 55-yard field goal to make it 17-0. The kick was Yee’s second-longest of the season behind a 57-yarder he had earlier this year at Colorado Mesa.
Chadron State found paydirt again just before halftime, when Ralph found a wide-open Tommy Thomas in the end zone from eight yards out with 27 seconds left to give the Eagles a 24-0 lead heading into the locker room.
Fort Lewis got on the board early in the second half with a field goal, but midway through the third quarter came the avalanche. Fort Lewis, playing with a rotating cast of quarterbacks due to an injury to season-long start Stone Walker, began to press and Chadron State’s ball-hawking secondary made play after play.
Yeradi sniffed out a screen pass, jumping the route and breaking away untouched for a 51-yard interception return TD to make it 31-3. It was Yeradi’s third interception of the season, tying him for second in the RMAC in that category.
On FLC quarterback Jacob Morris’s very next pass, Tucker Peterson stepped in front of a crossing route over the middle, catching it at the Skyhawks 45 and running it all the way down to the 7-yard-line before being caught from behind. Chadron State wasted little time cashing in, handing it to Jake Marschall twice, with the sophomore’s second carry turning into a 3-yard touchdown run.
Lightning struck again, with Morris’s very next pass intercepted by Xavier Harrell at the Fort Lewis 31. The Skyhawks defense held, with Yee kicking a 37-yard field goal to make it 41-3.
It seemed as though Petersen’s opportunity for a pick-six had come and gone after being tackled in the red zone just four minutes before, but he would have a chance at redemption. Fort Lewis changed quarterbacks, but couldn’t change the outcome, as Sam Jones’s first pass found the arms of Peterson. This time, the sophomore safety would not be caught, running it back 30 yards for another Chadron State TD to make it 48-3.
Turnovers were a theme of the game. In addition to FLC’s four interceptions, both teams lost one fumble each. Chadron State fumbled two more times in the fourth quarter, but were fortunate to recover both to keep the Eagles at just one turnover on the day.
Chadron State was able to empty the bench for much of the fourth quarter. Quarterbacks Miguel Larios and Kasey Jones saw garbage time action, with Jones making his collegiate debut.
Quincey Ryker, a true freshman running back out of Sargent, had a dream start to his college career with a 72-yard touchdown on his first carry to cap CSC’s scoring, breaking one tackle and racing down the near sideline. Ryker finished with two carries for 80 yards.
Jamahd Monroe was CSC’s leading receiver with four catches for 85 yards. Tommy Thomas also had four catches for 31 yards and a touchdown. Jake Marschall finished with 87 net rushing yards and two TD’s on the ground.
Defensively, Reed Henkel led the Eagles with eight tackles while Liam Blaser had seven. Linebacker Logan O’Brien had a sack and 3.5 tackles for loss.
Next week, Chadron State will face off against Black Hills State (3-4, 2-3 RMAC) on the road in Spearfish. Black Hills State went down to the wire with nationally-ranked CSU Pueblo this Saturday, losing 24-21. Kickoff is set for 4 p.m.