By Con Marshall BOX SCORE
 Quarterback Preston Pearson completed 14 of 16 passes for 306 yards and five touchdowns Saturday as the Chadron State Eagles rolled up 559 total net yards while downing the Fort Lewis Skyhawks 57-20 in a Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference game before a huge homecoming crowd in Chadron.
Four of Pearson’s touchdown passes were caught by wide receiver Tommy Thomas to tie the Chadron State record for most TD receptions in a game.
Thomas’s touchdown catches covered 78, 66, 12 and 29 yards. He also caught three more passes for 40 yards giving him seven receptions for 225 yards, sixth highest all-time for the Eagles.
The two longest scoring passes were posted in the first 6 ½ minutes of the game. Pearson also connected with Grant Swenson on a 25-yard touchdown toss with 7 ½ minutes remaining in the opening frame on the first play after the Eagles recovered a Fort Lewis fumble.
Fort Lewis’s first period points came on 20- and 27-yard field goals by Hunter Villavicencio.
A 32-yard run by Jake Marschall to the goal line and the 12-yard pass from Pearson to Thomas increased the Eagles lead to 35-13 at halftime.
In between, the Skyhawks scored their first touchdown on a direct snap to tight end Joseph Barreras at the four-yard line after teammate Juma Kashanda had returned a Chadron State fumble 68 yards to the Eagles 16.
Chadron State stretched its lead to 59-13 in the third period when Thomas went high to grab the 29-yard pass in the end zone and Marschall went the final yard after Pearson had hooked up with Swenson on a 32-yard pass.
Each team added one touchdown in the fourth frame. Fort Lewis scored first after blocking Chadron State’s only punt and began the drive at the Eagles’ 23. Five plays later quarterback Brandon Wingle hit Peyton Monson with a five-yard toss.
CSC freshman Devyn Jones closed out the scoring on a 34-yard run with just 39 seconds remaining. Wilson Yee kicked the PAT after the last seven Chadron State touchdowns. The Eagles passed for their first conversion.
Chadron State finished with 238 yards rushing, led by Marschall’s 96 yards on 19 carries.
Thomas is the fifth CSC receiver to catch four touchdown passes in a game, preceded by Duane Smith in 1985, Don Beebe in 1988, Matt Reader in 2015 and Max Gray in 2016.
Wingle completed 21 of 26 passes for 193 yards to pace the Skyhawks’ offense, but he was sacked five times for a minus 37 yards to reduce Fort Lewis’ ground game to just 64 yards.
None of the quarterbacks threw an interception.
CSC safety Sutton Pohlman paced the Eagles in tackles with 10 while end Hunter O’Connor participated in nine, four of them for negative yards and forced the fumble that led to a TD. Jacob Penney hade seven unassisted tackles to pace the Fort Lewis defense.
The Eagles are now 2-4 for the season and 1-3 in the RMAC. The Skyhawks are still looking for their first win and are 0-4 in the conference.
Fort Lewis 6 7 0 7 —20
Chadron State 22 14 14 7 —57
First Quarter
CSC—Tommy Thomas 78 pass from Preston Pearson (Joie Geil pass from Jeydon Cox).
FLC—Hunter Villavicencio 20 field goal.
CSC—Thomas 66 pass from Pearson (Wilson Yee kick)
CSC—Grant Swenson 25 pass from Pearson (Yee kick)
FLC—Villavicencio 27 field goal.
Second Quarter
CSC—Jake Marschall 32 run (Yee kick)
FLC—Joseph Barreras 4 run (Villavicencio kick)
CSC—Thomas 12 pass from Pearson (Yee kick)
Third Quarter
CSC—Thomas 29 pass from Pearson (Yee kick)
CSC—Marschall 1 run (Yee kick)
Fourth Quarter
FLC—Peyton Monson 5 pass from Branden Wingle ((Villavicencio kick)
CSC—Devyn Jones 34 run (Yee kick)