By: Paxton Ritchie
CSC Sports Information Director
CHADRON, Neb. – Chadron State will wrap up the 2024 season against an opponent looking to clinch the conference title this Saturday, which will also be Senior Day at Elliott Field.
The Eagles (3-7, 2-6 RMAC) will clash against No. 7 CSU Pueblo (9-1, 8-0 RMAC) in Chadron, with the visiting ThunderWolves hoping to clinch an outright RMAC title with a win.
Kickoff is scheduled for noon, with Senior Day ceremonies starting approximately 25 minutes before kick. A total of 21 players are due to be recognized pregame.
The game can be streamed live on the RMAC Network. Fans can also listen live on Double Q Country 97.5 and 105.9 or doubleqcountry.com, with Dave Collins and Sam Parker on the call, or follow along via live stats.
Looking Back
Chadron State faced a nationally ranked opponent in No. 11 Western Colorado and took them down to the wire before losing 21-17.
RECAP: Western Colorado
The Eagles scored on a 45-yard pick-six by cornerback Jadon Bowen and a 47-yard touchdown pass to Tommy Thomas from Preston Pearson. Western also scored on a pick-six, meaning Chadron State's defense held the Mountaineers offense to just 14 points, well under WCU's season average of 36 points per game.
Senior Day
Saturday's game will be Senior Day for the Chadron State program, with 21 players taking part in a pregame ceremony to commemorate their final games with the program.
The players due to be honored Saturday are, in numerical order – Simeon Marton, Kyle McIntosh, Brodie Roden, Grant Swenson, Deonte Jackson, Xavier Harrell, Rylan Aguallo, Adam Lynch, Hunter O'Connor, Tyler Smith, Jacob Nasalroad, Brayton Branic, Kwame Frimpong, Vincent Mosley, Tyler Carpenter, Morgan Roper, D'Anthony Smith, Nicholas Gossage, Isaac Abramson, Jamahd Monroe and Peter Krohn.
The list includes six offensive starters – four on the offensive line (D. Smith, Nasalroad, T. Smith and Gossage) a wide receiver (Swenson) and a tight end (Krohn), although D'Anthony Smith and Nicholas Gossage are unlikely to play due to injury.
The group also includes two defensive starters – the team's second-leading tackler in Harrell and O'Connor, who has re-written the program's pass-rushing record books while earning two First-Team All-RMAC honors and a 2022 All-American nod – and a special teams starter in long snapper Adam Lynch.
Close Calls
Chadron State's 3-7 record, and particularly its 2-6 RMAC record, is a little deceiving as five of CSC's six losses in conference play have come by one score, including three by a field goal or less.
The Eagles have dropped one-possession games to nationally ranked Colorado School of Mines (13-12) and Western Colorado (21-17) and have also dropped narrow games to New Mexico Highlands (33-30), Black Hills State (21-18) and South Dakota Mines (24-17). In the Highlands and Black Hills State games, Chadron State missed a field goal as time expired that would have sent the game to overtime.
Despite the losing record, the Eagles have scored a total of 227 points this season and allowed just 174, adding up to a +53 point differential. That scoring differential is the fifth highest in the RMAC, and the Eagles are one of six RMAC teams with a positive differential. The standings, however, show the Eagles in a three-way tie for seventh.
D-Fense
The main reason for Chadron State's positive point differential and gravitation towards close games has been the lockdown play of the Eagles defense.
Chadron State's defense ranks second in the RMAC in both scoring defense (allowing 17.4 points per game) and total defense (allowing 278.0 yards per game). Nationally, the Eagles rank 30th in scoring defense and 23rd in total defense.
So far this season, Chadron State has allowed over 20 points in just four of their 10 games and over 25 points in just one (the 33-30 decision against New Mexico Highlands).
Individually, safety Dax Yeradi has four interceptions, placing him in a three-way tie for the RMAC lead with Colorado Mesa's Jason Thome and Black Hills State's Nicc Quinones.
Linebackers Reed Henkel and Xavier Harrell rank sixth and seventh in the conference with 41 and 39 solo tackles, respectively. Hunter O'Connor is fifth in the RMAC with 6.5 sacks this season.
Making Their Own Points
Chadron State has five defensive touchdowns this season, which puts the Eagles in a three-way tie for second in Division II, trailing only Emory & Henry, which has seven.
The Eagles added to their total last week with a 45-yard pick-six from Jadon Bowen, who made his first career start during the game.
CSC now has four interception return touchdowns, including two pick-sixes in the same game from Dax Yeradi and Tucker Peterson against Fort Lewis. Logan O'Brien also had a pick-six against Adams State.
Through a statistical quirk, the defense also gets credit for a play in the Jamestown game back in week one, when a bad punt snap landed in the end zone and defensive back Rylan Wehr fell on it for a score. Although the Jimmies were lined up in punt formation, the bad snap meant no punt was attempted and by rule, the play is classified as a rushing attempt and a fourth-down stop for the defense, similarly to if Jamestown had run an unsuccessful fake punt.
O'Connor Tracker
Defensive lineman Hunter O'Connor tallied another sack against Western Colorado, his third straight game with another sack. A pending possible stat change from the WCU game may lead to O'Connor being awarded with a second sack.
The senior has either 34.5 or 35.5 sacks for his career and will enter Saturday, his final collegiate game, with an opportunity to pass Eagle alum Casey Beran (1996-1999) for Chadron State's all-time career sack record.
The Broomfield, Colorado native already owns CSC's single-season (16) and single-game (five) sack records, all of which happened in 2022 while O'Connor garnered All-American honors.
O'Connor made an appearance on D2Football.com's annual Elite 100 list for the second straight season, ranking 100 players to watch from across the country in Division II. The full list can be viewed at this link.There are seven other RMAC players on the list – receiver Max McLeod, punter Blake Doud, offensive lineman Nic Van de Graaf and defensive back Jackson Zimmerman from Colorado School of Mines, defensive back Daniel Bone III and wide receiver Reggie Retzlaff from CSU Pueblo and linebacker Kendall Lightfoot from Western Colorado.
Block Party
Chadron State's special teams have also made their presence felt throughout the season.
The Eagles have blocked three punts, tied for the fourth-most in Division II. Chadron State has blocked six total kicks, ranking 10th in the nation in that category.
Senior Morgan Roper has blocked three extra-point kicks on his own, which is tied for fourth in Division II individually. Two of Roper's blocks came on extra points during the Colorado Mesa game.
Who's Under Center?
Chadron State has already seen five different quarterbacks take a snap and three different quarterbacks make a start so far in 2024, and they are nearly certain to have a fourth different starter on Saturday.
Transfer QB DJ Ralph has impressed when healthy. In six games, Ralph has completed 67 percent of his passes for 1,085 yards, eight touchdowns and three interceptions, but a shoulder injury has caused him to miss four total games and all but one series of a fifth.
Junior Miguel Larios (six games played, three starts) and true freshman Wyatt Sprague (three games played, one start) have also taken snaps, but according to CSC's depth chart, neither are expected to be available.
On Saturday, it will likely be Preston Pearson, who played the majority of last week at quarterback, finishing 8-23 for 129 yards passing and 63 yards rushing on 21 carries. Before last week, Pearson had not attempted a pass since the season-opening game against Nebraska-Kearney on August 29.
Pearson appeared in seven games at quarterback last season, but has not started a game so far in 2024 while also taking snaps at wide receiver, tight end, kick returns and other special teams duties in between his quarterback stints.
Freshman Kasey Jones, a redshirt freshman from Alamosa, could potentially see action. Jones made his collegiate debut in mop-up duty against Adams State earlier this season, taking snaps at quarterback but not attempting a pass.
Future Is Now
An injury-necessitated youth movement could also play out in the backfield for Chadron State in Saturday's game.
Workhorse running back Jake Marschall, whose 154 carries led the RMAC entering last week's action, exited in the first quarter with an injury during the loss to Western Colorado, and primary backup Rylan Aguallo is already out for the year.
That opens the door for true freshman Isaac Jean-Pierre of Mesa, Arizona to potentially make his first collegiate start. In 2024, Jean-Pierre has 23 carries for 69 yards, with a long run of 20 last week against Western Colorado.
Pearson could factor into the ground game at quarterback, while redshirt freshman Chase Nelson (24 carries, 12 receptions) is an all-purpose threat. Also looming is another true freshman running back – Sargent, Nebraska's Quincey Ryker, who only has two career carries but took one 72 yards to the house on his first collegiate snap against Adams State.
Receiving Corps
First Team All-RMAC receiver Tommy Thomas missed three games due to injury earlier this season but is back to mostly looking like his old self.
Thomas leads CSC receivers with 34 catches, 396 receiving yards and four touchdowns despite the three games on the shelf. Thomas has found the end zone in four of Chadron State's last five games.
A quartet of Eagle receivers have two receiving touchdowns apiece – Jamahd Monroe (23 catches, 386 yards), Grant Swenson (25 catches, 300 yards), Rollin George III (18 catches, 198 yards) and Peter Krohn (18 catches, 189 yards).
In single-game performances, Swenson recorded a 100-yard game against Adams State while Monroe has two games with over 85 receiving yards.
RMAC Update
The road to the RMAC title goes through Chadron, since CSU Pueblo will be trying to win it outright by winning Saturday at Elliott Field.
The ThunderWolves dispatched five-time defending RMAC champions Colorado School of Mines last week and won a top-10 clash with Western Colorado two weeks ago to move into pole position.
RMAC Standings
Team RMAC Record Overall Record
#7/#6 CSU Pueblo 8-0 9-1
#10/#11 Western Colorado 7-1 9-1
Colorado Mesa 6-2 7-3
#24/NR Colorado School of Mines 5-3 7-3
Black Hills State 4-4 5-5
South Dakota Mines 4-4 5-5
Chadron State 2-6 3-7
Fort Lewis 2-6 3-7
New Mexico Highlands 2-6 2-8
Adams State 0-8 0-10
If Chadron State can defeat the ThunderWolves, Western Colorado has an opportunity to grab a share of the RMAC title, but the Mountaineers could have their hands full with Colorado Mesa this Saturday.
Last week, Colorado Mesa and Colorado School of Mines suffered their third losses of the regular season, taking them out of the RMAC title hunt and creating an uphill climb to qualify for the NCAA Tournament.
Opponent Preview
by Con Marshall
Thanks to the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference's schedule, the Chadron State football team has been saving the opponent that has proven to be the best for last. That is Colorado State University-Pueblo, which will meet the Eagles on Saturday at Elliott Field.
It will be final game of the season for CSC, while Pueblo will be striving to solidify a playoff berth and clinch the outright RMAC title, which they will do with a win. An Eagles victory over the ThunderWolves would open the door for Western Colorado to earn a share of the title. Kickoff will be at noon after 21 Chadron State seniors are recognized for Senior Day.
The ThunderWolves are 8-0 at the top of the RMAC standings. They're 9-1 overall, losing only to Grand Valley State, currently the No. 5 team in the country, on Sept. 14 by a 24-21 score. CSU Pueblo is ranked No. 7 in the latest National Football Coaches Association rankings.
Pueblo has had just two RMAC contests within a 15-point margin —a 24-21 win over Black Hills State on Oct. 19 and a 44-34 verdict over then-No. 8 Western Colorado on Nov. 2.
The Pack, as the Pueblo teams are often called, led 37-14 in the latter game before Western posted three of the final four touchdowns to close the gap. It is the only loss for the Mountaineers, who edged the Eagles 21-17 last Saturday in Gunnison.
Also last Saturday, CSUP cleared another hurdle as it zeroes in on the RMAC title by beating five-time defending champion Colorado School of Mines 28-13 in Pueblo.
The ThunderWolves lead the RMAC in both total offense at 480.3 yards a game and scoring at 42.1 points a game.
They are averaging 318 yards passing, also tops in the conference, and have passed for twice as many touchdowns (34) as they have earned on the ground (17).
Two seniors have shared the quarterback duties. Devin Larsen started the first seven games of the season for CSUP and has completed 134 of 218 passes for 1,705 yards, including a 508-yard game against South Dakota Mines in the season opener. Roman Fuller has started the Pack's last three games and played in eight overall, clicking on 93 of 132 passes for 1,324 yards. Both have thrown for 16 touchdowns. Larsen has been intercepted three times and Fuller only once.
Pueblo's top receiver is senior Reggie Retzlaff, who has 59 receptions for 1,110 yards and 12 TDs. Five more ThunderWolves have caught at least 20 tosses.
Even with their aerial prowess, the Pack also has the RMAC's leader in most of the rushing categories. Russell Howard, a 5-8, 200-pound senior, has carried 152 times for 1,115 yards, 70% of his team's total, for a 7.3-yard average, and 11 touchdowns. No one else on the team has run for more than 161 yards.
In the latest NCAA Regional rankings, which determine qualification to the NCAA Tournament, the ThunderWolves were ranked #1 in Super Region Four, meaning Pueblo would have a first-round bye and a home playoff games if rankings hold.
Coach's Corner
Chadron State head coach Jay Long is in his 13th season leading the Eagles in 2024. He is an alum of the university, earning two RMAC All-Conference selections at center during his playing career.
Coach Long went 25-8 on the field across his first three seasons in charge of the CSC program from 2012-2014, although NCAA violations by the previous coaching staff and not connected to Long led to the first nine of those wins being vacated.
During Long's coaching tenure the Chadron State program has seen 10 All-America selections, 11 CoSIDA Academic All-Americans, numerous All-Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference and All-Region awards, one Harlon Hill Trophy Finalist, and the first NFL draft pick that CSC has produced since 1989 when offensive lineman Garrett Gilkey was picked in the seventh round by the Cleveland Browns in 2013.
Prior to coaching at Chadron, Long spent three seasons as the head coach at Black Hills State University while the Yellow Jackets were transitioning from NAIA to Division II. He was also an assistant coach at BHSU for six seasons, serving as the offensive coordinator, offensive line coach and recruiting coordinator over that time frame.
Entering the 2024 season, Coach Long is 59-56 at Chadron State. He has a career record of 74-71 as a head coach between three seasons at Black Hills and 12 seasons at CSC.