CHADRON, Neb. - October 10, 2015 - The Chadron State Eagles powered for a season-high 305 yards on the ground and evened their record at 3-3 (2-2 RMAC), blanking Adams State University (1-5, 1-3 RMAC) 26-0 on Saturday at Elliott Field.
Tailback
Derek Jackson led the Eagle rushing attack with 176 yards on 24 carries for a 7.3 yard per carry average.
Kevin Coy was CSC's second-leading rusher, carrying 14 times for 78 yards, and
Cody Paul followed closely with 72 yards on 11 tries.
Marcus Brown led the receiving corps again for the third straight week, hauling in three catches for 50 yards and a score.
Max Gray had a season-high 34 yards on three grabs.
However the star of the game, from opening kickoff to final whistle, was a punishing Eagle defense that registered four sacks, one forced fumble, and held Adams State to eight offensive first downs, 176 total yards of offense, and just 3-of11 on third down conversions.
Chadron State linebacker
Collin Eisenman moved up to second in the RMAC for sacks with two against ASU. He now has 5.5 on the season. Eisenman also had a forced fumble at the start of the fourth quarter which effectively ended the Grizzlies' chances of a comeback. He recorded six total tackles.
Freshman Kirk Durstche led the CSC defense in total tackles with 10.
"We had the defense come together as a unit and put together an outstanding complete game performance," said Coach
Jay Long. "We had guys making plays from everywhere on the field."
All of the scoring in the game was left up to the Eagles.
On the opening drive, CSC took the ball at their 25 and went to the ground immediately with three straight runs by Jackson totaling 28 yards. Next up was Paul, who came in the game, went nine yards for a first down, then raced 33 yards for a score.
Chadron State's
Neo Wilkins pinned the Grizzlies deep in their own territory on the ensuing kickoff with a skillful open-field tackle on ASU's Evan Ford. A few plays later, one of Eisenman's sacks slowed the Grizzlies, who were unable to reach CSC territory.
Sophomore quarterback
Matt Vinson took over on the Eagles' second possession, going 4-for-4 for 44 yards with a touchdown to Brown. He finished 17-of-29 with 194 yards passing and a score.
The Eagles went 79 yards on their third possession, stalling at the ASU 10 yard line where a
Randy Wentz kick of 27 yards was good, giving Chadron State their third straight scoring drive and taking a 16-0 lead into halftime.
On their opening possession of the second half, the Eagles marched 80 yards with
Kevin Coy pounding the ball into the corner of the east endzone from 16 yards out.
Wentz provided the only other score, hitting from 23 yards in the fourth quarter. He was 2-for-3 kicking in the game, with his only miss coming from 43 yards away.
"This was probably the most complete game we've had so far this year, and it comes at the perfect time," said Long. "We just need to take this performance and continue to build on it."
The Eagles will next attempt to snap a six-game skid against the defending NCAA Division II National Champions, the ThunderWolves of Colorado State University-Pueblo, this Saturday, October 17. Game time is noon at Elliott Field.
