CHADRON, Neb. - October 14, 2015 - After winning a pair of Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference games, the Chadron State Eagles will tangle with defending NCAA Division II champion Colorado State University-Pueblo in Chadron Saturday afternoon. Kickoff will be at noon.

The Eagles are now 3-3 for the season and 2-2 in the conference.  They expect to be at full strength physically against the ThunderWolves, who are 5-1 overall and 4-0 in the RMAC.

"We're looking forward to playing them," CSC Head Coach Jay Long said. "We've watched them on film and they look like they're a team that won the national title last year.  That means they're a great team again. We're excited to be playing them and think we can match up with them.  Of course, we know we've got to keep playing well and limit our mistakes."

The ThunderWolves' football program was revived in 2008 after a 24-year lapse.  Chadron State won the inaugural contest 32-0 in '08, but since then, Pueblo has topped the Eagles six straight times. The scores, in order, have been 28-17, 33-30 in triple overtime, 38-28, 45-38 in double OT, 51-42 and 41-13 last year. 

The other RMAC teams also have taken their lumps against Pueblo. "The Pack" went 3-6 in the conference the first year.  Since then they have lost only six more league contests and are 55-12 overall against RMAC foes, counting both the 2008 games and the four they have won this fall. John Wristen has been the team's head coach since it was revived.

This season, CSU-Pueblo opened with a 41-14 win over Central Washington, then was nipped by West Texas A&M 31-30, a team the ThunderWolves crushed 35-6 last year.  Since conference play began, the ThunderWolves have beaten Western State 20-10, Western New Mexico 42-27, Adams State 56-0 and Fort Lewis 45-9.

Last year, Fort Lewis, which was 1-4 at the time, ended Pueblo's 42-game regular-season winning streak that included 34 consecutive wins over RMAC teams, by a 23-22 score. The Skyhawks entered last Saturday's game in Pueblo at 4-1, losing only to FCS-member Montana State in the season-opener, but were no match for the Wolves this time around. Pueblo out-yarded Fort Lewis 454 to 221.   

Like all outstanding teams, CSU-Pueblo has outstanding players.

During the RMAC's preseason poll, the ThunderWolves not only were voted the favorite again, but they had nine players placed on the 30-man all-star unit. Two of those choices are not included on this week's depth chart, but "the Pack" still has lots of clout.

The leaders of the "the Pack" certainly include tailback Cameron McDondle, a 5-foot-7, 202-pound senior who has carried the ball 141 times for 1,079 yards and scored 13 touchdowns this fall.  His rushing total leads NCAA DII and his TD total is second.   He romped for 2,014 yards in 2014, when Pueblo played 15 games.

If McDondle needs a break, his replacement is his brother, Bernard, a 5-9 171-pound sophomore, who has 71 rushes for 570 yards and 5 TDs.  Both are averaging 7.7 yards a carry.  Among those blocking for the McDondles are seniors Gary Dixon, 6-2, 285, and Zach Martinez, 6-6, 293, both first-team all-RMAC last fall and preseason choices this year. 

Altogether, Pueblo has rushed for 1,729 yards this fall while the opponents, none of which has gained more than 100 yards, have accumulated just 389 yards on the ground.  

Redshirt freshman AJ Thompson, who is 6-1, 175 pounds, has emerged as the primary quarterback. He has completed 36 of 60 passes for 688 yards and two TDs.

"They use an old-school offense," CSC defensive coordinator Jeff Larson said. "They have a million different formations, use lots of motion and run right at you.  They hope they'll get your defense to over-adjust. If you make a mistake, they make you pay. They like to pound you with play action and pass when they want to."

CSC offensive coordinator Chris Stein said the ThunderWolves' front seven on defense "is as good as you'll see in Division II." Noseguard Tony Campton and outside linebacker Ben Estica were among the RMAC preseason all-stars.

Chadron State's running game has been a strength this season while the Eagles break in a new quarterback.  Sophomore tailback Derek Jackson, a Pueblo native, is third in the RMAC in rushing with 120 carries for 756 yards.  Junior Cody Paul has 61 rushes for 373 yards and redshirt freshman Kevin Coy has 52 for 263, giving the trio 233 carries for 1,377 yards and a 5.9-yard average.

Since taking over at quarterback, sophomore Matt Vinson has been steady, completing 46 of 76 passes for 491 yards and limiting his mistakes.

The CSC defense has played well all season, yielding just 344.3 yards a game.  The six foes have been able to convert on only 29 percent of their third down situations and CSC has registered 16 quarterback sacks.  All three figures are third best in the RMAC.