CHADRON, Neb. - October 21, 2015 - After sustaining a painful setback to Colorado State University-Pueblo on Saturday, the Chadron State football team will strive to get back on the winning track this Saturday when it plays Black Hills State University in Spearfish, South Dakota. Kickoff will be at noon.

The Eagles are 3-4 for the season and 2-3 in the RMAC with four games to play. 

CSC Head Coach Jay Long said it hurts to lose by such a margin (48-10) to CSU-Pueblo, even though he noted the ThunderWolves appear to be national championship caliber again.  They won last year's title.

Long added that the Eagles have a lot of season remaining and need to bounce back strong against the Yellow Jackets, who are winless in seven starts this fall.

The coach noted the Eagles are not only hurting emotionally after Saturday's game, but they are also beat up physically. 

Already playing without last year's leading receiver Kyle Vinich for the second game in a row because of a hamstring problem, Long told the Coaches' Corner gathering Monday night that another exceptional receiver, Danny O'Boyle, will miss the rest of the season because of a knee injury he suffered Saturday.

The coach said another primary target, Zac Bargen, is banged up and may not play Saturday and that cornerback Conor Casey will miss the game after he was forced to leave the field against Pueblo because of injuries.

All four are seniors and Vinich, O'Boyle and Casey are among the team's five captains.

Through seven games, O'Boyle leads the Eagles in receiving with 32 catches for 320 yards, Bargen is second with 24 for 229 and Vinich third with 15 for 186. Fourth on the list is redshirt freshman Max Gray, who grabbed seven passes for 91 yards Saturday against CSU-Pueblo, to give him 12 receptions for 135 yards this fall.

The coaches for Saturday's game are well acquainted.  Both Long and Black Hills State coach John Reiners are former Chadron State football players and CSC graduates, but that's just the start of their relationship.

Prior to becoming the Eagles' head mentor in 2012, Long was a Yellow Jackets' assistant football coach for six years and the head coach for three seasons. 

When Long was elevated to the top job at Black Hills in 2009, Reiners became his offensive coordinator.  Prior to that, Reiners had helped coach football at CSC for 15 years and was the Eagles' track coach for 11 years.  When Long accepted the CSC head coaching position, Reiners replaced him at Black Hills.

Last year's game was the 72nd  that the schools had played against one another dating back to 1912.  It was a nail-biter.  After the Eagles jumped out to a 21-7 first quarter lead by scoring touchdowns on their first three possessions, the Yellow Jackets caught fire and closed the gap to 33-28 by completing an 80-yard drive with 26 seconds remaining. 

Black Hills recovered the ensuing on-side kick, but its final four passes were incomplete.

The Eagles got a big boost in last year's game when Randy Wentz made all four of his field goal attempts after his teammates scored the three early touchdowns.

Despite struggling so far this year, the Jackets have some weapons, Long said.  Tailback Phydell Paris, a 5-10, 198-pound sophomore, has rushed 137 times for 629 yards and scored seven touchdowns.  Quarterback Ryan Hommel, a true freshman, has completed 127 of 256 passes for 1,480 yards and also rushed for 182 yards.

The team's leading receiver, Jerome Krysl, a 6-3, 200-pound senior, has 24 receptions for 297 yards.