CHADRON, Neb. -- The Chadron State football team will have a lot on the line when it wraps up its season Saturday by hosting the upstart Fort Lewis Skyhawks at Elliott Field.  The game will decide whether the Eagles finish with more wins than losses.

The game will kick off at noon after the Eagles' 14 seniors are saluted.

While the Eagles are 5-5 for the season and 4-4 in the RMAC, Fort Lewis is having its best season in a decade with a 6-4 overall record and a 5-3 mark in the conference.

The Skyhawks' last winning season was 2005, when they finished at 6-4 and went 6-2 in the RMAC. They beat the Eagles 42-35 that season behind first-team all-conference quarterback Matt Gutierrez, who completed 26 of 37 passes for 330 yards and four touchdowns.

Since then, Fort Lewis had never won more than four games for a season or more than three in the RMAC until this fall. The Eagles won last year's game in Durango 28-16 when quarterback Jonn McLain completed 24 of 32 passes for 300 yards and three TDs.

This year, the Skyhawks lost their season opener to FCS opponent Montana State 45-14, reeled off four victories, lost three straight to CSU-Pueblo, Colorado Mines and Colorado Mesa before downing Western State 39-14 and Adams State 51-10 the last two weeks.

Fort Lewis is among the growing number of RMAC teams that often rush for more yards than they gain through the air, something that only the Eagles and CSU-Pueblo usually even tried to achieve a few years ago.

The Skyhawks' running game is led by P.J. Hall, a 5-foot-6, 180-pound sophomore from Aurora, Colo.  He has carried 201 times for 1,031 yards and scored seven touchdowns. He rushed 25 times for 179 yards last Saturday against Adams State.   

Senior quarterback Jordan Doyle is the team's second leading rusher with 96 carries for 510 yards while also completing 119 of 194 passes for 1,272 yards and 10 TDs, but he was injured in the second quarter against Western State two weeks ago and did not play in the win over Adams State.

Among Doyle's replacements has been junior Allen Thigpen, who has completed eight of 11 passes for a whopping 272 yards the past two weeks. One of his passes last Saturday went for a 74-yard touchdown.

"They have about 600 more yards rushing than they do passing this season, but they like to throw deep," said CSC defensive coordinator Jeff Larson.

Another major weapon is senior Juquelle Thompson, who is the team's leading receiver with 36 catches for 474 yards and has also returned 25 punts for a 13.6-yard average.  He had six returns for 133 yards against Adams State.  

For the season, several of the Eagles' and Skyhawks' team stats are similar.       

Chadron State is averaging 398 yards in total offense; Fort Lewis is averaging 394.  Defensively, the Skyhawks have given up 385 yards a game; the Eagles 395.  One major difference is, Fort Lewis has scored 41 touchdowns; CSC has 28. 

This is the third year that John L. Smith has coached Fort Lewis.  He is in his 22nd season as a head mentor.  Prior to moving to Durango, he was the head coach at six NCAA Division I FBS schools, including Idaho, Utah State, Louisville, Michigan State and Arkansas.  He was the Big 10 Coach of the Year at Michigan State in 2003.

Chadron State head coach Jay Long was pleased with the Eagles' effort at Western New Mexico on Saturday, when they overcame a quick 13-0 deficit to beat the Mustangs 31-13.  He said his team played with outstanding toughness and emotion and still had a season-low five penalties.  

He called the victory "a total team effort."

"We need to be locked in and focused again," Long said.  "This is a really good Fort Lewis team.  It's going to take a great effort to win this game.  It's a challenge that we're looking forward to."

The 14 seniors playing their last game are Zac Bargen, Conor Casey, Chris Conroy, Clay Cundall, Alex Ferdinand, Dylan Furrier, Robert Jackson, Cole Montgomery, Danny O'Boyle, Andrew Rios, Daniel Sotelo, Hank Strauss, KamRon Tomlinson and Kyle Vinich.
 
Unfortunately, three of the seniors—Casey, O'Boyle and Vinich—all captains, have missed much of the season because of injuries. Conversely, Ferdinand, Rios and Strauss were injured most of last season, but have been healthy this fall.

In last year's win over FLC, O'Boyle and Vinich combined for 12 pass receptions for 218 yards and three TDs.