CHADRON, Neb. -- November 14, 2015 -- In the season finale for both teams, Fort Lewis College (7-4, 6-3 RMAC) came back from a 15-0 first quarter deficit, then withstood a fourth quarter rally attempt by Chadron State College (5-6, 4-5 RMAC) to come away from Elliott Field with a 47-34 victory on the Eagles' Senior Day. CSC loses to the Skyhawks for the first time since 2005, and drops their sixth game in a season for the first time since that same year.

The Skyhawks ran the ball effectively, piling up 316 yards on the ground, and stayed in an offensive rhythm for much of the game. They finished with 499 total yards.

Quarterback Allen Thigpen, filling in for the second straight game, played a stellar all-around game. He accounted for 169 yards and a touchdown on the ground and 200 through the air, although he only threw 12 passes, completing nine. Two of those passes went for scores. He added a kickoff return for a touchdown, which was virtually uncontested as it came on an onside kick attempt by the Eagles late in the game. Thigpen snagged the ball out of the air in flight and raced 45 yards to paydirt, squashing the Eagles' comeback designs and sealing the win.

As for the Eagles, they also made some big plays on a day when they needed them badly. However they weren't enough to finish ahead on the scoreboard.

CSC redshirt freshman Matt Reader's 4 TD pass receptions today tied the school record held by Duane Smith versus Peru State in 1985 and by Don Beebe against Black Hills State in 1988. He finished with a season high of 60 yards receiving on five catches.

Another redshirt freshman, Max Gray, had a career day as well, catching eight balls for 124 yards. It marked the only 100-yard performance by an Eagle receiver this season.

Zac Bargen had 60 yards on four receptions, to finish with the team lead of 439 yards receiving on the year.

The Eagles appeared on the path to success early in the game, moving the ball efficiently and getting lots of the seniors involved early. Seniors Chris Conroy (quarterback), Hank Strauss (Will linebacker), and KamRon Tomlinson (cornerback) each received their first career start on Senior Day.

On the opening drive, Conroy found Derek Jackson in the open field, and Jackson scampered 42 yards to the Skyhawk 15. Conroy then hit Reader for 15 yards for the first of his four scores. On the point after, senior Cole Montgomery teamed up with classmate Bargen to score two points.

Robert Jackson also got in on the fun, putting the Eagles up 14-0 with a 30-yard run, his longest of the season. On the possession, the Eagles went 80 yards on 10 plays. The Alex Ferdinand kick gave CSC the 15-0 lead heading into the second quarter.

However the Skyhawks quickly erased the deficit on the next two possessions. The Skyhawks broke runs of 25 and 30 yards and had a pass play of 35 yards to find the endzone twice within a span of 3:20.

Matt Vinson completed another touchdown pass to Reader on the next drive, and CSC went into halftime up 22-14.

After the break, the Eagles continued to move the ball well, but stalled twice in FLC territory and could not reach the endzone.

Meanwhile, Fort Lewis continued to hit play after play, scoring on four straight possessions on plays of 44, 31, 30, and eight yards to go up 40-22.

Chadron State refused to go away, however. With 2:40 remaining, the Eagles were undaunted by the deficit, scoring two quick touchdowns, made possible by a Randy Wentz onside kick in-between. Vinson to Gray accounted for 88 of the 143 yards on the two drives, and Reader added his third and fourth scoring catches.

Only then did the game finally get away from the Eagles, with their second onside kick falling into the hands of Thigpen, who scored with 0:14 on the clock for the 47-34 victory.

Both Eagle quarterbacks had career games in the loss. Chris Conroy was 4-of-5 passing for a career-high 70 yards and a score in his start. Matt Vinson connected on 24 of 47 passes for 283 yards and three touchdowns.

Kirk Durtsche, Dylan Furrier, Clay Cundall, and Brian Wood all tied for the CSC team lead with nine tackles. Furrier added a solo sack, and all four players had at least a share of a tackle for loss.

"The end result today wasn't what we wanted," said Coach Jay Long after the game. "But, the biggest thing right now is just to thank the seniors for all that they've done for us. We have some terrific players with an outstanding work ethic. I have not doubt in the future they will have great success."

Scoring Summary
First Quarter
CSC - Matt Reader 15 yd pass from Chris Conroy (Zac Bargen pass)
CSC - Robert Jackson 30 yd run (Alex Ferdinand kick )
Second Quarter
FLC - PJ Hall 1 yd run (Kipp Castanha kick )
FLC - PJ Hall 1 yd run (Kipp Castanha kick )
CSC - Matt Reader 4 yd pass from Matt Vinson (Alex Ferdinand kick )
Third Quarter
FLC - J. Thompson 44 yd pass from Allen Thigpen (Allen Thigpen pass failed)
Fourth Quarter
FLC - Allen Thigpen 31 yd run (Allen Thigpen pass failed)
FLC - J. Thompson 30 yd pass from Allen Thigpen (Kipp Castanha kick )
FLC - Drake Griffin 8 yd run (Kipp Castanha kick )
CSC - Matt Reader 8 yd pass from Matt Vinson (Derek Jackson rush failed)
CSC - Matt Reader 10 yd pass from Matt Vinson (Matt Vinson pass failed)
FLC - Allen Thigpen 45 yd kickoff return (Kipp Castanha kick )