CHADRON, Neb. - Sept 26, 2015 - Special teams were both a blessing and a curse for the Eagles on Saturday as they jumped out to an early lead using special teams momentum, but ultimately fell to Colorado Mesa University 23-13 after the Mavericks took advantage of a momentum shift of their own. Chadron State falls to 1-3 (0-2 RMAC), while CMU improves to 3-1 (2-0 RMAC).
 
In a defensive struggle which featured only two offensive touchdowns combined, Collin Eisenman showed out for Chadron State. The sophomore linebacker from Sheridan, Wyoming, finished with a team-high 10 tackles, including 1.5 sacks and an additional 0.5 tackle for loss, on top of his game-changing blocked punt in the first quarter, which was scooped up by Conor Casey and returned for a touchdown to give the Eagles the early 7-6 lead.
 
Matching Eisenman with 10 tackles apiece were Kirk Durtsche and Clay Cundall. Durtsche had one tackle for loss, while Cundall had a 23-yard interception return. Junior safety Brian Wood added an interception of his own, in addition to five tackles.
 
On the offensive side of the ball, Eagle quarterback TD Stein threw for 163 yards on 27 attempts, with a game-best completion of 63 yards to Marcus Brown early in the 2nd quarter. Sophomore tailback Derek Jackson powered for 74 yards on 17 carries to lead CSC in the ground game.
 
The Eagles fell behind on the opening kickoff after CMU's Ceejhay French-Love returned a kickoff return fumble for a two yard touchdown. However those were the only points the Mavericks would score in the first half, as the Eagles created turnovers on three straight CMU possessions.
 
In the second quarter, Stein and Brown connected on the longest play of the day, putting the Eagles in field goal position for the first time. Alex Ferdinand knocked through the kick to extend the CSC lead to 10-6. He also connected late in the half to take a 13-6 advantage into the locker room.
 
In the third quarter, CMU mounted their only long scoring drive of the game to tie it 13-13, aided by an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty in CMU territory. The Mavericks went 87 yards on 11 plays, with the one yard rush by quarterback Sean Rubalcaba finding the endzone.
 
A fumble by the Eagles in their own territory resulted in another CMU touchdown, and the momentum shifted for good when a Chadron State punt was blocked and returned to the CSC 44 yard line, setting up a field goal for the Mavericks to put the game away 23-13 late in the fourth quarter.
 
"When you look at the special teams – they scored the first play on special teams, then we came right back and scored on special teams," said head coach Jay Long. "That was a wash. Then we missed opportunities at the end of the game."
 
The Eagles opened up the home schedule in front of a Family Day crowd of 3,024. It was a new experience for many first-year players who had never experienced a favorable college game environment after leading off with three road games.
 
"We had a great atmosphere today with a great crowd," said Long. "As a team we have to get our crowd into the game. When we make big plays, that makes the crowd feed off our energy. We need to learn to limit our mistakes, such as penalties, and get the run game going to sustain drives."
 
For the second straight week, the Eagles finished with double-digit penalties leading to triple-digit yards lost. CSC was flagged 12 times versus CMU for a total of 110 yards.
 
The Eagles return to the road next Saturday, October 3, heading to Gunnison, Colorado to face the Western State Colorado University Mountaineers. Game time is 1 p.m. All of the links to live coverage can be found here at chadroneagles.com.