CHADRON, Neb. -- November 10, 2016 -- After suffering a disappointing 21-19 loss to Black Hills State on Saturday, the Chadron State football team will wrap up its schedule Saturday by playing at Colorado State-Pueblo. Kickoff will be at 2 p.m.

While the ThunderWolves aren't considered to be the caliber of their 2014 national championship team, or as good as they were a year ago when they finished at 12-2, they have a 7-3 record.

Pueblo lost its first two games this fall to Colorado Mines 57-21 and West Texas A&M 26-10.  Its only other setback was to Colorado Mesa 20-19.  Five conference wins by a 172-68 margin have followed.  The last two have been close.  The Pack edged Western State 10-7 and topped Dixie State 24-13 last Saturday.

The Eagles beat Pueblo 32-0 in 2008 after the school's football program was revived following a 24-year lapse.  The ThunderWolves have won the last seven contests, two of which went into overtime.  CSC scored the first 10 points last year, but the final score was 48-10 when brothers Bernard and Cameron McDondle combined to rush 28 times for 365 yards and seven touchdowns.

However, Cameron was a senior last year and Bernard, who remains the team's leading rusher for the season, has not played the last three weeks. Bernard ran for 278 yards against Adams State, prior to disappearing from the statistics.

As for the passing game, quarterback Rex Dausin, who was injured last year, has returned and has completed 62.5 percent of his passes for 1,686 yards and 14 touchdowns.  The ThunderWolves also lead the conference in total defense, giving up just 317 yards a game, and rushing defense, yielding only 81.7 yards a game.

Chadron State leads the RMAC in pass defense, giving up an average of just 184.8 yards.

Chadron State coach Jay Long said both his staff and the players are determined to finish the season on a high note.

He said the Eagles' defense played really well against Black Hills, giving up 150 fewer yards than the Yellow Jackets had been averaging.

"But we all know the offense struggled," Long said at the weekly Coaches Corner program Monday. "Our effort was good, just like it has been all season, but we have never become consistent.  We make good plays, then have bad plays."

Long added that not all of the five interceptions CSC experienced Saturday were the fault of quarterback Matt Vinson.  He noted that the offensive line played below par and that one of the picks was on a "spot pass" that was on target, but a running back ran the wrong route.

"We used to win close games," Long said. "We've got to get that back."