PUEBLO, Colo. -- November 12, 2016 -- Chadron State College football nearly broke a streak of seven losses to the Colorado State University-Pueblo ThunderWolves Saturday afternoon, leading through nearly three full quarters. However the Pack was able to push through two fourth quarter scores to end up on top on their Senior day in Pueblo.

CSC head football coach Jay Long had praise to hand out to all three phases of the CSC team in a tough loss to their Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference rival, who took a three-way share of the league title with a 8-3 record, 8-2 in conference play. 

"I was proud of our defense," said Long. "Our defensive line and linebackers played well. Pueblo has an explosive offense. They ran the ball well all year and we held them under their average on the ground."

"Zach Smith did an outstanding job for us today," added Long. "We had terrific field position. Our kicker Will Morgan did a good job on kickoffs too. We started inside our 40-yard line a ton in the first half."

"Our game plan was a lot of quick passing and quick running. In the beginning we got them off balance a little bit, and that resulted in 14 points. Our quick game worked in the first half. We just needed more first downs in the second half. Another goal was to keep the game slow. We did that and won time of possession throughout the game."

One of the brightest stars in the game Saturday was local Chadron product Keenan Johnson. The redshirt freshman linebacker recorded eight total tackles, including a half tackle for loss. He snagged two interceptions, both of which prevented entry into Chadron State territory, and recovered a fumble to stop a critical CSU-Pueblo possession, after the Thunderwolves had taken their first lead of the game in the fourth quarter.

Another member of the defense showing out in Pueblo was junior defensive back Brian Wood, whose forced fumble Johnson recovered. He led the team with nine tackles - seven solo - and added a pass breakup.

The Chadron State defense opened the game with three straight four-and-outs, giving up no first downs up until the last play in the first quarter.

Meanwhile, their offense was efficient. On their two first quarter scoring drives, they went 106 yards in 20 plays, setting up an eight-yard scoring pass from Matt Vinson to Jack Dobyns on one possession and a Derek Jackson plunge from the one-yard line in the other. The Eagles' second touchdown, which would also be their last, was set up by a 3rd-and-11 screen pass to Cody Paul, who scrambled down the right sideline to the CSUP one-yard line. Jackson then scored on his third try.

The Eagles seemed to have all the momentum when they took possession halfway through the second period, when they had only allowed two offensive plays of more than four yards by the ThunderWolves and led 14-0. 

However, that wind seemed to shift on the next possession, when Pueblo's Joseph Jones took a Matt Vinson pass back the other direction 82 yards to put his team on the board for the first time.

With their offense sputtering late in the half, the Eagles punted back to the ThunderWolves, who then took the ball 74 yards in 10 plays for another score. An extra point kick block by Palmer White preserved the lead for the Eagles, who went into the half still up 14-13.

In the second half, five offensive penalties on four different possessions, in addition to two interceptions and a fumble, stifled the CSC offense.

On the other side of the ball, the ThunderWolves finally found some holes in the running game and had 120 of their 179 rushing yards in the second half. Their fourth quarter ground game produced 93 of those yards, more than half of their total.

CSU-Pueblo finished with 21 points off of turnovers, which was all but six of their points for the day. Pueblo's go-ahead score came with 12:14 left in the game, following a fumble by wide receiver Kyle Hooper in CSC territory, and a pass interference call which placed the ball at the CSC two-yard line. After the three-yard touchdown pass from AJ Thompson to Larry Clark, the ThunderWolves converted a two-point play to go up 21-14.

Coach Long noted that the score would have been even closer if not for their defense's turnover-seeking aggressiveness on the ThunderWolves' final scoring drive. After Cody Paul fumbled a punt at the CSC 36-yard line with 5:34 remaining in the game , CSU-Pueblo went the remaining 36 yards on four carries. The extra point kick was blocked by CSC's Zech James, producing the final score.

Chadron State led 32:01 to 27:59 in time of possession, and was 5-of-18 (27.8 percent) on third downs - better than Pueblo's 3-of-13 (23.1). The Eagles converted their only fourth down.

Both teams were 2-for-2 scoring touchdowns inside the opponent's red zone.

Chadron State finishes the season 3-8 (3-7 RMAC).

"We gave all out effort today," added Long. "I was proud of them the whole season."