CHADRON, Neb. -- September 13, 2016 -- Two RMAC football teams with 1-1 records and lots of familiarity with one another will lock horns Saturday at Elliott Field when the Chadron State Eagles entertain the Western State Mountaineers of Gunnison, Colorado. The Family Day game will kick off at noon after the players and their parents have been introduced.

Both teams have lost to Colorado Mesa and defeated their remaining conference foe this season. Mesa bested Western 34-14 in the season-opener and topped Chadron State 47-33 last Saturday.  In their other games this fall, CSC downed Fort Lewis 17-10 two weeks ago and Western defeated Adams State 56-25 last Saturday.

Western State's main coaches have been on the Elliott Field turf previously.

Head coach Jas Bains, now in his sixth season at Western, was a graduate assistant and then the special teams coordinator a couple of years before going to Gunnison.  Defensive coordinator Todd Auer, who joined the Mountaineers last spring, was on the CSC coaching staff 23 years, including 17 as defensive coordinator.

Both teams may be playing without their starting quarterbacks Saturday.  CSC's TD Stein left the game at Colorado Mesa last Saturday early in the third period with what has been described as a chest injury and did not return. Coach Jay Long said Stein "is day-to-day."

The sophomore from Chadron was having what CSC coaches called the best game of his career when he departed.  He had completed 13 of 20 passes for 175 yards.  His replacement was junior Matt Vinson, who after a slow start, completed 12 of 23 tosses for 172 yards.

Against Adams State, Western senior Brett Arrivey completed 13 of 19 passes for 189 yards and two TDs in the first half, but did not play in the second half. He was replaced by sophomore Cameron Shumway, a 6-foot-6, 240-pound specimen who completed just one of seven passes for zero yards and was intercepted three times, but rushed 11 times for 109 yards.

Western already has a top-drawer rushing attack featuring senior Austin Ekeler, a 5-9, 195-pound senior from Eaton, Colo.  He has rushed for 1,049, 1,676 and 1,637 yards, respectively, the past three years for a total of 4,362 yards.

Through two games this fall, Ekeler, the RMAC preseason Co-Offensive Player of the Year, has rushed 57 times for 233 yards and four touchdowns.  

In three games against the Eagles, he has carried 57 times for 320 yards and three TDs and caught 12 passes out of the backfield for 176 yards.

The Eagles also expected to have a strong ground game this fall, but they are still trying to get it untracked.  Through two games, they have rushed 67 times for only 209 yards, an average of 3.1 yards.

The passing game was promising against Mesa.  After throwing for just 56 yards against Fort Lewis in the opener, the Eagles gained 347 through the air versus Mesa.

A special group of Chadron State College alumnae who are holding a reunion this weekend will be in attendance at Saturday's game and will be honored at halftime. The women are here for the Trailblazers Reunion which celebrates female athletes from the era prior to the passage of Title IX in 1972. These women fielded competitive teams in volleyball, basketball, softball and track & field, blazing a trail for the women's athletic programs at Chadron State College and building a foudation for current female student-athletes.

FAMILY DAY SCHEDULE

Friday, September 16
6-8 p.m. - Dance Team Meet & Greet

7 p.m. - CSC Rodeo
Dawes County Fairgrounds
$5 for public, free for CSC employees/students as well as 12 and under

7 p.m. - Trailblazers gathering
Bean Broker Coffee House and Pub

Saturday, September 17 
9 a.m. - Trailblazers Coffee
Student Center - Bordeaux Room
 
10 a.m. - Student-athlete led tours of the new Chicoine Center
Meet at Student Center
 
10 a.m. - Stadium Gates Open
Football jersey rental available
Elliott Field
 
10:30 a.m. - Tailgate lunch
Chicoine Center
$8 for public, $5 for CSC Eagle Booster Club members
 
11:40 a.m. - Football player family introductions
Elliott Field
 
Noon - CSC Football vs. Western State
Elliott Field

3 p.m. - CSC Residence Life Family Fun Day Event
Ampitheatre Complex behind dorms
 
3:30 p.m. - Post-Game with coach Jay Long
Country Kitchen
 
4 p.m. - CSC Softball Scrimmage
CSC Softball Field
 
6:30 p.m. - Trailblazers Social and Dinner
Student Center - Scottsbluff Room
 
7 p.m. - CSC Rodeo
Dawes County Fairgrounds
$5 for public, free for CSC employees/students as well as 12 and under

Sunday, September 18
10 a.m. - CSC Rodeo
Dawes County Fairgrounds
$5 for public, free for CSC employees/students as well as 12 and under