LAS VEGAS, N.M—October 14, 2017—Chadron State College racked up 610 yards of total offense and safety Brian Wood chipped in a 100-yard interception return as the Eagles raced past New Mexico Highlands 55-35 here Saturday afternoon in an entertaining Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference contest.

Chadron State, now 4-3 overall and 4-2 in the RMAC, scored touchdowns on its first three possessions to take a 21-0 lead. Highlands posted three touchdowns in the second quarter, and was behind by only 31-21 at halftime.

The Eagles were not to be denied, however.  Wood intercepted a pass at the goal line early in the third quarter and took it to the opposite end of the field to regain the momentum for his team.

CSC head coach Jay Long said Wood may have run 200 yards during his long and winding jaunt.  Early in the return, Wood faked a lateral to a teammate, but kept the ball himself and went the distance.

The 100-yard romp breaks the school record of 96 yards set by Larry Ruzicka against South Dakota-Springfield in 1971.

The fired-up Eagles added two more touchdown in the third period to build a 52-21 lead heading into the final quarter.

The Chadron State offense was productive both on the ground and through the air.

Senior Derek Jackson carried 19 times for 185 yards and three touchdowns and junior Kevin Coy rushed 17 times for 131 yards and another TD. 

Jackson's first two score were one-yard dives.  The first was set up by his 76-yard romp and the second followed Wood's 44-yard punt return. Jackson also scored on an eight-yard run in the second quarter after he'd dashed 43 yards.

Coy's TD was in the third period on a one-yard burst after DeAngelo Barthwell had swiped a Highlands pass at midfield and quarterback Dalton Holst hit Jackson Dickerson with a 21-yard pass.

Holst completed 14 of 20 passes for 219 yards and touchdowns on passes of 45 yards to Cole Thurness and seven yards to Colt Foster.  

CSC placekicker Will Morgan booted 27- and 25-yard field goals and made all seven extra points he attempted.

The Cowboys also had plenty of fireworks, led by junior tailback Rodolph Zleh, who scored four touchdowns on long plays,

Zleh initially took a screen pass 35 yards for his team's first points and then reeled off runs of 26, 66 and 53 yards to paydirt.  His final two jaunts were in the fourth quarter after the outcome had pretty well been decided, but certainly padded his rushing average, which was 23.4 yards on eight carries.

Highlands finished with 461 yards as the teams combined for 1,071 yards.  It was the 10th time the Eagles have exceeded 600 yards in total offense. 

Chadron State dominated time of possession—38 minutes, 22 seconds to 21:38—and scored on all seven red zone visits.

Ryan Wood, Brian's twin, led the Eagles with 12 tackles, including nine solos, and recovered a fumble that led to a field goal.      

                                                          CSC                   NMHU
                 First Downs                      27                        15
                 Total Net Yards             610                     461
                 Rushes, Yards                61-381              25-307
                 Passing Yards                   229                     154
                 Passing                            16-23-0            14-29-2
                 Return Yards                     192                      79
                 Punts, Average              3-42.7               5-39.2
                 Fumbles, Lost                   1-1                    1-1
                 Penalties, Yards            7-99                 4-35
                 Chadron State           14       17       21        3       ----55
                 N.M. Highlands            0       21         0       14     ----35
 
               First Quarter
               CSC—Derek Jackson 1 run (Will Morgan kick)
               CSC—Jackson 1 run (Morgan kick)
               Second Quarter
               CSC—Cole Thurness 45 pass from Dalton Holst (Morgan kick)
               NMHU—Rodolph Zleh 35 pass from Danny Cameron (Luke Jones kick)
               CSC—Morgan 27 field goal
               NMHU—Guadalupe Moron 5 run (Jones kick)
               CSC—Jackson 8 run (Morgan kick)
               NMHU—Zleh 26 run (Jones kick)
               Third Quarter
               CSC—Brian Wood 100 interception return (Morgan kick)
               CSC—Colt Foster 7 pass from Holst (Morgan kick)
               CSC—Kevin Coy 1 run (Morgan kick)
               Fourth Quarter
               CSC—Morgan 25 field goal
               NMHU—Zleh 66 run (Jones kick)
              NMHU—Zleh 53 run (Jones kick)
              
               Rushing: CSC—Derek Jackson 19-185, Kevin Coy 17-131, Brad Johnston 6-36, Priest Jennings 8-28, Jackson Dickerson 2-17, Matt Vinson 3-3, Cole Thurness 2-minus 4, Dalton Holst 4-minus 14. NMHU—Rodolph Zleh 8-187, Dione Alston 9-70, Guadalupe Moron 2-31, Corbin Baxter 2-14, Monte Harrington 2-10, Ramone Atkins 1-1, Danny Cameron 1-minus 6.
               Passing: CSC—Dalton Holst, 14-20-0, 219 yards, 2 TDs; Matt Vinson 2-3-0, 10 yards. NMHU—Danny Cameron 14-28-0, 154 yards, 1 TD; JJ Anderson 0-1-1.
               Receiving: CSC—Jackson Dickerson 6-95, Cole Thurness 4-67, Matt Reader 3-38, Colt Foster 2-19, Derek Jackson 1-6, Jack Dobyns 1-4. NMHU—Rodolph Zleh 3-48, James Mayden 2-44, DJ McFadden 2-24, J'Juan Mildrow 2-22, Corbin Baxter 2-4, Dione Alston 1-10, Monte Henderson 1-5, Louis Webb 1-minus 2.