CHADRON, Neb. – Chadron State football had a much-needed breakout performance, earning their first RMAC win of the season in emphatic fashion with a 52-3 win over Adams State last weekend.

The Eagles (2-3, 1-2 RMAC) will now look to build a winning streak with a road trip to Las Vegas, New Mexico to take on New Mexico Highlands (0-5, 0-3 RMAC) this Saturday, with kickoff set for noon.

The Eagles boast a top-10 defense in Division II, ranking eighth in the country in scoring defense (fewest points allowed per game) and 10^th in total defense (fewest yards allowed per game).

The game will be streamed live on the RMAC Network. Fans can also listen on the radio to Dave Collins live from Sanchez Family Stadium on Double Q Country 97.5 and 105.9 FM or doubleqcountry.com.

Looking Back
Chadron State was dominant against the Adams State Grizzlies. Seven different Eagles found the endzone, including a defender, as CSC took home a 52-3 win.

RECAP: Adams State

Chadron State received three passing touchdowns from DJ Ralph, with Grant Swenson, Rollin George III and Jamahd Monroe all hauling in receptions. The Eagles also had three rushing touchdowns, with Ralph, Jake Marschall and Chase Nelson all finding paydirt. Linebacker Logan O'Brien returned an interception 36 yards for a touchdown, one of three takeaways CSC's defense forced on the day.

Three In A Row
Quarterback DJ Ralph was named the RMAC Offensive Player of the Week by the conference office on Monday, marking the third consecutive week that a Chadron State Eagle has taken home some weekly hardware for RMAC football.

NEWS: Ralph Earns RMAC Player Of The Week Honor

Ralph completed 20 of 29 passes for 183 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions through the air, then adding 56 net rushing yards and a 41-yard rushing touchdown on the ground, which is the longest play from scrimmage this season for Chadron State so far.

It was a much-needed complete game from the San Diego State transfer, who entered the year as CSC's starter but struggled to get into a rhythm after going down with an injury in the second possession of the season opener against Nebraska Kearney. Ralph threw 29 passes against the Grizzlies after having just 12 attempts through the season's first four games. He is completing 63.4 percent of his passes and has yet to turn the ball over.

Ralph's performance completes a trifecta for Chadron State, which has now won an offensive, defensive and special teams RMAC Player of the Week over the span of the past three weeks. Safety Dax Yeradi won the defensive award two weeks ago, while punter Brodie Eisenbraun was last week's special teams winner. Through six weeks, Chadron State's three award wins are the third-most of any RMAC school, trailing only CSU Pueblo (five) and Colorado Mesa (four) and tied with Colorado School of Mines (three).

Not Giving A Yard
Although the offense may have stolen the spotlight with a weekly award, Chadron State continues to have the best defense in the RMAC, and one of the best in the country. The Eagles currently lead the conference in both scoring defense (allowing 12.4 points per game) and total defense (allowing 233.4 yards per game).

The Eagles are allowing 24 fewer yards and 1.4 fewer points than the second-best RMAC defense (Western Colorado). Chadron State has yet to give up more than 18 points in a game this season.
Saturday's performance against the Grizzlies was CSC's best of the season by their lofty standards, as the Eagles held Adams to just 99 total yards of offense (54 passing and 45 rushing). It was the Chadron State defense's second time in five games not allowing their opponent to score a touchdown (Jamestown only scored via a defensive touchdown).

Nationally, Chadron State has the eighth-ranked scoring defense and 10^th-ranked total defense in all of Division II. The Eagles are getting off the field on third down, allowing opponents to convert just 28 percent of the time, which ranks 23^rd in Division II.

Omar Ali ranks 18^th in Division II with 1.4 pass breakups per game while linebackers Reed Henkel and Xavier Harrell both rank in the RMAC's top seven in total tackles with 7.8 and 7.2 per game, respectively.

High Speed Chase
Chadron State had no shortage of offensive stars against Adams State, but perhaps the most surprising was redshirt freshman running back Chase Nelson.

Nelson entered last Saturday's game with zero career carries and one career reception for four yards, from earlier this season against UNK. All Nelson did against the Grizzlies was rush eight times for 48 yards and a touchdown while adding three receptions for 46 more receiving yards.

The Castle Rock, Colorado native was part of the gameplan from the beginning, with a carry and a reception on back-to-back plays on CSC's second drive of the day. Nelson had a long rush of 11 yards and a 21-yard reception that was the second-longest catch of the game for the Eagles. Nelson capped the Eagles scoring with an 8-yard rushing touchdown with just over 11 minutes to go in the fourth quarter.

Nelson wasn't the only running back to get his first carries of the season on Saturday. With the game well in hand, freshman running Isaac Jean-Pierre of Mesa, Arizona made his college debut and got six fourth quarter carries for 27 yards, with the bulk of that yardage coming on a 17-yard run.

The new additions to the running game could provide a breather for sophomore Jake Marschall, who averages 3.6 yards per carry but is currently leading the RMAC with 90 carries this season. Marschall had 20 carries against ASU, his second-highest single game total of the season behind his 30 in the win over Jamestown. The 30 carries remain by far the most in a single game by any RMAC player so far in 2024.

Special Teams, Special Players
The 2024 season for Chadron State has been marked by elite special teams play, with two specialists leading the charge.

Redshirt junior punter Brodie Eisenbraun ranks eighth in Division II by averaging 44.1 yards per punt. Eisenbraun has had seven punts on 50 yards or more, including two of over 60 yards. He has placed nine of his 26 punts inside the 20-yard line with just one touchback all season.

Placekicker Wilson Yee has made 7 of 9 field goal attempts, including a 57-yard kick against Colorado Mesa that was the second-longest field goal in program history. Yee holds the record with a 61-yarder from last season. The 57-yard kick was the longest of the year in the RMAC until last Saturday, when Black Hills State's Ryan Ewing knocked home a 58-yarder. Yee's 1.4 made field goals per game rank second in the RMAC and 27^th in Division II.

In addition to weekly-award-winning play at safety, Dax Yeradi has carved out a role as an elite punt returner. Yeradi leads the RMAC and ranks 11^th in Division II with 13.5 yards per punt return. The junior helped that average with six punt returns for 103 yards, including a 40-yarder, against Adams State last Saturday.

The Eagles have also blocked two kicks this season, with both coming by the hand of Morgan Roper in the Colorado Mesa game. Roper is just one of 24 players in Division II to block multiple kicks this season.

In the Polls
There are three RMAC teams ranked in the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) national poll. Western Colorado is now the top-ranked team in the RMAC at No. 8 overall. Colorado School of Mines fell eight spots to No. 12 after the Orediggers lost 14-13 to Colorado Mesa. CSU Pueblo follows at No. 16.

The D2Football.com poll has Western Colorado at No. 10, CSU Pueblo at No. 14 and Colorado School of Mines at No. 15.

In the preseason, Chadron State was picked to finish seventh in the 10-team RMAC in a poll of the league's head coaches. Each coach ranked opposing programs without voting for their own.
Colorado School of Mines, who have won the last five RMAC titles but need to replace Harlon Hill-winning quarterback John Matocha, were picked to finish on top again, receiving seven out of 10 first-place votes. Western Colorado was picked second, receiving three first-place votes.

The other teams picked ahead of Chadron State by the coaches were CSU Pueblo, Colorado Mesa, Black Hills State and South Dakota Mines. After the Eagles in seventh, the poll is rounded out by Adams State, New Mexico Highlands and Fort Lewis.

Opponent Preview
New Mexico Highlands is still searching for its first win of 2024. The Cowboys have lost to in-state rivals and Lone Star Conference members Eastern New Mexico (63-37) and Western New Mexico (36-33), followed by RMAC losses to South Dakota Mines (40-19) and a pair of nationally-ranked programs in No. 8/10 Western Colorado (53-12) and No. 16/14 CSU Pueblo (67-28).

The Cowboys have a first-year head coach in Kurt Taufa'asau. He is newer than even other first-year coaches, having been hired on May 29 of this year, after spring practices had concluded. Taufa'asau coached at the New Mexico Military Institute prior to NMHU, leading that program to a junior college national championship in 2021 and putting up a 27-10 record in three seasons.

The defense is a concern for Highlands, as the Cowboys are currently giving up 51.8 points per game, more than any other RMAC school except for Adams State (53.8), CSC's opponent last week. The Cowboys have lots of offensive talent, however, ranking fifth of 10 schools in the RMAC in points per game (25.8) and fourth in yards per game (393.2).  

Senior wide receiver Teneil Nichols has hauled in four touchdowns this season. Nichols is tied for fourth in the RMAC in receiving touchdowns and fifth in receiving yards with 305. Junior Mike Jones has 212 receiving yards and one touchdown and also has a 56-yard kickoff return on his resume. Freshman running back Tevita Valeti has recorded 15 carries or more in each of the last three games and racking up 83 yards against South Dakota Mines, 105 with a touchdown against Western Colorado and 94 against CSU Pueblo.

Like Chadron State, Highlands has had several different quarterbacks throughout the season, but Rio Rancho, New Mexico's Joey Cave figures to be under center this week. Cave missed the first two RMAC games of the season but returned against CSU Pueblo, completing 7 of 12 passes for 48 yards, three touchdowns and one interception and rushing 13 times for 128 yards.

Chadron State is 15-1 all-time against New Mexico Highlands. The lone triumph for the Cowboys came in 2015 with a 24-16 win in Chadron. The Eagles have won seven straight against the Cowboys, but it was a one-score game last season, with Preston Pearson passing to tight end Peter Krohn with 1:11 remaining in the fourth quarter to help the Eagles steal a 24-21 win. Tommy Thomas had a 41-yard reception TD in that game while safety Tucker Peterson had a 25-yard pick-six.

Coach's Corner
Chadron State head coach Jay Long is in his 13^th season leading the Eagles in 2024. He is an alum of the university, earning two RMAC All-Conference selections at center during his playing career.

Coach Long went 25-8 on the field across his first three seasons in charge of the CSC program from 2012-2014, although NCAA violations by the previous coaching staff and not connected to Long led to the first nine of those wins being vacated.

During Long's coaching tenure the Chadron State program has seen 10 All-America selections, 11 CoSIDA Academic All-Americans, numerous All-Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference and All-Region awards, one Harlon Hill Trophy Finalist, and the first NFL draft pick that CSC has produced since 1989 when offensive lineman Garrett Gilkey was picked in the seventh round by the Cleveland Browns in 2013.

Prior to coaching at Chadron, Long spent three seasons as the head coach at Black Hills State University while the Yellow Jackets were transitioning from NAIA to Division II. He was also an assistant coach at BHSU for six seasons, serving as the offensive coordinator, offensive line coach and recruiting coordinator over that time frame.

Entering the 2024 season, Coach Long is 59-56 at Chadron State. He has a career record of 74-71 as a head coach between three seasons at Black Hills and 12 seasons at CSC.