CHADRON, Neb. – After a 42-point homecoming victory, Chadron State football will begin a crucial stretch of the season by heading to Spearfish to take on a longtime rival.

The Eagles (3-4, 2-3 RMAC) will battle Black Hills State University (also 3-4, 2-3 RMAC) in a 4 p.m. kickoff this Saturday at Lyle Hare Stadium in South Dakota.

Eagle fans can watch the game live on the RMAC Network, follow along with live stats, or listen on the radio on Double Q Country 97.5 and 105.9 or doubleqcountry.com, with Dave Collins on the call.

Looking Back
Chadron State delivered in front of the homecoming crowd last weekend, as the Eagles soared to a 55-13 win over Fort Lewis. With the win, CSC improved to 19-5 on homecoming since the year 2000.

RECAP: Fort Lewis

The Eagles led 24-0 at halftime but found another gear with a 24-point third quarter to take a 48-3 lead after the third period. Eagle defenders picked off four passes in the third quarter alone, returning two for touchdowns.

House Calls
Chadron State's defense achieved a feat rarely seen in college football last Saturday by intercepting four consecutive pass attempts by the opposition during a five-minute span in the third quarter.

Safeties Dax Yeradi and Tucker Peterson provided perfect bookends for that streak, returning the first and fourth interceptions back to the end zone for pick-sixes. Yeradi jumped a screen pass and returned it 51 yards for a touchdown while Peterson, who also had a second interception in the game that he returned to the 7-yard-line, had a 30-yard interception return touchdown.

In recorded CSC football history, it is the fifth game that the Eagles have had multiple pick-sixes in a game and the first since 2012, with Trelan Taylor and Lane Haller both returned interceptions for touchdowns against Western Colorado.

There have been two times in CSC history where the same player has had two pick-sixes in a game – Ryan Turman in 1998 against Colorado School of Mines, and Marvin Jackson in 2001 against Nebraska Kearney.

After Saturday's interception, Dax Yeradi has three interceptions on the season, tying him for second in the RMAC in that category. The two picks for Tucker Peterson were the sophomore's first two of 2024, but Peterson also had two interceptions last season, including a 39-yard pick-six against New Mexico Highlands. Linebacker Xavier Harrell also had an interception last Saturday, his first of the season and second of his career.

Protect the Rock
Chadron State's defense has continued to establish itself as an elite unit.

The Eagles held Fort Lewis to 13 points on Saturday, the sixth time in seven games that Chadron State's opponent has failed to reach the 20-point barrier. The Skyhawks scored just one touchdown, and that came on a drive which started on the CSC two-yard line after a special teams miscue.

Chadron State is currently neck-and-neck with Western Colorado for the honor of having the top scoring defense in the RMAC, as the Eagles are allowing 15.4 points per game while the Mountaineers are allowing 15.3. The Eagles have the 19^th-ranked scoring defense in Division II.

In total defense, the Eagles are allowing 264.9 yards per game, which ranks third in the RMAC behind Western Colorado (252.6/game) and Colorado Mesa (256.0/game) but ranks 18^th nationally in Division II.

The Eagles have been particularly stingy against the pass, allowing just 134.6 passing yards per game. That total is the sixth-lowest in all of Division II and the second-lowest in the RMAC behind Colorado Mesa (125.7). In addition, Chadron State has nine interceptions this year to rank fourth in the league.

Pound the Rock
Chadron State had a season-high four rushing touchdowns in Saturday's win. After going the first four games of the season without a rushing touchdown, the Eagles have now scored eight times on the ground in the past three weeks.

Leading the charge is sophomore running back Jake Marschall, who leads the RMAC with 124 carries while averaging 4.3 yards per rush and 76.9 yards per game. Against Fort Lewis, Marschall carried 18 times for 87 yards and two touchdowns, scoring from eight yards out in the second quarter and three yards out in the third quarter. Marschall ranks fourth in the RMAC in rushing yards and seventh in all-purpose yards this season.

Quarterback DJ Ralph is also proving to be a rushing threat, particularly in the red zone. In five games, Ralph has carried 31 times for 143 yards and has already found the end zone with his legs three times. Ralph had a four-yard rushing TD to put the Eagles on the board last Saturday and had a 41-yard rushing score against Adams State.

Welcome to the Show
True freshman running back Quincey Ryker received his first collegiate game action on Saturday and couldn't have dreamed up a better start.

On his first college carry, the native of Sargent, Nebraska took a handoff, broke a tackle and dashed down the near sideline for a 72-yard rushing touchdown that made the score 55-10.

The rush is CSC's longest play from scrimmage of the season so far. Ryker finished the game with two carries for 80 yards.

Monroe Magic
Senior wide receiver and University of South Dakota transfer Jamahd Monroe is emerging as a weapon in his first season with Chadron State.

Monroe leads the Eagles with 241 receiving yards and ranks second on the team with 15 receptions. He is one of four Eagle receivers (along with Grant Swenson, Rollin George III and Tommy Thomas) with two receiving touchdowns each to lead the team.

Monroe had a season-high four catches for 85 yards last Saturday against the Skyhawks, including 23-yard and 42-yard catches on Chadron State's first touchdown drive of the game.

RMAC Update
The Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference title race is as wide open as ever, with four teams either undefeated or with one loss so far in conference play.

RMAC Standings

Team	RMAC Record	Overall Record
#12/11 CSU Pueblo	6-0	7-1
#8/10 Western Colorado	5-0	7-0
#10/12 Colorado School of Mines	4-1	6-1
Colorado Mesa	4-1	5-2
Chadron State	2-3	3-4
Black Hills State	2-3	3-4
South Dakota Mines	2-4	3-5
New Mexico Highlands	1-4	1-6
Fort Lewis	0-5	1-6
Adams State	0-5	0-7

 
The biggest result in the RMAC so far came on October 5, when Colorado Mesa upset five-time defending RMAC champions Colorado School of Mines, the Orediggers' first RMAC loss in 23 games.

Many of the teams at the top of the RMAC standings are still to meet – Western and Mines face off October 26, Pueblo and Western on November 2, Mines and Pueblo on November 9, and Mesa and Western on November 16.

Chadron State still has to face both of the league's undefeated teams and will do so in the final two weeks of the season when they travel to Western Colorado on November 9 and host CSU Pueblo on November 16.

In the Polls
There are three RMAC teams ranked in the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) national poll, all in the top 12 –Western Colorado at No. 8, Colorado School of Mines at No. 10 and CSU Pueblo at No. 12. The D2Football.com poll has three RMAC teams in a row with Western at No. 10, Pueblo at No. 11 and Mines right behind at No. 12.

Chadron State was picked to finish seventh in the 10-team RMAC in a preseason 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
by Con Marshall
Long-time football rivals with identical records this fall will collide late Saturday afternoon when the Chadron State Eagles visit the Black Hills State Yellow Jackets in Spearfish. Kickoff will be at 4 o'clock. This will be the 90^th game in the series. 

Both have 3-4 season records and 2-3 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference marks this fall. In non-conference games to begin this season, Black Hills downed Southwest Baptist and fell to St. Thomas of Minnesota (DI). The final score was 24-14 in both games.

Since then, Black Hills has downed Fort Lewis 33-7 and South Dakota Mines 22-20 and lost to Colorado School of Mines 52-24, Western Colorado 35-14 and Colorado State-Pueblo 24-21. The latter three teams are 15-1 in conference action entering this weekend.  

The Yellow Jackets' game with Pueblo last Saturday was a stemwinder. Black Hills had 30 first downs and Pueblo just 10. The Jackets also racked up 505 yards of offense, compared to the ThunderWolves' 209. However, Pueblo won after blocking two Black Hills State field goal attempts and returning the ball 55 and 75 yards for touchdowns, before kicking a 40-yard field goal with seven seconds remaining for the win. 

CSU Pueblo had entered the game averaging 46.4 points, 524.1 yards and 28 first downs, but barely got even half of any of those totals against the Yellow Jackets.  On the other side of the coin, Black Hills was averaging 315 yards of total offense, but, in the words of CSC Defensive Coordinator Clint Sasse, "exploded" against the ThunderWolves with nearly 200 more yards than usual.

The Yellow Jackets' primary quarterback is Luke Duby, a 6-3, 220-pound junior who has completed 151 of 262 passes for 1,641 yards and 10 touchdowns.  He's thrown four interceptions. Duby hit on 29 of 43 passes for 244 yards and a TD against Pueblo. 

Periodically, redshirt freshman Kade Weber took over at quarterback and ran the ball nine times for 79 yards and also completed six of six passes for 53 yards and a score. 

The Jackets' leading ball carrier is Cam Goods, a 5-11, 205-pound junior who has rushed 78 times for 309 yards. He gained 49 yards on 11 carries against Pueblo. 

Five Black Hills receivers have caught at least 17 passes for more than 200 yards, led by Damien Boozer with 24 for 336 yards. 

The Chadron State-Black Hills series dates back to 1912, the second year Chadron State was in operation.  Although the rivalry was interrupted by both World War I and II, the football teams generally met annually and sometimes twice a year in the 1920s until 1952. That's when an 11-year lull began for reasons no one can explain since the institutions are just 150 miles apart and had similar enrollments. 

Beginning in 1964 and through 1995, the Eagles and the Yellow Jackets met on the gridiron every autumn. In the early '90s, Chadron State joined the RMAC and before long was playing a full slate of conference games. So, beginning in 1996, the CSC-BHSU rivalry was suspended again until 2012 when the Yellow Jackets also became a conference member. 

CSC has won eight of the 11 games since 2012 and holds a 60-17-2 margin in the all-time series, but the Yellow Jackets have won the last two games. The score was 32-23 two years ago and 55-19 last fall in a game the Eagles would like to forget. Black Hills finished with 556 yards of offense and threw for five touchdowns. 

 "We're not going to let something like that happen again this year," Sasse stated. "It was our worst game by far last year. We're a much better team now, but we know they'll be tough again."  

Coaching Connections
by Con Marshall
Chadron State Head Coach Jay Long and Black Hills' Josh Breske are well acquainted. Beske was a four-year starter in the Yellow Jackets' offensive line 2006 through 2009. Long was the Jackets' offensive line coach the first three years and the head coach when Breske was a senior and earned NAIA All-American honors. Breske was the first All-American that Long coached. 

After three years as the Jackets' head mentor, Long returned to his alma mater as Chadron State's head coach in 2012.  That fall, Breske joined the Eagles' coaching staff as a graduate assistant and earned his master's degree from CSC in 2013.           

Breske became Black Hills State's head coach in December 2019. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Yellow Jackets played just two games in the fall of 2020, neither of them against CSC. Black Hills had a 4-7 record in 2021, reversed that mark to 7-4 in 2022 and was 6-5 a year ago. 

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.