CHADRON, Neb. – The Eagle-Rock Trophy will be on the line as Chadron State and South Dakota Mines both look to get their seasons back on track this Saturday.

The Eagles (3-5, 2-4 RMAC) will host the Hardrockers (also 3-5, 2-4 RMAC) at Elliott Field at Don Beebe Stadium, with kickoff scheduled for noon. Chadron State will be looking to rebound from yet another loss in the final seconds while South Dakota Mines, coming off a bye week, is trying to snap a three-game losing streak. 

The game can be streamed live on the RMAC Network. Fans can also listen live on Double Q Country 97.5 and 105.9 or doubleqcountry.com, with Dave Collins on the call. 

Looking Back
Chadron State missed a game-tying field goal as time expired, falling 21-18 to rivals Black Hills State in Spearfish.

RECAP: Black Hills State

DJ Ralph threw for 408 yards in the loss, but the Eagles rushed for just two net yards with sacks deducted. The Eagles trailed 14-7 at halftime, but took the lead with a Ralph rushing TD, field goal and safety to climb on top 18-14 before the Yellow Jackets ran for a game-winning 45-yard rushing touchdown with 2:46 to play. 

Eagle-Rock Trophy History
by Con Marshall
The Eagle-Rock Trophy, a traveling trophy that is held by the winner of the football game between Chadron State and South Dakota Mines, was first established in 1981 "in observance of the 50th game and the good relations that have existed between the schools through the years."

The trophy was on the line from 1981-1995, with CSC winning 12 of 15 matchups during that time frame. Starting in 1995, the rivalry stopped while Chadron State competed as an NCAA Division II member while the Hardrockers were still in NAIA. 

When the Hardrockers jumped up to Division II and joined the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, the rivalry renewed beginning in 2016. A new trophy bearing the Eagle-Rock Trophy name was created and will be on the line for today's game. This trophy is inscribed with the year and winning school for every matchup since 2016.

In the Division II era of the rivalry, Chadron State has won eight of the nine matchups. Chadron State won every year from 2016-2021, including two wins during the COVID-19 impacted 2020 season, but the Hardrockers took hold of the new trophy for the first time with a 28-7 win in 2022. Last season, the Eagles reclaimed the trophy with a 27-19 victory, highlighted by a three-yard pick-six by defensive lineman Kobe Whipple and touchdown receptions from Tommy Thomas and Jeydon Cox.

Chadron State leads the all-time series 53-20.  The two schools played for the first time in 1912, just one year after CSC opened its doors. The game was played in Rapid City and a CSC professor telegraphed the score to the Chadron newspaper after each quarter so the Eagles fans could keep in touch. 

The matchups between the Eagles and Hardrockers through the years are an example of how much football has changed. In 1940, the two teams combined to throw 19 passes, with Chadron attempting 10 and the Hardrockers nine. In 1980, the two teams combined to throw 52 passes. During the Hardrockers' most recent win in 2022, the two teams combined for 86 passes, with CSC's Heath Beemiller throwing 45 on his own. 

Close Calls
Chadron State's 3-5 record, and particularly its 2-4 RMAC record, is a little deceiving as three of CSC's four losses in conference play have come by three points or fewer. 

The Eagles have dropped one-possession games to nationally ranked Colorado School of Mines (13-12), New Mexico Highlands (33-30) and Black Hills State (21-18). In the Highlands and Black Hills State games, Chadron State missed a field goal as time expired that would have sent the game to overtime. 

Despite the losing record, the Eagles have scored a total of 170 points this season and allowed just 101, adding up to a +69 point differential. That scoring differential is the fifth highest in the RMAC, and the Eagles are one of only five RMAC teams with a positive differential. The standings, however, show the Eagles in a three-way tie for sixth place. 

This Saturday's opponent, South Dakota Mines, have also suffered some close losses throughout the year. In nonconference play, the Hardrockers lost a marathon four-overtime game to Michigan Tech, 52-50. Like the Eagles, the Hardrockers also lost narrowly to Black Hills State, coming up short against their archrivals 22-20. 

Overall this season, however, the Hardrockers have scored 159 points and allowed 189 for a point differential of -30, only the seventh highest in the RMAC. 

Favorite Matchup
If anybody on the Eagles is happy to see South Dakota Mines this weekend, it's former All-American Hunter O'Connor, who has absolutely terrorized the Hardrockers throughout his career. 

O'Connor has recorded seven sacks in just two career games against South Dakota Mines, including a five-sack explosion in 2022. In that game, O'Connor finished with 13 tackles and an RMAC single-game record nine tackles for loss. 

O'Connor's performance in that game, which was the season finale, gave him CSC's single-season sack record, with 16 sacks in the 2022 season. Now, O'Connor faces the Hardrockers again on the verge of another milestone.

With 32.5 sacks for his career. O'Connor is firmly within striking distance of Chadron State's program record for career sacks, which is 36.5, held by Casey Beran (1996-1999). If O'Connor can produce another multi-sack game against South Dakota Mines (he had two sacks against the Hardrockers in 2023), he will put himself in a good position to challenge for the record with two games to go in his senior season after this weekend.

Keep It 100
Chadron State had its first two 100-yard receivers of the season in the game against Black Hills State, with Tommy Thomas (146) and Grant Swenson (102) both reaching triple digits. 

Thomas seems back to the form last year that earned him a First-Team All-RMAC selection in 2023. The junior suffered an injury in the season opener and missed three games. He returned to the field against Adams State on October 5, but despite a touchdown reception each of the last two weeks, Thomas hadn't put up more than six catches or 33 yards in a single game in 2024. 

That all changed Saturday, with Thomas hauling in a career-high 11 receptions. That total included an 18-yard catch on CSC's first touchdown drive and receptions of 32 and 17 yards on CSC's final possession. The 146 yards are the third-highest single game total of Thomas's career.

Swenson has been steadily productive all season long, leading the Eagles with 300 yard receiving on 24 receptions this season. Saturday's game was a career-high in receiving yards for Swenson, who went over 100 for the first time in his career. His seven catches were a season-high and the second-most in a single game in his career.

Defensive Stats
The Eagles continue to be one of the best defensive units in the RMAC and Division II. 

Chadron State ranks 18^th nationally and second in the RMAC in both total defense (allowing 266.6 yards per game) and scoring defense (allowing 16.1 points per game). Last Saturday was just the second time all season that CSC allowed an opponent to score over 20 points. 

The Eagles rank ninth in Division II in passing yards allowed per game, allowing just 141.1 through the air per contest. Chadron State also gets off the field on third down, holding opponents to a 29.9 percent conversion rate which ranks 20^th in Division II. 

Individually, safety Dax Yeradi has four interceptions, placing him in a three-way tie for the RMAC lead with Colorado Mesa's Jason Thome and Black Hills State's Nicc Quinones. Both Yeradi and Quinones tallied interceptions in last Saturday's CSC/BHSU game. 

Linebackers Reed Henkel and Logan O'Brien have 35 solo tackles apiece, tied for third in the RMAC. Henkel is tied for fifth in total tackles with 56. 

Man in the Middle
Offensive lineman Morgan Roper has made an impact on special teams this season, leading the RMAC in blocked kicks.

Roper, a 6-9, 275-pound senior from Milliken, Colorado, has blocked three extra points so far this year – two against Colorado Mesa and one against New Mexico Highlands. 

Roper is one of 10 players in Division II with three or more blocked kicks. Upper Iowa's Eddy Latanauskas has blocked seven so far this season and Frostburg State's Wylan Harich has blocked six while Roper and seven others are all at three. 

RMAC Update
There is likely to be a new king in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference this year. 

While five-time defending champions Colorado School of Mines aren't mathematically eliminated, the Orediggers' hopes took a big hit with a 38-28 loss to Western Colorado. Now, Western and CSU Pueblo are atop the league at 6-0 and play each other Saturday in what could be a title decider.

RMAC Standings

Team	RMAC Record	Overall Record
#8/#8 Western Colorado	6-0	8-0
#10/#10 CSU Pueblo	6-0	7-1
Colorado Mesa	5-1	6-2
#18/20 Colorado School of Mines	4-2	6-2
Black Hills State	3-3	4-4
Chadron State	2-4	3-5
South Dakota Mines	2-4	3-5
New Mexico Highlands	2-4	2-6
Fort Lewis	0-6	1-7
Adams State	0-6	0-8

 
After Pueblo and Western meet this Saturday, Mines and Pueblo still must play each other on November 9 before Mesa and Western play on November 16. 

Chadron State could have a big role to play in the title race as well, as the Eagles still have 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.

Opponent Preview
by Con Marshall
For the second week in a row, the Chadron State College football team will play a South Dakota opponent that has an identical win-loss record to the Eagles. 

Last Saturday when CSC visited Black Hills State, both had 3-4 season records and 2-3 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference marks. This Saturday, the Eagles will host South Dakota Mines. Both are 3-5 overall and 2-4 in the conference. 

The Hardrockers dropped their first two games this fall, won their next three and have lost their last three entering Saturday's game. 

They opened the season by playing Colorado State-Pueblo in an RMAC game three weeks before any other conference contests were played. Pueblo won 35-6. The next week, Mines traveled nearly 1,000 miles to play Michigan Tech at Houghton and were shaded 52-50 in four overtimes. 

In their third game, Mines defeated Upper Iowa 17-10 in a second non-conference tilt. Since then, the Rapid City team has downed New Mexico Highlands 40-19 and Fort Lewis 49-33, before sustaining another two-point loss, this one at home 22-20 to archrival Black Hills. 

Since then, Mines has fallen to Colorado School of Mines 45-20 and Western Colorado 35-24 during tough back-to-back road trips against nationally-ranked opponents. The Hardrockers led No. 8 Western Colorado 24-7 before the Mountaineers came back. South Dakota Mines was idle last Saturday.  

The Hardrockers offense is pass-oriented behind senior quarterback Jake Martinelli, a 6-foot, 200-pound Arizona native. He threw just 21 passes last fall while backing up four-year starter Jayden Johannsen but has made the most of his opportunity to play this year.

Martinelli has completed 196 of 345 passes for 1,888 yards and 19 touchdowns, ranking second in the RMAC in both yards and touchdowns. He's been intercepted eight times. Martinelli distributes the ball well, as five receivers have caught at least 20 balls, led by 6-4 junior Mason Galbreath with 35 for 444 yards.

On the ground, Holden Gilbert, a 5-7, 175-pound junior, is the pacesetter with 60 carries for 375 yards.  A bigger back, 5-10, 215-pound senior Orlando Westbrook-Sanchez, has 64 rushes for 296 yards.

This week's South Dakota Mines depth chart has former Chadron High standout Dawson Dunbar as the No. 2 running back behind Gilbert. Dunbar has carried 28 times for 97 yards for SDM this season. 

While passing has been the Hardrockers' major offensive weapon, opponents also have thrived while going through the air against them. Opponents have completed 338 passes, a dozen fewer than Mines, but the opponents have gained 2,590 yards, or 323.5 yards per game, and 25 touchdowns. Both the average yardage and number of TDs yielded are at the bottom of the RMAC pass defense stats.

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.