CHADRON, Neb. – Chadron State football went toe-to-toe with a top five team in the nation last weekend, and now will seek to maintain that momentum when they play away from home for the first time in the 2024 season.

The Eagles (1-2, 0-1 RMAC) will be in Grand Junction, Colorado this weekend to face the Colorado Mesa Mavericks (1-2, 0-1 RMAC). Kickoff is set for 1 p.m.

Chadron State and Colorado Mesa both opened the RMAC season last weekend by losing to nationally ranked opponents – Colorado School of Mines and CSU Pueblo, respectively. In fact, both of CMU's losses have come to teams ranked in this week's national top 25 poll. 

The game will be streamed for free on the RMAC Network. Chadron fans can also listen live to Dave Collins on Double Q Country 97.5 and 105.9 FM and follow along via live stats. 

Looking Back
Chadron State came within a couple plays of upsetting Colorado School of Mines, the No. 4 team in the country who are the five-time defending RMAC champions, but the Orediggers gutted out a 13-12 win over the Eagles. 

RECAP: Colorado School of Mines

With a true freshman quarterback under center, Chadron State's offense drove 67 yards in 11 plays for a touchdown on the opening possession, as Wyatt Sprague connected with Grant Swenson for a 15-yard touchdown. However, the Eagles decided to go for two and failed to convert, then missed a field goal on their second possession, leaving points on the board that loomed large in a one-point loss. 

Colorado School of Mines ultimately out-gained CSC 332-231, as Mines accumulated 235 passing yards and 97 rushing yards. The Orediggers had 21 first downs compared to 14 for the Eagles, and Mines was 10-for-18 on third down. 

Player of the Week
Chadron State football won its first weekly award of the season when defensive back Dax Yeradi took home the conference's Defensive Player of the Week honor. 

NEWS: Yeradi Named RMAC Player of the Week

The junior grabbed an interception and was the Eagles' joint-leading tackler in the Mines game, with a team-high six solo tackles among his seven stops. The pick was Yeradi's second of the season, but the first turnover of the year for the Oredigger offense.

Lockdown Unit
Yeradi's award win put a well-deserved spotlight on a Chadron State defensive unit that continues to be one of the best in the RMAC and the country. 

The Eagles lead the RMAC and rank 18^th in Division II in scoring defense by holding opponents to 13.7 points per game. Chadron State has allowed just four touchdowns this season, two fewer than any other RMAC team, and the Eagles defense is only responsible for allowing three of them since that total includes a fumble return TD by Jamestown. 

Chadron State ranks second in the RMAC and 27^th in Division II in total yards allowed, giving up 264.7 per game. The Eagles have reached that rank by being consistently good across the board rather than elite in one area, as they rank fourth in the RMAC in both total rushing defense and total passing defense. 

Individually, Yeradi's two interceptions lead the RMAC as he is the only conference player with more than one so far. Linebacker Reed Henkel has 27 tackles to lead the Eagles, and Henkel's 9.0 tackles per game rank fourth in the RMAC and 30^th in Division II. Cornerback Omar Ali leads the conference with 1.7 pass breakups per game.

Sprague Show
After splitting time with Miguel Larios during the Jamestown game in relief of injured starter DJ Ralph, true freshman quarterback and Holyoke, Colorado native Wyatt Sprague made his first collegiate start against Mines, played the whole game and performed well. 

Sprague completed 16 of 25 passes for 144 yards with one touchdown and one interception, which came on a heave on the final play of the game. He spread the ball around throughout his outing, completing those passes to nine different receivers, and had three passes of 20 yards or more. 

Sprague was also the team's leading rusher on the day, carrying 18 times for 71 yards, finishing with 54 net yards with sacks deducted. Despite not seeing the field in the first game, Sprague is Chadron State's third-leading rusher with 85 net yards, just two yards away from second.

The Eagles remain hopeful that Ralph, a transfer from San Diego State who completed all three passes he threw in the season opener before being hurt, can return to the lineup as early as this week, but the freshman showed he can run the offense capably in his absence.

Heating Up Hunter
Defensive end Hunter O'Connor had his best game of the 2024 season against Colorado School of Mines last weekend. The senior got on the board with two sacks, both of which came on the first series against the Orediggers. Overall, O'Connor finished with five tackles, three tackles for loss and the two sacks. 

The senior's two sacks against Mines take him up to 30 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). The Broomfield, Colorado native went off for 16 sacks in 2022, which earned him All-American honors, the CSC single-season sack record and the CSC single-game sack record when he had five sacks against South Dakota Mines.

O'Connor was one of three First Team All-RMAC picks for Chadron State a year ago alongside receiver Tommy Thomas and defensive tackle Tanner True. All three return to the Eagles this season, although O'Connor is the only one to play in every game this season as the other two have missed time. 

O'Connor made an appearance on D2Football.com's annual Elite 100 list for the second straight season, ranking 100 players to watch from across the country in Division II. The full list can be viewed at this link.There are seven other RMAC players on the list – receiver Max McLeod, punter Blake Doud, offensive lineman Nic Van de Graaf and defensive back Jackson Zimmerman from Colorado School of Mines, defensive back Daniel Bone III and wide receiver Reggie Retzlaff from CSU Pueblo and linebacker Kendall Lightfoot from Western Colorado.

Bell Cow
With injuries at quarterback, Chadron State has relied heavily on the running game to move the football this season, and sophomore running back Jake Marschall has been at the center of that. 

Marschall has carried the ball 62 times this season for 216 net yards. The bulk of that came when Marschall racked up 30 carries in the win over Jamestown for 110 yards. The 30 rushing attempts is by far the highest in a single game in the RMAC this season, no other RMAC rusher has carried more than 22 times in a game. 

In the Polls
There are three RMAC teams ranked in the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) national poll – Colorado School of Mines at No. 4, Western Colorado at No. 14 and CSU Pueblo at No. 22. The D2Football.com poll has Mines at No. 7, Western Colorado at No. 13 and CSU Pueblo at No. 24.

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
After Chadron State football has played its first three at home this season, the Eagles will travel to Grand Junction to meet the Colorado Mesa Mavericks on Saturday. Both teams have 1-2 records. 

The Eagles have played three low-scoring games. Nebraska-Kearney defeated CSC in the opener 18-6 before Chadron State scored two touchdowns in the fourth quarter to beat Jamestown 17-10. Colorado School of Mines edged the Eagles 13-12 last Saturday.  

Colorado Mesa won its opener at Texas A&M-Kingsville 16-13 but fell to No. 13/9 Central Washington 28-12 at home and No. 22/24 CSU Pueblo 38-14 on the road in its RMAC opener. 

Both teams have had difficulty running the ball. Chadron State has rushed for 379 yards, or an average of 126.3 yards, in three games, but that's more than double Mesa's average so far. The Mavericks have rushed for 327 yards, but have lost 136, giving them 191 total net yards, or 63.6 per game, on the ground. Mesa's leading rusher, Aiden Taylor, has 26 carries for only 74 yards, despite having a 29-yard run to his credit. 

Stats show that quarterback Liu Aumavae, a transfer from San Diego State, is a capable passer. He's completed 30 of 53 attempts for 373 yards and two touchdowns. One of his TD tosses was a 43-yarder to Jack Burke with 1:24 remaining at Pueblo last Saturday. For the season, Mesa's leading receiver is Quezon Villa with 10 receptions for 144 yards. Both Villa and Burke, who has caught both Mavs' touchdown passes, are freshmen. 

Mesa's opponents have rushed 132 times for 561 yards and seven TDs, while completing 39 of 62 passes for 410 yards and two scores.  

Chadron State leads the all-time series with Mesa by a 20-13 margin, but the Mavericks have won eight of the last 10 matchups and each of the last five, two of them in overtime.

One of the overtime contests was two years ago in Chadron, when the Eagles were ahead 24-3 at halftime, but were outscored 28-7 in the second half to knot the score at 31-31. Mesa's final touchdown in regulation came with 22 seconds remaining. Mesa had first possession in overtime and scored on a 19-yard pass and kicked the extra point. 

The Eagles also scored in OT on a two-yard plunge by massive tailback Jalen Starks.  A personal foul was called on Mesa on the touchdown play, moving the ball only 1 ½ yards from the goal line for the conversion. That prompted the Eagles to give the ball to Starks again, but he was immediately met at the line of scrimmage by a pair of Mavericks, who stopped him shy of the end zone, giving Mesa a 28-27 verdict.  

Last year, when the game also was in Grand Junction, Mesa scored the first 38 points and the Eagles the final 22. The Mavs led 17-0 at halftime, then intercepted three passes and converted each of them into touchdowns in the first three-and-a-half minutes of the second half.

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.