CHADRON, Neb. – After winning its fifth consecutive conference game and improving to 3-0 at home, the Chadron State football program traverses to southwestern Colorado this weekend to take on Fort Lewis.
 
The Eagles (5-2, 5-0 RMAC) remain one of three unbeaten teams left in the RMAC and are in a two-way tie for the RMAC lead at 5-0 with CSU Pueblo (Western Colorado is 4-0). Fort Lewis (1-5, 0-4 RMAC) is still searching for its first RMAC win, but two of the Skyhawks' four conference losses have been by one score, including one by a single point.
 
The game is scheduled to kick off at 12 p.m. at Ray Dennison Memorial Field, which is the final remaining natural grass field in the RMAC.
 
After playing on eight consecutive Saturdays to open the season, the showdown with the Skyhawks is Chadron State's final game before a bye week next Saturday. It will also be Fort Lewis's homecoming contest, with the Skyhawks looking to return the favor after Chadron State defeated Fort Lewis 55-13 last season during CSC's homecoming.
 
Chadron State is receiving votes in the AFCA Coaches Poll for the second consecutive week, as the Eagles now have seven voting points in the poll, up from three last week. The D2Football.com poll, which only lists their top 25 teams and does not have an "also receiving votes" category, does not include the Eagles.
 
Fans can watch live (with a subscription) on the RMAC Network, listen live on Double Q Country 97.5/105.9 FM or doubleqcountry.com with Dave Collins on the call, or monitor the Chadron State Eagles Facebook page or @cscfootball on X and Instagram for updates.
 
RMAC Network Reminder
As a reminder, RMAC Network games this season now require a pay-per-view subscription to watch. Revenue generated by the network will be redistributed to the league's membership to enhance their broadcast systems and programs.
 
NEWS: RMAC Network Moves To Pay-Per-View Model
 
RMAC fans can purchase monthly and annual subscriptions that will provide them access to all regular-season, championship, and archived broadcasts on the RMAC Network, including both home and away RMAC contests for Chadron State. A monthly subscription costs $25, and an annual subscription (for all sports) costs $130. Single-game passes are available for $10, which grants the viewer access to a single game for 24 hours. Subscriptions can be purchased through Hudl at rmacnetwork.com. 
 
Now that CSC has completed the non-conference portion of their schedule, all remaining football games in 2025 (home and away) will be on the RMAC Network and included in any monthly/annual subscription purchases.
 
Fans will technical support issues can contact Hudl, visit the RMAC email the RMAC Network FAQ page, or directly email the RMAC at rmac@rmacsports.org.
 
Looking Back
With most of the pregame attention on New Mexico Highlands running back Jeffrey Jones, Division II's rushing leader in yards per game, Eagles redshirt freshman Quincey Ryker stole the show, outshining his counterpart with a career-high 220 yards and three rushing touchdowns on 21 carries as Chadron State defeated the Cowboys 37-20. 
 
RECAP: Ryker Runs Wild as Eagles Beat Cowboys
 
Ryker had touchdowns of 62, 10 and 21 yards and tallied 155 of his 220 yards in the first half. Quarterback Aidan Thompson also linked up with All-RMAC receiver Tommy Thomas for both a receiving touchdown and a successful two-point conversion, Thomas's eighth touchdown in the past five games.
 
Among games this season, Chadron State recorded its second-most points (37), and rushing yards (292), as well as allowing its second-fewest passing yards (107). The leader in each of those categories was CSC's 45-2 win over Adams State one week prior.
 
CSC/FLC History
Chadron State will enter Saturday's game against Fort Lewis having won seven of their last eight matchups against the Skyhawks and hold a 34-5 advantage in the all-time series.
 
The Eagles have scored 55 points or more in four consecutive games against the Skyhawks – winning 60-7, 56-3, 57-20 and 55-13 over the past four seasons. Prior to that streak was FLC's most recent win, a 37-30 triumph over Chadron State in Durango during the 2019 season. 
 
Chadron State won 17 straight matchups between 1986 and 2004. After a Skyhawks win in 2005, CSC won another nine straight from 2006-2014.
 
Last season, the Eagles won 55-13 on homecoming, featuring an uncanny stretch where Eagle defenders picked off four consecutive Fort Lewis passes in the third quarter, with Dax Yeradi and Tucker Peterson returning two of them for touchdowns. Running back Quincey Ryker, who has emerged as CSC's lead back this season as a redshirt freshman, saw his only true freshman game action of the season against the Skyhawks and exploded for a 72-yard rushing touchdown on his first collegiate carry.
 
Déjà vu 
Stop us if you've heard this before – but redshirt senior linebacker Logan O'Brien will take the field as the reigning RMAC Defensive Player of the Week. 
 
STORY: O'Brien Wins Third Defensive Player of the Week

Against the Cowboys, O'Brien finished with a game-high 11 tackles (including seven solo stops) along with one tackle for loss and one sack. O'Brien was one of three RMAC players this week with double-digit tackles and the only one of the three to add a sack or tackle for loss to his ledger.

O'Brien made 10 of his 11 tackles on rushing plays as Chadron State held the top running back in Division II this season, Jeffrey Jones, to only 16 yards in the second half and 38 in the final three quarters. The slowing of the run game coincided with Chadron State turning around a 14-3 deficit into the 37-20 final score, as the Eagles outscored the Cowboys 27-6 over the final three quarters. 

With his win, O'Brien becomes the conference's first three-time winner of an RMAC weekly award this season. O'Brien previously took home the honor on September 15 (after eight tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss and a pick-six against Black Hills State) and the following week on September 22 (eight tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss and two sacks against then-No. 23 Colorado School of Mines).  

O'Brien has staked his claim as one of the top defensive players in the RMAC this season, ranking fourth in the RMAC in total tackles with 53 and third in solo tackles with 30. He leads the conference and ranks fifth in Division II with 13 tackles for loss and is tied for the league lead with five sacks.

Reversing Trends
With the win over New Mexico Highlands last Saturday, Chadron State already has four wins in 2025 over teams the Eagles lost to in 2024 (Black Hills State, Colorado School of Mines, Colorado Mesa and the Cowboys). 
 
In most cases, the wins have snapped notable streaks in the all-time series, as Chadron State had lost three straight to Black Hills State, 11 straight to Mines and six straight to Mesa prior to winning this year. 
 
One reason for the turnaround has been CSC's success in close games, especially compared to last season. The 2024 Eagles finished 3-8, but were not far away from reversing that record as the Eagles went 1-5 in one-score games, including 0-5 against RMAC opponents.
 
This season, the 5-2 Eagles are 3-0 in one-score contests, beating Black Hills State by three points, Mines by six points and Mesa by seven points on consecutive weeks.
 
Tommy Tracker
Tommy Thomas has found another gear in the conference season, scoring all eight of his 2025 receiving touchdowns across CSC's five conference games. 
 
Thomas ranks second in the RMAC and 24^th in Division II with 510 receiving yards. He is third in the RMAC and is in a three-way tie for sixth in the nation with his eight receiving TDs.
 
It has been a milestone-filled season already for Thomas's career, as the Fort Collins native managed to grab his 150^th career reception, 20^th career receiving touchdown as well as eclipse 2,000 career receiving yards at various points during the September 27^th homecoming contest against Colorado Mesa. 
 
Thomas has an outside shot at some program career records among CSC receivers. With five games remaining in the season, Thomas needs:

• 31 catches to tie Cole Thurness (2016-21) for the school's all-time receptions lead with 192
• 717 receiving yards to tie Cory Brooks (1992-95) for the school's all-time receiving yards record with 2,941
• 2 receiving touchdowns to tie Thurness and Tevon Wright (2016-19) for the school's all-time receiving TDs record with 26 

Q-Baller
Ryker's 220-yard breakout was the most rushing yards in a game by an RMAC rusher this season not named Jeffrey Jones, who has the top three single-game performances.
 
It is the 33^rd 200-yard rushing performance in Chadron State football history. Ryker's 220 is tied for 21^st on the CSC single-game all-time list, alongside David Jones in 1987, which incidentally was the first 200-yard game ever for the Eagles. Because the ranks above him are populated by CSC greats such as Danny Woodhead, Jones and Glen Clinton, Ryker now has the sixth-highest career high in Chadron State rushing history.
 
Ryker is the first Chadron State back to eclipse 200 yards since Kevin Coy, Jr. ran for 207 against South Dakota Mines in 2018, and it is the highest total since Glen Clinton ran for 242 yards against Western New Mexico in 2013.
 
On a season note, Ryker now has 570 rush yards this season, second behind Jones in the RMAC and 21^stin Division II. His 81.4 rush yards per game rank fourth in the conference. Ryker has also risen to fifth in the RMAC in all-purpose yards, with 615.

Staying On, Getting Off
Chadron State's offensive and defensive units have both excelled in key conversion situations this season, helping Chadron State build an overall time of possession lead over its opponents in 2025.
 
The Eagle defense is one of the better units in the country on third down, holding opponents to just a 30.3 percent conversion rate. That clip leads the RMAC and ranks 18^th in Division II. By contrast, the Eagle offense is converting 38.1 percent of its third-down attempts (fifth-highest in the RMAC).
 
Chadron State has also come up big offensively when called upon on convert on fourth down. The Eagles have been successful on 3 of 4 fourth-down attempts this year, a 75 percent success rate which is just outside the top 10 nationally in Division II. No other RMAC team is converting above 57 percent on fourth down. 
 
The Eagle defense has held opponents to just 6-for-16 on fourth down this season, including a notable 0-for-4 by then-nationally ranked Colorado School of Mines. CSC's .412 opponent fourth-down conversion rate ranks third in the league.
 
Stat Standouts

• The Chadron State defense ranks third in the RMAC in scoring defense (23.3 points per game) and is second in total defense (294.1 yards allowed per game).
• The Eagles are extra stingy against the pass, ranking first in the RMAC and 10^th in Division II with only 146 pass yards allowed per game.
• The Eagles are also the best in the league at kick return defense, allowing only 14.2 kick return yards per game (6^th in Division II).
• Kicker Wilson Yee leads the RMAC in field goals per game (1.29) and is tied with Colorado School of Mines's Preston Kyle for an RMAC-best .629 field goal percentage.
• Aidan Thompson ranks fifth in the RMAC in passing touchdowns (10) and sixth in passing yards (779) despite only attempting nine passes in CSC's first three games.
• The Eagles have three players (Logan O'Brien, William Stemler, Cooper Walton) who are averaging over half a sack per game. 

Pinning Deep
Brodie Eisenbraun, a two-time Second Team All-RMAC punter, continues to be a weapon for the Eagles on special teams and is turning in his best season yet. 

Eisenbraun has 31 punts this season, hitting an RMAC-high 13 inside the 20, seven for 50 yards or more and just three for touchbacks.

The Sturgis, South Dakota native is averaging 43.7 yards per punt, which ranks tied for seventh in Division II. That average, if he maintains it, would break Eisenbraun's own single-season program record of 43.26 set last year.

In the Polls
Chadron State finished in a tie for seventh place in the RMAC Preseason Coaches Poll. There were multiple ties throughout the preseason voting, including at the top. Defending league champions CSU Pueblo and defending runners-up Western Colorado finished in a dead heat for first place at 76 points, both receiving the exact combination of five first place votes, three second place votes and one third-place vote. 
 
Colorado School of Mines, whose five-year streak of having at least a share of the RMAC title was broken last season, finished third in the voting while Colorado Mesa finished fourth. Regional rivals South Dakota Mines and Black Hills State tied for fifth. After the Eagles and New Mexico Highlands in seventh, the poll was rounded out by Fort Lewis in ninth and Adams State in 10^th. 
 
The RMAC has two nationally ranked programs, in addition to the Eagles knocking on the door of the national top 25. The American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) poll and D2Football.com poll both have Western Colorado ranked at No. 5 and CSU Pueblo at No. 9. Chadron State is receiving votes in the AFCA poll.

RMAC Update
With the season marching past the halfway point, Chadron State is firmly in the RMAC title conversation despite being picked to finish seventh in the league's preseason poll.

Here is a look at the current RMAC standings:
 

Team	RMAC Record	Overall Record
#9/9 CSU Pueblo	5-0	6-1
Chadron State	5-0	5-2
#5/#5 Western Colorado	4-0	6-0
Colorado School of Mines	2-2	4-2
Colorado Mesa	2-2	3-3
South Dakota Mines	2-3	2-5
New Mexico Highlands	1-3	3-3
Black Hills State	1-4	1-6
Fort Lewis	0-4	1-5
Adams State	0-4	0-6

The top four in the standings mostly still need to face each other. Below are matchups over the next few weeks that are likely to face a major impact on the RMAC seeding race:
October 25:

• Colorado School of Mines @ Western Colorado

November 1:

• CSU Pueblo @ Western Colorado

November 8:

• CSU Pueblo @ Colorado School of Mines
• Western Colorado @ Chadron State

November 15:

• Chadron State @ CSU Pueblo
• Colorado Mesa @ Western Colorado

Scouting the Skyhawks
by Con Marshall
Fort Lewis has won just one of its six games this season. The Skyhawks defeated Arizona Christian 58-10 in their second game of the season.  William Jewell of Missouri won the other non-conference contest 34-14.
 
Scores from the first two RMAC games indicate that the Skyhawks are improved this fall.  Black Hills won 25-19 and South Dakota Mines squeezed out a 22-21 victory. A year ago, Black Hills beat Fort Lewis 33-7 and the Hardrockers downed the Skyhawks 49-33.  
 
During the past two weeks this season, both of the RMAC's highest ranked teams, Western Colorado and CSU Pueblo, scored 49 points against the Skyhawks while limiting Fort Lewis to 10 and 13 points, respectively.  
 
It's noteworthy that FLC has out-rushed its six opponents by 729 to 722 yards. None of the opponents has run over them. The foes, however, own a 1,363 to 1,011 margin in passing yardage. 
 
Johnny Cox, a star player for the Skyhawks in the early 1990s who still holds the program's pass receiving yardage and career touchdown records, is in his third year as the head coach. He has utilized two quarterbacks. 
 
Redshirt freshman Jake Jones is the team's leading rusher with 33 carries for 198 yards while completing 15 of 25 passes for 185 yards and one TD as well as one interception. Sophomore Jacob Morris has lost a negative 19 yards on the ground, but he has competed 56 of 98 tosses for 652 yards and four touchdowns. He has been picked off three times.
 
Fort Lewis's defensive standout is linebacker Jacob Penney, whose 76 tackles are 18 more than anybody else in the RMAC. Cornerbacks Kalib Davis and Elijah Portela have two interceptions and three pass breakups each. The Skyhawks generate turnovers, as their nine interceptions rank second in the RMAC and their 11 forced fumbles lead the league.
 
The Staff
Head Coach Jay Long returns for his 14^th season at the helm of the Chadron State football program. In addition, Long coached for three seasons at now-RMAC rival Black Hills State from 2019-2012. 
 
As a result of CSC's five-game win streak, Long is back over .500 for his head coaching career, with an all-time record of 82-81 as a head coach and 67-66 at CSC. 
 
The core of Long's staff all returns for 2025, including sixth-year offensive coordinator Micah Smith and fifth-year defensive coordinator Clint Sasse. Long, Smith and Sasse are all Chadron State football alumni. Special teams coordinator Wes Coomes and quarterbacks coach Tommy Wilson also return to their roles from 2024. 
 
Four of the Eagles' six coaching assistants are new to the staff this year, with three bringing Division I experience. 
 
DeMarcus Felton (running backs) and Herbert Frazier, Jr. (wide receivers) both come to CSC from the staff of Dekaney High School in Houston, Texas, where they mentored several eventual Division I and Power 4 players. Both Felton and Frazier were members of the Texas Tech (Division I, Big 12) football program, with Felton racking up 10 rushing touchdowns during his Red Raider career.
 
Lorenzo Neal (defensive line) joins the CSC staff after a playing career at Purdue University, where he served as a team captain and earned two Honorable Mention All-Big Ten selections. Neal's father, Lorenzo, played for 16 seasons in the NFL and was a four-time Pro Bowl selection and a three-time All-Pro as a fullback.
 
The final new coaching assistant is Deunte Moody (defensive backs), who begins his coaching career at Chadron State after concluding his playing career at Black Hills State last season. Returning to the staff are coaching assistants Steve Chang (linebackers) and Logan Zacharias (offensive line). 
 
Other Eagle support staff includes strength and conditioning coaches E.J. Kreis and Chase McLendon and athletic trainer Allison Wood.