CHADRON, Neb. – After a third consecutive win against a team picked ahead of them in the RMAC Preseason Poll, the Chadron State football program remains in a two-way tie for first place in the league standings and will put its unbeaten RMAC record on the line once again this Saturday against Adams State in Alamosa at noon.
At 3-2 overall but 3-0 in the RMAC, the Eagles share first place with No. 12-ranked CSU Pueblo at the top of the RMAC standings. No. 7/5 ranked Western Colorado is also unbeaten but has only played two RMAC games.
Chadron State is off to a 3-0 league start for the first time since 2008. That team finished with an 11-2 record, won the RMAC championship and went 1-1 in the NCAA Playoffs.
This week's opponent, the Adams State Grizzlies, are 0-4 but have played three of their four games against teams ranked in the top 12 in the nation (UT Permian Basin, Western Colorado and CSU Pueblo). The Grizzlies are searching for win No. 1 under first-year head coach Levi Gallas, an ASU alum who has been the defensive coordinator at programs such as Nebraska-Kearney and West Texas A&M prior to earning the head job at his alma mater. Saturday's game will also be the Grizzlies' homecoming celebration.
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
Chadron State marked homecoming weekend with a victory, defeating Colorado Mesa 34-27 for just the second win in the past 11 seasons over the Mavericks by CSC.
RECAP:
Eagles Win Third Straight, Defeat Mesa
After winning RMAC Offensive Player of the Week in his first start,
Aidan Thompson also was victorious in his second start, completing 15 of 28 passes for 232 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions.
Daytuawn Pearson was the Eagles' leading rusher with 16 carries for 85 yards, including several key gains late in the game.
Tommy Thomas caught seven passes for 98 yards while
Rollin George III had three receptions for 80 yards.
The Eagles also forced a pair of turnovers when
Jadon Bowen forced a fumble on a sack recovered by the Eagles and
Dax Yeradi snagged an interception, both replicating events that also took place in Chadron State's previous win over Colorado School of Mines.
Winning the Margins
A big storyline of Chadron State's 2024 season was that the Eagles were far more competitive than their 3-8 record let on, but were unable to win close games, finishing with an overall positive point differential but a 1-5 record in games decided by seven points or less.
This season, the Eagles have flipped the script so far. CSC's RMAC victories this season have been by a combined 16 points (three, six and seven), giving the Eagles a 3-0 record in one-score contests.
Since the Eagles' two losses were by 14 points (to Northern Colorado) and 20 points (to UNK), Chadron State is actually in the opposite position as last season, where they have been outscored by their opponents on the season but have a winning record.
Tale of Two Halves
Chadron State's formula for winning each of its three RMAC games so far has been similar – get out to a big lead in the first half and execute enough plays down the stretch to hold the lead in the fourth quarter.
Across three RMAC games, Chadron State is outscoring opponents 62-24 in the first half, leading after two quarters by margins of 21, 10 and seven points over the past three weeks. In the second half, Chadron State's opponents are outscoring the Eagles 59-37.
Boxes Checked
Multi-time All-RMAC honoree and wide receiver
Tommy Thomas put up a stat line up seven catches for 98 yards and a touchdown against the Mavericks. Thomas now has four touchdown receptions in CSC's past three games, since the Eagles began conference play.
The seven catches are tied for his highest in a single game during the 2025 season while the 98 yards are the second highest after Thomas had seven catches for 100 yards in the season opener against Northern Colorado.
In addition, last Saturday had several significant moments 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 contest against Colorado Mesa.
Thomas has an outside shot at some program career records among CSC receivers. With six games remaining in the season, Thomas needs:
- 42 catches to tie Cole Thurness (2016-21) for the school's all-time receptions lead with 192 (meaning Thomas would need to average the seven catches he recorded last week)
- 922 receiving yards to tie Cory Brooks (1992-95) for the school's all-time receiving yards record with 2,941
- 6 touchdowns to tie Thurness and Tevon Wright (2016-19) for the school's all-time receiving TDs record with 26
No Free Yards
Although down a bit statistically from their lofty standards a year ago, Chadron State still clearly has one of the better defenses in the RMAC.
The Eagles rank fourth among the RMAC's 10 teams in scoring defense (allowing 28.2 points per game) and jump up to third-best in total defense (allowing 316.2 yards per game).
Chadron State is the league's best against the pass through Week 4, allowing a RMAC-low 169.4 passing yards per contest (26
th in Division II) and leading the conference in passing efficiency (21
st in Division II). In his first full-time season as a starter, senior cornerback
Jadon Bowen has been a game-changer, with 22 tackles, four pass breakups, two sacks, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery.
Opposing teams have been hesitant to challenge cornerback and Moorpark College transfer
AJ Scurlock while safeties
Dax Yeradi (two interceptions, three pass breakups, 24 tackles),
Tucker Peterson (20 tackles, two pass breakups) and
Sutton Pohlman (25 tackles, one pass breakup) are up to their usual ball hawking tendencies.
Running Wild
While
Quincey Ryker and
Daytuawn Pearson have taken the lion's share of carries for the Chadron State offense all season long, neither one had scored a touchdown through CSC's first four games, with the honors going to the Eagle quarterbacks (
DJ Ralph,
Aidan Thompson) or less-used short-yardage backs (
Anthony McMillian).
That changed on Saturday, with both the redshirt freshman Ryker and the junior Pearson finding the end zone during last weekend's 34-27 win. Ryker scored on a two-yard plunge in the first half before Pearson followed with a one-yard score as part of a CSC-best 86-yard rushing day.
On the season, Ryker has a team-best 297 rushing yards, led by a 21 carry, 101-yard day in the win over then-No. 23 Colorado School of Mines. Pearson, who has eclipsed 75 yards in two games this season, is not far behind with 225 yards on 41 carries. Pearson is averaging 5.5 yards per carry to Ryker's 4.5.
Stat Leaders
Passing:
- Aidan Thompson: 449 yards, 56.92 completion pct., 5 TD, 2 INT
- DJ Ralph: 514 yards, 58.54 completion pct., 3 TD, 4 INT
Rushing:
Receiving:
Tackling:
Scouting the Grizzlies
by Con Marshall
Adams State is 0-4 overall. After Western New Mexico beat the Grizzlies 35-21 in the season opener, they have scored just one touchdown in each of their remaining games, all against nationally ranked opponents.
No. 9/7 Texas Permian Basin won 41-7 in another non-
conference
contest while No. 7/5 Western Colorado and No. 12 CSU Pueblo have prevailed 45-6 and 55-7, respectively, the last two Saturdays.
Adams State has been balanced offensively so far. The Grizzlies are averaging 121 yards rushing and 107.5 yards passing. The opponents have averaged 180.3 yards on the ground and 240.8 through the air in the four
contests.
Adams State has mixed and matched at QB, with true freshman Tyson Smith throwing for 252 yards, two touchdowns and three interceptions on 54 attempts and former Colorado Mesa starter Gavin Herberg tossing 143 yards, one touchdown and three picks on 18 attempts.
The top target is sophomore Geovonni Ribalta, who has 12 catches for 179 yards. Sophomore Ahmare Merrida is the team's leading rusher with 41 carries for 198 yards, including 134 against UT Permian Basin. Junior linebacker Mafileo Tupou leads the squad with 29 tackles.
The Grizzlies have a new coach this season, hiring a former Adams State standout, Levi Gallas, last December after he'd served as the defensive coordinator two years at both West Texas A&M and Nebraska-Kearney. He was on the Lopers' coaching staff a total of six years and also was an assistant at Eastern New Mexico five seasons.
Gallas was an RMAC all-
conference selection and was Adams State's team MVP as a senior in 2009.
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 three programs receiving national mention in the Top 25 polls. The American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) poll has Western Colorado at No. 7, CSU Pueblo at No. 12 and Colorado School of Mines among teams receiving votes. D2Football.com's poll has Western Colorado at No. 5 and CSU Pueblo at No. 12.
Elite Company
Redshirt senior safety
Dax Yeradi earned a coveted preseason national honor as he was named to D2Football.com's Elite 100 Watch List.
Yeradi appears on the annual Top 100 after a breakout junior season. The Wright, Wyoming native earned First Team All-RMAC and Second Team D2CCA All-Region selections as a safety, then picked up an additional honorable mention All-RMAC nod as a punt returner. Yeradi tied for the RMAC lead with four interceptions and finished with 51 tackles and eight passes defensed.
The 100-player national watch list includes 25 first-team players and 25 second-team players (11 offense, 11 defense, 3 special teams), then 50 "squad" players (25 offense, 25 defense). Yeradi was named as a defensive "squad" player.
2025 will mark the third straight season that Chadron State has had an Elite 100 Watchlist selection, after now-graduated defensive end
Hunter O'Connor appeared on the list in the previous two seasons.
Yeradi's inclusion makes Chadron State one of only four RMAC programs to be represented on the Elite 100 list. There are nine total RMAC athletes among the 100, including four from CSU Pueblo (first-team WR Reggie Retzlaff, first-team DB Donovan English, squad OL Tyler Ethridge and squad LB Gary Seidenberger), two from Western Colorado (first-team DL Ricky Freymond, second-team QB Drew Nash) and two from Colorado School of Mines (first-team WR Flynn Schiele, squad DB Jackson Zimmerman).
The Staff
Head Coach
Jay Long returns for his 14
th season at the helm of the Chadron State football program, accumulating a 62-64 record at CSC over his previous 13 seasons.
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 McClendon and athletic trainer Allison Wood.
