PITTSBURG, Kan. – Chadron State briefly took the lead in the fourth quarter, but Pittsburg State scored with seven-and-a-half minutes remaining and held off the Eagles by a 21-17 score in the first round of the 2025 NCAA Division II playoffs. 

Wide receiver and First Team All-RMAC selection Tommy Thomas caught five passes for 87 yards, including his 15^th receiving touchdown of the 2025 season, to give the Fort Collins native 195 career receptions and break the program's all-time record, which formerly was 192 and held by CSC alum Cole Thurness. 

The result ends the Eagles' season at 8-4 overall, with the program's first trip to the postseason since 2012. The matchup with Pitt State was CSC's third consecutive game against an opponent ranked in the top five in one or both major Division II voting polls, and all three games were decided by one score. 

"I am so proud of our guys," head coach Jay Long said. "This year, we played eight road games, two overtime games and four games against nationally ranked opponents. Our kids never flinched and played their hearts out for one another. They will forever be Eagles." 

The Gorillas ran the opening kickoff back for a touchdown and led 14-3 at halftime, but the Eagles were once again resilient. Timely stops, big plays in the pass game and three missed field goals by Pitt State helped ensure the Eagles would not go away quietly.

A pair of CSC touchdowns, one late in the third quarter and one midway through the fourth, gave the Eagles the lead for the first time at 17-14 with 10:10 left in the game. Pitt State re-took the lead on its next possession, however, and the Eagles' final two drives ended in fourth-down interceptions – one by the punter on an attempted trick play and one by the quarterback on a desperation attempt in the final seconds. 

Chadron State narrowly outgained Pitt State, 308 to 306, on the same number of plays (60). The Eagles outpaced Pitt State through the air, collecting 233 passing yards to PSU's 177, while the home team outrushed the Eagles 129-75.

Quarterback DJ Ralph, making his third consecutive start, completed 15 of 24 passes for 233 yards, throwing one touchdown and two interceptions. The bulk of those yards went to Thomas, who hauled in a seven-yard touchdown pass and broke the receptions record on a 66-yard deep ball over the top, and Devon Sundgren, who caught two passes for 64 yards.

Daytuawn Pearson was the team's leading rusher with 32 yards on eight carries while reigning RMAC Special Teams Player of the Week Chase Nelson added 47 yards of kick returns, highlighted by a 39-yard runback. 

Defensively, Cooper Walton spearheaded the Eagle effort with 15 tackles (five solo) while senior safety Dax Yeradi had 10 (seven solo). CSC had two sacks, one by Walton and one by Ryder True and Logan O'Brien, and forced one fumble that Pitt State was able to recover.

The home team started the game as well as possible, with TyJuan Atkins, Jr. taking the opening kickoff at the one-yard line and racing down the left side line for a 99-yard return touchdown to give the Gorillas an instant lead. 

Chadron State's offense responded, with Ralph hitting Garet Schlabs and Rollin George III for 13-yard gains and using four Ryker carries for 19 yards to set up a 47-yard field goal from Wilson Yee to cut the deficit to 7-3. 

Pitt State's next two drives ended in missed field goals, with MIAA Special Teams Player of the Year Austin Schmitt missing from 36 yards and then from 54 yards after a Pitt State interception. 

The Gorillas took up much of the second quarter on a 14-play, 94-yard drive that took 6:52 off the clock and ended in a four-yard rushing TD for Cleo Chandler, Jr. as the home team took a 14-3 lead into the halftime locker room. 

Chadron State, which managed 107 total yards in the first half, swung the momentum in an instant with a long pass to Thomas, who fought through a pass interference penalty against him to make the catch and race down the sideline for a 66-yard gain. 

A 10-yard pass to Garet Schlabs gave the Eagles first-and-goal from the Pitt State two. It took the Eagles until fourth-and-goal to score, but Ralph threw to the back corner pylon for Thomas, who made a lunging, contesting catch that was ruled inbounds on the field and upheld after a replay challenge by Pitt State. CSC went for two in the hopes of cutting the deficit to three points, but Ralph's pass intended for Rollin George III was incomplete.

Chadron State got a big stop on the other end when the Gorillas attempted to fake a punt with an end-around rush that was snuffed out by Evan Cherry. The Eagles immediately hit for a big play when Ralph connected with Devon Sundgren on a deep ball to put the Eagles down to the PSU 16-yard line. Six rushing plays later, Daytuawn Pearson punched it in from two yards out, and Ralph found tight end Koye Gilbert for the two-point conversion to give CSC a 17-14 lead.

Pitt State went down the field and re-took the lead on two deep passes, the first of which was a pass interference call against CSC and the second of which was a 28-yard touchdown. 

On its next possession, Chadron State found itself in 4^th-and-5 from their own 25 yard line, and tried to have punter Brodie Eisenbraun throw a pass, which was intercepted. The score remained a four-point margin after Schmitt missed his third kick of the day, this time from only 24 yards out, setting the stage for CSC's final possession with the Eagles out of timeouts. 

After a 25-yard throw to Sundgren, the Eagles threw two incomplete passes and a four-yard rush to set up a do-or-die 4^th-and-6. Ralph bought time and rolled to his right, but his pass thrown 25 yards down the field was picked off, allowing Pitt State to kneel it out.

Pittsburg State, which improves to 10-2, will advance to face No. 1 regional seed Harding in the second round. Harding defeated Northwest Missouri State 38-16 on Saturday. 

While both Harding and Pitt State won as higher seeds, the other Super Region Four second-round matchup will feature a pair of teams who toppled their higher-seeded opponents in UT Permian Basin (who defeated region No. 3 CSU Pueblo 37-24) and Western Colorado (who defeated region No. 2 Central Washington 27-20).