CHADRON, Neb. – After two weeks on the road, Chadron State football will play on the Elliott Field turf for the first time (and under the lights in Chadron for the only time) in the 2025 season for another rivalry game when the Eagles (0-2) take on Black Hills State (0-2) at 6 p.m.
 
Both teams are winless, but have played stingy opposition, as Chadron State has a 14-point loss to a Division I opponent (UNC) while BHSU has lost by 12 to the No. 3-ranked Division II team in the country (Grand Valley State). 
 
Fans can catch the experience in person at Elliott Field at Don Beebe Stadium, watch live (with a subscription) on the RMAC Network, listen live on Double Q Country 97.5/105.9 FM or doubleqcountry.com or follow along to @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.
 
Tailgate Options
As always, CSC fans can participate in home tailgates by purchasing reversing tailgating or parking spots for home football games in 2025. 
 
PURCHASE: Tailgating Season Tickets | Parking Season Passes | Single-Game Ticketing Page
 
CSC students are also invited to a student tailgate on Saturday on the south side of the stadium. The first 75 students will receive free Subway sandwiches with outdoor games and a TV setup. That tailgate starts at 4:30 p.m.
 
Back in Black
Saturday's showdown not only marks Chadron State's home opener, but it is the only home night game of the season and the last of two night games CSC is currently scheduled to play in 2024 (alongside last week's game against UNK). 
 
Saturday's game will be a "Black Out," with students and fans encouraged to wear black to the stadium to help support the Eagles. 
 
Gameday Experience Update
Yesterday, Chadron State officially announced that as part of a pilot program approved by the Nebraska State College System, Chadron State will be introducing sales of alcoholic beverages in specific areas of Elliott Field at Don Beebe Stadium. 
 
STORY: CSC Announces Pilot Program For Alcohol Sales
 
At this time, the pilot program is only available for CSC's four home football games on September 13, September 27, October 11 and November 8. Alcohol sales will be limited to one area, the new "CSC Beer Garden," which will be in the southeast corner of the stadium, utilizing the old concession area. 
 
Outside alcoholic beverages are still not permitted. Any abuse of the "CSC Beer Garden" will cause the pilot program to be closed.
 
Looking Back
Nebraska-Kearney cashed in on second-half miscues to pull away for a 41-21 victory over Chadron State last Saturday, with the Lopers winning the second straight matchup between the schools since the traveling "Good Life Trophy" began to be placed on the line.
 
RECAP: Lopers Defeat Eagles In Trophy Game
 
Chadron State scored on a DJ Ralph rushing touchdown, a 51-yard catch-and-run by sophomore transfer receiver Devon Sundgren, and a late two-yard plunge by running back Anthony McMillian. It was both Sundgren and McMillian's first touchdowns for CSC. 
 
In the meantime, the Eagles had a blocked punt in the second quarter as well as two second-half interceptions. CSC also had a fumble on a handoff exchange from backup QB Aidan Thompson, who entered in the fourth with the Eagles down multiple scores as starter DJ Ralph was feeling the effects of five sacks and several more hits.
 
CSC-BHSU History
by Con Marshall
The Chadron State-Black Hills series dates back to 1912, the second year Chadron State was in operation.  Although the rivalry was interrupted by both World War I and II, the football teams generally met annually and sometimes twice a year in the 1920s until 1952. ​Beginning in 1964 and through 1995, the Eagles and the Yellow Jackets met on the gridiron every autumn.  In the early '90s, Chadron State joined the RMAC and soon was playing a full slate of conference games. So, beginning in 1996, the CSC-BHSU rivalry was suspended again until 2012 when the Yellow Jackets also became a conference member.
 
​CSC has won eight of the 12 games since then and holds a 60-18-2 margin in the all-time series. But the Yellow Jackets have won the last three games. In last year's game, Black Hills State won thanks in part to the Eagles missing two field goals and an extra point and having problems with the snap that prevented another field goal from being attempted. Prior to that, Black Hills won 32-23 in 2022 and 55-19 in '23 when the Jackets finished with 556 yards of offense and threw for five touchdowns.
 
​As most fans know, Chadron State Head Coach Jay Long and Black Hills mentor Josh Breske are well acquainted. Beske was a four-year starter in the Yellow Jackets' offensive line 2006 through 2009.  Long was the Jackets' offensive line coach the first three years and the head coach when Breske was a senior and earned NAIA All-American honors.  Breske was the first All-American that Long coached.
 
​After three years as the Jackets' head mentor, Long returned to his alma mater as Chadron State's head coach in 2012.  That fall, Breske joined the Eagles' coaching staff as a graduate assistant and earned his master's degree from CSC in 2013.    ​
 
​Breske became Black Hills State's head coach in December 2019.  Because of the COVID pandemic, the Yellow Jackets played just two games in the fall of 2000, neither of them against CSC. Black Hills had a 4-7 record in 2021, reversed that mark the next year and has finished 6-5 each of the last two seasons.
 
Counting Yards
Despite the 0-2 record, Chadron State is actually outgaining their opponents this season, putting up 319.5 yards of total offense per game while allowing only 298.5 per game. By yardage allowed, Chadron State currently has the second-ranked defense in the RMAC (the Eagles are fifth in scoring defense). 
 
Chadron State outgained Northern Colorado 333-291 in the Week 0 season-opener, then finished dead-even with Nebraska Kearney in total yards, 306-306, despite the 20-point scoring difference. The Eagles rank 36^th in Division II and third in the RMAC in passing yards allowed, with the Eagle secondary only giving up 152.5 yards per game through the air. 
 
In the early going, Chadron State is stingy in the yardage categories rather than the scoring categories that they excelled in last season, although some short fields against UNK put the Eagles at a disadvantage for preventing points. 
 
A surprising note – through two games, the Chadron State defense has not recorded a sack or caused a turnover. Last season, the Eagles ranked fifth in the RMAC with 28 sacks, third in the conference with 14 interceptions, and tops in the conference and fourth in all of Division II with five defensive touchdowns. 
 
Straight Line Speed
Chadron State may have identified a big-play threat in Devon Sundgren, a former Division I track and field athlete at Fresno State who ran the 100 meters in 10.67 seconds while finishing in 10^th place at the Mountain West Conference Championships in 2023. 
 
Sundgren wanted to play football collegiately instead, so he transferred first to Bakersfield Junior College, where he scored four touchdowns on 15 catches while averaging 17.3 yards per reception in 2024 before joining the Eagles this spring. 
 
The Californian showcased his big-play ability against UNK, taking a short pass the distance for a 51-yard touchdown on his first catch as an Eagle. It remains the only passing touchdown of the season so far for CSC through two games.
 
Trading Touches
Chadron State continues to have a running back by committee approach in 2025. Newcomer Daytuawn Pearson has excelled as a change-of-pace running back, taking 16 carries for 107 yards (6.7 ypc) through two games. Notably, Pearson has not had a carry for negative yardage so far this season. 
 
Redshirt freshman Quincey Ryker, who received two carries as a true freshman in 2024, has matured into a lead back role with a team-high 26 carries for 103 total yards. While Ryker took the majority of carries compared to Pearson against UNC (14 to 4), both running backs had 12 carries apiece against Kearney. 
 
Also in the picture is redshirt freshman Anthony McMillian, who has six carries (three in each contest). McMillian ripped off a career-long 16-yard run against UNK, then became the only CSC running back to find the end zone so far with a two-yard scoring plunge. 
 
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. 9, CSU Pueblo at No. 14 and Colorado School of Mines among teams receiving votes. D2Football.com's poll has Western Colorado at No. 6, CSU Pueblo at No. 13 and Mines ranked at No. 24.
 
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.
 
Scouting the Yellow Jackets
by Con Marshall
Black Hills has given two tough teams all they could handle. Sioux Falls, who went 8-3 last season, narrowly beat the Yellow Jackets 27-21 in their opener, and No. 3-ranked and perennial power Grand Valley State of Michigan won by just 48-36 over the Jackets last Saturday in Grand Rapids. Grand Valley won its first game 45-9 while Sioux Falls defeated arch-rival Northern State 42-28 in its second game.
 
​Black Hills State has provided its fans with an aerial circus. In its two games, Black Hills has rushed for just 79 yards, but quarterback Luke Duby, a 6-3, 220-pound fifth-year senior, has completed 62 of 87 passes (71.3%) for 607 yards, and the Yellow Jackets have a potential star in receiver TJ Chukwurah.
 
Chukwurah, a 5-11, 190-pound junior, has already caught 22 passes for 291 yards and six touchdowns. Statistically, both Duby and Chukwurah are leading the RMAC by significant margins after all the teams have played two non-conference foes.
 
​Chukwurah has played against the Eagles in two previous games. In 2022, he caught one pass for 28 yards and the next year one for 16.  He did not play against the Eagles in last year's game at Spearfish in late October, but has been a terror for the opponents so far in 2025.
 
​In the game at Grand Valley last Saturday, both teams went wild through the air and barely moved the ball on the ground.  Black Hills got just 21 yards rushing and the Michigan team only 44.
 
​However, the Yellow Jackets completed 38 passes for 359 yards and four touchdowns, three of them to Chukwurah, who caught a dozen tosses for 182 yards. Grand Valley completed 23 of 34 passes for 392 yards and four TDs. Eleven Lakers caught passes. Five of them had catches that were at least 29 yards long.