CHADRON, Neb. – After a 2-0 start to RMAC play, the Chadron State will look to make another statement towards conference contention when they take on Colorado Mesa in front of a homecoming crowd this Saturday at Elliott Field at Don Beebe Stadium. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m.

Both teams will be far more competitive than their winning percentages suggest. Chadron State will enter the game 2-2, but with one of those losses coming to a Division I FCS opponent (Northern Colorado) that was within a replay-overturned touchdown of defeating FBS team Colorado State earlier this year, plus a ranked road win over then-No. 23 Colorado School of Mines. 
 
Colorado Mesa is 1-2 on the season, but both Maverick losses have come to nationally ranked Division II opponents (No. 17 Central Washington and No. 12 CSU Pueblo, by just seven points). The Mavs defeated Eastern New Mexico 28-7 in their lone game against an unranked opponent. 
 
With a win, Chadron State will have started conference play 3-0 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.
 
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 earned a signature win last Saturday in Denver, using 17-point explosions in the first and fourth quarters to defeat Colorado School of Mines 34-28 at Marv Kay Stadium. The victory was CSC's first over Mines since 2012 and first over a ranked opponent since 2018.
 
RECAP: Eagles Upset No. 23 Mines
 
Chadron State opened up a 17-0 lead, fell behind 20-17, then led 31-20 and survived a late Mines push to seal the victory, all behind quarterback Aidan Thompson, who was making his first Chadron State start. Thompson threw for 149 yards and three touchdowns and added over 100 yards rushing as well. 
 
The defense held Colorado School of Mines to 0-for-4 on fourth downs during the contest, with 11 tackles from Cooper Walton, two sacks from Logan O'Brien and an interception from Dax Yeradi.
 
Full Weekend
This weekend is both Homecoming and Hall of Fame weekend at Chadron State. 
 
On Friday night prior to the game, CSC Athletics will immortalize the eight-member Class of 2025 to the department's Hall of Fame at a dinner ceremony starting at 7 p.m. Among the eight-member class are two football alumni – Logan Stropko and Beau Wendling. Both were members of back-to-back RMAC Championship teams in 2006 and 2007. 
 
Stropko, a receiver, finished his career with 113 receptions, 1,150 yards and eight touchdowns and was a two-time first-team All-RMAC and All-Nebraska selection. Stropko hauled in half of his career touchdowns during the 2006 season, when he was the team's leading receiver with 46 catches.

Beau Wendling was a two-sport CSC athlete, playing four years of football and two years of track and field for the Eagles. On the gridiron, Wendling battled two ACL tears but started all 26 games during his junior and senior seasons in 2006 and 2007, finishing with 90 tackles, four interceptions and 20 pass breakups as a cornerback during that two-year span. Wendling showed a knack for the big play, returning a fumble for a touchdown in an upset win over Montana State and coming up with a pick-six against Nebraska-Kearney.

All eight Hall of Famers will appear at Elliott Field as part of a halftime ceremony during Saturday's game. 

In addition, the halftime festivities for Saturday will also feature a presentation of the homecoming court, which was voted on by the student body and announced at a coronation ceremony Thursday night. Linebacker Liam Blaser is a member of the court and was announced as one of the attendants. 

Twice As Nice
Chadron State achieved a "double" Player of the Week selection in two different ways this Monday.
 
First, linebacker Logan O'Brien "doubled up" on weekly honors by taking home the RMAC Defensive Player of the Week award for the second consecutive time. Then, the Eagles earned another double when quarterback Aidan Thompson won the Offensive Player of the Week award to give CSC two winners on the week. 
 
STORY: Thompson, O'Brien Win Players of the Week

Stepping up in place of starter DJ Ralph, who was out with a concussion, Aidan Thompson played efficient and effective football and made plays with both his arm and his legs. The Abilene, Texas native completed 17 of 27 passes for 144 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions, finding Tommy Thomas twice and Devon Sundgren once for scores. 

Thompson also rushed six times for 106 net yards, including a 73-yard rushing TD that was the longest by a Chadron State quarterback since 1977. Thompson also had a 47-yard scamper which put the Eagles in the red zone for the eventual game-deciding touchdown.

Logan O'Brien nearly mirrored his Player of the Week-winning stat line once again versus the Orediggers. The redshirt senior finished with eight tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, two sacks and another two quarterback hurries. 

O'Brien made a series of plays in the fourth quarter that helped thwart Mines's comeback attempts. He stuffed reigning RMAC Offensive Player of the Week Landon Walker in the backfield on 4^th-and-1 to turn the ball over on downs back to CSC with the Eagles clinging to a four-point lead. O'Brien had a sack on the Orediggers' next possession, then effectively ended the game with a quarterback hurry on 3^rd-and-10 to force an incompletion with seconds remaining.

Tommy Tracker
Tommy Thomas hauled in two touchdowns against Colorado School of Mines on five receptions, giving him 20 catches and three TDs on the season. 
 
Thomas is on the verge of several notable career milestones. Through 34 career games, Thomas has racked up 1,921 receiving yards and is 79 away from 2,000 in his career. 
 
The redshirt senior also enters the weekend seven receptions shy of 150 (143) for his career, and his next receiving touchdown will be the 20^th of Thomas's career. 

Stat Standouts
Logan O'Brien has been one of the top defensive players in the conference, as the Kearney, Nebraska native leads the league with 7.5 tackles for loss, is tied for second with two sacks and ranks sixth in total tackles with 29. O'Brien is also one of two RMAC players to return an interception for a touchdown this season.

Offensively, Quincey Ryker ranks tied for fifth in the RMAC with 66 yards per game and is third in the league with 264 total yards. Tommy Thomas ranks tied for eighth in the league in total receiving yards with 207 and is tied for fourth with three touchdowns.

Punter Brodie Eisenbraun leads the RMAC in total punt yards (907) and punts inside the 20 (eight). Eisenbraun's per-punt average of 43.2 yards ranks third in the RMAC. Wilson Yee's four made field goals are tied for the second-most in the league.

Quick Strikes
Chadron State's two RMAC victories have both been buoyed by fast starts, as the Eagles have scored touchdowns on each of their first two possessions of the game in back-to-back weeks. 

Against Black Hills State, CSC went 82 yards in seven plays and 98 yards in eight plays on their first two offensive possessions. Quarterback DJ Ralph completed four passes on the opening drive and found Tommy Thomas for a 3-yard TD. The second drive was highlighted by a 56-yard run by redshirt freshman running back Quincey Ryker before Ralph rushed the final nine yards himself for a score. 

Last week, the Eagles again started hot, earning first downs on four of their first five plays before Thompson hit Thomas for a 13-yard touchdown. On the second drive, Thompson ripped off his 73-yard run, first keeping the ball on an RPO action then deciding to tuck and run himself and outpacing the entire Oredigger defense. 

Since being outscored 14-0 in the first quarter of the Week 0 season opener, the Eagles have been utterly dominant during the opening 15 minutes. In the past three weeks, Chadron State has outscored opponents 38-3 in the opening quarter, including by a 31-0 margin in the Eagles' two conference games. 

CSC-CMU History
by Con Marshall
Chadron State holds a 20-14 margin in the all-time series against Colorado Mesa, but the Mavericks have been making up ground in recent years. 

Colorado Mesa has won nine of the last 10 matchups in the series, including the past six overall and the past three under current head coach Miles Kochevar. The Mavericks will also be shooting for their 500^th all-time victory as a program on Saturday. 

Last year's verdict in Grand Junction finished 18-3 in favor of CMU, when the Eagles managed just eight first downs and 123 total net yards. The Mavericks needed overtime to defeat the Eagles in both 2020 and 2022, defeating the Eagles 10-7 in the former year and 38-37 in 2022 when the Mavericks stopped a one-yard two-point conversion attempt by Chadron that would have won the game.  

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.

Scouting the Mavericks
by Con Marshall
Mesa split its two non-conference games this fall, losing 41-14 at Central Washington and defeating Eastern New Mexico 28-7. Last Saturday the Mavericks hosted perennial power Colorado State-Pueblo and fell 31-24, despite nearly matching the ThunderWolves everyplace except on the scoreboard. 

Pueblo had 410 total net yards and Mesa 396 and both picked up 25 first downs. All seven touchdowns came on pass plays. Pueblo got four and Mesa three. Both also kicked a field goal. 

The ThunderWolves' final TD was the result of a turnover. The ThunderWolves forced a fumble at the Mesa eight-yard line, recovered it and Pueblo took a 28-17 lead by scoring on the second play following the turnover. 

After Pueblo also kicked a field goal,the Mavericks made the game closer by connecting on a 69-yard pass from quarterback Lui Aumavae to Bryson Brown with 5:49 left. 

Aumavae, a 6-foot-3, 205-pound junior, seems to be an excellent passer. He completed 16 of 24 passes against the Eagles last year and so far this season he has completed 51 of 79 (64.5%) for 577 yards and five TDs. 
His favorite target is Trek Keyworth, a 6-3, 185 sophomore, who has caught 11 passes for 238 yards. 

The Mavs' rushing leader is Aiden Taylor, 5-11, 210 senior. He has carried 47 times for 198 yards and two TDs. He's the only team member to score two TDs so far this fall. 

Both Taylor and offensive left tackle Cooper Mumford, a 6-4, 275 junior, were second-team all-RMAC last fall, when the Mavericks finished 7-4 overall and 6-3 in the conference.