Eagle Football Hosting Fort Lewis for Homecoming

CHADRON, Neb. – After back-to-back lopsided wins steadied the ship following a tough start to conference play, Chadron State football will hit the gridiron seeking its third win in a row in front of a homecoming crowd against Fort Lewis.

The Eagles (3-5, 2-4 RMAC) are trying to win on homecoming for the fourth consecutive year. Fort Lewis (2-5, 1-5 RMAC) is seeking to halt a five-game losing streak after a 2-0 start.

Numbers to Know

7: Turnovers forced by the CSC defense in the past two weeks (six in six games prior)
12.3: the amount that the CSC offense's average points per game has gone up in the last two weeks (from 14.7 ppg prior to ASU to 27.0)
20: Wins in 25 homecoming games since the year 2000 for Chadron State, entering the 2026 contest
113.4: rushing yards under their opponent's season average allowed by the CSC defense last week (95, NMHU averages 208.4)

How to Tune In
Saturday's game, along with every CSC football game for the remainder of the regular season, will be livestreamed on the RMAC Network.

Fans can purchase monthly subscriptions to the RMAC Network for $25 or annual passes for $130. Those prices are both unchanged from the 2025-26 season, which was the first for the RMAC Network's pay-per-view model.

PURCHASE: RMAC NETWORK

A radio stream of the game will take place on Double Q Country 97.5/105.9 FM and doubleqcountry.com, with Dave Collins on the call. Finally, Eagle fans can follow along via live stats for free or keep track on social media (@cscfootball on X/Twitter and Instagram) for updates.

Promotional Notes
It's homecoming week at CSC. Rather than a specific "color out," like previous games this season, fans are simply encouraged to wear CSC Eagle Gear from head to toe on Saturday.

Chadron State's homecoming court – which was officially announced and coronated at a Tuesday night ceremony – will be honored at halftime.

Also at halftime, Chadron State will present its annual Distinguished Alumni, Distinguished Young Alumni and Family Tree awards.

Homecoming History
Chadron State has historically played well on its football homecoming weekend. The Eagles have a 20-5 record on homecoming since the year 2000 and are 38-17-1 on homecoming dating back to 1969, the extent of reliable records.

The Eagles had a rare homecoming losing streak, dropping homecoming games in 2019, 2021 and 2022 (with no game in 2020 due to COVID-19), but CSC has recovered to win on homecoming in each of the past three seasons – beating Fort Lewis 57-20 in 2023, toppling the Skyhawks again 55-13 in 2024 and knocking off Colorado Mesa last year, 34-27.

This is the third time since 2000 that Fort Lewis will be CSC's homecoming opponent, with the previous meetings in 2023 and 2024. Both games were notable – in 2023, alum Tommy Thomas caught four touchdown passes in a single game to tie an Eagle program record, while in 2024, the Eagle defense intercepted four consecutive Fort Lewis passes during the third quarter, returning two for touchdowns.

Looking Back
Chadron State earned a key road RMAC win last week, waiting out a two-hour third-quarter lightning delay to defeat New Mexico Highlands 59-17.

STORY: Eagles Weather Storms, Win Shootout Over Cowboys

Chadron State scored 42 points in the first half, scoring touchdowns on five of its first six possessions plus each of its final two. Offensively, the Eagles finished with a season-high 279 rushing yards, the sixth-highest single-game total in the RMAC this season, with nine different Eagles recording at least a carry.

After scoring 69 and 59 points over the last two weeks, Chadron State has raised its scoring average from 14.7 points per game prior to the Adams State game all the way up to 27.0 points per game entering this week.

Twice as Nice
A common coaching cliché is that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing and expecting a different result. By that logic, it would have been insanity for Liam Blaser not to win his second consecutive RMAC Defensive Player of the Week, which the senior linebacker did on Monday.

STORY: Blaser Wins Second Consecutive RMAC DPOTW

For the second week in a row, Blaser came up with an interception returned for a touchdown as well as a fumble recovery during a CSC win. Blaser picked off a pass near the line of scrimmage and ran it back 25 yards for a touchdown, one week after a 40-yard pick-six against Adams State.

Blaser's win makes him the Eagles' first two-time weekly award winner in the same season since All-American linebacker alumnus Logan O'Brien, who notably won four during the 2025 season. Chadron State's three Defensive Player of the Week award winners (two by Blaser and one by Jarred Marquez) are tied for the most in the conference with Colorado School of Mines.

The Eagles had eight winners last season (2025) – one Offensive (Aidan Thompson), five Defensive (four by Logan O'Brien, one by Aiden Kuester) and two Special Teams (Wilson Yee, Chase Nelson).

Hat Trick
Devon Rivers found the end zone three times during last Saturday's win over New Mexico Highlands.

The California native and Fresno State transfer now has seven rushing touchdowns on the season, second in the RMAC to only South Dakota Mines tailback and Chadron HS grad Dawson Dunbar, who has 11. Rivers has 279 rushing yards on the season, good for 16^th in the conference, after splitting carries for much of the year with currently sidelined Daytuawn Pearson.

With Pearson not playing during last week's matchup, Rivers carried 13 times for 71 yards and his three TDs while senior Jake Marschall took on a larger role with 17 carries for 67 yards.

Rivers comes from a running back pedigree – his father, Ron Rivers, played six seasons in the NFL and tallied 749 career NFL rushing yards. Devon's older brother, Ronnie, is a current member of the Los Angeles Rams, where he has appeared in 46 career games with 20 rushes and 73 receptions.

Both Ron and Ronnie Rivers played at Fresno State, where Devon started his career and received 13 carries across four games played in three seasons on the Bulldogs' roster before transferring to Chadron State ahead of the 2026 season. Rivers has 79 carries for the Eagles so far this year.

No Ball is Safe
Linebacker Jarred Marquez has made ballcarriers very uncomfortable throughout the season.

Eight weeks into 2026, Marquez is on pace for what would be a rare double feat – leading the RMAC in both forced fumbles and fumble recoveries.

Marquez, a Yuma, Arizona native, has forced four fumbles to lead the RMAC by himself. Marquez's 0.50 forced fumbles per game is tied for second in Division II.

The Northern Arizona transfer also has three fumble recoveries on the season, putting Marquez in a 12-way tie for the Division II national lead and a two-way tie with Colorado School of Mines's Mo Russolillo for the conference lead.

Beyond the fumbles, Marquez ranks second on the team and tied for eighth in the RMAC with 59 tackles this season.

Stat Selections

Chadron State's defense ranks fifth in scoring (23.6 points allowed per game) and in total defense (364.0 yards allowed per game) in the RMAC.
CSC's offense ranks seventh in scoring (27.0) and total (343.8). The Eagles rank eighth in the league in rushing yards (138.9) and fourth in passing yards (204.9)
CSC's defense ranks third against the pass, allowing only 191.5 passing yards per game to opponents.
Shay Prichard ranks fifth in the RMAC in scoring, averaging 7.4 points per game. Prichard is averaging 1.5 field goals per game, seventh in Division II but fourth in the RMAC.
CSC has not been a highly penalized team. The Eagles have the fewest penalties per game in the RMAC (38, 11^th in Division II) and second-fewest penalty yards per game (45.38, 16^th in Division II).
Devon Sundgren is averaging 20.8 yards per catch, which ranks third in the RMAC.
The 88-yard pass completion from Aidan Thompson to Devon Sundgren from Week 1 against Nebraska-Kearney remains the longest play from scrimmage in the RMAC so far this season.
Cooper Walton ranks seventh in the RMAC with 61 total tackles while Jarred Marquez is tied for eighth with 59.
Aiden Kuester ranks fifth in the RMAC with 31 solo tackles, followed closely by Walton (tied for sixth, 28) and Marquez (eighth, 27).

Marquez leads the RMAC in both forced fumbles (4) and recovered fumbles (3).

William Stemler ranks tied for fourth in the RMAC with four sacks while Ryder True is 13^th with three.
Chase Nelson leads the conference by averaging 31.5 yards per kickoff return and ranks third by averaging 9.9 yards per punt return.
Triston Hite has placed 20 punts inside the 20, seven more than any other RMAC punter. Over half of Hite's league-leading 39 punts have gone inside the 20.

Scouting the Skyhawks
by Con Marshall
Fort Lewis has a 2-5 record and is 1-5 in the RMAC. The Skyhawks won their first two games, defeating Arizona Christian 27-9 in their opener and kicking a field goal in overtime to edge New Mexico Highlands 31-28 in the second game.

Since then, Fort Lewis has dropped five conference games. The losses were to Colorado School of Mines 34-3, Black Hills State 28-20, South Dakota Mines 30-16, Western Colorado 55-0 and CSU Pueblo 28-21 last Saturday in Durango.

The latter score was an eye-opener. It was the closest game of the season for the 8-0 and No. 4-ranked CSU Pueblo team. Fort Lewis made it that way by capitalizing
on a pair of incidents that resulted in the game's final two touchdowns.

Pueblo was leading 28-7 before the Skyhawks' Cooper Payne recovered a Pueblo fumble and took it 23 yards to the end zone with 5:35 left in the third period. Then, early
in the fourth quarter, Fort Lewis blocked a Pueblo punt that gave the Skyhawks possession at the Pueblo one-yard line. The Skyhawks didn't score on their first three attempts to crack the goal line, but made it on the fourth play to draw within a touchdown of the Thunderwolves.

Pueblo mounted two more drives, but were forced to turn the ball over on downs both times, once at the Fort Lewis 35 and the other at the Skyhawks' one. Fort Lewis took possession at its own one-yard line with 1:46 remaining, but could not get out of the hole, and Pueblo knelt it twice to end the game.

Fort Lewis has had trouble running the ball this fall, netting just 341 yards and four rushing touchdowns in the seven games. The opponents have run for 1,533 yards
and 13 TDs.

The Skyhawks' passing game has been more productive. Led by quarterback Sam Jones, they have completed 149 of 260 passes for 1,430 yards and seven touchdowns. The opponents have completed 92 of 157 passes for 1,102 yards and also scored seven times.

Fort Lewis has had impressive linebackers in recent years, and this year's Skyhawks team has two. Trenton Sullivan ranks tied for second in the RMAC with 66 tackles while Drennan Dowell is also in the top 10 with his 59. Dowell also has two interceptions, two fumble recoveries and 2.5 sacks.

Fort Lewis Note
The Skyhawks program will be playing for a teammate on Saturday after team captain, starting cornerback and senior Jordan Thomas left last Saturday's game against CSU Pueblo with what Fort Lewis described as "serious injuries" in a statement.

A GoFundMe organized by Thomas's family for medical expenses has been shared around the RMAC this week.

"We have seen firsthand the incredible difference people can make when they come together to help someone in need," Chadron State head coach Jay Long said on X this week. "We are praying for you, your teammates, and your family, JT!"

In the Polls
In the RMAC Preseason Coaches Poll, released July 22, Chadron State was picked to finish fourth out of 10 RMAC programs. The Eagles received one first-place vote, one second-place vote and three third-place votes in the poll.

CSU Pueblo finished in first place in the poll, with eight first-place votes, followed by Western Colorado (one first place vote), Colorado School of Mines and Chadron State. Chadron State faced the three teams picked ahead of them in the preseason standings in the first three weeks of the conference season.

Behind CSC, Colorado Mesa was fifth while New Mexico Highlands, South Dakota Mines, Black Hills State, Fort Lewis and Adams State rounded out the poll.

Last year, the Eagles were picked seventh in the preseason and went on to finish second in the conference standings.

The RMAC has two nationally-ranked programs – CSU Pueblo, ranked No. 4 in the AFCA Coaches Poll and No. 5 in the D2Football.com media poll, and Western Colorado, ranked No. 6 in both.

NPI Check-In
For the first time this season, the field for the NCAA Tournament in each sport for Division II and Division III is being determined by the NCAA Power Index (NPI).

NPI is a mathematical formula instituted to remove the human subjectivity around the previous system of regional rankings committees. To learn more about the NPI system and how it is calculated, click here.

The NCAA is releasing weekly NPI rankings updates. In the latest update, Chadron State football is rated No. 27 out of 43 teams in Super Region 4, which is comprised of the RMAC, Lone Star Conference (LSC), Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA) and Great American Conference (GAC).
Eight teams from Super Region 4, the top eight in the NPI rankings at the end of the season, will qualify for the NCAA Tournament.

There are two RMAC teams in the current top eight of the latest rankings update – CSU Pueblo at No. 3 and Western Colorado at No. 4. The RMAC duo trail current No. 1 seed Harding and No. 2 seed Emporia State. The rest of the top eight is currently No. 5 Central Washington, No. 6 Northwest Missouri State, No. 7 Henderson State and No. 8 Central Missouri. The next-best RMAC team is Colorado School of Mines, at No. 13 in the region.

Because NPI values strength of schedule and weights home and away results differently, the formula rankings can certainly change between now and the end of the regular season.

RMAC Update
Chadron State's win last weekend vaulted the Eagles past two schools (New Mexico Highlands and Fort Lewis) in the conference standings. Two schools remain undefeated in CSU Pueblo and Western Colorado – they don't meet until the final week of the regular season.

Colorado School of Mines earned a key 17-10 win over South Dakota Mines in Golden. Both of those programs had started 3-1 in RMAC play, but the Orediggers have now won five straight (even though three, including Mines's September 26 win over CSC, were by seven points or fewer). The Hardrockers have lost two straight to drop back to 3-3 in the RMAC.

While the standard is for RMAC teams to have two nonconference games in addition to their nine conference contests, that won't work out perfectly this year. Fort Lewis had a nonconference game against William Jewell ended prematurely and canceled due to a medical emergency, giving the Skyhawks just one nonconference game, while Colorado School of Mines had a nonconference game against Washburn end in a tie due to unplayable heat index and turf temperatures at the start of overtime.

Here is a look at the current RMAC standings:

Team	RMAC Record	Overall Record
#4/#5 CSU Pueblo	6-0	8-0
#6/#6 Western Colorado	6-0	8-0
(RV) Colorado School of Mines	5-1	5-2-1
Black Hills State	3-3	5-3
South Dakota Mines	3-3	5-3
Colorado Mesa	3-3	4-4
*Chadron State*	*2-4*	*3-5*
New Mexico Highlands	1-5	3-5
Fort Lewis	1-5	2-5
Adams State	0-6	0-8

*for ranked teams: first # = ranking in AFCA Coaches Poll, second # = ranking in D2Football.com poll | RV = "receiving votes" in top 25 | NR = "not ranked"

RMAC Weekly Matchups:
Colorado School of Mines @ Adams State
South Dakota Mines @ Western Colorado
Black Hills State @ CSU Pueblo
New Mexico Highlands @ Colorado Mesa

RMAC Championships (most recent)
Western Colorado (19, 2021)
Colorado School of Mines (16, 2023)
Colorado Mesa (12, 2017)
CSU Pueblo (10, 2025)
Chadron State (8, 2008)
Adams State (7, 1989)
New Mexico Highlands (2, 1999)
Fort Lewis (1, 1984)
Black Hills State/South Dakota Mines (0)

Preseason Plaudits
The RMAC released a Preseason All-RMAC team alongside their preseason polls back on July 22, based on the leading vote-getters from last year's all-conference voting that return to the league.

Chadron State had four players honored, tied for the third-highest total in the RMAC – quarterback Aidan Thompson, offensive lineman Dominic Castanon, linebacker Cooper Walton and defensive end/edge rusher William Stemler.

Stemler also made an appearance on the D2Football.com Elite 100 watchlist as a "squad" member of the defense, one of six RMAC honorees across the national 100-player listing.

Stemler's selection marks the fourth consecutive year that an Eagle defensive player has made the Elite 100 preseason list, joining alumni Dax Yeradi (2025) and Hunter O'Connor (2023, 2024).

5-for-5
Under a new eligibility ruling passed by the NCAA this summer, all NCAA student-athletes will have five years of eligibility while developmental redshirts and medical waivers that previously could grant another year of eligibility have been eliminated.

To accommodate this new system, Chadron State is changing how student-athletes are labeled on the football roster – using the term "freshman" for a player in their first year of college, "sophomore" for a player in their second, "junior," "senior," and "fifth-year," regardless of whether the player has previously received a redshirt year.

For example, a player now being referred to as a "junior" has been with Chadron State or another college football program for two seasons (regardless of if they played or not during those seasons) and has three years of eligibility remaining, including 2026.

Coaches' Corner
Head Coach Jay Long returns for his 15^th season at the helm of CSC Football in 2026. In his previous 14 seasons at Chadron State, Long boasts a 70-68 record. He is 85-83 overall in his 17-season head coaching career.

Notably, the Eagles' 8-4 record in 2025 was a substantial turnaround from a 3-8 record in 2024. Chadron State's eight wins in 2025 is tied officially for the most in a single season during Long's tenure, alongside eight-win seasons in 2013 and 2014.

For his efforts last season, Long was voted by his head coaching peers as both the RMAC Coach of the Year and the AFCA Region Five Coach of the Year, each for the first time in his career. Coach Long was one of only five AFCA award recipients in Division II and one of only 25 recipients among all levels of college football.

Chadron State's head coach (Jay Long) and all three coordinators – Micah Smith (offense), Clint Sasse (defense) and Mitch Collicott (special teams) are all Chadron State football alumni.

Quarterbacks coach and recruiting coordinator Tommy Wilson also returns for a fourth season at CSC, while coaching assistant for defensive backs Deunte Moody returns for a second season.

In year one on the CSC staff are coaching assistants Cole Cartwright (running backs), Reed Henkel (linebackers), Abe Hestdalen (defensive line), Seth Moore (offensive line) and Fred Pillivant (wide receivers). Henkel makes a move to the coaching staff after playing for the Eagles from 2022-25.

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