Chadron State College senior kicker and punter Gunnar Jones, of Florence, Alabama, was announced on Monday as the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Special Teams Player of the Week, for his performance on Saturday in Chadron.

Against 22nd-ranked Angelo State, Jones connected from 45 yards for a field goal, which was a career high for him and the longest successful field goal try by a CSC player since 2014. He added a perfect 3-for-3 effort on point-after-touchdown tries, for six points in the game.

On kickoff team, he averaged 63.4 yards on five attempts, with three going for touchbacks. He added a tackle on one of his kickoffs.

Finally as a punter, he booted kicks of 71, 56, and 53 yards en route to a 51.2-yard average, nearly clipping the school single-game record of 51.4, held by Steve Nelson since 1973. Jones planted two of his punts inside the Angelo State 20-yard line.

Jones is the first RMAC Special Teams Player of the Week since Drake Holdren last fall.

Golfers open season in Denver

Chadron State College golfers got off to a decent first round of the season on Monday, with two players in the top 10 of the 2021 Swan Memorial, hosted by Colorado Christian University at Todd Creek Golf Course in the north Denver area.

Sophomore Kenzey Kanno shot a 78 and Junior Alpine Hickstein went for 79 strokes, tying them for eighth and 10th, respectively.

The Eagles ranked 9th of 19 teams through the first 18 holes of play, with a score of 328, putting them right in the middle of the pack both among the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference teams competing, as well as among the entire field.

Leading the field was the University of Colorado Colorado Springs, at 310. The individual lead was held by Juanita Gomez, of Midwestern State, who recorded a three-under-par 69 to gain a four-stroke advantage on the rest of the field.