The Chadron State Eagles rolled up 553 yards and scored nine touchdowns Saturday while romping past Fort Lewis 60-7 at Elliott Field. They are now 4-4 for the season and 4-3 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference.

The Eagles scored on their opening play, a 67-yard bomb from quarterback Dalton Holst to wide receiver Chad Mikelson as he streaked down the field pretty much wide open. CSC added a two-point conversion when Travis Morgan, a linebacker by trade, took the snap from center and ran for a two-point conversion.

Chadron State’s second pass was intercepted by the Skyhawks’ Jalani Blade, helping keep the Eagles off the scoreboard the remainder of the first quarter. However, they made up for lost time it in the second period, scoring five touchdowns while erupting for 35 points to take a 43-0 halftime lead.

The Eagles’ first two second quarter TDs came on pass plays. One was a five-yarder from Holst to inside receiver Cole Thurness after running back Jeydon Cox had caught a 31-yard toss and Mikelson grabbed a 16-yarder. The other came on a 20-yard hook up from Holst to Mikelson a couple of plays after Holst and Thurness had joined forces for a 37-yard pickup.

Fort Lewis fumbles deep in their own territory set the stage for two more Chadron State TDs. Cox ran 14 yards to the end zone the first time and freshman Brock Ping went the final five yards for the second score. The drives began at the Skyhawks’ 17- and 12-yard lines.

Defensive tackle Kobi Whipple and Wilson collected the loose pigskins for the Eagles.

Mikelson, who already had caught the two touchdown passes, closed out the second period onslaught while breaking several tackles during an electrifying 55-yard punt return to paydirt.

The Eagles added another touchdown in the third quarter on a two-yard run by Thurness after freshman tailback Dorian Collier, who was the game’s leading rusher with 15 carries for 120 yards, set it up with a 22-yard run.

The Skyhawks also scored in the third period, when defensive back Clayton Rutz picked off alternate quarterback Mason Hamilton’s pass along the north sidelines and took it 65 yards to the end zone.

Chadron State closed out the scoring in the fourth quarter when Ping dove two yards into the end zone after Hamilton, undaunted by the interception, connected with Ali Musa on a 45-yard strike and Gunnar Jones, who also was perfect on all eight extra points he attempted, kicked a 22-yard field goal.

The Eagles finished with 231 yards rushing and 322 passing. Holst, who is closing in on 11,000 yards passing in his career, completed 12 of 16 attempts for 258 yards. Mikelson had three receptions for 103 yards and Thurness four for 74.

Chadron State Head Coach Jay Long said the line had much to do with the Eagles’ offensive success, and also praised his defense for playing extra well. The Eagles had seven quarterback sacks totaling 56 yards. As a result, the winless Skyhawks had a negative 25 yards rushing at the end of the game. They completed 10 of 18 passes for 51 yards, but finished with only 26 total net yards.

Skyhawks punter Matt Ward gave his team a boost by averaging 41.3 yards on 10 punts.

Long praised his entire team for executing the game plan well, and said the scoring gap allowed numerous players, both youngsters trying to make an impression and veterans, who have worked hard and stayed with the program, to finally get on the field.

Next up for the Eagles is Colorado School of Mines in Golden next Saturday. The Orediggers took their first loss this season 27-21 to Colorado Mesa on Saturday in Grand Junction.

 Fort Lewis 0 0 7 0 ----7 Chadron State 7 35 7 10 ---60

CSC—Chad Mikelson 67 pass from Dalton Holst (Travis Wilson run)
CSC—Chad Thurness 5 pass from Holst (Gunnar Jones kick)
CSC—Mikelson 19 pass from Holst (Jones kick)
CSC—Jeydon Cox 14 run (Jones kick)
CSC—Brock Ping 5 run (Jones kick)
CSC—Mikelson 55 punt return (Jones kick)
CSC—Thurness 2 run (Jones kick)
FLC—Clayton Rutz 55 pass interception (Hunter Villavicencio kick)
CSC—Ping 2 run (Jones kick)
CSC—Jones 22 field goal

Mikelson Earns Weekly RMAC Honors

Chad Mikelson, a Chadron State College senior wide receiver from Julesburg, Colorado, received the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Special Teams Player of the Week nod on Monday, in a release at RMACSports.org.

Mikelson scored three times on Saturday against Fort Lewis, all three touchdowns occurring in the first half. Notably, one was a 55-yard punt return which put the Eagles up 36-0 just before the end of the half. He also caught a 67-yard scoring pass on the opening play of the game, and later caught a 19-yard touchdown pass to make it 22-0.

It is the third time this season a CSC player has been rewarded for special teams play. Twice, in weeks two and three, senior kicker Gunnar Jones was the league’s special teams ace.

This week’s offensive star for the RMAC was Colorado Mesa freshman quarterback Karst Hunter, while defensive honors went to CMU’s Brian Rattery.

Moravec Leads Men, Wieman Paces Women, At RMACs

The Chadron State College cross country teams competed in Golden on Saturday morning, at the 2021 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Cross Country Championships at Applewood Golf Course.

The CSC women’s team, entering only five members, finished 14th of 14 teams, while the men’s team finished 13th of 15.

“Both the men’s and women’s teams competed very hard today,” said CSC Head Cross Country Coach Luke Karamitros. “I’m proud of their efforts. Our Eagles put themselves in a position to have the potential for a big breakthrough performance, but sometimes it’s not in the cards.”

Leading the way for the women, for the fourth time in as many races, was true freshman Alissa Wieman, who finished 77th in 25:37.9.

Freshman Kassyl Swinney had a personal best 27:53.4 at six kilometers.

The men, for the most part, finished as a pack with one minute, 19 second separating seven of the CSC runners.

However, top honors on the men’s side went to Logan Moravec, for the first time this season. He was the 75th runner to finish the eight-kilometer course, out of 124. Moravec ran his third-best collegiate 8k time, finishing in 27:40.5.

Adams State University was the women’s RMAC champion, while the men’s title went to Colorado School of Mines.

Brianna Robles of ASU was the first female to finish, while Dillon Powell of Mines was the first male across.

CSC will compete at the NCAA South Central Regional next, to be held in Indianapolis on November 6.

CSC Individual Results:

Women
77, Alissa Wieman, 25:37.9; 92, Sydney Settles, 26:26.1; 104, Kassyl Swinney, 27:53.4; 105, Morgan Jaggers, 28:12.2; 106, Audrey Grinnan, 28:16.4.

Men
75, Logan Moravec, 27:40.5; 85, Cale Schafer, 28:11.5; 88, Noah Burtis, 28:19.7; 95, Joaquin Venzor, 29:00.5; 100, Logan Andrews, 29:16.0; 101, Garrett Avery, 29:17.0; 103, Rhett McMasters, 29:29.6; 105, Blaine Johnson, 29:30.0; 118, Kyson Miller, 31:34.8.

Team Results

Women
1, Adams State, 40; 2, Colorado Mines, 71; 3, UCCS, 90; 4, CSU-Pueblo, 142; 5, Western Colorado, 150; 6, MSU Denver, 153; 7, Westminster, 195; 8, Black Hills State, 199; 9, Fort Lewis, 201; 10, Colorado Mesa, 235; 11, N.M. Highlands, 325; 12, S.D. Mines, 336; 13, Colorado Christian, 370; 14, Chadron State, 427.

Men
1, Colorado Mines, 28; 2, Adams State, 47; 3, UCCS, 84; 4, Western Colorado, 118; 5, Colorado Mesa, 131; 6, N.M. Highlands, 206; 7, Colorado Christian, 213; 8, MSU Denver, 247; 9, CSU-Pueblo, 255; 10, S.D. Mines, 272; 11, Black Hills State, 279; 12, Fort Lewis, 287; 13, Chadron State, 393; 14, Westminster, 466; 15, Regis, 491.