CHADRON, Neb. -- After playing two of the "better" teams in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference—Black Hills State and Western Colorado—the Chadron State Eagles "get" to play arguable the best—the Colorado Mines Orediggers in Golden this Saturday, Sept. 30.  Kickoff at Marv Kay Stadium for the homecoming contest will be at noon.
             
Not only are the Orediggers the defending RMAC champions, who went on to reach the NCAA II championship game last fall, they also are ranked No. 2 nationally through four games this fall.
             
There are indications they may be better than last year's runners-up. A year ago, Mines lost to both Grand Valley State and Angelo State in the non-conference openers.  This fall they edged Grand Valley 31-28, and Angelo State 31-21.
             
Since then, the Orediggers have buried their two RMAC foes—Adams State 70-7 and CSU-Pueblo 55-14.
             
Mines has a veteran team. There are 12 redshirt seniors on the two-deep offensive list and 13 on the defensive chart. Chadron State has eight seniors on its entire two-deep chart after linebacker Heamasi Latu and wide receiver Ahlonte Hair were lost for the season because of injuries.
             
The Orediggers are led by quarterback John Matocha, last year's Harlon Hill Trophy winner as the best player in Division II. He's off to a great start again, completing 90 of 135 passes for 1,239 yards and 11 touchdown this fall.  The Texans' favorite receiver is Max McLeod, who has 30 catches for 519 yards for a 17.3-yard average.
             
Pass coverage is one of the Eagles' problems during their 1-3 season.  The opponents have completed 80 of 127 aerials (63%) for 1,201 yards and 11 touchdowns.  Seven of those TD pass plays have been at least 50 yards long.
             
The kicking game has been a CSC strength.  Wilson Yee has made both 4 of 5 extra points from placement and field goals, including his school-record 61-yarder last Saturday, and Brodie Eisenbraun is averaging 43 yards a punt.
             
CSC Offensive Coordinator Micah Smith said sophomore Preston Pearson,  who played the entire second half last Saturday against Western Colorado, will start at quarterback against Colorado Mines.  
             
The Eagles will be back home Saturday, Oct. 7 for their homecoming contest against Fort Lewis. 

Eagles defeat Hardrockers in three sets

CHADRON, Neb. -- Mayson Fago eclipsed 1000 career kills and the Eagles defeated South Dakota Mines in three sets Thursday evening, 25-18, 26-24, and 25-16.
 
Since the matches are played in a pod with CSC, South Dakota Mines and Blacks Hills State, they do not count against conference records. The Eagles improved to 8-5 overall and remain at 3-1 in RMAC play.
 
Fago, a senior from Evans, Colorado, finished with a team high 12 kills and hit .478 while the Eagles hit .252 as a team.
 
The Hardrockers led set one 8-6 before the Eagles manufactured a 11-2 scoring run to gain the lead and win the set.
 
The Eagles once again overcame an early deficit in set two. After trailing 5-1, CSC tied the set at ten and the two teams stayed within two points for the remainder of the set. The Hardrockers led 24-23 but CSC scored the next three points after two attack errors by their opponent and a Fago kill.
 
Set three saw the two teams tied at 14 before Chadron State had a 14-2 run to win the set and match.
 
Lexi Hurtado, a graduate student from Aurora, Colorado finished second for CSC with nine kills while Aiyana Fujiyama and Bella Adams each added eight. Fujiyama, a junior from Wahiawa, Hawaii, hit an outstanding .800, while Adams, a sophomore from Pueblo, Colorado hit .400.
 
Setter Kendyl Kirkwood, a junior from Fleming, Colorado had 36 assists in the match.
 
Defensively, three Eagles finished with double-digit digs. Alondra Hernandez, a junior from Provo, Utah led the team with 15 in the victory. Rylee Greiman, a graduate student from Windsor, Colorado and Kirkwood each added 11.
 
Kally Kirkwood, a freshman from Fleming, Colorado led the team with four blocks while Fujiyama and Adams each had two.
 
Tomorrow, the Chicoine Center will be the location for a matchup between South Dakota Mines and Black Hills State at 6 p.m. The Eagles return to action at 3 p.m., Saturday when the host the Yellow Jackets.

Eagle golf traveling to Minnesota

CHADRON, Neb. -- The Chadron State College golf team is in Marshall, Minnesota for the Mustang Invite hosted by Southwest Minnesota State this weekend.
 
It is the 25th annual EverSpring Inn & Suites Mustang Invitational at the 5,852-yard, par 72 Marshall Golf Club.
 
The tournament  will include 12 teams. Tee times run Saturday from 9 a.m., until 10:44 a.m.
 
On Sunday, a shotgun start will begin at 9:30 a.m.
 
Augustana has won the past three team titles, including a score of 616 (+40) last season. Molly Stevens from Augustana captured the individual title for the second straight season with a tournament record 4-over-par 148.
 
The last time out, Kinsey Smith, a senior from Windsor, Colorado, won the Hardrocker Invite in Rapid City, South Dakota. As a team, the Eagles finished fourth.
 
This week, Smith is not in the lineup. Jordan Grasis, Brooke Kramer, Payton Wise, Allison Acosta and Kenzey Kanno fill the lineup this week, with Aubree Heinsma competing as an individual.