The Chadron State College football team came about as close to pulling off a major upset as possible Saturday against Colorado School of Mines, the No. 4 ranked NCAA Division II team in the nation, but the Orediggers won by just a single point - 13-12 - in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference opener for both teams played in Chadron.

"We nearly pulled it off," CSC Head Coach Jay Long said. "We did a lot of things really well. I'm proud of our team. Our defense played great. I think we proved we can play with anybody. We've still got to figure out how to score more touchdowns, but we did a lot of things well today."

Mines has ruled the roost in the RMAC recently, going 45-2 in regular season contests against conference opponents the past five seasons. In addition, the Orediggers were the DII national runners-up in each of the last two years. They also had scored 72 points in their first two games this fall against formidable opponents, but managed just 13 against the Eagles. 

The Eagles scored first, driving the opening kickoff 67 yards in 11 plays for a 6-0 lead.  Mines kicked two field goals in the second quarter to knot the count at halftime. The Orediggers scored their only touchdown by going 75 yards in nine plays to open the second half, moving ahead 13-6 after adding the extra point. Chadron State booted a pair of field goals in the fourth quarter to draw within one point of the vaunted visitors. 

The Eagles' opening drive was impressive. An 18-yard run on a keeper by quarterback Wyatt Sprague, a true freshman from Holyoke, Colorado making his first collegiate start, picked up the initial first down. CSC added two more first downs while staying on the ground, then scored when Sprague connected with wide receiver Grant Swenson on a 15-yard strike in the front corner of the Elliott Field's east end zone with 5:22 gone off the clock. Hoping to go ahead 8-0, Chadron State went for two points on the conversion with what might be called a "gadget" play. After a lateral, a pass thrown by tight end Peter Krohn to outside receiver Brodie Roden was well covered and did not connect. 

The Eagles' defense also opened the game on fire.  Defensive end Hunter O'Connor sacked quarterback Evan Foster for a six-yard loss on Mines' first offensive play and tackled him again two plays later behind the line of scrimmage on third down and long, forcing a three-and-out punt.

Chadron State's offense took possession on its own 18-yard line and promptly gained 45 yards when Sprague completed successive passes of 20 and 13 yards to Rollin George III, then hit Roden with a 12-yard shot. The Eagles also rushed for another first down, already its eighth of the game, but the drive stalled in the red zone. The Eagles called on placekicker Wilson Yee to attempt a 29-yard field goal, but the ball bounded off the right upright for a miss that contributed to the final outcome.

At the end of the first quarter, Colorado School of Mines had zero yards of total offense and only one first down, the result of a pass interference call against the Eagles. Safety Dax Yeradi also had a first-half interception for Chadron State.

The Orediggers were more successful in the second period, rushing for 29 yards and completing 10 of 18 passes for 116 yards. However, the CSC defense kept them out of the end zone and forced them to kick field goals. Matthew Eich did the honors, hitting a 22-yarder with 6:42 left in the quarter and a 38-yarder with 37 seconds left to tie the score at 6-6 at the half.

Mines drove 75 yards in nine plays with the second half kickoff for its lone touchdown. The big play was a 40-yard connection from Foster to All-American Max McLeod along the north sideline to the CSC seven. Aided by a pass interference call against the Eagles, Foster scored a 2-yard rushing touchdown and Eich added the extra point for a 13-6 Orediggers lead.

Chadron State had to begin its first possession of the fourth quarter at its own nine, but put together a 65-yard drive that featured a 26-yard pass from Sprague to Jamahd Monroe. It set up Yee's 43-yard field goal with 6:30 remaining to play and cut the Mines lead to 13-9.

On the first play following the ensuing kickoff, Mines fumbled the ball and Chadron safety Tucker Peterson recovered at the Orediggers' 26. CSC gained 12 yards on two running plays, but couldn't get closer to the end zone and called on Yee again to kick a 33-yard field goal. It put the Eagles within one point with 5:19 remaining. 

Mines posted three first downs and took five minutes off the clock before the Eagles got the ball back. The Eagles finally took possession at their own 15. Long noted in his post-game show that his team was planning to run a "hook and ladder" play, but it didn't develop as planned and Sprague's pass was swiped by Devyn Lauer, who took a few steps before going to the turf to make sure his team maintained possession. The interception was CSC's only turnover. 

Mines finished with 332 total yards and the Eagles with 223. Foster completed 24 of 38 passes for 235 yards, while Braedon Tate had 15 carries for 51 yards to pace the ground game. The Orediggers gained 485 yards during their 31-28 win over Washburn the previous Saturday.

For the Eagles, Sprague completed 16 of 25 passes for 144 yards and was also CSC's leading rusher with 18 carries for 46 net yards. Yeradi, fellow safety Sutton Pohlman and linebacker Xavier Harrell each had seven tackles to lead the Eagles in that category.  

Now 1-2, Chadron State will make its first road trip of the season this coming weekend to meet Colorado Mesa in Grand Junction. The Mavericks also are 1-2 after losing to CSU Pueblo 38-14 on Saturday. 

Eagles Can't Maintain Fast Start Against Roadrunners

CHADRON, Neb. – Chadron State volleyball won the first set over defending conference champions MSU Denver, but the No. 2 ranked Roadrunners proved their mettle by winning the next three to defeat the Eagles 23-25, 25-21, 25-11, 25-14 at the Chicoine Center. 

Kally Kirkwood and Alejandra Briseno had nine kills apiece for Chadron State while Alondra Hernandez racked up 14 digs. 

The Eagles (2-8, 0-2 RMAC) lost their third straight match but won a set over the Roadrunners (9-1, 2-0 RMAC) for the second straight season after MSU Denver had previously swept the Eagles seven consecutive times from 2018-2022. MSU Denver has won the last 26 meetings between the two schools.

Chadron State got off to a dream start in front of a raucous home crowd. The two squads traded points after first serve until MSU Denver went on a 4-0 run to open up an 11-6 lead. The Eagles responded immediately, however, taking advantage of a service error and four straight MSU Denver attack errors to tie the score at 11. 

The Roadrunners stopped the bleeding with a kill, but back-to-back kills by Briseno gave CSC its first lead of the match at 13-12. Attack errors continued to plague the Roadrunners in the first set, as three more across the next five points helped Chadron take a 17-13 lead. 

With Chadron State up by one at 22-21, sophomore Avery Lacy and senior Aiyana Fujiyama each tallied kills only for MSU Denver to answer with a kill of their own both times. The Eagles led 24-23 when an MSU Denver service error ended the set in Chadron's favor. 

The Eagles hit .292 as a team in the first set, with 11 kills against four errors on 24 attempts. The Roadrunners hit just .135 in set one, racking up 14 kills but making nine errors on 37 total attempts. 

After the first set, however, MSU Denver took control, demonstrating why they have won three consecutive RMAC regular season titles. The Roadrunners improved their efficiency, hitting .265 in the second set, a staggering .520 in the third set and .361 in the fourth and final set. 

The Roadrunners ended the match with 58 kills and 18 attack errors, compared to the 33 kills and 18 errors for Chadron State. MSU Denver recorded 13 aces, nearly offsetting the damage caused by 18 service errors. Chadron State recorded just one ace with nine service errors. 

Junior right side Natali Keni led the Eagles with a .429 hitting percentage on the night, with four kills and one error in seven attempts. Kally Kirkwood hit .276 for the match while Briseno hit .200. 

Chadron State will hit the road for the first time in RMAC play next weekend, traveling to Western Colorado on Friday, September 27 at 6 p.m. and Fort Lewis on Saturday at 7 p.m. Both matches will be available to stream for free on the RMAC Network.

Cross Country 9th, 12th at Roadrunner Invitational