CHADRON, Neb. –  Following a similar script to several other games this season, the Chadron State football team put up a valiant fight but endured another disappointing setback Saturday, falling 21-17 to the nationally-ranked Western Colorado Mountaineers in Gunnison.  

The Eagles led 17-7 late in the third period, but Western, which entered the game ranked 11th in NCAA Division II and is now 9-1 for the season and 7-1 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, escaped with a come-from-behind victory. It was the Mountaineers' smallest margin of victory this season. 

Now 3-7 for the season and 2-6 in the RMAC, CSC has now lost five games by a total of 18 points—once by one, two by three, another by seven and this contest by four.

"We played really hard against a really good team," Chadron State Coach Jay Long said. "The game had lots of big plays and we made our share. We gave it a great shot."

Primarily because of injuries sustained in the previous week's game, the Eagles played without five starters and then lost starting running back Jake Marschall on his first carry Saturday. The Eagles were also without starting quarterback DJ Ralph for the second straight week. 

Interceptions played a big role. On the first play from scrimmage of the game, Chadron State's pass was swiped by free safety Drea Thompson and taken 25 yards to the end zone to give Western an instantaneous 7-0 lead after the extra point was added. Despite that and another Chadron State first-half interception in the end zone five minutes later, the Eagles led 10-7 at halftime.

Even though a 23-yard field goal attempt by CSC's Wilson Yee was blocked by Western cornerback Kevon Carr late in the first quarter, Yee nailed a 55-yarder for the Eagles' first points with 2:47 remaining in the second period. Just over two minutes later, Eagles corner Jadon Bowen, seeing his first extensive action of the season, intercepted Western quarterback Drew Nash's pass and took it 45 yards to the end zone for a pick-six of his own to give Chadron State the lead. 

The Eagles went ahead 17-7 with 3 ½ minutes left in the third quarter when quarterback Preston Pearson, who did not throw either of the first two interceptions, hit wide receiver Tommy Thomas with a short pass that he took down the sideline for a 47-yard touchdown.  

The Mountaineers scored on long drives during their next two possessions to rescue their win.  They initially went 75 yards in eight plays with Nash hitting Victory David on a 29-yard pass for the touchdown with six seconds left in the third period. It cut the Eagles' lead to 17-14.
  
On their next possession, the Mountaineers put together a 14-play, 93-yard drive. David caught two passes for 30 yards before Nash hit Elias Zarate with a 22-yard pass that he took to the end zone to put the hosts ahead 21-17 with 6:33 remaining.

Confronted with a fourth down on their next possession, the Eagles ran a fake punt from their own 24-yard line and converted after punter Brodie Eisenbraun connected with tight end Peter Krohn on a 28-yard pass that carried out to the Western 48-yard line.  

Although the Eagles turned it over on downs after that, they got new life immediately afterwards when defensive tackle Tanner True recovered a Drew Nash fumble on a QB rushing attempt and took it 17 yards to the Western 23-yard line with 2:47 still to play. Spurred by a 10-yard pass from Pearson to Krohn, the Eagles reached the nine before running out of downs with 71 seconds remaining. 

Western tried to run out the clock, but Chadron forced a three-and-out and burned their time outs to force the Mountaineers to punt with 56 seconds still on the clock. The Eagles fielded the punt at midfield and picked up one first down, but on the final play of the game, Pearson's "Hail Mary" pass was intercepted by Kevon Carr in the end zone.

Led by Nash's 23 of 38 passing for 251 yards, Western finished with 334 total net yards. David caught five tosses for 70 yards to lead all receivers.

For Chadron State, Preston Pearson finished 8-23 with 129 yards passing while also carrying 21 times for 63 yards. He was the game's leading rusher. Thomas had three catches for 55 yards and a touchdown while running back Chase Nelson had two receptions for 51 yards.

CSC defensive end William Stemler was the game's leading tackler with 10 stops while teammates Xavier Harrell, Reed Henkel, Hunter O'Connor and Dax Yeradi all had six. 

Chadron State will host CSU Pueblo in the regular season and home finale next Saturday, November 16 at Elliott Field at Don Beebe Stadium. Kickoff is slated for noon. The ThunderWolves (9-1, 8-0 RMAC) have clinched a share of the RMAC title and will be seeking to win the league outright with a win Saturday.

Men's Hoops Falls On OT Buzzer Beater

KINGSVILLE, Tex. – Texas A&M-Kingsville hit a wild buzzer-beating jump shot on a broken play at the end of overtime to hand Chadron State men's basketball a heartbreaking road loss by a final score of 73-71 in Kingsville.

The Javelinas found the game's final bucket after Chadron State previously tied the score with both 15 seconds left in regulation to send the game to overtime and with 25 seconds remaining in the extra period. 

The loss drops Chadron State to 1-1 after their season-opening win over Texas A&M International on Friday. Texas A&M-Kingsville is 2-0, having previously beaten South Dakota Mines before the win over the Eagles. 

Jalen Thomas, a 6-foot-1 native Texan who transferred to CSC this year from Division I Tarleton State, had the best game of his young Eagles career with 16 points on 6 of 11 shooting from the field, nine rebounds and the game-tying layup in regulation.

Trey Ballard scored 15 points for the second consecutive game, matching a career-high set Friday. Ballard was 5-for-12 from the floor and 4-for-8 from three-point range, accounting for more than half of CSC's seven three-point makes for the game. 

UT-Permian Basin transfer Zy Wright also added 15 points. Like Ballard, Wright shot 5-for-12 from the field. Wright, a Georgia native, made 2 of 3 three-point attempts. 

The game was remarkably close throughout in a number of areas. The teams were tied at the conclusion of the first half, 25-25, as well as the second half at 62-62. Chadron State shot 37.1 percent from the field and 36.8 percent from three, while the Javelinas shot 37.5 percent from the field and 33 percent from deep. 

Both teams also left plenty of points available at the charity stripe. Chadron State made 18 of 30 free-throw attempts, a 60 percent clip, while Kingsville made 18 of 28. The Eagles did shoot better at the line as the game went on, however, making all three free throw attempts in overtime.

Chadron State won the rebounding battle, 51-42, but committed 16 turnovers while the Javelinas had just 10. The teams combined for 10 lead changes and 10 ties. 

Missed free throws were the story down the stretch in regulation. With four minutes to go and Kingsville holding a 60-57 lead, Wright made two of three free throws to pull the Eagles within one. Kingsville's Jordan Henderson was fouled at the other end, but made only one of two free throws to make it 61-59. 

Again, the Eagles got to the line, and Zach Smith made one of two to make it 61-60 with 3:25 to play. The score stayed there until there were just 37 seconds left, when Kingsville's Isaiah Payne again made just one of two from the stripe to build a 62-60 lead. 

Chadron State got the ball to Jalen Thomas, who missed once, but got his own rebound and scored on his second shot to tie the score at 62-62 with 15 seconds left. The Javelinas had a chance to win it at the buzzer in regulation but missed two shots on their final possession. 

In overtime, Wright scored CSC's first four points with a pair of layups, but Kingsvilled led 69-66 with a minute-and-a-half to go. Thomas earned a huge and-one layup and hit the free throw to complete the three-point play, tying the score at 69-69. After Kingsville retook the lead, Thomas was fouled and coolly sank two free throws to tie it at 71-71 with 25 seconds left. 

On the game's final play, Texas A&M Kingsville held for the final shot. The Javelinas intended to get the ball to Zyon Little, their leading scorer who finished with 20 points, but Little lost control of the ball on his drive to the basket. The loose ball fell perfectly to junior guard Allen Singleton, who launched a wild shot at the horn that rattled around both sides off the rim before falling through.

Chadron State will head to Kansas City next weekend for a pair of games inside the Municipal Auditorium. The Eagles will play longtime Division II power Northwest Missouri State on Thursday, November 14 before battling NAIA school Ottawa University of Kansas the following day.

Chadron State— Jalen Thomas 16, Trey Ballard 15, Zy Wright 15, Zach Smith 7, Trey Harris 5, John Jenkins 5, Darrius Miles 4, Julio Phipps 4. Totals: 23-62 FG, 7-19 3PT, 18-30 FT. 71 points, 51 rebounds, 7 assists, 16 turnovers.

Texas A&M Kingsville—Zyon Little 20, Isaiah Payne 15, Nate Lacewell 14, Bryson Goldsmith 10, Allen Singleton 6, Nate Garcia 3, James Livingston 2, Daniel Sanchez 2, Jordan Henderson 1. Totals: 24-64 FG, 7-21 3PT, 18-28 FT. 73 points, 42 rebounds, 11 assists, 10 turnovers.

Volleyball Drops Senior Night Five-Setter

CHADRON, Neb. – The Chadron State Eagles took on South Dakota Mines on Saturday night for their Senior Day which ended in the Eagles falling to the Hardrockers in five sets. The scores were 25-23, 25-23, 25-19, 25-21, and 15-7.
 
For Senior Day, the Eagles celebrated Paige Boitz, Maddison Wright, Kendyl Kirkwood, Aiyana Fujiyama, Alondra Hernandez, and Sofia Langer. 
 
The Eagles had 54 kills and 79 digs but the Hardrockers compiled 69 kills and 90 digs for the match.
 
Kally Kirkwood led the Eagles with 15 kills while Mataya Ward had 11. Alondra Hernandez had a total of 25 digs. The leading scorers for the Eagles were Kally Kirkwood with 16.5 and Aiyana Fujiyama with 14.5 points.
 
South Dakota Mines was led in kills by Ivy Vindivich with 21 and right behind her was Alessandra Meoni with 19 who also led the Hardrockers in 23 points scored. Hannah Benes led with 26 digs, and Rachel Mau was right behind her with 22.
 
In the first set, the Hardrockers came out with a three-point lead with kills from Ivy Vindivich, Alessandra Meoni, and Maria Bouman. An Aiyana Fujiyama kill put the Eagles on the board for their first point of the set before a kill and block from Kally Kirkwood and a kill by Natali Keni tied the score at four. 
 
The Hardrockers grabbed the next four points with two errors from CSC and two kills from Meoni and Jenna Curtis making the score 8-4. The Eagles came up with a three-point lead from two Hardrocker errors and a service ace by Kendyl Kirkwood to make the score 16-13. The Hardrockers came back after trailing 23-21, however, with a run of four points where they took the first set with two kills from Meoni and another by Heather Jiricek combined with an attack error by CSC to make the final set score 25-23.
 
CSC responded in the second set with a kill by Kally Kirkwood and a service ace from Alondra Hernandez to take an early lead of 2-0. With multiple Eagle kills, CSC took its biggest lead 12-6 with the help of kills from Natali Keni, Mataya Ward, Maddison Wright, and Aiyana Fujiyama. 
 
The Hardrockers battled back and took a 19-17 lead, but the Eagles answered and tied the game at 23 with a couple of Hardrocker errors and a kill from Kally Kirkwood. Bella Adams pulled the Eagles ahead with a kill to set point before an attack error by the Hardrockers finished the game with a 25-23 score in favor of Chadron State. 
 
The Eagles took their momentum into the third set taking a 3-1 lead early, but the Hardrockers soon took the lead after a run of five points to make the score 9-5. After a timeout taken by the Eagles, Chadron State kept fighting their way back, winning three straight points with a block from Kendyl Kirkwood and both a kill and a block from Fujiyama, making the score 22-18. The Hardrockers took back the momentum and eventually won the set 25-19 with one kill from Vindivich and two kills from Meoni. 
 
The Eagles came out in the fourth set wanting a different outcome and won the first four points of the set. Two kills from Kally Kirkwood, kills from Natali Keni and Adams, and two errors from the Hardrockers gave the Eagles a 10-3 advantage. 
 
The Eagles led by as many as 11 points at 23-12, but the Hardrockers closed the gap with a run of seven straight points, featuring three kills by Jenna Curtis. The Eagles didn't let that stop them, however, and won the set 25-21 with a Mataya Ward kill and a service error.
 
In the deciding fifth set, the Hardrockers hit .500 while the Eagles hit just .095. After two ties to start the fifth set, the Hardrockers won four straight points, three of those from Meoni kills, to take a 6-2 advantage. After an Eagle timeout, South Dakota Mines hit four more kills, making their lead 10-2. South Dakota Mines eventually finished the set with two kills from Ivy Vindivich, one kill each from Jenna Curtis and Alessandra Meoni, and a CSC error. The final score was 15-7.
 
After Saturday's match, Chadron State is 5-19 overall and 1-11 in the RMAC. The Eagles will play in Lakewood against Colorado Christian (15-9, 7-5 in RMAC) on Wednesday, November 13 at 6 p.m. 

Men's And Women's Teams Finish 19th At Regionals

DENVER – Chadron State's men's and women's cross country teams both finished 19^th at this year's NCAA South Central Region Cross Country Championships.
 
Chadron State's men's team finished with 529 points, while the women's team finished with 537 points. Both of the South Central regions defending champions, the Adams State women and Colorado School of Mines men, defended their titles.
 
Sophomore Wyatt Bly was CSC's top finisher, male or female, at this year's South Central region meet, running the men's 10K with a time of 33:51.2 to place 64^th, followed by Kyle Shirley who finished 79^th clocking in at 34:18.7. Bly beat his 10K time from last year by almost two minutes.
 
The next three finishers for the CSC men were Blaine Johnson (97^th, 35:02.8), Miles Mitchell (142^nd, 37:04.0), and Adam Beard who finished 147^th with a time 37:44.8.
 
The Chadron State men finished 19^th out of 24 teams overall, and 13^th out of 15 RMAC programs, finishing ahead of Regis and Westminster.
 
For the Chadron State women, the first Eagles across the line were Samantha Rodewald, placing 79^th clocking in at 24:35.7, followed by Lydia Peters in 85^th, who ran 24:45.3. The next three finishers for the Eagles were Kyndall Carnahan (118^th, 25:48.9), Alissa Wieman (126^th, 26:07.8), and Katelyn Beshara who finished 136^th with a time of 26:31.5.
 
The Chadron State women finished 19^th out of 25 teams overall, and 12^th out of the 15 RMAC programs, finishing ahead Regis, Westminster, and New Mexico Highlands.
 
The result ends Chadron State's season unless an Eagle runner receives an individual at at-large bid for the NCAA DII Cross Country National Championships.