Friday, March 6, 2026
The CSC Eagle Newspaper – Chadron, NE
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The CSC Eagle Newspaper – Chadron, NE
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Eagles’ air defense shreds Mountaineers

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Junior safety of La Mesa, Calif., Trelan Taylor, tackles wide receiver Benjamin Kirkwood, of Santa Barbara, Calif., Saturday during the Eagles’ game against Western State. — Photo by T.J. Thomson
Junior safety of La Mesa, Calif., Trelan Taylor, tackles wide receiver Benjamin Kirkwood, of Santa Barbara, Calif., Saturday during the Eagles’ game against Western State. — Photo by T.J. Thomson

On Saturday, the Chadron State Eagles got everything except a shutout.

The Eagles recorded back-to-back interceptions in the first quarter that were both returned for touchdowns. The Eagles played lights out as they defeated Western State 45-7 on family day at Elliot Field.

“Starting off with two interceptions returned for touchdowns really set the tone for the entire game,” head Coach Jay Long said.

Sophomore quarterbacks Jonn McLain of Chadron and Patrick O’Boyle of Gering, combined for 224 yards and four touchdowns on 21 of 26 passing.

All three of McLain’s scores came in the second quarter. His first touchdown pass was caught by junior wide receiver Nathan Ross of San Diego on an 18-yard post route over the middle. The other two were completed by freshman wide receiver Kyle Vinich of Casper, Wyo., for 12 yards, and senior tailback Dominic Morris of Rialto, Calif., for 19 yards.

“Jonn is just a really intelligent football player,” Long said. “He has great athleticism and accuracy, and his receivers are running great routes for him.”

At halftime, the Eagles lead 35-0. To open up the third quarter, sophomore kicker Alex Ferdinand of Rapid City, S.D., kicked a career-high 47-yard field goal. With O’Boyle at quarterback, CSC added another touchdown in the third on a 19-yard pass to sophomore wide receiver Andrew Rios of Lexington.

Chadron’s defense recorded four total interceptions and five tackles for loss on Saturday. Senior safety Bryce Huebner of Hershey was the leading tackler with nine.

Western State made a little noise in the final quarter. They acquired 109 yards and got on the board when junior quarterback Brian Duboski of Porterville, Calif. completed a pass to junior wide receiver Lukas Adams of Colorado Springs, Colo., for 11 yards and a touchdown.

Chadron State is set to play again at Adams State University this Saturday in Alamosa, Colow. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m.