Friday, March 6, 2026
The CSC Eagle Newspaper – Chadron, NE
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The CSC Eagle Newspaper – Chadron, NE
Football

Spring football season kicks off Saturday

Guest Author

The Chadron State football team will resume practice on Saturday with more than 90 players preparing for the 2014 season. The Eagles will have 14 additional practices leading up to the annual spring game at 10 a.m. on Saturday, April 26. All practices are open to the public.

“We are very excited for the spring season. We will be able to get our younger guys more reps and ready for the 2014 season,” Head Coach Jay Long said. “We lost 15 seniors this last season, and we will be looking to replace those guys. We will use the spring to get the younger guys from the redshirt role to the role of a varsity player. Our veteran players will also bring great leadership to the team and will help the team grow and improve from last year.”

This will be Long’s third year as head coach. Last season, he led the Eagles to an 8-3 record and also a second place finish in the RMAC.

Also returning to the gridiron for CSC are 48 letter winners and 12 starters, with a majority of the returning starters on defense.

Returning starters include All-RMAC safety Lane Haller, senior of Gordon, linebacker Dylan Furrier, junior of Tuscon, Ariz., and RMAC Defensive Freshman of the Year Ryan Wood, sophomore of Stockton, Calif.

Remaining defensive starters include both cornerbacks—Conor Casey, senior of Rapid City, S.D., and Jordan Jones, sophomore of Colleyville, Texas—and three defensive linemen—Kyle McCarthy, junior of Aurora, Dillon Breinig, senior of Arapahoe, and Zach Sandstrom, senior of Chadron.

The returning offensive starters are quarterback Jonn McLain, senior of Chadron; offensive linemen Mike Lorenzo, senior of Oak Park, Calif.; Sam Parker, senior of Harrison; and Daniel Sotelo, junior of Grand Island. McLain and Parker were both named to the All-RMAC team in 2013.

Also returning for the Eagles is punter Zach Smith, sophomore of Gering, and placekickers Randy Wentz, sophomore of Scottsbluff, and Alex Ferdinand, senior of Rapid City, S.D.

Long said he is excited for spring ball and that the football team has improved with the benefit of using the 6,250 square foot strength and conditioning center, which opened in November 2013.

“The staff has done a great job of getting the team ready for spring football. The weight room has been an enormous contribution to getting the guys ready. During the winter we focused on the players and getting them ready for the spring—those who needed to gain weight and those who needed to lose weight.”