Final seconds decide football team’s 48-45 victory
At the end of the third quarter of Saturday’s senior day, the Eagles were down, 31-27, but three Eagle touchdowns in the fourth quarter pushed the Eagles over the Western New Mexico University Mustangs in the 48-45 victory.
Senior quarterback of Chadron, Jonn McLain completed 28 of 43 passes for 352 yards and five touchdowns, earning him the title of RMAC Offensive Player of the Week. This is the first time this season McLain threw for five touchdowns in a game. In his career, McLain completed 910 of 1,424 attempts for 9,815 yards, and 91 touchdowns. He holds the record in all those categories except total yardage; he is 167 yards short.
During Saturday’s competition, wide receiver O’Boyle scored three touchdowns on seven receptions and 55 yards. Kyle Vinich, junior of Casper, Wyoming, found his way to the end zone once. He snatched 11 balls for 166 yards.
Tailback Derek Jackson, redshirt freshman of Pueblo West, Colorado, led the Eagle rushers with 95 yards on four carries. Cody Paul, sophomore of Seal Beach, California, tallied five carries for 29 yards and one touchdown. Senior Michael Madkins, tailback of Sacramento, California, carried the ball 13 times for 84 yards. He also caught one pass for a 32-yard touchdown.
“It has been a pleasure working with this year’s seniors over the past three years—that’s how long I’ve been here,” Defensive Coordinator Jeff Larson said. “They have worked very hard to contribute to our defensive success in any way they can, they are all selfless football players and put the success of the team above their personal success. Every single one of the seniors have left a lasting mark on our defense and our team. Saturday exemplified their heart and fighting spirit, although we didn’t play well defensively overall, when we absolutely needed to make some plays in the second half to give our offense the ball so we had a chance to win the game, the seniors stood up and made plays. I am very proud to be their coach, they have been great representatives of Eagle football.”
Leading the Eagle tacklers, Dylan Furrier, junior of Tucson, Arizona, tallied 19 tackles. Ryan Wood, sophomore of Stockton, California, marked 15, and Isaac Holscher, senior of Scottsbluff, was close behind with 14.
“It was great to win on senior day,” Furrier said. “This group of seniors is really special. These guys are some of our best friends, and it’s important to everyone that we finish the year on a good note. Last week, we struggled defensively, specifically in the run game. This week we are focusing on stopping the run and shutting down Fort Lewis’s offense to finish the regular season with a win.”
Saturday will be the final regular season game. The Eagles will travel to Durango, Colorado, to compete against Fort Lewis College. Kickoff is set for noon.
“This week, we hope to finish the regular season on a high note,” Parker said. “Fort Lewis is a team whose record doesn’t adequately show their talent level. They are a good team. They play everyone down to the wire, and they definitely will play us tough. Our goal is to focus on our jobs and play our best game taking every opportunity to finish well on the field.”
Five Eagles are named to the 2014 Capital One Academic All-District Super Region 4 Football Team. The College Sports Information Directors of America voted for Danny O’Boyle, junior of Gering; Ethan Bauer, senior of Morse Bluff; Sam Parker, senior of Harrison; Randy Wentz, sophomore of Scottsbluff; and Zach Sandstrom, senior of Chadron. This is the second year in a row CSC has the most athletes selected for the team, and because they are all named to the First Team the five players will be on the National Academic All-American ballot, which will be chosen later in November. To be eligible, athletes must maintain a 3.3 cumulative GPA and be a contributing factor on the team. Parker and Sandstrom were chosen for the 2013 team.