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Eagles open season vs. Missouri S&T

Preston Goehring
Quarteback TD Stein, 6, redshirt freshman of Chadron, hands off the ball to Derek Jackson, 20, sophomore of Pueblo West, Colorado, Saturday during a scrimmage at the practice field.—Photo by Jordyn Hulinsky
Quarteback TD Stein, 6, redshirt freshman of Chadron, hands off the ball to Derek Jackson, 20, sophomore of Pueblo West, Colorado, Saturday during a scrimmage at the practice field.—Photo by Jordyn Hulinsky

The RMAC preseason coaches poll have the Eagles ranked to finish in the top three for the fourth straight year. The Eagles are predicted to finish behind powerhouse Colorado State University-Pueblo, and Colorado School of Mines, Golden.

CSC will open its season against Missouri S&T, Rolla, at 6:30 p.m., Central Daylight Time (5:30 p.m., MDT), tonight.

The Eagles who finished with a 7-2 conference record, will return three players that were picked to the Preseason All-RMAC team: senior Daniel Sotelo, of Grand Island, senior Dylan Furrier of Tucson, Arizona, and junior Cody Paul, of Seal Beach, California.

Paul, CSC’s main kickoff returner, averaged 28.7 yards per kick return and ran for more than 1,200 all purpose yards last season. He will also split time in the backfield with sophomore Derek Jackson, of Pueblo West, Colorado.

“We’ve been grinding as a team everyday to prepare for this season,” Paul said. “Lifting before every practice, running chainsaws, and conditioning ourselves to be the best team we can be.”

Sotelo, a right tackle for the Eagles, helped the offense average 450 yards of offense.

At linebacker, Furrier accumulated 118 tackles, seven tackles for loss, and two and a half sacks.

Offensively, quarterback T.D. Stein, redshirt freshman of Chadron, who is replacing CSC’s all-time leading passer, Jonn McLain, will have four returning wide receivers to look for. Seniors Kyle Vinich, of Casper, Wyoming, and Danny O’Boyle, of Gering, combined for 16 touchdowns and more than 1,400 yards. Junior Kyle Hooper, of Alliance, and Zac Bargen, senior of Chadron, will provide QB Stein with alternative targets.

Defensively, the Eagles will return seniors Olufemi Aaron, defensive end of Pasadena, California, and safety Cole Montgomery, of Casper, Wyoming. Also returning, is cornerback Conor Casey, senior of Rapid City, South Dakota, and junior safety, Ryan Wood, of Stockton, California.

Casey, who missed last year because of an injury, will add a lot of experience and talent to the Eagles’ secondary.

“We’ve had good practices in camp,” Furrier said. “We have the ability to be among the best defenses in the conference. Our defensive line has been playing outstanding, which helps the inside linebackers play better.

“The secondary is led by two experienced seniors in Montgomery and Casey. The leadership that those guys bring to their position, and the defense as a whole, really makes us a solid group from front to back,“ Furrier said.

As for the rest of the roster, several underclassmen will be asked to step up and make plays for the Eagles. Redshirt freshman, Jake Geil, of Casper, Wyoming, will be the probable starter at center, replacing four year starter Sam Parker.

“As a team, our goal is to go the playoffs and beat Pueblo,” Paul said.

The Eagles picked five seniors — Furrier, O’Boyle, Vinich, Montgomery, and Casey — as captains for the 2015 season.

Furrier and Casey served as captains last year.

“We are all very excited to get this season started,” Furrier said. “We have really high goals for this season.”