Posting 470 yards of total offense and 5 rushing TDs, Trailblazers trample Eagles

Dixie State University, St. George, Utah, blazed its trail through Chadron Saturday, defeating CSC 44-27 at Elliott Field. Dixie State scored in every quarter in the match-up, while CSC didn’t find the end zone until the second half.
“Obviously, we are disappointed at the outcome of the Homecoming game,” Matt Vinson, junior of Box Elder, South Dakota, said. “But one of the positives is that we didn’t quit and we played well late. It shows that we are a tough team and we aren’t going to give up on this season. We are going to continue to work and do everything we can to turn this season around.”
Dixie State came out strong early in the game, running the first kick-off the length of the field but was called back because of a penalty. That didn’t stop the Trailblazers as they still managed to score on their first drive. That was the first and only score in the first quarter, but Dixie State posted 17 more points in the second quarter to lead 24-0 at halftime.
After the extended halftime due to Homecoming activities, CSC received the kickoff from Anthony Reyes, sophomore of Queen Creek, Arizona, before ending its first drive in an interception.
Peter Brown, sophomore of St. George, Utah, grabbed the pass from TD Stein, redshirt sophomore of Chadron, and ran 30 yards to the CSC 5-yard line. Dixie found the end zone again to go up 31-0.
Stein went out of the game following the interception due to an injury, which allowed Vinson to enter the game.
“My ribs were still fractured from the week we played Mesa (Sept. 10),” Stein said. “I took a few hits Saturday that sent it over the edge and I couldn’t lift my arms to throw. After the game I had to go get X-rays and found out that I have fractured two more ribs.”
CSC’s second drive of the quarter resulted in a fumble from Priest Jennings, redshirt freshman of Stockton, California, that Donovan Williams, sophomore of San Diego, recovered again at the CSC 5-yard line. That next drive allowed DSU to score once again to lead the Eagles 38-0 at the 10:46 mark in the third quarter.
CSC finally put a number on the board when Derek Jackson, junior of Pueblo West, Colorado, rushed three yards with 3:21 left in the third. A failed two-point conversion brought the score to 38-6, which stood until the end of the third.
CSC managed to score again on its second drive in the fourth quarter when Jennings rushed 35 yards for a TD at the 10:29 mark. Will Morgan, freshman of Fort Collins, Colorado, connected for a good PAT to update the score to 38-13. The Eagles scored again on their next drive when Kevin Coy, redshirt sophomore of Davenport, Florida, rushed one yard at 7:29. The two-point conversion failed again which cut the Trailblazers lead in half.
Dixie State scored once more with about 4 minutes remaining to go up 44-19. The Eagles answered on the next drive when Jackson again rushed into the end zone. Colt Foster, redshirt freshman of Hemingford, snatched a pass from Vinson for the PAT for the final score of 44-27. Dixie State took over on the next drive to run the final 2:37 off the clock.
A press release from DSU’s athletics webpage stated that this was the first time DSU didn’t commit an offensive turnover this season. DeJon Coleman, senior of Los Angeles, totaled a career-high 158 yards on 24 carries.
Dixie totaled 470 offensive yards compared to CSC’s 356. Dixie’s Orlando Wallace, sophomore of Cathedral City, California, contributed 19 rushing yards on three carries, and 20 receiving yards on four snatches. He also threw one pass for 33 yards.
DSU’s freshman quarterback Josh Thompson, of Ontario, California, connected 12 times for 67 yards.
CSC’s Vinson completed 10 of 22 for 134 while Stein went 11 of 19 for 53 with one interception. Jackson rushed 10 times for 103 and two touchdowns, Jennings twice for 30 and a TD, and Vinson twice for 14.
Tevon Wright, freshman of Hialeah, Florida, led CSC receivers, grabbing two for 43; Jack Dobyns, junior of Tucson, Arizona, snatched three for 34; and Max Gray, redshirt sophomore of Arlington, Washington, also snagged three for 32.
The Eagles will face New Mexico Highlands University, Las Vegas, noon Saturday at Elliott Field.
“We are really confident going into every week,” Vinson said. “We practice hard and prepare well. But NMHU is a team that beat us last year. So we definitely won’t be over looking them. At this point we can’t overlook anyone. But we will prepare this week and we’ll be ready and confident when Saturday comes.”
NMHU is 0-6 overall and 0-5 RMAC this season.
Stein said he won’t be back for Saturday.
“I think the team has confidence in both of us,” Vinson said. “I’ll prepare all week like I am the starter and we will see what happens.”