Eagles Defense soars above Skyhawks

The Eagles’ football team made big plays on defense late in the game to get the hard fought 31-21 victory over the Fort Lewis Skyhawks noon at Elliott Field.

After watching the Skyhawks drive down the field for a touchdown to take the lead early in the fourth quarter, the Eagles’ special teams made a game changing play as Jackson Dickerson, junior of Chadron, recovered a blocked punt in the Skyhawks’ end zone for the touchdown, putting the Eagles up 24-21.

Trailing by three, the Skyhawks’ last drive came to an end when cornerback Deandre Barthwell, junior of Westland, Michigan, intercepted the pass by Nick McNamee, senior of Littleton, Colorado, for a 21 yard touchdown, putting the nail in the coffin as the Eagles’ held the double-digit lead with just over a minute left to play.

Sophomore quarterback Dalton Holst of Gillette, Wyoming threw for 221 yards and two touchdowns in the game including a fourth quarter strike to wide receiver Brandon Fullerton, junior of Riverton, Wyoming. Fullerton finished the game with five receptions for 92 yards and a touchdown.

Midway through the third quarter, Senior quarterback T.D. Stein of Chadron was sacked by Lorenzo Tanner, sophomore of Waukegan, Illinois and fumbled the ball in the Eagles’ own end zone, which was recovered by Isiah Mayberry, senior of Durango, Colorado of the Skyhawks for the defensive touchdown. Stein played a majority of snaps in a run-heavy package in the game.

The Eagles were able to provide a spark on defense shortly after the turnover as Tyler Lewis, junior of Arvada, Colorado chased down Skyhawks’ quarterback Nick McNamee and stripped the ball for a fumble which was recovered by junior defensive end Calder Forcella of Greybull, Wyoming. Lewis had eight tackles, two sacks and one forced fumble during the game.

Overall, The Eagles made big plays on third down which lead to Holst finding junior wide receiver Tevon Wright of Miami for a touchdown in the third quarter.

The Eagles’ defense had a season-high four sacks in the game and the unit got their first interception of the season. Meanwhile, the offense showed balance with 116 yards rushing and 256 through the air.

The Eagles’ next game is against The Colorado Mesa Athletics, in Grand Junction, Saturday, Sept. 22. Mesa currently sits in the second spot atop the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference with a 3-0 overall record (2-0 conference).