Talons out, fans back again

Having only one home game during the fall season more than six months ago, fans returned to their seats at Don Beebe Stadium, Saturday, to cheer on Chadron State’s joint football practice with Wayne State College even with an overcast that kept the sun from shining most of the practice. 

“It is always nice to play someone else other than your team,” Quarterback Dalton Holst, senior of Gillette, Wyoming, said in a message to The Eagle. “It was good to see everyone play and get in the game to show the coaches what they can do.” 

The teams started the morning with skill competitions, on opposite sides of the field. 

On one side, wide receivers and defensive backs faced, while linemen strengthened one another on the other side.

“Our goal for the spring was to get bettter and make ourselves a smarter football team,” Head Coach Jay Long said. “We ended up finishing with about 40 practices, and our guys used them to the best of their advantage and keep getting better.”

As offensive linemen practiced breaking through a defensive lineman working to protect the ‘quarterback,’ teammates filled the space around the drill, cheering on their respective lineman upon the success of one or the other. 

Eventually, the drills shifted to involve multiple positions leading into the two teams starting the scrimmagae portion of their practice at noon.  

Within the game, the defenses ran the game for both teams, the first points on the board being a safety by WSC. 

Holst handed the ball off to Running Back Christopher Busby, sophomore of Scottsbluff, tackled in the end zone by WSC linemen.

Keeping with their strong defense, Wayne had the only turnover about halfway through the first quarter, Kevin Ransom, junior of Port Allen, Louisiana, being the player to intercept Eagle Tyler Hyland’s, junior of Fort Collins, Colorado, 40-yard throw. 

Wayne took a five-point lead before they made it into the end zone with a 48-yard run by Wildcat Jacob Keiser, freshman of Hartington, with 5:49 left for first half of play. 

Drake Holden, freshman of Greeley, Colorado, was able to get CSC on the board with a 21-yard field goal in the second half of the game. Holden’s field goal followed Ali Musa, sophomore of San Diego, receiving a 35-yard pass from Hyland, and a pass interference penalty on Wayne, moving the ball to the nine-yard line. 

CSC sacked Wayne’s quarterbacks three times, while the Eagle offensive line kept their quarterback safe, no matter who had filled the role.

Holst and Elijah Myles, junior of Hawthorne, California, didn’t play for long before calling it a day. Holst is planning on returning to the field in the fall with his extra year of eligibility.

“Spring is used to get guys reps and work on things to improve on for the fall,” Holst said. “Nobody wants to make a mistake, but the spring is the time to try to work on technique and ability without having the consequences of making mistakes.”

With an extra year of eligibility for players on top of about 50 players coming in, CSC’s football team will be filled and ready for as regular as a season they are able to get.

Long said that he is planning on most of the seniors returning for next year.

“I’m looking forward to having a normal season where we play our conference schedule and our guys go out and compete,” Long said.