Orediggers rock Eagles

Chadron State’s football team’s offense took many hits against Colorado School of Mines and faced troubles moving down the field in the first half,  and only scored in the fourth quarter to lose, 34-7.

“We came out and we didn’t execute very well at the beginning and by doing that we couldn’t get in a rhythm,” Jay Long, head football coach, said. “You got to go out and you got to play four full quarters and we didn’t. We didn’t start off the game like we needed to and that was what resulted in giving them so many points in the beginning.”

Despite having seven completed passes of 14 in the first half, Chadron State had 48 total yards to Colorado Mines’ 246 yards, keeping the Eagles to their side of the 50-yard line for the first half.

Dalton Holst, graduate of Gillette, Wyoming, managed a few plays with Colorado Mines’ defensive pressure, but was still sacked eight times for a loss of 41 total yards.

“It’s hard to run on them (Colorado Mines) and then our pass game, things weren’t clicking the first half,” Holst said. “I definitely missed some throws, and we missed some opportunities that hurt us in the first half.”

Holst completed 19 total throws to his receivers for 198 yards, while the Eagles’ rushing game was limited to 16 net yards.

Long said the positive of the game was the second half and he felt the guys went out and played football against one of the top teams in the country.

Dorian Collier, freshman of Tallahassee, Florida, started the Eagles’ drive to the end zone with a 37-yard punt return, placing the ball at the Orediggers’ 45-yard line with nearly a minute left of the third.

The first play of the fourth quarter was a sack, losing six yards. Despite the hit, Cole Thurness, senior of Rapid City, South Dakota, received a seven-yard pass from Holst to put points on the board for CSC.

“Cole Thurness always does a good job giving our offense a spark when he needs to, whether it’s running the ball or catching the ball,” Holst said. “He had a good touchdown grab and a few big catches in the second half when we needed them.”

Ahlonte Hair, sophomore of Live Oak, Florida, pulled in two catches for a total of 29 yards in a drive down the field for the Eagles with under two minutes left of the game.

Eagle seniors will play their last home game at noon, Saturday for Senior Day against Western Oregon University.