Eagles outscore Wolves
Even with the one and only touchdown of the first half, the Eagles broke away from Western Oregon University in the second half of senior day with six total touchdowns to win the last home game of the season, 45-7.
“Football is a game of momentum and when we came out in the third quarter, we got the momentum going in our way and I think we had the best third quarter of our year,” Jay Long, head football coach, said.
With it being the last home game of the season, seniors played on Elliott Field for the last time and Long said that he was really proud of those seniors and felt they finished their last game on a high note.
The strong start to the half saw Ahlonte Hair, sophomore of Live Oak, Florida, who caught the first touchdown pass in the first quarter, receive another pass from Dalton Holst, graduate of Gillette, Wyoming, for 47 yards and the Eagles second touchdown with 10:42 left in the third.
Making the Wolves see double, Jahvonte Hair, twin brother of Ahlonte, sophomore of Live Oak, Florida, intercepted a pass from Ryan Worthley, redshirt junior of Tigard, Oregon, and ran for 16 yards before being shoved out of bounds at the Wolves’ 19-yard line, starting another drive for Chadron State.
Ahlonte Hair said he was more excited for his brother than his own touchdowns and that he couldn’t be prouder of Jahvonte with the obstacles he’s faced and how he’s handled them.
The first play of the drive following the interception led to a 19-yard rush into the end zone by Jeydon Cox, redshirt freshman of Jackson, Wyoming, earning CSC’s third touchdowns at 8:32 still in the third.
“I just think that we played to what we’re capable of,” Long said. “We knew that we had to come out and play hard and play well, and the guys did that.”
Kael Juelfs, senior of Kingman, Arizona, added six more points to the Eagles’ lead with a fourth-quarter fumble recovery in the end zone after the Wolves bobbled a snap at their five-yard line, and later Cox rushed in another touchdown for 27 yards.
Following Cox’s second touchdown, the next to score was Western Oregon University with a 58-yard pass, ending the near shut out by the Eagles’ defense with three and a half minutes left of the game.
“Our defense played really well, stopped the run.” Long said. “They (Western Oregon) ran three different quarterbacks at us. They’re doing that to try and confuse our defense. So, it was a great job by our defense shutting that down.”
Holst, and the rest of the offense seniors, made their way off the field for the last time, and Mason Hamilton, redshirt freshman of Gillette, Wyoming, was able to keep up the scoring drive for the Eagles with their last touchdown of the game being a 69-yard pass to Jamal Browder, freshman of Carol City, Florida, with over a minute left on the clock.
Chadron State’s football team finishes its season against South Dakota rival Black Hills State University at 1 p.m., Saturday, in Spearfish.
Ahlonte Hair said that he’s prepared for this game and the team is ready for a win and to send the seniors off right.