At 0-4, Eagles face Top 25 Orediggers

By Eben Rosentrater

The year is 1987.

Ronald Reagan was in his sixth year as president. Oliver Stone’s “Platoon” had just earned the Academy Award for Best Picture. The New York Giants had just won the Super Bowl, and the CSC football team started off their season 0-4.

After a lopsided 56-28 loss last weekend against the Mountaineers of Western Colorado, the Eagles are reliving a less than favorable part of their history.

“It falls on us. We have to decide where we go from here,” CSC Offensive Coordinator Micah Smith said. “It’s been a process this year, but we know we can do better, and we know we are going to do better.”

After a close battle with the Yellowjackets of Black Hills State, the Eagles were anxious to get their first win of the season and were looking to avoid their first four-game losing streak since 2019. Unfortunately for the team, a strong performance from quarterback Connor Desch and the Mountaineer offense ensured the Eagles another disappointing loss.

“We stress the same thing every week,” CSC Defensive Coordinator Clint Sasse said, “it’s about doing our jobs. Every player on the field has to do their part and be that one-eleventh of the team we need them to be. When we do that, good things happen, but we struggled with that this week.”

The Mountaineers started off the game with a bang. Desch threw a 73-yard touchdown pass to Mountaineer receiver Malik White. The Eagles were quick to strike back. Eagle quarterback Mason Hamilton, sophomore of Gillette, Wyoming, led the Eagles down the field where running back Jalen Starks, senior of Chicago, ran the ball in for a one-yard touchdown.

After that, it was an uphill battle for the Eagles. On their next drive, a forced fumble recovery put the Mountaineers on the Eagle 21-yard line. One play later, Desch threw a 21-yard touchdown pass to receiver Nathan Meyer.  

The Eagle offense had nothing going for them for the rest of first half. The same could be said about the defense as they gave up another four touchdowns before the half was out.

“We didn’t do what we set out to do in the first half. Defensively, we were missing pieces,” Sasse said. “Defense, and football in general, is like a puzzle. When you’re missing pieces, the team is incomplete and bad things happen.”

The Eagles saw a little more success in the second half. Hamilton threw two touchdowns in the third quarter, one to receiver Tommy Thomas, redshirt freshman of Fort Collins, Colorado, and another to Montel Gladney, senior of Jackson, Mississippi. Starks also ran for another 4-yard touchdown with three minutes left to go in the game. However, this was not enough to put the Eagles ahead as the Mountaineers won the game 56-28.

“We had some positives, especially in that second half,” Smith said, “but we made a lot of dumb mistakes overall, and it really cost us.”

Offensively, the Eagles were led by backup Mason Hamilton, who took over as quarterback against Black Hills State when Heath Beemiller, junior of Chandler, Arizona, went out with a leg injury. Hamilton threw for 241 yards on 28 completions scoring two passing touchdowns. As for the rushing game, the Eagles were led by Starks who ran for 38 yards and two touchdowns. Jeydon Cox, sophomore of Jackson, Wyoming, also rushed for another 40 yards. Thomas led the Eagles in receiving with 64 yards and one touchdown. Rodarial Abercrombie, redshirt freshman of San Bernardino, California, and Jamal Browder, sophomore of Carol City, Florida combined for another 86 receiving yards.

Defensively, the Eagles were led by Xavier Harrell, sophomore of Highlands Ranch, Colorado, who recorded 10 tackles and two tackles-for-loss. Bobby Peele, graduate student of Fresno, California, and Heamasi Latu III, junior of Oakland, California, combined for another 13 tackles and one tackle-for-loss.

“We just have to eliminate a lot of those mental errors and keep doing what we’re doing well,” Smith said. “Our boys are still motivated. That’s just who they are. They’re still hungry for that first win and I know if we can eliminate those little things, we’ll get there eventually.”

The Eagles will be taking on the Orediggers of Colorado Mines at Elliott Field in Don Beebe Stadium, in Chadron, at 1 P.M. Saturday.