At 0-5, Eagles desperate for first win

By Eben Rosentrater

The CSC football team are looking to end a five-game losing streak in Fort Lewis on Saturday after losing in another harsh 45-9 game against the Orediggers of Colorado School of Mines.

“This game was like a lot of our other games, we do some things that are really positive,” CSC Head Football Coach Jay Long said, “and then we just do some things that don’t make a lot of sense.”

The Eagles surprised many when they finished the first quarter of Saturday’s game with the lead. However, it would be the only success the Eagles would have in the game. The Orediggers offense was relentless for the rest of the game scoring 45 unanswered points.

“We stopped their strong run game, passing was being minimized,” Long said, “But they settled in and figured us out. We got one-dimensional and they took advantage of it.”

Eagle punter Brodie Eisenbraun, redshirt freshman of Sturgis, South Dakota, saw the most action he’s seen all season punting 9 times for 341 yards. Punting was the story of the game for Eagles, but even that couldn’t save the team from disaster. One of the biggest blunders of the game came after a botched punting attempt. Late in the second quarter, Eisenbraun caught the snap and immediately kicked the ball into the back side of another Eagle special teams player, giving the Orediggers great field position to score their second touchdown of the game.

The second quarter in particular held the Eagles’ biggest blunders. A long punt return from the Orediggers, the aforementioned punting issue, a sideline interference call against the Eagles, and a handful of offensive errors allowed Colorado Mines to take a quick 24-9 lead going into the half.

“Part of it’s youth, part of it is, we need to get players in the right positions to make a play,” Long said, “But it mainly comes down to that second quarter. Throughout the season, we have struggled the most in the second quarter, and it has hurt us a lot.”

The second half wasn’t any better. The Orediggers scored another 21 points and held the Eagles to zero for rest of game. The Eagles lost in another lopsided game 45-9.

As for the offense, the Eagles were led by third-string quarterback Preston Pearson, redshirt freshman of Kearney. Pearson had a tall order placed in front of him facing the nationally ranked Orediggers in his first career start. He threw for 195 yards on 18 completions and one passing touchdown. His inexperience showed, however, as he also threw two interceptions. The offensive line was not too stout in stopping Pearson from being pressured as he was sacked seven times.

The rushing game struggled the most only netting 38 total yards on 31 attempts, averaging 1.2 yards a carry. The passing game was slightly more successful. The receiving core was led once again by wide receiver Ahlonte Hair, junior of Live Oak, Florida, who recorded 65 yards on three receptions.

Defense struggled again, but they were led by linebacker Xavier Harrell, sophomore of Highlands Ranch, Colorado. Harrell recorded a total of 12 tackles. Harvey Reynolds, junior of West Palm Beach, Florida, and Bobby Peele, graduate student of Fresno, California also combined for 17 tackles.

“Every game just seems to be a little bit different,” Long said, “We just have to get better every day and hope that it’ll be enough to turn this season around.”

The Eagles hope to bounce back as they travel to Durango, Colorado to face the similarly ranked Skyhawks of Fort Lewis on Saturday, at noon, at Ray Dennison Memorial Field.