Eagles rocked in season closer

By Eben Rosentrater

The CSC football team was overcome by a wave of quick passes and tough runs over the weekend as a record setting performance by the Eagle defense was not enough to stop the offense of the South Dakota Mines Hardrockers.

Even after a less than stellar season from the Eagles, the team was hoping to use the last game against rival South Dakota Mines as a springboard into next season. However, nothing seemed to go right for the team in Rapid City as the Hardrockers, led by a well-constructed offense, took the Eagle-Rock Trophy for the first time ever, beating the Eagles 7-28.

The game started off very similarly to many of the Eagles’ other contests. Defense was the name of the game and seemed to be the only thing the Eagles could get right. However, they could not stop the Hardrockers from scoring on the opening drive of  the game with 75-yard touchdown drive, put together by Mines quarterback Jayden Johannsen, sophomore of Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

After the opening drive, the game slowed down heavily. Both defenses went back and forth until one of them broke free. Luckily for the Eagles, linebacker Joey Geil, junior of Casper, Wyoming, forced Johannsen to fumble as he scrambled away from the pocket. Linebacker Ritchie McCormack, freshman of Tucson, Arizona, was quick and scooped up the ball near the 50-yard line. The Eagle offense swiftly took advantage of the Hardrocker turnover. Quarterback Heath Beemiller, junior of Chandler, Arizona, led the offense with a handful of quick strikes to tight end Peter Krohn, sophomore of Fort Collins, Colorado, including a four-yard passing touchdown, the Eagles only score of the game.

Tied 7-7, the Eagle defense ramped up its production. For much of the second quarter, the Hardrockers saw nothing but Eagle defenders flying towards them. Johannsen was sacked seven times. The Hardrocker run game was shut down by 13 tackles-for-loss from the Eagles. However, even this couldn’t stop them from outscoring Chadron.

South Dakota Mines fought down the field towards the end of the first half and scored another touchdown on a 49-yard run from Johannsen. In the third quarter, the Hardrockers found the end zone a third time on another 10-yard pass touchdown to Isaiah Eastman, sophomore of Gilbert, Arizona, and then again in the fourth on a 12-yard pass to Jake Leone, junior of Fort Collins, Colorado. The Eagle offense could not make up the difference and the team lost 7-28.

Offensively, the Eagles were led by Beemiller, who recorded 186 yards on 21 completions and one touchdown. However, Beemiller threw two interceptions, making scoring difficult for the Eagles. The rushing game was led by Jalen Starks, senior of Chicago, who rushed for 32 total yards. As for the receiving corps, they were led once again by Ahlonte Hair, junior of Live Oak, Florida, who recorded 72 yards on eight receptions, one of his strongest performances of the year.

Defensively, the Eagles were led by Hunter O’Connor, sophomore of Broomfield, Colorado. O’Connor had an unbelievable performance against the Hardrockers. He recorded 13 total tackles, including nine tackles-for-loss. He also had a career-high five sacks, giving him 16 on the season and setting the single-season sack record by a CSC defender. His performance was also good enough to earn him RMAC Defensive Player of the Week.

The Eagles finish the season 3-8 in regular season play, 3-6 in RMAC play, and finish eighth in the conference.