Eagles notes: Orediggers topple Chadron State, 35-7
GOLDEN, Colo. -- The Colorado Mines Orediggers, ranked No, 2 nationally in NCAA Division II, continued their winning ways Saturday afternoon while downing the Chadron State Eagles 35-7 in a Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference game played in Golden.
After being forced to punt on their first possession, the Orediggers scored the next four times they had the ball by driving 92, 80, 80 and 68 yards. They also competed a 65-yard drive late in the second quarter to take a 35-0 halftime lead.
The Orediggers' offense is led by senior quarterback John Matocha, who is bidding to win his second straight Harlon Hill Award as the outstanding player in Division II. He had a great day, racking up 356 yards of total offense, most of it in the first half.
He was still in the game midway in the fourth quarter, when Eagles freshman Tucker Peterson picked off his pass at the seven-yard line to blunt Mines' only long drive in the second half.
For the game, Matocha completed 28 of 44 passes for 284 yards and three touchdowns and also ran for 72 yards. Two of his scoring tosses of one and 18 yards were caught by wide receiver Zach Hoffman. The other went 16 yards to running back Noah Roper.
Roper also scored on runs of 38 and three yards and was the game's leading rusher with 11 carries for 110 yards.
Now 5-0, the Orediggers had 546 yards of offense--244 on the ground and 302 through the air. Max McLeod was Matocha's favorite target with 10 receptions for 103 yards. Hoffman had seven for 84.
If they were giving one, the Eagles' player of the game award would likely go to sophomore Brodie Eisenbraun. He averaged 48.2 yards on nine punts, picked up a first down on a fake punt and scored Chadron State's touchdown.
The TD came early in the fourth period when Eisenbraun, as the holder for placekicks, crossed up the Orediggers again by taking the snap from center when CSC was lined up to kick a field goal, raised up from his kneeling position, tucked the ball under his arm and ran 13 yards to the end zone.
It's probably the first time Chadron State has scored in that manner.
The Eagles also threatened early when on their second play from scrimmage, wide receiver Rollin George took a handoff from quarterback Preston Pearson and raced 44 yards to the Mines' 13-yard line. But Pearson's pass on the next play was picked off by safety Jaden Williams. That was the Eagles' only turnover.
Pearson completed 21 of 48 passes for 154 yards. Another sophomore, Tommy Thomas, was CSC's leading receiver with nine catches for 59 yards. George's 44-yard sprint made him the Eagles' leading rusher. The team finished with just 93 yards rushing after the 13 yards lost when Pearson was sacked five times were deducted.
Chadron State intercepted two of Matocha's passes. Safety Sutton Pohlman swiped one late in the second quarter to go with the fourth period pick by Peterson, who also forced a fumble.
Pohlman was the game's busiest tackler, participating in eight. Dax Yeradi and Joey Geil each had seven.
Now 1-4, the Eagles will host the Fort Lewis Skyhawks this coming Saturday, Oct. 7 on
homecoming.
CSC CSM
First Downs 18 29
Total Net Yards 247 546
Rushes, Yards 24-93 31-244
Passing Yards 154 302
Passing 21-48-1 31-49-2
Return Yards 38 22
Punts, Average 9-48.2 5-44.8
Fumbles, Lost 1-0 1-1
Penalties, Yards 9-90 12-105
Chadron State 0 0 0 7 ---7
Colorado Mines 14 21 0 0 ---35
CSM—Noah Roper 16 pass from John Matocha (Hunter Pearson kick)
CSM—Zach Hoffman 1 pass from Matocha (Pearson kick)
CSM—Hoffman 18 pass from Matocha (Pearson kick)
CSM—Roper 38 run (Pearson run)
CSM—Roper 3 run (Pearson kick)
CSC—Brodie Eisenbraun 13 run (Wilson Yee kick)
Eagles extend win streak to four
CHADRON, Neb. -- The Chadron State College volleyball team extended their win streak to four after sweeping the Black Hills State Yellowjackets in three sets Saturday, winning 25-21, 25-16 and 25-20.
CSC improves to 9-5 overall with the victory. The Yellow Jackets are now 5-9 overall.
Chadron State hit .194, while their opponent hit .113 in the match.
In set one, Black Hills State led 21-19 before the Eagles scored the last six points of the set. The Eagles opened set two leading 5-1 and extended their lead to 16-6. CSC's lead never fell below seven in the set.
The two teams were tied at 12 in the third and final set before Chadron State scored five straight points to gain the lead. A Maddison Wright kill was the final point of the set and match.
Mayson Fago, a senior from Evans, Colorado led both teams with 10 kills. Lexi Hurtado and Bella Adams each added seven. Setter Kendyl Kirkwood, a junior from Fleming, Colorado recorded 22 assists.
Adams, a sophomore from Pueblo, Colorado, remained a force at the net defensively with eight blocks. Hurtado, a graduate student from Aurora, Colorado and Fago each had four.
Libero Alondra Hernandez, a junior from Provo, Utah led the Eagles with 14 digs in the victory.
The Eagles resume RMAC play at UCCS on Friday at 7 p.m.
Chadron State cowboys win team title
SHERIDAN, Wyo. -- Some Chadron State College ropers made their loops fit well this past weekend while winning the men's team title at the Sheridan College rodeo.
Senior Grant Turek of St. Paul, Neb., and junior Jake Chasek of Mitchell joined forces to win the team roping. Another CSC senior, Tanner Whetham of Morrill, was the heeler on the second place team roping entry.
Chasek also earned points by placing fourth in tie down roping, and so did freshman teammate Layne Palmer of Kadoka, S.D., who was fifth.
The CSC men tallied 520 points in the team standings. Gillette College the runner-up with 440.
Turek and Chasek finished their team roping runs in 7.2 and 6.5 seconds. They tied for second and third in the first go-round and won the finals Sunday.
Whetham and his partner, John Jensen of the University of Wyoming, were fourth in the first go in 7.3 seconds and second in the finals in 6.7 seconds.
Sixty-nine teams entered the event at Sheridan.
Chasek roped and tied his calves in 10.8 and 12.0 seconds for his fourth place tie down finish. Palmer's times were 10.7 and 12.2 seconds.
CSC freshman Morgan Rosander of Wolbach placed sixth in the finals of the barrel race with an identical time of 17.90 seconds on the two runs. Sophomore Mekenna Fisher of Sutherland was seventh in goat tying. Her times were 8.6 and 10.0 seconds.
This weekend's rodeo in the Central Rocky Mountain Region will be at Laramie County Community College in Cheyenne.
Grasis finishes third in Minnesota
MARSHALL, Minn. -- Jordan Grasis finished in third place overall and the Eagle golf team finished in fifth place at the EverSpring Inn Mustang Invite in Marshall, Minnesota this weekend.
Augustana won the team title for the fourth consecutive year and had golfers in first, second, fourth and fifth place. The Vikings set a tournament 36-hole record with a 589, 9-over par.
Grasis, a senior from Yuma, Arizona, shot a 76 (+4) yesterday before finishing at +2 (74) today.
Today, she finished at even par on the front nine with two birdies and two bogeys. On the back nine, she recorded three bogeys and one birdie.
Next on the leaderboard for CSC was Payton Wise, a sophomore from Kimball, who finished tied in 23rd place.
Wise had five bogeys and one birdie on the front nine and six bogeys on the back nine to finish at an 82 (+10).
Brooke Kramer, a senior from Aurora, Colorado finished tied 30th over the two days. Today, she finished with an 83 (+11). Her scorecard consisted of five bogeys on the front nine and six on the back nine.
Allison Acosta was the fourth Eagle that scores counted towards the team score, finishing the day with an 81 (+9) and tied in 37th place.
Acosta, a senior from Oro Valley, Arizona had three bogeys and two birdies on the front nine before five bogeys and a triple-bogey on the back nine.
Kenzey Kanno, a senior from Mitchell finished the day with an 88 (+16), while Aubree Heinsma, a sophomore from Windsor, Colorado shot an 84 (+12).
As a team, the Eagles finished day two at 320, after shooting a 317 yesterday.
