CHADRON, Neb. – A winning record and the Eagle-Rock Trophy is on the line for both teams as Chadron State and South Dakota Mines will conclude the 2026 regular football season this Saturday at Elliott Field at Don Beebe Stadium. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m.
The Eagles (5-5, 4-4 RMAC) are riding a four-game win streak and are hoping to make it five against the Hardrockers (5-5, 3-5 RMAC). South Dakota Mines started the season 5-1, at one point receiving votes in the AFCA Coaches Poll for the first time in program history, but has lost four straight entering this weekend.
Chadron State can clinch a top-half finish in the RMAC with a victory. The Eagles, who currently hold the Eagle-Rock Trophy after a 35-10 win last year, are also seeking to go 3-0 in their trophy games after previously defeating Nebraska-Kearney to claim the "Good Life Trophy" and knocking off Black Hills State last weekend to retain "The Battle for the Buckle."
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Numbers to know
- 4: Consecutive weeks Chadron State has forced three or more turnovers
- 7.6: Points per game scored by kicker Shay Prichard (fifth in RMAC)
- 9: Blocked kicks in 2026 by the Eagles, leading Division II
- 15: Seniors honored pregame on the field by Chadron State football
Promotional notes
Saturday is Senior Day. A total of 15 Chadron State seniors – Jake Marschall, AJ Scurlock, Aidan Thompson, Chase Nelson, Rylan Wehr, Ja'Far Bashir, Daytuawn Pearson, William Stemler, Cooper Walton, Dominic Castanon, Rudy Gish, Devon Sundgren, Triston Hite, Koye Gilbert and Andrew Calderon – will be honored in a pregame, on-field ceremony.
Make sure you arrive in the stadium early, as Senior Day ceremonies will take place 25 minutes prior to kickoff.
Additionally, Saturday's game is also Military Appreciation Day. Halftime will feature Chadron State's annual Quilts of Valor ceremony. Pregame will also see a military helicopter land on the track/practice field next to the stadium on CSC's campus.
How to tune in
Saturday's game, along with every CSC football game for the remainder of the regular season, will be livestreamed on the RMAC Network.
Fans can purchase monthly subscriptions to the RMAC Network for $25 or annual passes for $130. Those prices are both unchanged from the 2025-26 season, which was the first for the RMAC Network's pay-per-view model.
PURCHASE: RMAC NETWORK
A radio stream of the game will take place on Double Q Country 97.5/105.9 FM and doubleqcountry.com, with Dave Collins on the call. Eagle fans can follow along via live stats for free or keep track on social media (@cscfootball on X/Twitter and Instagram) for updates.
Looking back
Chadron State went on the road to win a rivalry game, defeating Black Hills State 31-19 after outscoring the Yellow Jackets 17-2 in the second half.
Aidan Thompson threw two touchdown passes and rushed for another score, with his second TD throw to Camden Walker giving the Eagles a 21-17 lead in the third quarter.
Black Hills State managed a safety, but on the ensuing free kick, Noah Shoemaker forced the BHSU returner to fumble and CSC converted the turnover into another touchdown. The Eagles forced three turnovers in the fourth quarter of the game, which allowed CSC to claim "The Buckle" for the second year in a row since the traveling trophy was introduced to the longtime rivalry.
Player of the week
Triston Hite earned a weekly award from the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference on Monday, when he earned the RMAC Special Teams Player of the Week award for the second time this season.
Hite averaged 49.2 yards per punt across five kicks during the rivalry win over the Yellow Jackets (the Division II leader is averaging just over 46 yards per punt across an entire season).
The fifth-year punter had precision as well as power, with one of his punts downed at the 2-yard line and a fourth-quarter 52-yard punt that also pinned the Yellow Jackets inside their 20. Hite leads the RMAC with 23 punts inside the 20 this season.
Eagle-Rock Trophy history
The Eagles and the Hardrockers have been meeting on the gridiron for a long time, with the first meeting taking place over 100 years ago.
The Eagle-Rock Trophy, a traveling trophy that is held by the winner of the football game between Chadron State and South Dakota Mines, was first established in 1981 "in observance of the 50th game and the good relations that have existed between the schools through the years."
The trophy was on the line from 1981-1995, with CSC winning 12 of 15 matchups during that time frame. Starting in 1995, the rivalry stopped while Chadron State competed as an NCAA Division II member while the Hardrockers were still in NAIA.
When the Hardrockers jumped up to Division II and joined the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, the rivalry renewed beginning in 2016. A new trophy bearing the Eagle-Rock Trophy name was created and will be on the line for today's game. This trophy is inscribed with the year and winning school for every matchup since 2016.
In the Division II era of the rivalry, Chadron State has won nine of the 11 matchups. Chadron State won every year from 2016-2021, including two wins during the COVID-19 impacted 2020 season, but the Hardrockers took hold of the new trophy for the first time with a 28-7 win in 2022.
Starting with that 2022 result, the teams have alternated wins over the past four seasons, a trend Chadron State is hoping to reverse. Chadron State won 27-19 in 2023 and 35-10 in 2025, sandwiched around a 24-17 Hardrockers win in 2024.
According to Chadron State records, the Eagles lead the all-time series with Mines 55-20.
Turning up the turnovers
Chadron State's defense and special teams have been hunting takeaways, particularly over the second half of the season. The Eagles lead the RMAC with 19 takeaways, racking up 10 interceptions (third in the league) and nine fumbles (tied for second).
The pace has kicked into overdrive during the second half of the season, coinciding with Chadron State's four-game win streak. After forcing four turnovers in a win over Adams State, the Eagles have forced three in each of the past three weeks, against New Mexico Highlands, Fort Lewis and Black Hills State.
While the Eagles have excelled at getting the ball back, they are also taking far better care of it. Chadron State had committed nine turnovers through its first six games, but has turned it over a combined three times during its four-game win streak.
Hands out
Chadron State football has now blocked nine kicks this season. That puts the Eagles by themselves in the national Division II statistical lead, ahead of Oklahoma Baptist with eight and five teams with seven, including Western Colorado.
Chadron State also has more blocked kicks than FBS leaders Wisconsin (five) and FCS leaders Marist and Valparaiso (seven). Only Division III Capital, which blocked four punts last weekend to bring its season total to 11, has more in NCAA college football.
Individually, Mason Kiewiet and Cedar Amiotte have two blocked kicks each while five other Eagles (Andrew Calderon, Brady Dahlberg, Koye Gilbert, Noah Shoemaker and Reid Sprague) have also gotten their hands on a kick.
No ball is safe
Linebacker Jarred Marquez has made ball carriers very uncomfortable throughout the season.
Ten weeks into 2026, Marquez is on pace for what would be a rare double feat – leading the RMAC in both forced fumbles and fumble recoveries.
Marquez, a Yuma, Arizona, native, has forced four fumbles to lead the RMAC by himself. Marquez is in a five-way tie for the Division II lead with four and his 0.44 forced fumbles per game is in a four-way tie for second in the nation.
The Northern Arizona transfer also has three fumble recoveries on the season, putting Marquez in an 18-way tie for the Division II national lead and a three-way tie with Colorado School of Mines's Mo Russolillo and Colorado Mesa's Noah Williams for the conference lead.
Stat selections
- Chadron State's defense ranks fourth in scoring (21.1 points allowed per game) and fifth in total defense (342.7 yards allowed per game) in the RMAC.
- CSC's offense ranks fifth in scoring (28.1) and seventh in total (333.1). The Eagles rank ninth in the league in rushing yards (134.4) and sixth in passing yards (198.7) per game.
- CSC's defense ranks third against the pass, allowing only 185.9 passing yards per game to opponents.
- Shay Prichard ranks fifth in the RMAC in scoring, averaging 7.8 points per game. Prichard is averaging 1.5 field goals per game, fifth in Division II but fourth in the RMAC.
- Aidan Thompson ranks seventh in the RMAC in passing yards (1,474) and passing touchdowns (11).
- Garet Schlabs ranks seventh in the RMAC with 557 receiving yards. Devon Sundgren's team-high four receiving touchdowns are in the conference's top 15.
- The 88-yard pass completion from Aidan Thompson to Devon Sundgren from Week 1 against Nebraska-Kearney remains the longest play from scrimmage in the RMAC so far this season.
- Devon Rivers is tied for third in the RMAC with seven rushing touchdowns. Rivers (350 rushing yards) and Daytuawn Pearson (317) rank 16th and 19th, respectively, in the league.
- Cooper Walton ranks fifth in the RMAC with 73 total tackles. Jarred Marquez is in ninth with 69 while Reese Jacobs is 13th with 64.
- Marquez leads or co-leads the RMAC in both forced fumbles (4) and recovered fumbles (3).
- Liam Blaser is tied for second in the RMAC with three interceptions, returning two of them for touchdowns. Blaser is the only RMAC player with multiple interception TDs and has half of the conference's four interception TDs by himself.
- Ryder True and Liam Blaser are tied for sixth in the RMAC with 4.5 sacks. William Stemler is just behind, tied for ninth with 4.0.
- Chase Nelson ranks second in the RMAC by averaging 27.5 yards per kickoff return and ranks third by averaging 9.9 yards per punt return.
- Triston Hite has placed 23 punts inside the 20, eight more than any other RMAC punter.
Scouting the Hardrockers
The Chadron State College football team will wrap up its season Saturday, Nov. 14, by hosting long-time rival South Dakota Mines. Kickoff will be at 1 o'clock.
The Eagles will be seeking their fifth straight victory. A win would allow them to finish with a 6-5 record and also retain the Eagle-Rock Trophy.
CSC won last year's game that was played in Rapid City on Nov. 1 by a 35-10 score. Mines won the 2024 game played at Elliott Field 24-17.
Both teams are entering the season finale with 5-5 records overall, but due largely to their schedules, their wins and losses have been opposites. The Eagles won just one of their first six games but have won the last four. The Hardrockers won five of their first six, but have lost the last four.
Chadron State enters the season finale 4-4 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference while South Dakota Mines is 3-5. The difference is CSC's 31-19 win at Black Hills State last Saturday while the Hardrockers lost to the Yellow Jackets 21-13 when they met on Oct. 17 in Rapid City.
Otherwise, both teams have defeated Adams State, New Mexico Highlands and Fort Lewis and lost to the two undefeated RMAC powerhouses, CSU Pueblo and Western Colorado, as well as Colorado Mesa and Colorado School of Mines.
South Dakota Mines also won both of its non-conference games to open the season, surprising Drake 38-35 and downing Southwest Baptist 38-17.
Pueblo and Western Colorado, both at 10-0, will decide the RMAC championship in Pueblo on Saturday. This week's American Football Coaches Association poll has Pueblo ranked third and Western fourth behind Ferris State of Michigan and Harding of Arkansas, which are one and two, respectively. Slippery Rock of Pennsylvania and Northwood of Michigan also are 10-0 and are fifth and sixth.
The Hardrockers' leaders include senior running back Dawson Dunbar, the former Chadron High standout. He will enter the last game of his career as the RMAC's leading rusher with 842 yards and one of the top scorers with 13 touchdowns and 78 points.
Dunbar's point total is fourth on the RMAC scoring list. All of the others in the top 10 are placekickers, including Chadron State's Shay Prichard, who is fifth with 76 points.
Dunbar, who is 5-11, 200 pounds, is averaging 5.1 yards on 166 carries and 11 TDs besides being the team's second leading receiver with 26 catches for 267 yards and two more TDs. He concluded his football career at Chadron High in 2021 with 157 carries for 1,167 yards and 18 TDs and also caught 14 passes for 91 yards.
While the Hardrockers have rushed for 1,487 yards, they have thrown for 1,852 yards. Their top quarterback is junior Gage Baker, who has completed 168 of 287 passes for 1,755 yards and 12 touchdowns, and has been intercepted just three times. Austin Glimpse stepped in for Baker when Baker exited vs. CSU Pueblo and completed 8 of 20 passes.
The team's leading receiver is junior Josh Morales with 33 catches for 426 yards and five TDs.
RMAC update
The schedule has unveiled nicely for the RMAC, with compelling matchups at the top, middle and bottom of the conference standings in the final week of the regular season.
For starters, all the marbles are on the line when No. 3-ranked CSU Pueblo hosts No. 4-ranked Western Colorado, with both teams entering at 10-0. The winner will be the RMAC champion, with a potential chance for the regional No. 1 seed based on the NPI bump awarded to the winner.
The Chadron State/South Dakota Mines and the Colorado Mesa/Black Hills State matchups see the teams occupying spots 4-7 in the standings squaring off. Three teams – Chadron State included – are at 5-5 and will determine whether they have a winning or losing record for the season based on this week's results.
Not to be overlooked, Fort Lewis and Adams State will battle, with Adams State searching for its first win and Fort Lewis looking for a second conference win for the first time since 2024.
Here is a look at the current RMAC standings:
Team – RMAC record – overall record
#3/#3 CSU Pueblo – 8-0 – 10-0
#4/#4 Western Colorado – 8-0 – 10-0
(RV) Colorado School of Mines – 6-2 – 6-3-1
Colorado Mesa – 5-3 – 6-4
Chadron State – 4-4 – 5-5
Black Hills State – 3-5 – 5-5
South Dakota Mines – 3-5 – 5-5
New Mexico Highlands – 2-6 – 4-6
Fort Lewis – 1-7 – 2-7
Adams State – 0-8 – 0-10
*For ranked teams: first # = ranking in AFCA Coaches Poll, second # = ranking in D2Football.com poll; RV = receiving votes in top 25; NR = not ranked.
RMAC weekly matchups:
New Mexico Highlands at Colorado School of Mines
#4/4 Western Colorado at #3/3 CSU Pueblo
Black Hills State at Colorado Mesa
Fort Lewis at Adams State
NPI check-in
For the first time this season, the field for the NCAA Tournament in each sport for Division II and Division III is being determined by the NCAA Power Index (NPI).
NPI is a mathematical formula instituted to remove the human subjectivity around the previous system of regional rankings committees. To learn more about the NPI system and how it is calculated, click here.
As of the November 12 data, Chadron State football is rated No. 22 out of 43 teams in Super Region 4, which is comprised of the RMAC, Lone Star Conference (LSC), Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA) and Great American Conference (GAC). Eight teams from Super Region 4, the top eight in the NPI rankings at the end of the season, will qualify for the NCAA Tournament.
The Eagles have an NPI number of 49.809 and are ranked immediately above Missouri Southern and directly below Central Oklahoma. The Eagles rank fifth out of 10 RMAC teams in NPI.
There are two RMAC teams in the current top eight of the latest rankings update – CSU Pueblo at No. 2 and Western Colorado at No. 3. Harding leads the rankings, with the MIAA's Northwest Missouri State fourth and the Lone Star Conference's Central Washington fifth. Emporia State, Washburn and Midwestern State would have the final three qualification spots if the season ended today, with Southeastern Oklahoma State and Ouachita Baptist the first two teams out.
The conference champion for each of the four conferences in the Super Region gets an automatic bid, while the other four selections are at-large bids. Harding has clinched the auto-bid for the GAC, as have Northwest Missouri State (MIAA) and Central Washington (LSC). The RMAC's auto-bid will go to the winner of this Saturday's game between CSU Pueblo and Western Colorado.
Because NPI values strength of schedule and weights home and away results differently, the formula rankings can certainly change between now and the end of the regular season.
RMAC championships (most recent)
Western Colorado (19, 2021)
Colorado School of Mines (16, 2023)
Colorado Mesa (12, 2017)
CSU Pueblo (10, 2025)
Chadron State (8, 2008)
Adams State (7, 1989)
New Mexico Highlands (2, 1999)
Fort Lewis (1, 1984)
Black Hills State/South Dakota Mines (0)
Preseason plaudits
The RMAC released a preseason All-RMAC team alongside its preseason polls back on July 22, based on the leading vote-getters from last year's all-conference voting that return to the league.
Chadron State had four players honored, tied for the third-highest total in the RMAC – quarterback Aidan Thompson, offensive lineman Dominic Castanon, linebacker Cooper Walton and defensive end/edge rusher William Stemler.
Stemler also made an appearance on the D2Football.com Elite 100 watchlist as a squad member of the defense, one of six RMAC honorees across the national 100-player listing.
Stemler's selection marks the fourth consecutive year that an Eagle defensive player has made the Elite 100 preseason list, joining alumni Dax Yeradi (2025) and Hunter O'Connor (2023, 2024).
5-for-5
Under a new eligibility ruling passed by the NCAA this summer, all NCAA student-athletes will have five years of eligibility while developmental redshirts and medical waivers that previously could grant another year of eligibility have been eliminated.
To accommodate this new system, Chadron State is changing how student-athletes are labeled on the football roster – using the term "freshman" for a player in their first year of college, "sophomore" for a player in their second, "junior," "senior," and "fifth-year," regardless of whether the player has previously received a redshirt year.
For example, a player now being referred to as a "junior" has been with Chadron State or another college football program for two seasons (regardless of if they played or not during those seasons) and has three years of eligibility remaining, including 2026.
Coaches' corner
Head coach Jay Long returns for his 15th season at the helm of CSC football in 2026. In his previous 14 seasons at Chadron State, Long boasts a 70-68 record. He is 85-83 overall in his 17-season head coaching career.
Notably, the Eagles' 8-4 record in 2025 was a substantial turnaround from a 3-8 record in 2024. Chadron State's eight wins in 2025 are tied officially for the most in a single season during Long's tenure, alongside eight-win seasons in 2013 and 2014.
For his efforts last season, Long was voted by his head coaching peers as both the RMAC Coach of the Year and the AFCA Region Five Coach of the Year, each for the first time in his career. Coach Long was one of only five AFCA award recipients in Division II and one of only 25 recipients among all levels of college football.
Chadron State's head coach (Jay Long) and all three coordinators – Micah Smith (offense), Clint Sasse (defense) and Mitch Collicott (special teams) – are all Chadron State football alumni.
Quarterbacks coach and recruiting coordinator Tommy Wilson also returns for a fourth season at CSC, while coaching assistant for defensive backs Deunte Moody returns for a second season.
In year one on the CSC staff are coaching assistants Cole Cartwright (running backs), Reed Henkel (linebackers), Abe Hestdalen (defensive line), Seth Moore (offensive line) and Fred Pillivant (wide receivers). Henkel makes a move to the coaching staff after playing for the Eagles from 2022-25.
