CSC football to visit Mountaineers
The Chadron State College football team will have a tough assignment Saturday when it visits Western State in Gunnison. Kickoff will be at noon.
The Mountaineers may be in a sour mood. After winning their first eight games this season, Colorado State-Pueblo came calling last Saturday and romped for 593 yards of offense while winning by a 44-34 score.
That leaves the ThunderWolves, who will be Chadron State's final opponent next Saturday, Nov. 16, as the only undefeated team in the RMAC standings at 7-0. Both Western and Colorado Mesa are 6-1. They will tangle in another regular-season finale in Grand Junction on the 16th.
The Eagles can hope that the Mountaineers will overlook them while focusing on toppling Mesa. However, since Head Coach Jas Bains and his top assistants, Todd Auer and Joe McLain, all have lots of CSC ties, doubtful.
After losing to South Dakota Mines 24-17 last Saturday, the Eagles are 3-6 overall and 2-5 in the conference. A major question this week is whether starting quarterback DJ Ralph, who didn't play against the Hardrockers because of his shoulder problem, will be available Saturday. The Eagles are more formidable when he's at the controls, but early this week no one was saying what those chances are.
Ralph had completed 33 of 47 passes for 408 yards during the previous game at Black Hills State on Oct. 26. Overall, he has clicked on 94 of 140 passes (67.1%) for 1,084 yards for nine TDs and just three interceptions.
Ironically, Ralph and Western State quarterback Drew Nash shared that position at Saddleback College at Mission Viejo, Calif., in 2021. Saddleback stats indicate Ralph threw for 746 yards and nine touchdowns while Nash passed for 1,304 yards and 12 TDs during the Bobcats' 4-6 season.
Nash, listed as a 6-foot-2, 215-pound junior, has completed 156 of 245 (63.7%) passes for 1,893 yards and 18 touchdowns while throwing just four interceptions this season. He hit on 29 of 50 passes for 405 yards and five TD against Pueblo last Saturday and was sacked five times for minus 41 yards.
Pueblo's quarterbacks were 34-46-0 for 435 yards and also five TDs at Gunnison. In addition, the ThunderWolves got 159 yards rushing from Russell Howard, a 6-0, 200-pound senior, and Western managed just 40 yards on the ground.
For the season, the Mountaineers are third in the RMAC with an average of 453.7 yards of total offense. The Eagles are eighth at 305.1 yards per game. Defensively, CSC is second in the conference in both yards per game (271.8) and points per game (17.0). Western is third in both at 304.4 yards and 19.9 points.
While Western has won the last four games with the Eagles, the teams have split the last 10. CSC leads the all-time series 23-15-1.
