By: Con Marshall
CSC Sports Information
After concentrating in practice this week on "fixing the punting problems we had last Saturday night," while falling to Colorado State-Pueblo 42-21, Chadron State Head Football Coach Jay Long put a positive spin on his team's future as the Eagles prepared for the long trip to play the Fort Lewis Skyhawks in Durango, Colo., this Saturday afternoon. Kickoff will be at noon.
Long acknowledged it is difficult to beat almost any team when four punts in the first 18 minutes of the game net only 20 yards, and Pueblo is a top 10 team in two major polls.
But Long also saw bright spots in the Eagles' play. He noted the Eagles' 449 yards in total offense, is almost exactly twice what the ThunderWolves' defense gave up per game last year, and CSC had just one turnover.
"We added a sense of urgency to our punting practices this week and used some different snappers," Long said. "Three of our bad punts involved bad snaps. We think we've got the problem fixed."
The Eagles are in overwhelming command of the series record, but CSC coaches say Fort Lewis is potentially dangerous.
"They have a very good defense," offensive coordinator Logan Masters said. "The line is really big and active. We can't take them lightly."
Long agrees. He noted the Skyhawks led 14-0 at halftime last Saturday and limited Dixie State to just 69 yards rushing, but the Trailblazers scored on three long pass plays and kicked a field goal in the second half to pull out a 23-14 win.
Among the Fort Lewis defensive leaders is George Marpaung, a 5-10, 287-pound tackle who has been a first-team all-RMAC choice each of the past two years. Last year he was credited with 14 tackles for 46 yards of negative yardage for the foes.
Defensive coordinator Craig Jersild said the Fort Lewis offense also has some weapons, including quarterback Jake Lowry, who can both run and pass well.
Lowry was the starting quarterback when Fort Lewis visited Chadron State for the third game last fall, but he was injured while being sacked late in the first quarter and missed the rest of the season. Now he's back.
Fort Lewis led CSC 21-14 midway in the fourth period a year ago, but the Eagles won 31-21 on the strength of two takeaways. The first occurred with 5:14 remaining when linebacker Bryant Wilson blocked a Skyhawks' punt that Jackson Dickerson recovered in the end zone. Three minutes later, cornerback DeAndre Barthwell picked off a pass and took it 21 yards for another touchdown.
The Skyhawks finished 1-9 last season. At the end of the season, the former coach departed and assistant Brandon Crosby was promoted to the head position. In addition, Ed Rifilato, who had previously spent 12 years on the Fort Lewis coaching staff, including five years as both the head mentor and the defensive coordinator, has returned as the D coordinator.
After the coaching shake up, several transfers were added to the roster. One of them is wide receiver Isaac Leppke, who previously played at both the Universities of New Mexico and Wyoming. He caught 41- and 13-yard touchdown passes last Saturday as the Skyhawks took a 14-0 first half lead against Dixie State.
But despite their rushing woes, the Trailblazers struck for a 37-yard touchdown pass early in the second half, kicked a field goal late in the third quarter and connected for touchdown passes of 58 and 72 yards in the final four minutes got the victory.
Like the Eagles, Fort Lewis is now 1-1. The Skyhawks visited New Mexico Highlands to open the season on Sept. 7. About four minutes into the game Fort Lewis scored from the four-yard line after linebacker Darrian Stickney had returned an interception 51 yards. Fort Lewis also made the extra point and wound up winning 7-0.
Following two lightning delays, the game was suspended midway in the second quarter, which also was about six hours after it had kicked off.
Initially, it was announced that the game had been cancelled and neither team had won or lost. But the RMAC searched its rules and determined that the team with the lead when play is suspended and cannot be resumed the next day is the winner.
Chadron State's season is also off to an unusual start. The Eagles have yet to score in the first half, but have outscored its two opponents 69-27 in the second half.
Masters was disappointed with the Eagles' offensive inconsistency early against Colorado State-Pueblo when the ThunderWolves built their 29-0 halftime bulge. Punting problems were the big issue in the opening half, but the Eagles completed just six of 22 passes for 81 yards and managed only 60 yards rushing prior to intermission.
Masters said the Eagles dropped five passes in the opening half. "A lot of our problems were self-inflicted," he noted. "You can't do that when you're playing one of the best defenses in the country."
Jersild said his defensive unit also has gotten off to a slow start in both of its games, but showed improvement in some areas against Pueblo.
"We gave up too many big plays again, and have to get better," the defensive coordinator said. "We better wake up ready to go Saturday because Fort Lewis has some good athletes."