FINAL STATS

SAN ANGELO, Texas – The Chadron State (Neb.) Eagles forced four critical turnovers, two by cornerback Conor Casey, in defeating the Angelo State Rams 19-7 in a non-conference game at San Angelo Stadium.

The win improved Chadron State to 1-1 while Angelo State fell to 1-1.

The Eagles forced a pair of turnovers inside their own 20-yard line, another on a special teams play to set up a critical third quarter touchdown and the final time to halt a Ram fourth quarter drive.

Chadron State running back Glen Clinton led the Eagle offense with 117 yards on 17 carries and a touchdown.  Quarterback Jonn McLain competed 13 of 21 passes for 93 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions and ran for another score.  Wide receiver Allan Schmaltz had a touchdown catch and a fumble recovery.

The Eagles did not commit a turnover in the victory.

Casey came up with a first quarter interception of ASU quarterback Blake Hamblin at the Eagle 12-yard line on the first possession of the game. 

With the Eagles leading 13-7, Schmaltz stripped Ram punt returner Paul Mason at the ASU 42-yard line late in the third quarter to set up the final score of the game.

With ASU down 19-7 early in the fourth quarter and threatening to score, Eagle free safety Trelan Taylor stripped Ram running back Jermie Calhoun at the Eagle five yard line and linebacker Kevin Lindholm recovered for CSU.

ASU's final scoring threat ended when Ram wide receiver Dakarai Pecikonis fumbled at the Eagle 38-yard line and Casey recovered with just 4:05 left in the game.

Hamblin accounted for the only ASU score of the game, a 24-yard scoring pass to C.J. Akins with 7:46 left in the third quarter to cut the Eagle lead to 13-7.  Hamblin finished the game 20 of 33 for 170 yards with one touchdown and one interception.
Calhoun led the Ram rushing attack with 91 yards on 24 carries.  Akins and Pecikonis combined for 11 receptions for 123 yards and one touchdown.

Clinton scored on a two-yard run with 1:42 left in the fourth quarter, capping a 7-play, 42-yard drive after the turnover on the ASU punt return.

Angelo State had 304 yards of total offense to 277 for Chadron State, but the Eagles out ran the Rams 184 yards to 134.

After gaining just 23 yards in the first quarter while playing into the wind, the Eagle offense had the win to their back in the second quarter and scored 13 points to take a 13-0 halftime lead.

Both scoring drives by the Eagles came after stopping the Ram offense and then gaining excellent field position after short punts into the wind.

After taking over at its own 49-yard line, Chadron State's first touchdown was set up by a 51-yard run by Clinton down to the ASU two-yard line.  On the next play, McLain scored, the two-point conversion failed, but CSU had a 6-0 lead with 7:02 left in the half.
After Chadron State held ASU without a first down on the next drive, the Eagles again had excellent field position, starting at its own 44-yard line.

On second and three from the ASU 35-yard line, McLain completed a 22-yard pass to Chapman Hamm.  Two plays later McLain hit Schmaltz in the corner of the end zone for a touchdown.  This time the Eagles kicked the conventional extra point and grabbed a 13-0 lead with 1:47 left in the half.

The Eagles out-gained the Rams 132-27 in the second quarter and held an advantage of 155 to 112 in total offense at the half.
The Rams could not take advantage of a stiff north breeze the first quarter. 

ASU had 85 yards and accumulated seven first downs in the first quarter while holding Chadron State to just 23 yards, but could not make a dent in the scoreboard.

Twice the Rams drove deep into Chadron State territory, but came away without points.

On the first offensive possession of the game, the Rams drove to the Eagle 19-yard line, but Blake Hamblin's pass was intercepted by CSU's Conor Casey at the Eagle 12-yard line.

The next offensive possession saw the Rams drive from their own 2-yard line to the Eagle 37-yard line, but the Eagles stopped Hamblin on a four-down run to end the drive.

On its third drive of the game, ASU again drove into Eagle territory, but again came up empty after being stopped at the Eagle 44-yard line.