Western Nebraska football fans are in for a rare treat. The Chadron State Eagles will kick off the season by hosting the Nebraska-Kearney Lopers at 6 p.m. MT on Thursday, August 28 at Elliott Field.
It will be the 73rd game in the schools’ all-time series and it’s the first time the intrastate rivals have played a season-opener. It was made possible when the NCAA ruled that teams from different conferences but in close proximity of one another could play an early-season game during what has been labeled 0 week.
The ruling also re-established the CSC-UNK rivalry. Beginning next year, the Eagles and the Lopers are due to play one another the second game of each season. They will be “trophy games,” with the winner taking home the newly-minted “Good Life Trophy” that will be unveiled at the season-opener.
Both teams hope to be improved this fall. The Eagles had a 5-6 record last season while the Lopers fell to 3-8. Both have added numerous transfers to the roster in an effort to regain their winning traditions.
Both have recruited a new quarterback. The Eagles’ is D.J. Ralph, formerly the starter at Saddleback College in California, while the Lopers have brought in Reagan Jones, who was the starting quarterback for 14 games at Missouri Western in 2021 and ’22.
The Eagles’ top players include defensive end Hunter O’Connor of Fort Collins, Colo. He’s been a first-team Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference choice each of the last two seasons. Last fall, he made 18 tackles for 77 negative yards, including 8.5 quarterback sacks.
Chadron State also features outstanding kickers. Junior Brodie Eisenbraun of Sturgis, S.D., punted 57 times for a 41.8-yard average and and senior Wilson Yee of Littleton, Colo., booted 10 field goals, including a school-record 61-yarder.
Yee also plays the piano for the Chadron State jazz band.