GUNNISON, Colo.  It took just nine seconds for No. 11 Western Colorado to score a touchdown Saturday afternoon at the Mountaineer Bowl, but the Mountaineers would wait almost 45 minutes before scoring again, rallying for a 21-17 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference victory over visiting Chadron State.

JUST THE FACTS
Final score: Western def. Chadron State, 21-17
Records: Western 9-1 overall (7-1 RMAC), Chadron State 3-7 (2-6_
Location: Mojo Field at Mountaineer Bowl at The Rady Family Sports Complex, Gunnison, Colo.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Safety Drea Thompson stepped in front of a Miguel Larios pass in the right flat on the first offensive play of the game and raced 25 yards down the right sideline to put Western in front 7-0 just nine seconds into the first quarter.
• It was not an omen, however, how the rest of the game would go as it took another 45 minutes of game time for the Mountaineers to find the end zone again.
• Both defenses made things tough on the opposing offenses, Western generating 140 yards of total offense in the first half while Chadron accumulated just 135 yards.
• However, the Eagles got a 55-yard field goal from Wilson Yee late in the second quarter, then added their own pick-6 in the final minute of the frame to earn a 10-7 halftime lead.
• Each of the first five possessions in the third quarter ended with punts, but a 47-yard catch and run by Chadron's Preston Pearson on the next possession increased the Eagles' lead to 17-7 with 3:26 left in the third.
• The Mountaineer offense finally broke free of its reins following Chadron's score, going on an eight-play drive that included six pass plays and finished with a drive-ending 29-yard touchdown toss from quarterback Drew Nash to Victory David.
• After the defense forced an Eagle 3-and-out, the offense continued its momentum from the previous drive, taking 14 plays and nearly 7 minutes to go 93 yards for the go-ahead touchdown, a 22-yard pass from Nash into the right corner to a wide open Elias Zarate.
• The Mountaineer defense forced Chadron to turn the ball over on downs on its next possession, but with 3:44 to play, nothing was certain.
• A Western fumble on second down was recovered by the Eagles and returned to the Mountaineer 23 yard line.
• Once again, the defense held firm, stopping a 4th and 6 play at the Western 9, a Preston Pearson pass knocked down by linebacker Kendall Lightfoot.
• This time it was the Chadron defense that stepped up, forcing a Mountaineer punt that was fair caught at the Western 49 with 48 seconds remaining. Chadron earned one first down, but with nine seconds left threw a desperation pass from the 39-yard line toward the right corner of the end zone where it was intercepted by Kevondrick Carr to clinch the win for Western.

MOJO TURF NOTES

• The ground game for either team was stifled by challenging defenses. Western ran for a total of 83 yards while Chadron rushed for 98.
• Nash and the Mountaineer passing attack led the comeback, going for 251 yard and two touchdowns. Pearson, who led the Eagles in rushing with 63 yards, was limited to 178 yards through the air while also throwing 3 interceptions.
• Victory David led all receivers with five catches for 70 yards and a touchdown, while Josiah Ayon caught 4 passes for 39 yards.
• Third-down conversions were hard to come by. Chadron was just 1-for-13 and Western was only 4-for-15 on third downs.
• The game saw a combined 16 penalties accepted for a total of 112 yards.

THEY SAID IT


UP NEXT
The Mountaineers will close out their regular season with a trip to Colorado Mesa University (7-3, 6-2 RMAC) in Grand Junction, Colo., on Saturday.