RAPID CITY, S.D. – The Black Hills State University football team continued the ongoing trend as the Black Hills Brawl was won by the visiting team for the fourth consecutive season when the Yellow Jackets defeated South Dakota Mines by a score of 22-20 on Saturday night at O’Harra Stadium.
The Yellow Jacket defense and special teams played a critical role in the rivalry win, holding the Hardrockers to just one touchdown on four opportunities inside the 10-yard yard line, forcing four turnovers, and converting on 3-of-4 field goal attempts.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- After a Black Hills State three and out to begin the game, South Dakota Mines struck first with the lone touchdown of the first half as Holden Gilbert capped a ten play, 71-yard drive with a 2-yard rushing touchdown up the middle. Connor Taylor then made it a 7-0 game with the extra point as 10:17 remained on the first quarter clock.
- The Yellow Jacket offense looked to have a promising drive brewing as a 32-yard pass play from Luke Duby to Jayden Williams brought the ball out near midfield at the BHSU 47-yard line, however three plays later the drive ended as Lane Thomas picked off the pass as the Hardrockers secured the first turnover of the contest. SDM would be unable to capitalize on the turnover as Cooper Brown recorded the sack-fumble, and despite the Hardrockers recovering, it would lead to a three and out and a punt with 1:18 left in the opening quarter.
- Following another Black Hills State punt, the Yellow Jacket defense came up with another crucial play as South Dakota Mines had 3rd and Goal from the 3-yard line. BHSU secured their first turnover of the match-up when Orlando Westbrook-Sanchez III lost the ball out of his hands and Kellen Collier fell on the it for the recovery with 11:22 left in the second quarter.
- For the second time in the first half, the Yellow Jackets looked to be marching down the field on the verge of points as Duby found John Noordsy for a 25-yard reception and Connor Boyd for a 31-yard reception. However, the drive would come to an abrupt halt when Duby fumbled the ball into the end zone, only for a Hardrocker to fall on it for a touchback with 3:28 remaining in the second quarter.
- Black Hills State received one final opportunity in the first half as they took possession with just 55 seconds left on the clock and the ball at their own 28-yard line. A 16-yard pass from Duby to Kelby Olson, along with a 20-yard rush by Cameron Goods, the Yellow Jackets moved the ball into plus territory and would send out the field goal unit for a chance at three on the final play. Ryan Ewing then split the uprights from 58-yards, breaking a school-record for the longest field goal in program history, and setting a mark for the longest field goal in NCAA Division II this season as he cut the deficit to 7-3 at the break.
- A 33-yard kick-off return by Brayden Schatz gave South Dakota Mines great starting field position to begin the third quarter, beginning their drive at their own 49-yard line. Despite giving up three first downs to the Hardrockers to move the ball inside the 10-yard line for 1st and Goal, the Yellow Jacket defense once again stood tall, holding SDM to just a 24-yard field goal by Taylor to extend their lead to 10-3 with 11:00 remaining in the period.
- Black Hills State eventually had their answer the ensuing drive when they found the end zone for the first time in the game when Damien Boozer climbed the ladder and grabbed a 13-yard touchdown pass from Duby over top of a South Dakota Mines defender. Ewing successfully added the extra point to even the game at ten apiece with 6:16 left in the third quarter.
- Following another punt by the Hardrockers, the first three plays of the BHSU drive went for ten or more yards as Duby found Boozier for an 11-yard gain, Ashar Granger for an 18-yard gain, and Charlie Bump for a 25-yard gain. The drive then stalled at the SDM 31-yard line, where Ewing once again connected on a deep field goal attempt, this time nailing a 48-yard field goal with 2:17 left on the third quarter clock to give Black Hills State their first lead of the night at 13-10.
- South Dakota Mines answered with a field goal of their own the ensuing drive which was a result of the Black Hills State defense stepping-up again and not allowing a touchdown once the Hardrockers got inside the 10-yard line. Aaron Thiele and Dalan Kennedy made the stop at the BHSU 4-yard line, while Brown made the tackle at the line of scrimmage on third down, resulting in a 20-yard field goal by Taylor to even the game at 13 apiece with 14:11 left in the game.
- The longest scoring drive of the night came by the Yellow Jackets when they went 14 plays in 5:44 of game time, which included a pair of 10-yard pass plays from Duby to Ashar Granger, leading to the third field goal of the night by Ewing, who made the attempt from 22-yards away to have BHSU regain the lead at 16-13 with 8:27 left on the clock in the game.
- The Yellow Jacket defense came up with their second takeaway of the night the next drive when Jake Martinelli’s pass was tipped up into the air and hauled in by Rune Tepolt at the SDM 19-yard line to give the offense starting field position in the red zone with 7:43 remaining in the game. It then only took two plays for Black Hills State to cash in, as Goods found space on the outside to carry the ball into the end zone to give BHSU their largest lead of the game at 22-13 with 6:52 left to play after the PAT was no good.
- The teams traded punts before the Hardrockers cut the lead back down to one position with a 6-yard passing touchdown from Martinelli to Henry Dryden, which was set-up by a pair of Yellow Jacket penalties. The extra point brought the game to 22-20 with 2:48 left on the clock in the fourth quarter.
- Black Hills State looked to be giving the ball back to South Dakota Mines with one timeout left and 2:27 remaining in the game, however Colton Grover muffed the punt for SDM and Doodles Quinones jumped on the ball for the Yellow Jackets to retain possession at the SDM 26-yard line. The Yellow Jackets ran the clock down to 1:13 left in the fourth quarter before attempting a field goal, however Ewing would miss his first attempt of the evening, and the score remained 22-20.
- The Hardrockers had one final chance to drive down and kick a game-winning field goal, however Nicc Quinones came up with his third interception of the year as he hauled in the pass at the SDM 34-yard line to secure the rivalry win.
BLACK HILLS STATE STATISTICAL LEADERS
Luke Duby: 25-of-49, 320 passing yards, 1 passing touchdown
Cameron Goods: 20 rushing attempts, 94 rushing yards, 1 rushing touchdown
Jayden Williams: 4 receptions, 63 receiving yards
Damien Boozer: 4 receptions, 44 receiving yards, 1 receiving touchdown
Nicc Quinones: 12 tackles, 1 interception
Sebastian O’Farrell: 9 tackles
Ryan Ewing: 3-of-4 field goals, 2-of-2 from 45+ yards, long of 58 yards
