SPEARFISH, S.D. – The (RV) Black Hills State University football team bounced back from their first defeat of the season and captured a 28-20 win over Fort Lewis on Swarm Days at Lyle Hare Stadium Saturday afternoon. The Yellow Jackets racked up 192 rushing yards in the win, their fifth straight game over 100 yards on the ground, as they scored 21 consecutive points from the end of the second quarter to the early stages of the fourth quarter to break open the game. The ground attack of the Green & Gold averaged 4.9 yards per carry and featured eight rushes of ten or more yards.
QUICK DETAILS
Score: (RV) Black Hills State 28, Fort Lewis 20
Team Records: (RV) Black Hills State 4-1 (2-1 RMAC), Fort Lewis 2-2 (1-2 RMAC)
Attendance: 4,021
HOW IT HAPPENED
- After getting pushed behind the chains on the opening play of the game on a 7-yard sack by Jeramiah Singleton, Fort Lewis was able to move the ball across midfield with a 15-yard pass from Sam Jones to Solomon Latimer and a tough 18-yard rush by Baylor Seabolt. The drive ended with a 51-yard field goal by Lucas Schmitten to give the Skyhawks a 3-0 lead with 10:46 left in the first quarter.
- The two teams then traded turnovers, as on the first play from scrimmage for the Black Hills State offense, a 41-yard reception to Damien Boozer from Kade Weber ended with a fumble that saw Jordan Thomas punch the ball out from behind and it was then recovered by Ellis Watson at the FLC 29-yard line. The favor was then returned by the Green & Gold as while Seabolt was corralled by a host Yellow Jackets, he had the ball ripped away by Luke Clay and recovered by Cort Catlin at the BHSU 32-yard line with 8:54 to play in the first quarter.
- The Black Hills State offense capitalized on the turnover caused by their defense, as the drive began with a 9-yard rush by Weber and then was capped on a wide receiver pass play from Joseph Randle to Boozer for a 41-yard touchdown pass down the right sideline. Madden Aquino added the extra point to give BHSU the 7-3 lead with 6:24 remaining in the opening quarter.
- Following a punt by the Skyhawks, FLC responded by forcing a punt by the Yellow Jackets, which saw the ball go over the head of Ryder Ferguson and the ball was recovered at the BHSU 12-yard line. Receiving the ball in the red zone, the Fort Lewis offense capitalized and on 2nd and 8 from the BHSU 10-yard line, Jones found Michael Collins in the back left corner of the end zone. Schmitten added the PAT to give Fort Lewis a 10-7 advantage with 13 seconds left in the first quarter.
- Beginning the second quarter, each offense moved the ball into the opponent’s territory; however, the defenses forced back-to-back turnover on downs. First, it was an incomplete pass for BHSU as Weber looked to find Randle down the right sideline, and then the ensuing possession Joshua Faulkner laid a hit on Collins in the left flat on 4th and 2, stopping him at the line of scrimmage.
- The score remained 10-7 until the later minutes of the first half as the Black Hills State offense was forced to punt, with Ferguson flipping the field on a 51-yard punt, and then a missed 46-yard field goal by Schmitten. The Yellow Jackets eventually took the lead for good with a scoring drive in the final minutes. The drive was sparked with a 22-yard rush by Wyatt Trembly and an 18-yard reception from Weber to Chase Lofton, before being capped with a 12-yard rushing touchdown by Weber with 29 seconds play in the second quarter. Aquino’s extra point made it 14-10 BHSU.
- Fort Lewis used three passing plays of nine or more yards to quickly give them a chance for a field goal in the final seconds. Schmitten, who entered the game 6-of-7 on field goals on the season, missed his second of the day as his 53-yard field goal attempt landed short in the end zone as time expired.
- Both teams punted on each of their first two possessions of the second half before the Yellow Jackets again came up with a big play. 4th and 2 at the FLC 43-yard line, BHSU lined up to punt but a fake punt with a direct snap to Trembly gave the running back an open field with only one man to miss as he took the ball 43-yards to the end zone. Aquino’s PAT gave the Yellow Jackets a 21-10 lead with 5:20 on the clock in the third quarter.
- The Yellow Jacket defense forced the third consecutive punt by the Skyhawks with a 7-yard sack of Jones by Catlin, and a 17-yard punt return by Bryce Coulson set up the offense at the BHSU 42-yard line. Rushes of 11 and nine yards by Danny Davis helped the offense move the ball down the field, and Weber found the end zone with his second rushing touchdown of the day on an 11-yard scramble to the right side of the field. Aquino’s extra point pushed the lead to 28-10 and the largest lead of the day for the Green & Gold with 13:35 remaining in the game.
- Fort Lewis did not take long to respond, scoring on the first play of the ensuing drive on a deep pass down the left side of the field as Jones found Latimer for a 78-yard receiving touchdown. FLC cut the deficit to 28-17 with 13:16 to play in the fourth quarter as Schmitten added the extra point.
- The Skyhawks forced a Black Hills State punt and were able to cut the deficit back to one possession as they marched the ball 78-yards down the field in 18 plays and 6:56 of game time. FLC was able to get to 1st and goal from the BHSU 6-yard line; however, back-to-back pass break-ups by Fualkner and Caden Stansbury helped hold them to a 23-yard field goal by Schmitten with 1:56 to play in the game as it became a 28-20 contest.
- Black Hills State recovered the ensuing onside kick and a 10-yard rush for a first down by Weber allowed the Yellow Jackets to kneel out the remaining time on the clock in victory formation.
BLACK HILLS STATE STATISTICAL LEADERS
Kade Weber: 12-24, 139 passing yards, 18 rushes, 97 rushing yards, 2 rushing touchdowns
Wyatt Trembly: 10 rushes, 90 yards, 1 touchdown
Damien Boozer: 3 receptions, 91 yards, 1 touchdown
Caden Stansbury: 10.0 tackles, 2 pass break-ups
Jayshon Liles: 9.0 tackles, 1.0 tackle-for-loss, 1.0 sack
Jacob Nelson: 7.0 tackles, 2.0 tackles-for-loss, 1.5 sacks
UP NEXT
(RV) Black Hills State is back on the road next weekend, making a visit to Colorado School of Mines for a 12 p.m. kickoff on Saturday, October 3, at Marv Kay Stadium in Golden, Colorado.
