Spearfish, S.D. – The Black Hills State football team won its first game in RMAC play against Western State 21-7 on Saturday afternoon.
"I think more than anything it is that monkey off their back syndrome," said head coach John Reiners. "These guys have been working so hard, got so close last week with that game we lost at the end, they wanted it so bad. They have been working so hard and we feel like we belong in this conference and it was awesome… to get that first win in the RMAC was huge."
On the Yellow Jackets first possession of the game, they drove down the field with an 80-yard, 11-play drive that was capped off by a two-yard Trent Butler rushing touchdown.
The BHSU defense kept the Mountaineers scoreless in the first half. The Jackets' special teams helped keep Western State off the board by defending a botched field goal snap.
The Yellow Jackets added two more unanswered touchdowns in the second quarter. Quarterback Ward Anderson found freshman Jeremy Woods for a 32-yard touchdown strike. Later in the second quarter, Ward hit Daniel Hancock for a 11-yard touchdown.
The Yellow Jackets led 21-0 heading into halftime. The offense struggled at times in the second half, but the defense stood strong throughout.
"I think our defense has been playing that way all year. We rallied to the ball, we didn't get any turnovers, but there were three balls on the ground that we had opportunities to get, so they are creating situations that are making other teams put the ball on the ground," said Reiners.
The Mountaineers were able to find the end zone with 1:04 remaining in the game and the Yellow Jackets ran the clock out for a 21-7 victory.
"You look at it offensively, it was kind of a tale of two halves. We did a lot of great things in the first half, second half we kind of sputtered," said Reriners. "We made plays that we needed to make and we did the things we needed to do to win the game."
The defense held the Mountaineers to 275 total yards. Joey Brown led the Yellow Jackets with five solo tackles and three assisted tackles. Both Trent Turbiville and Scott Boner recorded six solo tackles and two assisted tackles. Anderson was 21-for-36 for 229 yards, two touchdowns and zero interceptions.
Woods led the Jackets through the air with six receptions for 85 yards and a touchdown.
"He (Woods) has kind of been bouncing back-and-forth playing a little tailback, playing a little slot receiver and he made the most of his opportunity," Reiners said. "I couldn't be happier for Jeremy, he was all smiles during the game and we like that, we got have a kid like that step-up when Wes (Kragt) gets hurt."
Hancock recorded six receptions for 69 yards and also found the end zone.
Trent Butler was the BHSU leading rusher with 46 yards on 12 attempts and a touchdown score.
The Yellow Jackets play next week at home against Adams State. Kick off is scheduled for Saturday at 1 p.m.
