LAS VEGAS, N.M. – Black Hills State University football scored 19 points to open the game but got outscored 41-12 in the second half, falling 40-31 to New Mexico Highlands Saturday afternoon in Las Vegas, New Mexico.
Phydell Paris, in hot pursuit of becoming the first 1,000-yard rusher since 2009, ran for 136 yards on 26 carries while Ryan Hommel tossed for a season-best 399 yards and three touchdowns but the Yellow Jackets had four turnovers as Highlands capitalized on two of them for 20 points.
On the Yellow Jackets opening drive, Hommel hit Shandon Jones for a 77-yard touchdown with Trey Fleming kicking the point after for a quick 7-0 lead.
Taking over midway through the first quarter, the Yellow Jackets embarked on a 10-play, 69-yard drive that culminated with a 20-yard Fleming field goal and a 10-0 lead.
The Yellow Jackets took a 16-0 lead after a 12-play, 91-yard drive spanning 4:56 when Hommel took the ball on a quarterback keeper into the end zone. The final points of the first half came on a 27-yard Fleming field goal for the 19-0 lead.
The tide appeared to change when the Cowboys completed a 10-play 72-yard drive over 6:02 when Trevor Swenson passed to Vincent Venegas for the first NMHU points of the day. That began 27-straight points for Highlands including a Swenson keeper, 10-yard Davonte Lynch rush and a two-yard Lynch rush.
The Yellow Jackets stopped the momentum of the Cowboys briefly when Hommel hit Jones for another long touchdown, this time a 72-yarder to pull within two points at 27-25. The attempted two-point conversion failed.
On the kickoff, Kirt Terry-Springs took the ball the distance on a 95-yard kickoff return and a 33-25 lead after the Cowboys PAT failed.
Hommel then led the Yellow Jackets on another drive, seven-plays, 76 yards when he found Eriq Swiftwater for a five-yard touchdown. The two-point conversion failed again as the Green and Gold was behind two points at 33-31 with 3:04 remaining.
With time ticking away, Highlands began to rush the ball to keep the clock running when Swenson hit Justin Vaughn on a surprise pass play for 67 yards and the touchdown. With 1:59 on the clock, the Yellow Jackets went to work in the two-minute drill.
Hommel completed passes to Fleming, Swiftwater and Adamson as the Green and Gold marched down to the Highlands 13-yard line and looking to score. However Hommel's pass in the end zone was intercepted by Taj Mathis to seal the game for the Cowboys.
On top of the season-best 399 yards, Hommel, a true freshman, also threw for three touchdowns as Shandon Jones caught two of them and totaled 149 yards receiving, more than quadrupling his season best. Fleming caught seven passes for 60 yards while remaining perfect on the season as the kicker having gone 2-for-2 on field goals and 1-of-1 on point after attempts.
Over three games, Fleming is 4-of-4 on field goals with a best of 27 yards and 7-of-7 on point after touchdowns.
The Yellow Jackets piled on a season-best 556 yards of offense while holding Highlands to 301 yards, a season-best for the Yellow Jacket defense. Cody Benne tallied a team-high nine tackles while Thayer Sauter had eight, including six solo tackles. Benne had the lone Yellow Jacket sack as JJ Kilgore forced a fumble that was recovered by Erick Hairston-Belcher.
The Yellow Jackets host Senior Day along with the season finale on Saturday against Western New Mexico. Kickoff from Lyle Hare Stadium is a noon. Outside of celebrating the senior class, Paris will look to become the first 1,000 yard rusher since Cole Benne did it in 2009 with 1,071 yards. Paris is currently at 920 yards rushing through 10 games.
