ALAMOSA, Colo. – The streak is over. The Black Hills State University football team defeated Adams State 34-33 in the 2016 season opener to snap a 12-game losing streak dating back to the 2014 season. The victory didn't come easy however, as the Green and Gold had to make a stop on a two-point conversion attempt with five seconds remaining for the win.

Black Hills State grabbed the lead with 13:43 remaining in the game when true freshman Payten Gilmore ran five yards into the end zone to take a 34-27 lead. The run capped a six-play, 47-yard drive for the Yellow Jackets.

The two teams traded series' but neither put points on the board throughout the remaining of the fourth quarter until the Grizzlies final drive of the afternoon that went for 13 plays and 80 yards. Adams State twice had to convert on fourth down to keep the drive alive. With time continuing to tick away, Auston Hillman completed a two-yard jump pass to Darvin McCauley to pull within one point at 34-33 and five seconds on the clock.

The Yellow Jacket defense held on strong on the conversion attempt, putting pressure on Hillman and forcing his pass to sail high out of the end zone. The last ditch effort of the onside kick failed as sophomore Luis Bach fell on the ball and allowed Ryan Hommel to line up in the victory formation for the first time in his career.

"It's been too long to have this feeling," head coach John Reiners said about the win. "I told the guys that it wasn't pretty. There are things we didn't do well, but it's a victory. These guys are excited about it. Just getting the victory will make this bus ride home that much better."

Black Hills State received a jumpstart on the very first play of the game when Drew Hebel intercepted the ASU pass and returned it 29 yards to the Adams State 24 yard line. That set up a five-play, 24-yard drive that had Hommel scamper nine yards into the end zone. After the point after attempt from Trey Fleming, the Yellow Jackets led 7-0.

Adams State answered right back with a quick three-play, 25-yard drive that had Jorge Hernandez complete a pass to Chad Hovasse to knot the game at 7-all.

With 8:18 redshirt-freshman Jamil Bond scored on a 28-yard rush to cap a six-play, 59-yard drive spanning 1:38 for the 14-7 lead.

The Yellow Jackets then opened a 20-7 lead with 9 plays covering 69 yards and capped by a Hommel to Erick Hairston-Belcher 32-yard connection. Hairston-Belcher used his speed to gain separation and make his way into the end zone.

Adams State closed out the first half scoring 13 unanswered points to enter the intermission in a 20-20 tie.

"When we were doing the things we needed to right, they couldn't stop us," Reiners said. "I wasn't worried about the guys on the other sideline, just the guys in our locker room.  We were able to make plays and I told our coaches that we were sticking to our game plan."

Much of the third quarter were the two teams again trading series' until Hillman, who had moved into the quarterback position for Hernandez, completed a 17-yard pass to Hovasse for a touchdown and the first ASU lead at 27-20.

It didn't take long for the Yellow Jackets to respond as Hommel connected with Shandon Jones for a 55-yard touchdown on a drive that lasted five plays and covered 75 yards. That tied the game at 27-27 with 1:12 remaining in the third quarter.

That set up the exciting fourth quarter that had Gilmore score his first career touchdown and the go-ahead score at 34-27.

"I was very happy with our running game," Reiners added. "The two young guys both got the scores. We showed that when Phydell (Paris) comes out, we don't lose a lot. We can do somethings running the ball. I didn't even realize we had 251 yards rushing."

Black Hills State accumulated 468 yards of offense, with 251 on the ground. Of that redshirt junior Phydell Paris ran for 136 yards on 25 carries including a long of 51 yards until he was tripped up inside the 20-yard line. Gilmore had 13 carries for 46 yards and Bond had four carries for 36 yards.

Hommel threw for 217 yards on 19-of-37 passing and two touchdowns. He had a long of 55 yards, his connection with Jones who had 75 yards receiving. Hariston-Belcher led the way with 91 yards receiving including a long of 33 yards.

Defensively, Cody Benne had 10 tackles including four solo. JJ Kilgore followed with nine tackles with Drew Hebel, Thayer Sauter and Damon Goldhammer each having six tackles.

Adams State had 512 yards of total offense, with 295 through the air. However, Adams State was hampered by six turnovers including four interceptions. Conrad Rice, Allan Stubbs, Hebel and Kilgore each had an interception in the game. The four interceptions equals the total from last season.

"The defense was huge," Reiners said. "The one stat that stuck out to me was Adams State was 3-of-7 in the red zone. Anytime you can keep a team to less than 50 percent in the red zone that is great."

The defense also head ASU to 5-of-18 on third down conversions.

Black Hills State won its season-opener for the first time since the 2008 season and are 1-0 in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference action. Adams State slips in its season opener and are 0-1 both overall and in the RMAC.

The Yellow Jackets continue on the road next weekend, playing at Fort Lewis in Durango, Colorado. Kickoff is slated for noon.