Full Notes

Setting the Stage: The Black Hills State University football team scored first against Fort Lewis, but ultimately fell, 17-13. Quarterback Ryan Hommel scored an 80-yard rushing touchdown. Ben Sjobakken finished with 126 yards passing and one touchdown. Erick Hairston-Belcher led the Green and Gold with 50 yards receiving and one touchdown. Defensively, Thayer Sauter led the squad with 10 total tackles, including four solo, and three for losses. Austin Goddard and Jarrell Ganaway each recorded a sack, while Chris James had three pass breakups.

Last Meeting: The Yellow Jacket football team defeated Dixie State, 20-14, last season, to win its third consecutive game. Ryan Hommel threw for 179 yards and a touchdown, while Phydell Paris ran for 141 yards. Isaiah Birkel, Matt Singleton, and Thayer Sauter each had eight tackles a piece, while Birkel had two sacks. Drew Hebel and Luis Bach each snagged an interception, while the defense as a whole had five sacks and 12 tackles for a loss.   

About Dixie State: The Trailblazers lost to South Dakota Mines, 35-14, last week, to fall to 0-2. Dixie State trailed 28-14 at the half, and were unable to overcome the deficit. Quarterback Malik Watson finished the game with 387 yards of offense, including 284 pass yards and one touchdown. Orlando Wallace caught a touchdown pass, while Sei-J Lauago had a rushing touchdown. Defensively, Tane Tuifua had 12 tackles.  

Series History: The Yellow Jackets and Trailblazers met for the first time in 2016, with BHSU earning the win, and the lead in the series, 1-0.

Coverage: Yellow Jacket fans can catch Steve Ammerman and Jim Kallas on the call on The Eagle, 95.9 and 96.3 FM. A free webcast can be found via Stretch Internet, the official video provider for RMAC Sports.

Temperature: The five-day forecast shows Saturday's temperature in St. George around game time to be 82 degrees and sunny. There is a zero percent chance of precipitation and a wind at seven mph.

General Notebook
Rank and file: After two weeks of play, the Green and Gold remain ranked in the top-five in the RMAC in several categories. The Yellow Jackets are fifth in scoring offense (30.0 ppg), third in total offense (487.0 ypg), second in rushing offense (229.0 ypg), and fourth in pass offense (258.0 ypg). They are also second in pass defense efficiency (105.4) and second in interceptions (three).

Take it away: After finishing the 2016 season with the second most interceptions in the nation, the Yellow Jackets are off to a fast start in that category in 2017. The Green and Gold defense had three interceptions against Adams State in week one. The nation's leader a year ago, Drew Hebel, snagged one INT, while Sam Garcia, and Dimitri Butts each pulled an interception down as well.

Next man up: After starting quarterback Ryan Hommel went down with an injury in last week's game, Ben Sjobakken stepped in to fill the role. He finished with 126 yards passing, including a 42-yard touchdown pass to Erick Hairston-Belcher.

Depth Charge: Last year's initial depth chart shows that experience has been growing with 18 juniors and nine seniors listed on the depth chart. This season, the depth chart shows 13 juniors and 14 seniors. Those players, who experienced the success of last year, will look for more this year. There are 10 sophomores and eight freshman, seven of which are redshirt freshman, on the depth chart.

Win First: The Yellow Jackets won their season-opener for the second consecutive year, when they beat Adams State, 47-41, in double overtime. BHSU defeated Adams State, 34-33, in Alamosa, Colorado, last year for their first season-opening win since the 2008 season when the Green and Gold, then an NAIA school, upset NCAA Division II Southwest Minnesota State 21-14 on September 6, 2008.

Captains: The Yellow Jacket captains, as chosen by their teammates, are Phydell Paris, Shandon Jones, JJ Kilgore, and Thayer Sauter. Paris earned the Captain nod for the third-straight year, while Kilgore is a Captain for the second-consecutive season.

Rushing King: Senior Phydell Paris owns every major rushing record at Black Hills State. He ranked second last year in the conference with 1,314 yards rushing and 13 touchdowns. He finished the season ranked number eight in the NCAA Division II level in rushing yards per game (131.4).

RMAC Honors: The 2016 season led to several Yellow Jackets being honored by the conference. Head coach John Reiners was named the Coach of the Year, while Drew Hebel was named the Defensive Player of the Year. Joining Hebel on the All-
RMAC First Team were Shandon Jones and Phydell Paris. Earning Second Team honors were offensive lineman Andrew Blaylock and defensive tackle Cody Benne. On the Honorable Mention team were Isaiah Birkel, Travis Groves, Ryan Hommel, and Thayer Sauter. All but Benne and Groves return to BHSU in 2017.