SPEARFISH, S.D. – The Black Hills State University football team led Chadron State College, 17-0, at halftime, but the Eagles earned a 48-31 rivalry victory in the first game of the 2019 season.

The Yellow Jackets (0-1) started with the ball, and Andrew Tovar, in his first game as a member of the Green and Gold, helped march the ball down the field. After getting stalled in Eagle (1-0) territory, Sean Dorney, also seeing his first action in a Yellow Jacket uniform, knocked through a 36-yard field goal to give the home team a 3-0 lead.

After holding CSC to just eight total yards in their first two possessions, BHSU got the ball back with good field position. A 20-yard pass from Tovar to Kielar Harpham highlighted a drive that put the Yellow Jackets at the one-yard line as the horn sounded on the first quarter. On the first play in the second, Payten Gilmore crashed across the goal line to score his first touchdown of the year and put BHSU up, 10-0.

The Yellow Jacket defense held the Eagles in their own territory the next two drives, and the offense then did its part, scoring again with 3:31 left in the first half. The 65-yard drive was capped off by a 19-yard touchdown pass from Tovar to Harpham, giving BHSU a 17-0 lead which they would hold going into halftime.

The Eagles got the ball first in the second half, and immediately went to work, scoring a touchdown on a 75-yard drive when Elijah Myles rushed it in from 18 yards out. But the Yellow Jackets responded with a score of their own on the ensuing drive. A balance of running and passing plays brought BHSU down to the Eagle five-yard line. At second-and-goal Tovar found the tight end, Jarett Jenson, in the endzone to put the Green and Gold back up 17 points.

However, the Eagles would go on to score in each of their next six drives, taking a 48-24 lead. The Yellow Jackets got the ball with 2:54 to play and helped by 41 yards of rushing by Nolan Susel, including a 13-yard touchdown run, the Green and Gold got one score back to make it 48-31, which would be the final.

Tovar threw for 264 yards and two touchdowns in his first start. Harpham finished with 147 yards receiving, while Gilmore had 87 yards rushing and 28 yards receiving, and Andre Renteria had 59 yards rushing in his first game at BHSU. Josh Gurnaby led the Yellow Jackets with 17 tackles, while Sam Garcia had 10. Devyn Vance recorded a sack for the Green and Gold.

For the Eagles, Dalton Holst threw for 327 yards and four touchdowns, while Elijah Myles rushed for 138 yards and three scores. Tevon Wright caught two touchdown passes. Travis Wilson led the visitor with 16 tackles, while Tyree Fryar had 13. Tyler Lewis, DeAndre Barthwell, and Demetrius McFadden each had an interception.

The Yellow Jackets will look to bounce back on the road at Colorado School of Mines September 14. The game in Golden, Colorado, is scheduled to kickoff at Noon.

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Black Hills State is located in the Northern Black Hills of South Dakota, sponsoring 13 NCAA sports with membership in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, the NCAA emerging sport of women's triathlon and NIRA rodeo. For all information regarding Yellow Jacket Athletics, please visit BHSUAthletics.com or follow us on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram @BHSUAthletics.

---BHSUAthletics.com---