BLACK HILLS STATE  vs.  New Mexico Highlands   SATURDAY, OCT. 23 // 1 P.M. // SPEARFISH, S.D. // LYLE HARE STADIUM Live Stream / Live Stats / Radio / Game Notes / Tickets / Gameday Central

Black Hills State football is back home the next two weekends, starting this Saturday, Oct. 23 against New Mexico Highlands at 1 p.m.

The Yellow Jackets (4-3, 2-3 RMAC) look to get back in the win column against the eighth-place Cowboys (2-4, 2-5 RMAC).

Last Time Out
Black Hills State football fell to No. 24 Western Colorado last Saturday, 44-28.

The Yellow Jackets totaled 392 yards of total offense, including 352 in the air behind impressive performances from the team's second- and third-string quarterbacks.

Aidan Willard ended up getting the start at QB for BHSU, completing 12 of 19 passes for 180 yards and two touchdowns. Tyler Hammons also had an impressive game under center, finishing 5-for-10 passing for 172 yards and two touchdowns.

Hasaan Williams led the receiving core with four catches for 88 yards and a touchdown.

Toby Jacobs, Kade Zimmerman and Connor Boyd – all freshman – each added touchdown receptions as well.

New Mexico Highlands
The Cowboys are currently 2-5 overall, and 2-4 in the RMAC this season. NMHU began the season with a 44-7 vectory over Fort Lewis, and is now coming off its second win of the season with a 28-21 win over CSU Pueblo.

Series History
The Yellow Jackets are 5-3 all time against NMHU , having played eight times since their first meeting on Oct. 27, 2012. The two teams last played in 2019, in which BHSU fell 17-13, but had won five of the last six games against them prior.

Weather Forecast
According to the 10-day weather forecast, the weather on Saturday, October 23 in Spearfish, S.D. projects cloudy skies with a high of 57 degrees and a low of 39.

Coverage
Yellow Jacket fans can catch Steve Ammerman on The Eagle Country at 95.9/96.3 FM or live online at MyEagleCountry.com. Ammerman is the voice of the Yellow Jacket Athletics and can be heard for every football and women's/men's basketball game throughout the year.

Homecoming Comeback
BHSU trailed Adams State 24-3 at halftime of their Sept. 25 matchup before winning 51-48 in double overtime. Overcoming the 21-point deficit is the team's largest comeback since a 28-point comeback on Sept. 2, 2017 - also against Adams State. That season, BHSU had three wins in which they came back from down at least 18 points.

Largest Comebacks Since 2012 (Division II Era):
Down 28 points - Sept. 2, 2017 vs. Adams State (W, 47-41 2OT)
Down 21 points - Sept. 25, 2021 vs. Adams State (W, 51-48 2OT)
Down 18 points - Sept. 23, 2017 vs. South Dakota Mines (W, 25-24)
Down 18 points - Sept. 30, 2017 @ N.M. Highlands (W, 50-40)

Off to a Good Start
With their four wins to open the 2021 season, the Yellow Jackets are off to a 4-2 record, their best start since the 2016 season when they started 5-1 and finished 7-4 overall.

First for Breske
Since being hired on as head coach in 2019, Josh Breske had only 2 games under his belt entering the 2021 season. After a wait of nearly two years, Breske earned the first win of his head coaching career on Sept. 2 in a 30-24 victory over Dickinson State.

Breakout Year for Collier
RB Matthew Collier entered this year with only 22 total yards in his collegiate career, all accumulated in 2019. Now in his junior season, he's already scored six touchdowns while accumulating 661 rushing yards. He's run for over 100 yards, four times this season, totaling 174 against Adams State (9/25),  125 against Dickinson State (9/2), 103 at Fort Lewis (10/2), and 125 against Colorado Mines (10/9).

Captains
The Green and Gold Captains for the 2021 season are Jacob Parks, Kielar Harphame, Keyshawn Farmer, Cody Hooker, Clayton Koch, Lathan Stevens, Jarrell Ganaway, Joseph Moraga and Jordan Pace.

Key Returners
Some with the help of the covid year, key returning seniors include WR Kielar Harpham, DL Jarrell Ganaway, OL Joseph Moraga, LB Cody Hooker and K Jacob Parks who holds the school record for longest field goal (53 yards).

Key returning juniors include S Bailey Rosenstrauch, DB Brady Morris, OL Sam Ambrogio and WR Jordan Pace.

Quarterback Chance Eben leads the returning sophomore class along with WR Hasaan Williams and WR Mitch McKibbon, OL Troy Mittelstedter, DL Morgan Tigner and DL Nikolas Arnold.