Black Hills State football did something Saturday afternoon they haven't done in 52 years – push their record to 4-0 to start the season.

The Yellow Jackets (4-0, 2-0 RMAC) made a statement on homecoming, scoring a touchdown in the final minute of play to knock off Colorado Mesa, 31-28 in front of a crowd of 2,763 at Lyle Hare Stadium.

Chance Eben started under center and had one of the best performances of his career, completing 23 of 28 passes for 296 yards and two touchdowns. He also rushed nine times for 27 yards.

Nolan Susel scored touchdowns number six and seven on the season, rushing 21 times for 78 yards.

Four different receivers had three or more catches, led by Hasaan Williams who had seven receptions for 68 yards and the game-winning touchdown.

TJ Chukwurah totaled 105 yards on three catches, including a huge 92-yard touchdown reception.

Mitch McKibbin hauled in five catches for 67 yards and Susel had three catches for 21 yards.

Kicker Coleman Chapman was a perfect 4-of-4 on point-after tries, and nailed a go-ahead 52-yard field goal in the fourth quarter, which ties for the second-longest field goal in BHSU history.

The game was a defensive battle early on as BHSU forced a 3-and-out on CMU's first drive, and then had three straight pass breakups on the team's next defensive drive, coming from Lovenski Simon, Cooper Brown and Klaus Souffrant.

After the first quarter ended in a scoreless tie, CMU put up two quick touchdowns to take a 14-0 lead with 6:20 left in the second quarter.

But on the very first play of BHSU's ensuing drive, Chukwurah hauled in an Eben pass down the far sideline for 92 yards, cutting the deficit in half, 14-7 with 6:02 left in 2nd.

The Yellow Jackets continued to work their way back, capitalizing on a Souffrant interception to take over at their own 45 before eventually evening the game at 14-all on a Susel 1-yard touchdown rush with 3:29 remaining in the opening half.

CMU would find the endzone once more before the break, though, and went into the locker room with a 21-14 advantage.

The defensive battle continued out of the half as neither team was able to add on until BHSU's second to last drive of the third quarter. The Yellow Jackets ran 12 plays for 61 yards on that drive, highlighted by a big 26-yard catch by McKibbin at the one-yard line on the near sideline.

McKibbin's catch set up for Susel's second 1-yard score of the afternoon to even the score once again, this time 21-21 with 4:48 left in the third.

CMU started driving in the fourth quarter, eventually getting within striking distance of the endzone. But when the Mavericks made their strike, Simon was there in the endzone to haul in his first interception of the season and get the Yellow Jacket offense back onto the field with 11:30 left to play.

BHSU took advantage and used a 13-play drive to take the clock down to 5:11 before Chapman hit a booming 52-yard field goal to give the Yellow Jackets their first lead of the game, 24-21.

As time continued to tick down, CMU would score a late touchdown and move back ahead, 28-24 with only 2:23 remaining in the game.

The Yellow Jackets didn't waver, though, getting the ball back and charging right down the field. Scattered runs from Eben and Susel got BHSU to midfield with 1:06 to go.

Facing fourth and three, a clutch completion from Eben to Williams across the middle of the field made for a 27-yard gain and a first down.

From there the BHSU offense went no huddle, hurried to the line, and ran nearly the same play as Eben dropped a perfectly placed pass over two defenders heads and into Williams' hands in the endzone for the go-ahead 24-yard touchdown.

The Mavericks would find themselves on offense with 43 seconds left in the game, but they fizzled out as time expired and BHSU sealed the 31-28 victory.

Up Next
The Yellow Jackets take on the rival South Dakota Mines Hardrockers in Rapid City, S.D. next weekend for the 137th Black Hills Brawl on Saturday, Oct. 1 at 6 p.m.