DURANGO, Colo. – Black Hills State football moved past Fort Lewis, 34-20, Saturday afternoon.

The Yellow Jackets (5-4, 4-3 RMAC) totaled 524 yards of offense in the game, including a season-high 344 rushing yards while holding FLC to just 98 yards on the ground.

Nolan Susel led the team with three touchdowns, all rushing, while totaling 173 yards on 15 rushes.

Cameron Goods rushed 10 times for 87 yards, and Emiliano Mejia scored the first touchdown of his career while tallying 30 yards on nine tries.

TJ Chukwurah had two big-play catches, finishing with 107 yards on his two receptions, while Hasaan Williams made two grabs for 23 yards and Jamin Wurtz hauled in one catch for 30 yards.

On special teams, Lovenski Simon continued to be a return threat with two kickoff returns for 94 yards, including a long return of 65 yards.

Ryder Blair led the defense with eight total tackles, and Nicc Quinones had a team-high two breakups to go along with his four tackles.

Aaron Thiele had four tackles as well, all solos including a tackle for loss, while Doodles Quinones and Raymond Iglesias each recorded a breakup.

Fort Lewis got on the board first with a field goal to take an early 3-0 lead. The Yellow Jackets wouldn't trail for long, though, as Susel took a 43-yard rush to the house on the team's next drive to put BHSU on top 7-3 midway through the first quarter.

After the Skyhawks scored again to make it 10-7, Simon took the ensuing kickoff 65-yards to give BHSU excellent field position before Susel punched it in with a 7-yard rush and put the Yellow Jackets ahead 14-10.

BHSU would score once more before halftime on a 12-yard pass from Clarkson to Williams, extending the Yellow Jacket lead to 20-10 at the break.

FLC added three on a field goal with 5:31 left in the third quarter, cutting the BHSU lead to 20-13. But the Yellow Jackets tacked on six more at the end of the quarter as Susel broke away for another big touchdown rush, this one for 49 yards, to make it a 26-13 game entering the final quarter of play.

As the game moved into the fourth quarter, the Yellow Jackets added on with a long 17-play, 88-yard drive that ended with a 1-yard touchdown run up the middle from Mejia. That made it 34-13 with 8:20 remaining in the game after a successful 2-point attempt that saw Jake Blair find Mitch McKibbin in the endzone.

The Skyhawks put one more score on the board late in the fourth, but it wouldn't be enough as BHSU ran down the clock from there to win 34-20.

Up Next
The Yellow Jackets return home for their final home game of the 2023 regular season to host Adams State on Saturday, Nov. 4 at 1 p.m.

Then take your football tickets and head into the Young Center to receive FREE entry to our volleyball match at 6 p.m. that evening against Colorado Christian as we aim to break our attendance record of 1,117.