Black Hills State football downed the Adams State Grizzlies, 35-28 on Senior Day Saturday afternoon.

The Yellow Jackets (6-4, 5-3 RMAC) secured back-to-back winning seasons for the first time in the program's NCAA Division II era, and their first consecutive winning seasons since 2005-2010.

The offense was led by TJ Chukwurah who had a three-touchdown day, totaling 144 yards on seven catches.

Mitch McKibbin hauled in five catches for 92 yards and a touchdown, while Jamin Wurtz passed for a 33-yard touchdown.

Tanner Clarkson completed 14 of 22 passes for 217 yards and three touchdowns while Nolan Susel tallied 81 yards and a touchdown on 17 carries.

Defensively, Kellen Collier made a team-high 11 tackles to go along with 1.5 sacks on the day.

Zecheriah Rodriguez-Brown hauled in a late-game interception to go with a breakup and his six tackles. Cooper Brown made seven tackles, including a sack assist.

Aaron Thiele made nine tackles and Ngankoy Mambele recorded a breakup.

Wurtz returned five kickoffs for 101 yards, including a long return of 41 yards, and returned one punt for 15 yards, and Coleman Chapman was 5-of-5 on PATs.

The Yellow Jackets struck first on their opening drive, capping a 10-play, 56-yard drive with a direct snap to Susel who took it up the middle for five yards and a touchdown to give BHSU an early 7-0 lead.

ASU answered on their next drive to even the score at 7-7 midway through the first, but BHSU wasn't done, scoring once more in the first using a big 49-yard catch and run from McKibbin to put them back on top, 14-7.

Chukwurah hauled in an 11-yard pass for his first touchdown of the day in the second quarter, extending the lead to 21-7. ASU would score once more before halftime, though, giving the Yellow Jackets a 21-14 advantage after the first half.

Out of the locker room, the BHSU defense forced a 3-and-out before a flea-flicker out to Wurtz led to Chukwurah's second touchdown, deep downfield on the far side for 33 yards, making it 28-14 with 7:59 to go in the third.

ASU would get back to within one possession using a touchdown just ahead of the fourth quarter, making it 28-21 entering the game's final 15 minutes.

The Yellow Jackets started the fourth quarter with another touchdown drive, capped by Chukwurah's third and longest touchdown of the game, a 50-yard reception from Clarkson, to put BHSU up 35-21.

Adams State would score once more, but a late interception from Rodriguez-Brown would ice the game and all but seal the BHSU 35-28 win.

Up Next
The Yellow Jackets look ahead to their final game of the season on Saturday, Nov. 11 taking on CSU Pueblo in Pueblo, Colo. at 1 p.m.