PUEBLO, Colo. – The Black Hills State University football team looked to be able to be the first RMAC opponent to knock off No. 14/13 CSU Pueblo this season, however the ThunderWolves made the big plays when they needed which resulted in a 24-21 win over the Yellow Jackets at the ThunderBowl on Saturday afternoon. Despite BHSU holding the advantage in plays ran (97-42), total offense (505-209), and time of possession (46:42-13:18), CSUP earned the win by making plays on special teams as they returned a pair of blocked field goals for touchdowns and made the 40-yard field goal of their own with just seven seconds remaining in the game.
 
QUICK DETAILS
Score: Black Hills State 21, No. 14/13 CSU Pueblo 24
Team Records: Black Hills State 3-4 (2-3 RMAC), No. 14/13 CSU Pueblo 7-1 (6-0 RMAC)
Attendance: 5,278
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• The opening possession of the contest saw a spark for the Black Hills State offense with a 15-yard rush by Kade Weber on an early 3^rd & 2, followed by a 24-yard completion from Weber to Damien Boozer to move the ball into CSU Pueblo territory. The Yellow Jackets would see the drive stall at the CSUP 22-yard line, resulting in a 40-yard field goal attempt by Ryan Ewing, which would be blocked by Cody Ramming and returned 75-yards for a ThunderWolves touchdown by Ben Wilson. CSUP made it a 7-0 game with 11:00 remaining in the opening quarter with the PAT by Jacob Willig.
• The Yellow Jacket defense forced a three and out on the first offensive possession for CSU Pueblo, setting up the BHSU offense at their own 37-yard line. Leading the offense down the field, Luke Duby completed a 12-yard pass to Boozer and a pair of 13-yard passes to Kelby Olson to set up a 4-yard rushing touchdown by Cameron Goods. Ewing evened the game at seven apiece with 2:24 left in the first quarter.
• Black Hills State looked to be on the verge of taking the lead once again in the early stages of the second quarter as they moved the ball down the field from their own 4-yard line, down to the CSUP 38-yard line to set up a 55-yard field goal attempt for Ewing. The ThunderWolves came up with their second big play of the game on special teams as Ramming got his hands on the ball once again for a blocked kick, and Eli Pittman returned it 55-yards for another touchdown. Willig added the PAT to make it 14-7 with 9:24 left in the second quarter.
• The special teams woes continued for the Yellow Jackets the ensuing possession as a punt by Derek Webster was blocked, resulting in CSU Pueblo taking possession at the BHSU 47-yard line. The Black Hills State defense, however, stood their ground and forced another three and out for the ThunderWolves. The stand started with a tackle-for-loss by Mylic Ritche and ended with Deunte Moody making the tackle to force the punt.
• The Black Hills State offense continued to find success moving the ball down the field as the first half wound down, but were once again unable to find the scoreboard as the ThunderWolves made the stop on 4^th & 3 from the CSUP 27-yard line with 15 seconds remaining in the half.
• Following another three and out stop by the BHSU defense, the offense went to work and cashed in on an 11-play drive that spanned 6:32 of game time and gained 78 yards, resulting in a 5-yard passing touchdown from Weber to Olson on a slant rout towards the middle of the end zone. Ewing tacked on the extra point to even the game at 14 apiece with 7:45 left in the third quarter.
• On the ensuing drive the CSUP found the end zone for their only offensive touchdown of the day. The drive started with a 41-yard rush by Howard Russell V to move the ball into BHSU territory, and he then capped the drive off a few plays later with an 18-yard rush up the middle for six. Willig added the extra point to make it 21-14 in favor of the ThunderWolves with 5:38 remaining in the third quarter.
• Black Hills State continued having no issues moving the ball on their next drive, gaining 39 yards to the CSUP 37-yard line before being forced to punt. However, the defense got back to work and made a stand on 3^rd & 1 to force the punt and keep the Yellow Jackets within striking distance. On their third consecutive drive of six or more minutes, the BHSU offense found themselves back in the end zone as Duby dropped the ball perfectly into the hands of Charlie Bump and over the heads of a pair of CSU Pueblo defenders for the 15-yard touchdown. Ewing's PAT evened the score of 21 apiece with 6:37 remaining on in the game.
• The Yellow Jacket defense continued making their presence known on the field as they forced the fifth three and out of the game for the ThunderWolves offense, giving the ball back to the BHSU offense near midfield at their own 47-yard line with 5:42 remaining on the clock. An 11-yard rush by Duby would pick up one first down for the Green & Gold, as well as moving the ball into CSUP territory, however that would be the only time they would be able to move the chains as the ThunderWolves made the stop on 4^th & 1 on the rush up the middle from the 33-yard line with 2:10 remaining in the fourth quarter.
• It was only their second drive of the contest to not end in a punt or end of the half, but CSU Pueblo was able to move the ball down the field when it mattered the most as they collected three first downs to set up the game-winning field goal by Willig from 40-yards out as just seven ticks of the clock remained.

BLACK HILLS STATE STATISTICAL LEADERS
Luke Duby: 29-of-43 passing, 244 passing yards, 1 passing touchdown
Kade Weber: 6-of-6 passing, 53 passing yards, 1 passing touchdown, 9 rushing attempts 79 rushing yards
Cameron Goods: 11 rushing attempts, 49 rushing yards, 1 rushing touchdown
Damien Boozer: 7 receptions, 79 receiving yards
Charlie Bump: 4 receptions, 38 receiving yards, 1 receiving touchdown
Kelby Olson: 4 receptions, 37 receiving yards, 1 receiving touchdown
Zecheriah Rodriguez-Brown: 5 tackles
Doodles Quinones: 5 tackles, 1 pass break-up
Nicc Quinones: 5 tackles, 0.5 tackles-for-loss, 1 pass break-up
 
UP NEXT
Black Hills State will return home next Saturday, October 26, when they welcome Chadron State to Lyle Hare Stadium for a 4 p.m. kick-off.
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