ST. PAUL, Minn. –  On a day in which the offenses were limited in their production, the defenses made their presence known throughout the afternoon, but it was St. Thomas who made just enough plays to defeat Black Hills State by a score of 24-14 on Saturday at O'Shaughnessy Stadium. Despite the outcome, the Yellow Jackets were stout in their pass protection as they held the Tommies to some of their lowest marks in their NCAA Division I history, dating back to 2021. BHSU held UST to their lowest pass completion percentage (29.6%), they tied for the second fewest completions (8) and held the Tommies to their third lowest passing yardage output.
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QUICK DETAILS
core: Black Hills State 14, St. Thomas 24
Team Records: Black Hills State 1-1, St. Thomas 1-2
Attendance: 2,784
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HOW IT HAPPENED
- After a Black Hills State punt on their first drive of the game, St. Thomas received good starting field position on the BHSU 41-yard line for their first possession of the contest. The Tommies picked up one first down on the drive and were forced to settle for a 45-yard field goal by Stephen Shagen with 11:20 left in the first quarter after Cole Marquez tackled Hope Adebayo behind the line of scrimmage on 3rd and 5.
- The remainder of the first quarter featured a combined three punts, one turnover, and one turnover on downs between the two teams.
- Black Hills State struck with the first touchdown of the game with 11:08 remaining in the second quarter as Luke Duby found Cameron Goods with nothing but open field down the left sideline on a screen pass, resulting in a 63-yard touchdown. Coleman Chapman added the extra point to make it a 7-3 game.
- It didn't take long for UST to respond with a touchdown of their own as they used a pair of chunk plays, a 39-yard pass and a 34-yard rush, to set up a 1-yard rushing touchdown by Micahel Rostberg. Shagen's PAT made it 10-7 Tommies with 8:20 left in the first half.
- A pass break-up by Nicc Quinones on a UST 3rd and 15 from midfield halted a more than five-minute Tommie drive, and the punt pinned the Yellow Jackets inside their own 20-yard line. On the first play of the ensuing Black Hills State drive, Duby took a hit from behind by a St. Thomas pass rush, causing a fumble that was recovered by UST on the 1-yard line. St. Thomas extended their lead with a 1-yard rushing touchdown by Rostberg on the very next play and the extra point made it 17-7 Tommies with 1:45 left till halftime.
- With a short amount of time left in the first half, BHSU quickly moved the ball into UST territory and was able to cut into the deficit with just eight seconds remaining on the clock as Duby found TJ Chukwurah on a fade route to the left side of the end zone where he fought off a defender and made a toe-touch grab. Chapman added the extra point to make it 17-14 in favor of the Tommies.
- Similar to the first quarter the teams were locked in a defensive battle in the third quarter, which saw BHSU outgain UST by just a 42-23 margin as the punters came on to punt the ball away another five combined times.
- St. Thomas proceeded to go into clock management mode in the fourth quarter as they chewed away the remaining time by holding onto possession for a total of 11:40 during the final period. Additionally, they iced the game away with a more than four and a half minute scoring drive that saw a 23-yard rushing touchdown by Rostberg push the lead to two possessions with 47 seconds remaining on the clock as the extra point was once again good to make it a 24-14 game.Â
BLACK HILLS STATE STATISTICAL LEADERS
Luke Duby: 17-36, 160 passing yards, 2 passing touchdowns
Cameron Goods: 12 rushing attempts, 50 rushing yards, 2 receptions, 65 receiving yards, 1 receiving touchdown
TJ Chuckwurah: 5 receptions, 39 receiving yards, 1 receiving touchdown
Mylic Ritche: 9 tackles, 2.0 tackles-for-loss, 1 pass break-up
Nicc Quinones: 7 tackles, 1 pass break-up
Cooper Brown: 6 tackles, 1.5 tackles-for-loss, 1.5 sacks, 1 forced fumble, 1 pass break-up, 2 quarterback hurries
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UP NEXT
Black Hills State will return home on Saturday, September 21, for Swarm Days and the Beef Bowl as they host Fort Lewis. The Yellow Jackets and Skyhawks are slated for a 2 p.m. kick-off at Lyle Hare Stadium.
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