SPEARFISH, S.D. – The Black Hills State University football team fell to No. 9/9 CSU Pueblo on Saturday at Lyle Hare Stadium by a score of 40-14 in what was their second straight game against a top-10 ranked opponent in the RMAC. The ThunderWolves jumped out to an early 17-0 lead after the first quarter and controlled the game offensively, averaging 6.7 yards per play and gaining 498 yards of total offense. The Yellow Jackets found the end zone twice on the day, both occasions a Danny Davis rushing touchdown that capped drives of 10+ plays, 75+ yards and each more than four minutes in length.
 
QUICK DETAILS
Score: Black Hills State 14, No. 9/9 CSU Pueblo 40
Team Records: Black Hills State 1-7 (1-5 RMAC), No. 9/9 CSU Pueblo 7-1 (6-0 RMAC)
Attendance: 2,103
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• Despite the Black Hills State defense holding the CSU Pueblo offense to just a field goal on their opening possession, a 37-yard kick by Jackson Smith with 11:11 on the clock, the ThunderWolves would open up a 17-0 advantage in the first quarter. Their second possession the CSUP offense found the end zone for the first time in the day on 15-yard passing touchdown from Roman Fuller to Marcellus Honeycutt Jr. on the right side of the field with 3:34 to play. The ensuing possession the nation's top turnover forcing defense recorded their lone takeaway of the day, as Bryson Torrie picked off a pass deflected by Gary Seidenberger and returned it 49 yards for a touchdown with 35 seconds to play in the first quarter to make it 17-0.
• The Yellow Jacket offense strung together a 10-play, 82-yard scoring drive that took up 4:26 of game time to begin the second quarter. Facing a 3^rd & 11 on their own 17-yard line, a 19-yard pass to Gavin Porch down the middle from Dylan Eldredge kept the drive alive early. Eldredge also completed passes of 10-yards to Thomas Mabe and 16-yards to Carter Ochoa to move the chains, plus received an extra 13 yards on a CSUP penalty to move the ball into the red zone. The drive was capped by a 10-yard rush up the middle by Danny Davis with 11:01 left in the second quarter. Ryan Ewing tacked on the extra point to cut the deficit to 17-7.
• Following the touchdown, the Black Hills State defense held strong as CSU Pueblo moved the ball into plus territory, forcing a turnover on downs as the ThunderWolves were unable to complete a pass to Reggie Retzlaff on back-to-back plays. With the momentum and a 35-yard pass across the middle to Porch to move the ball across midfield, the Yellow Jackets were unable to take advantage and cut the deficit to single digits as they were forced to punt the ball with 5:09 left in the first half.
• CSUP added ten late points before the halftime break, first finding the end zone on a 15-yard pass from Fuller to Dedrek Taylor-Akins as he found space on the left sideline with 1:57 to play in the second quarter. They were then able to get a stop on defense with just over a minute to play and then converted on a 31-yard field goal by Smith with just eight ticks of the clock left in the frame to make it 27-7 at the break.
• The teams traded touchdowns in the third quarter as the ThunderWolves took advantage of starting field position in plus territory with an 11-yard rush by Kiahn Martinez to start the drive, then a 36-yard pass from Fuller to Seth Bozzi to get 1^st & Goal. They capped the drive with a 3-yard pass from Fuller to Taylor-Akins in the back of the end zone with 11:04 on the clock to make it 34-7. The Yellow Jackets answered with their second long scoring drive of the game, an 11-play, 75-yard drive that spanned 6:28 of game time. A consistent rushing attack that saw Cameron Goods tally 21 yards and aided by five CSUP penalties, the possession was capped by Davis's second touchdown of the day as he ran up the middle for three yards to the goal line in the wildcat. Ewing's extra point cut the score to 34-14 with 4:36 left in the third period.
• The scoring came to a close in the contest with field goals by CSU Pueblo late in the third and early in the fourth quarter. With just 11 seconds to play in the third quarter, Smith split the uprights on a 43-yard field goal, following a 5-yard tackle for loss by Luke Clay on the quarterback keeper on 3^rd & short. Then after forcing another BHSU punt, a 10-play, 59-yard drive resulted in a 38-yard field goal by Smith with 9:00 left in the game.
• The Yellow Jacket defense made their second fourth down stop of the game with 2:36 remaining in the game as Terrence Curtis and Kellen Collier stopped Russell Patton 2-yards short of the line to gain at the BHSU 20-yard line after CSUP had picked up a pair of first downs on the drive.

BLACK HILLS STATE STATISTICAL LEADERS
Dylan Eldredge: 11-of-20 passing, 121 passing yards
Cameron Goods: 17 rushes, 67 rushing yards
Danny Davis: 10 rushes, 23 rushing yards, 2 rushing touchdowns
Gavin Porch: 3 receptions, 62 receiving yards
Jamil Kassab: 8 total tackles
Terrence Curtis: 8 total tackles
 
UP NEXT
Black Hills State will have a bye week next Saturday, and will next be in action on Saturday, November 1, against Colorado Mesa in a 1 p.m. kickoff at Lyle Hare Stadium.
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