SPEARFISH, S.D. – In one of college football's oldest rivalries, the sustained success by the visitors continued its trend as Black Hills State fell at Lyle Hare Stadium by a score of 27-13 against South Dakota Mines. In what was the 140^th edition of the Black Hills Brawl, the Hardrockers held possession of the ball for 33:31 of game time, compared to just 26:29 for the Yellow Jackets, as SDM out-gained BHSU 382-159 in net yardage and won the turnover battle with multiple interceptions and fumble recoveries in a heavy rainfall on Saturday night.
 
QUICK DETAILS
Score: Black Hills State 13, South Dakota Mines 27
Team Records: Black Hills State 1-5 (1-3 RMAC), South Dakota Mines 2-4 (2-2 RMAC)
Attendance: 2,782
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• After picking up one first down on their opening series, a miscue on a punt by Black Hills State gave South Dakota Mines possession inside the red zone. The Yellow Jacket defense, however, would limit the Hardrockers to just a 26-yard field goal by Sam Eccles with 10:14 on the clock for the game's first points and a 3-0 lead.
• On each team's next two possessions in the first quarter, the defenses looked to set the tone for the game, as the Hardrocker's Lane Thomas came up with a pair of interceptions, while the Yellow Jackets posted a pair of three and outs.
• The Green & Gold snagged the lead in the closing minutes of the opening quarter as a 31-yard Bryce Coulson punt return gave the offense possession inside the red zone. A pair of rushes by Kade Weber to start the drive then moved BHSU down to the SDM 3-yard line, where Danny Davis received the snap in the wildcat formation and found TJ Salmen in the back of the end zone for a touchdown pass with 1:59 on the clock. A fumble on the extra point attempt left the score at 6-3 in favor of the Yellow Jackets after one quarter of play.
• South Dakota Mines would answer the ensuing drive, going eight plays and 75 yards for the lone score of the second quarter with 13:33 on the clock, as Dawson Dunbar rushed seven yards for the touchdown to help the Hardrocker run game come to life. Eccles extra point attempt was good to make it a 10-6 contest.
• The Yellow Jacket defense withstood another march down the field for the Hardrockers, as they picked up three first downs, however, a key stop by Terrence Curtis and Herschel Craig III forced a 32-yard field goal attempt by Eccles that missed with 1:57 remaining in the half.
• Big plays in both the ground game and passing attack by South Dakota Mines were key to the Hardrockers extending their lead by ten points in the third quarter. SDM saw a 36-yard rush by Dunbar on just the second play of the second half move the ball into Yellow Jacket territory, and then a few plays later Ty Harris found the end zone on a 16-yard rush. Eccles then made it a 17-6 game with 13:43 left in the third quarter following the PAT. Then late in the quarter the Hardrockers used a successful challenge on a 32-yard pass play from Gage Baker to Mason Galbreath to set up a 40-yard field goal by Eccles with 46 seconds to play in the frame to make it 20-6.
• Each team added a touchdown in the late stages of the fourth quarter, with South Dakota Mines scoring first on a 43-yard rushing touchdown by Harris with 5:35 remaining in the game, and then Eccles' PAT to make it 27-6 capped 24 unanswered points. Black Hills State then answered on the ensuing drive with Luke Duby completing five passes for 57 yards, concluding with a 21-yard pass to TJ Chukwurah for his tenth receiving touchdown of the season. Ryan Ewing's extra point cut the deficit to 27-13 with 3:18 remaining.
• While they were unable to recover the onside kickoff, the Yellow Jackets did momentarily get the ball back with just over two minutes to play, however, a fumble and a recovery by the Hardrockers would allow the visitors to run out the clock.

BLACK HILLS STATE STATISTICAL LEADERS
Kellen Collier: 12.0 total tackles, 1.0 tackle-for-loss
Jack Gentile: 10.0 total tackles
 
UP NEXT
After back-to-back weeks at home, Black Hills State hits the road next weekend as they visit No. 7/5 Western Colorado for a 1 p.m. kickoff in Gunnison, Colorado, on Saturday, October 11.
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