SPEARFISH, S.D. – The Black Hills State University football team fell in an offensive shootout with Colorado Mesa on Saturday afternoon, dropping a 45-38 contest at Lyle Hare Stadium. The Yellow Jackets racked up a season-high 449 yards of total offense, reaching both the 100-yard rushing and 300-yard passing marks for just the second time this year. Despite scoring on six of their ten drives, the Green & Gold were unable to slow the Mavericks offense as they accumulated a season-high of 516 yards of total offense and scored on seven of their 11 possessions in the contest. Highlighting the offensive explosion for BHSU was once again TJ Chukwurah with his fifth 100-yard receiving game of the year and fourth multi-touchdown performance, while Luke Duby eclipsed the 300-yard mark passing for the third time this season while tossing three touchdowns and no interceptions.
 
QUICK DETAILS
Score: Black Hills State 38, Colorado Mesa 45
Team Records: Black Hills State 1-8 (1-6 RMAC), Colorado Mesa 5-4 (4-3 RMAC)
Attendance: 1,219
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• Following a punt on the opening drive for Black Hills State, the teams went on to score touchdowns in each of the next four drives. The scoring began in the back-and-forth contest as Colorado Mesa quarterback Cole Hansen used his legs to pick up 46 yards on the ground, first taking the ball 33-yards into the red zone and then a few plays later finding the end zone on a 13-yard keeper up the middle with 7:21 to play in the first quarter to make it a 7-0 game. The Yellow Jackets answered the ensuing drive with their own ground attack, first with a 43-yard rush by Cameron Goods to get the ball into the red zone, and he also found the end zone with 3:40 to play in the opening quarter as he ran the ball five yards up the middle to even the score at seven apiece.
• The aerial attack began to take shape in each team's next drive, starting with the Mavericks completing a 45-yard pass from Hansen to Bryson Brown on the first play of the second possession, and finishing a 3-play, 75-yard drive in just under a minute and a half with a 16-yard rush by Brandon Belgrave to make it 14-7 with 2:15 left on the clock in the first quarter. The Yellow Jackets once again answered with a 75-yard drive of their own, taking advantage of a pair of CMU 15-yard penalties, and marching into the end zone as Kade Weber kept the ball on a 4-yard scramble into the end zone to tie the game at 14 with 13:40 to play in the second quarter.
• The defense for both teams then made stops on the next two drives, but the offenses would find the end zones one final time in the first half. Colorado Mesa only needed five plays to go 77 yards, as a 33-yard pass from Hansen to Noah Greer on third down put the Mavericks up 21-14 with 4:29 to play in the half. The BHSU response began with a 12-yard rush up the middle by Goods, as he recorded the first of four plays of ten or more yards on the drive. As the clocked ticked down under two minutes, the focus shifted to getting the ball in the hands of TJ Chukwurah, as Luke Duby found him for receptions of 11 yards, 18 yards, and 10 yards to cap the possession with a pass to the back left corner of the end zone to tie the game at 21 with 1:12 remaining before the break.
• The Mavericks moved the ball to the BHSU 35-yard line with two seconds to play in the second quarter, however, a 52-yard field goal attempt by Sullivan Moon missed wide to the right and the teams enter the locker room tied at 21.
• Colorado Mesa snagged the momentum right out of the gates in third quarter, as Brandon Belgrave took the first play from scrimmage 75-yards down the right sideline to give CMU a 28-21 advantage with 14:48 to play. Once again, Black Hills State had a response, as the RMAC's leading return man gave the Yellow Jackets starting field position at the CMU 43-yard line after taking the ball from the end zone. The Duby to Chukwurah connection then continued to work as the pair completed passes of eight yards, 15 yards, and eventually 22 yards for a touchdown pass down the middle of the field to again tie the game at 28 apiece with 11:36 to play in the third quarter. A third consecutive scoring drive following halftime came as the Mavericks strung together a 7-play, 75-yard possession in just under four minutes, ending with a 36-yard pass down the middle of the field from Hansen to Colton Mills-Younger to put CMU up 35-28 with 7:40 showing on the third quarter clock.
• After the three straight scoring drives out of the break, the Yellow Jackets were unable to answer, as they were unable to capitalize on a 41-yard reception for Chukwurah from Duby to move the ball into the red zone, missing a 30-yard field goal by Ryan Ewing. On flip side, CMU was then unable to extend their lead as the Black Hills State defense forced the only three and out by either team of the day to get the ball back via a punt.
• The Yellow Jacket offense then got back to work after getting the ball back on the three and out, taking only four plays to drive 72-yards and find the end zone. Following three consecutive rush plays, including a 14-yard gain by Danny Davis to move the chains, the Green & Gold took one final snap in the quarter as the clock hit zero and Duby found Kelby Olson for a 49-yard reception down the middle of the field for a touchdown to even the game at 35 entering the fourth quarter.
• The longest drive of the day in terms of plays and time of possession began the fourth quarter as Colorado Mesa drove the ball 10-plays, 62-yards, in 5:41 of game time, however, was only able to field goal as Moon split the uprights on a 33-yard attempt to give the Mavericks a 38-35 edge with 9:14 to play in the game.
• With the back-and-forth nature of the game, BHSU looked to have their opportunity to take the lead for the first time, but they were unable to keep the drive moving after an initial first down and turned the ball over on downs at their own 42 yard line with 6:27 left in the match-up. CMU took advantage of the stop by their defense as they gained their largest lead of the day at 45-35 with Noah Greer punching the ball into the end zone on a seven yard touchdown run with 3:54 to play.
• With time running down, the Green & Gold were able to chip the deficit down to a single possession as they methodically moved the ball down the field with three first downs to get the ball down to the CMU 32-yard line. Ewing then matched a season-long field goal of 49-yards, watching the ball bounce through the uprights off the crossbar to make it 45-38 with 1:24 remaining.
• The Yellow Jackets were then unable to secure the onside kick attempt, and with one first down the Mavericks were able to kneel out the clock for their first win in Spearfish since 2020.

BLACK HILLS STATE STATISTICAL LEADERS
Luke Duby: 27-of-39 passing, 313 passing yards, 3 passing touchdowns
Cameron Goods: 11 rushes, 83 rushing yards, 1 rushing touchdown, 7.5 yards per carry
TJ Chukwurah: 10 receptions, 142 receiving yards, 2 receiving touchdowns
Jack Gentile: 11.0 total tackles
Sebastian O'Farrell: 6.0 total tackles, 0.5 tackles for loss
Bryce Coulson: 3 kickoff returns, 84 yards, 28.0 yards per return, long return of 43 yards, 2.0 total tackles
 
UP NEXT
Black Hills State will play their final road game of the season on Saturday, November 8, as they visit Adams State for a 12 p.m. kickoff at Rex Stadium in Alamosa, Colorado.
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