SPEARFISH, S.D. – The Black Hills State University football team saw their streak of four consecutive home opener wins come to an end on a night celebrating 75 seasons at Lyle Hare Stadium, falling 27-21 to the University of Sioux Falls. The Cougars were able to jump out to a quick 13-0 advantage in the first quarter and were able to escape with a non-conference win as they held off the duo of Luke Duby and TJ Chukwurah that connected to match each of their career-highs of three passing and receiving touchdowns to outscore USF 21-14 in the second and third quarters.
 
QUICK DETAILS
Score: Black Hills State 21, Sioux Falls 27
Team Records: Black Hills State 0-1 (0-0 RMAC), Sioux Falls 1-0 (0-0 NSIC)
Attendance: 5,784
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• While Black Hills State was able to get across midfield on their opening possession with an acrobatic catch on a 35-yard pass to Bryce Coulson and a 10-yard pass play to Manny Harris, the Yellow Jackets would ultimately punt on each of their first two possessions. On the flip side, Sioux Falls would take advantage of their defense and jump out to a two possession lead as the offense scored on their first two possessions. The Cougars first possession of the game was capped with a 34-yard touchdown rush up the middle by quarterback Camden Dean with 7:57 to play in the first, and then Dean found Isaiah Emanuel on a 38-yard pass across the middle with 3:08 to play in the first following their second possession. The quarter would come to a close with USF in front 13-0 as Alex Akim's second PAT attempt missed wide right.
• The Green & Gold would put their first points of the season on the board with a touchdown on the first play of the second quarter when Luke Duby found TJ Chukwurah on a 10-yard pass, capping a 6-play, 65-yard drive with 14:56 to play in the half. Aiding the drive, Duby connected with Chukwurah on a 34-yard passing play that gave BHSU first and goal.
• The teams then exchanged punts on their ensuing drive, before than trading touchdowns once more in the half. USF chewed up 4:55 of the clock on their second 10-play drive of the half, utilizing two big plays to push the ball inside the 5-yard line. First it was a 43-yard pass play from Dean to Christian Janis down the right side of the field to get inside the red zone, and then a few plays later Dean completed a pass to Hank Brown Jr. for 18 yards to the 4-yard line. The Jacket defense would make three big stops, including stuffing The Coo at the 1-yard line with Kellen Collier meeting Christian Nash at the line of scrimmage, but the ensuing play Bubba Tann III found the end zone despite a big hit on a 1-yard rush on fourth and goal to make it 20-7 after the extra point with 5:56 to play. The next drive BHSU took advantage of three plays of 14 or more yards, plus a 15-yard penalty, to cut the deficit back to one possession. The drive came to close as Duby connected with Chukwurah for their second touchdowns of the night, this time a 14-yard strike just inside the right pylon, and Ryan Ewing added the extra point to make it 20-14 with 4:06 to play in the half.
• The Sioux Falls offense looked to be clicking again in the closing minutes before halftime as they rattled off three plays of ten or more yards, however, a 10-yard sack by Isaiah Morales stalled all momentum and forced a punt with just seven ticks of the clock left before the teams entered the locker rooms.
• Both teams would come out of the locker room and once again trade touchdowns on their opening possessions, however, it would be the last for each. Another long methodical drive would lead to Dean's second rushing touchdown of the night, as he would accumulate 37 yards on the ground. He capped the 12-play drive with a 3-yard rush through the right side of the line to make it 27-14 with 10:06 to play in the third quarter. The Black Hills State rushing attack showed sparks the ensuing drive with a 22-yard rush by both Cameron Goods and Danny Davis, leading to the third passing touchdown of the night from Duby to Chukwurah on a 17-yard play to make it 27-21 with 5:26 on the third quarter clock.
• The defenses would then steal the show the remainder of the game, with the Yellow Jackets forcing a punt, turnover on downs, and a missed field goal, however the offense was unable to take advantage as they would see drives end in an interception, punt, and turnover on downs. Midway through the fourth quarter, BHSU's offense saw their longest drive of the day with a 13-play series that stalled inside the USF 10-yard line. They saw a first and goal opportunity at the 7-yard line get backed up due to a penalty and ultimately end with a turnover on downs as they looked to go for the win and the touchdown. After taking over the ball deep in their own territory, The Coo would utilize the mobility of Dean to move the chains four times and run out the final 5:43 of the contest.

BLACK HILLS STATE STATISTICAL LEADERS
Luke Duby: 25-of-37 passing, 242 passing yards, 3 passing touchdowns
TJ Chukwurah: 10 receptions, 109 receiving yards, 10.9 yards per reception, 3 receiving touchdowns
Manny Harris: 6 receptions, 84 receiving yards, 14.0 yards per reception
Rune Tepolt: 9 tackles, 2 quarterback hurries
Isaiah Morales: 3 tackles, 2 sacks, 2 tackles-for-loss

HIGHLIGHTS

 
UP NEXT
Black Hills State begins a 3-game road swing next week by facing the first of five teams on their schedule ranked or receiving votes in the preseason, traveling to No. 3/6 Grand Valley State. It will be the first-ever meeting between the Yellow Jackets and Lakers as they are set for a 5 p.m. MT / 7 p.m. ET kick off at Lubbers Stadium in Allendale, Michigan, on Saturday, September 6. GVSU also is set for a week 0 match-up this week, playing host to Lincoln (Pennsylvania) on Saturday.
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