CHADRON, Neb. – The Black Hills State University football team dropped their RMAC opener on Saturday night, falling on the road at Chadron State 31-28 at Don Beebe Stadium. The Yellow Jackets were able to claw within one possession in the fourth quarter of the inaugural Battle for the Buckle; however, the 21-point halftime deficit was too much to overcome despite out-scoring the Eagles 21-3 in the second half and out-gaining CSC 380-294 in the match-up.
 
QUICK DETAILS
Score: Black Hills State 28, Chadron State 31
Team Records: Black Hills State 0-3 (0-1 RMAC), Chadron State 1-2 (1-0 RMAC)
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• Chadron State utilized a pair of lengthy scoring drives of 82-yards and 98-yards to build a 14-0 lead in the first quarter. On their opening drive the Eagles utilized a 29-yard pass play from DJ Ralph to Garet Schlabs to eventually set up a 3-yard touchdown pass from Ralph to Tommy Thomas with 12:06 on the clock. Then after Black Hills State was forced to punt after a pair of first downs, Mason Crosby pinned Eagles at their own 2-yard line with a 54-yard punt. Chadron State got themselves out of their own end zone with a 56-yard rush by Quincey Ryker and then they capped the drive with a 9-yard rush by Ralph with 3:52 left on the clock.
• Then following punts on each team's ensuing drives, the Yellow Jackets utilized an 18-yard rush by Danny Davis and a 15-yard rush by Luke Duby to work their way inside the red zone. Davis capped the drive with his first touchdown as a Yellow Jacket on a 15-yard run with 8:16 remaining in the second quarter.
• After the Green & Gold cut the deficit in half, the defense was able to force a punt and give the offense the ball back with momentum, however, CSC forced a momentum swing on an 18-yard interception return for a touchdown with 6:08 left in the opening half to take a 21-7 lead.
• The defenses then forced three consecutive three and outs before Chadron State was able to punch one final touchdown in before the half. The Eagles used three plays of ten or more yards to set up first and goal before Ralph tossed a 2-yard touchdown pass to Preston Pearson with 11 seconds left on the clock to go up 28-7 at the half.
• To start the third quarter the teams traded turnovers as Chadron State recovered a sack fumble to get the ball inside the red zone, however, Jaheim Roper picked off an Eagle pass in the end zone the very next play and returned it back to the BHSU 20-yard line for the Yellow Jacket offense.
• While the Green & Gold were unable to sustain the drive, Black Hills State was able to flip the field with a 73-yard punt by Crosby, pinning the Eagles inside the 5-yard line as Caden Stansbury tracked down the returner for the tackle.
• BHSU utilized the wildcat formation significantly on their first scoring drive of the second half as Kade Weber rushed for 13-yards on the first play to build momentum. Later Dylan Eldredge completed an 18-yard pass to TJ Chukwurah to move the ball into the red zone, and then Weber capped the drive with an 8-yard rushing touchdown up the middle with 8:35 to play in the third quarter as it became a 28-14 ball game.
• The Yellow Jackets were unable to capitalize on an Eagle turnover midway through the third quarter as Wes Koenig jumped on a fumble at the CSC 30-yard line. The offense was unable to gain a first down and a 42-yard field goal attempt missed wide.
• Black Hills State faced a 4^th & 2 on the CSC 43-yard line to begin the fourth quarter and capitalized on the connection of Duby to Chukwurah. Duby was able to get Chukwurah the ball down the right sideline and he was able to drag a defender across the goal line with him for his lone touchdown of the game, making it a 28-21 game with 14:51 to play.
• Despite the big play and the momentum on their side, the Yellow Jacket defense was unable to get a stop and keep the game within one possession. Chadron State went on their longest drive of the game with ten plays taking 5:43 off the clock, resulting in a 29-yard field goal from Wilson Yee to make it 31-21 with 9:08 to play.
• BHSU was then unable to convert in the red zone and answer the CSC score, turning the ball over on downs at the Eagle 4-yard line. The Yellow Jackets moved the chains four times during the drive, including twice on a pair of Chadron State penalties and one on an explosive play that saw Duby find Manny Harris for a 25-yard gain. The drive came to a halt as Navarre Dixon III was stopped behind the line of scrimmage by the Eagle defensive line with 3:52 remaining.
• The BHSU defense forced CSC to go three and out the next possession and got the ball back with 3:17 to play. The duo of Duby and Chukwurah once again connected on a key fourth down play to extend the drive, this time a 53-yard reception down the left sideline that saw Chukwurah fight off a defender and tight rope the out of bounds line before being pushed out at the CSC 3-yard line. The drive was capped by a 3-yard passing touchdown from Duby to Davis with 1:54 to play.
• The Yellow Jackets were unable to recover the onside kick attempt following the touchdown and Chadron State was able to kneel out the clock.

BLACK HILLS STATE STATISTICAL LEADERS
Luke Duby: 24-for-33 passing, 229 passing yards, 2 passing touchdowns
Danny Davis: 11 rushes, 72 rushing yards, 1 rushing touchdown, 5 receptions, 18 receiving yards, 1 receiving touchdown
TJ Chukwurah: 7 receptions, 147 receiving yards, 1 receiving touchdown
Rune Tepolt: 6.0 total tackles, 1.0 tackle-for-loss
Jaheim Roper: 2.0 total tackles, 1 interception
 
UP NEXT
Black Hills State concludes a stretch of three consecutive road games next week as they travel to Fort Lewis for a 12 p.m. kickoff on Saturday, September 20, at Ray Dennison Memorial Field in Durango, Colorado.
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