ALLENDALE, Mich. – The Black Hills State University football team came out and stunned the nearly 14,000 Laker faithful early on Saturday night by jumping out to an early 10-0 advantage against the No. 3/5 Grand Valley State University, however, the Lakers would end up clawing out a 48-36 victory. After the fast start by the Yellow Jackets, the Lakers out-scored the Green & Gold 34-7 from the closing minutes of the first quarter to the midway point of the third to take control of the game. In the match-up, the duo of
Luke Duby and
TJ Chukwurah once again shined, as Duby passed for a career-best 359 yards and four touchdowns, while Chukwurah hauled in a career-best 182 receiving yards and again matched his high of three receiving touchdowns. The performances marked the most individual passing yards, receiving yards, and receiving touchdowns, allowed by Grand Valley State since 2019.
QUICK DETAILS
Score: Black Hills State 36, #3/5 Grand Valley State 48
Team Records: Black Hills State 0-2 (0-0 RMAC), #3/5 Grand Valley State 2-0 (0-0 GLIAC)
Attendance: 13,836
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Black Hills State took advantage of a successful challenge, resulting in a 15-yard pass from Luke Duby to Kelby Olson on the left sideline, and a pass interference penalty on a Grand Valley State defender to move the ball into Laker territory and convert on a 40-yard field goal by Ryan Ewing on the opening possession of the game.
- The ensuing possession, Yellow Jacket defense was able to force their first turnover of the season with a sack fumble by Hershel Craig III with the recovery by Cole Marquez at the Laker 49-yard line with 8:58 to play in the first quarter. The BHSU offense took advantage of the great field position, marching inside the 10-yard line on a 14-yard pass from Duby to TJ Chukwurah, and the pair then connected once again on an 11-yard strike on third & goal for the touchdown in the back left corner of the end zone as Duby completed 11 of his first 12 passing attempts. The PAT by Ewing was good to make it a 10-0 ball game in favor of the Green & Gold with 3:58 to play in the first quarter.
- Grand Valley State was able to answer on their second drive of the game as a 10-yard pass from Andrew Schuster to Syone Usma-Harper set up a 37-yard touchdown pass down the right side of the field from Schuster to Lynn Wyche-El. The extra point by Mathew Bacik was good to make it a 10-7 game with 1:27 remaining in the opening quarter.
- The Laker defense forced Black Hills State to punt for the first time in the contest in the early minutes of the second quarter, and a mishandled snap on the punt gave GVSU field position in plus territory, starting on the BHSU 28-yard line. The Yellow Jacket defense stood tall following the miscue, forcing a field goal attempt as Cooper Brown sacked Schuster in the backfield for a loss of six. The momentum continued as the 48-yard field goal attempt by Bacik was blocked by Terrence Curtis with 10:37 to play in the second quarter.
- Following another punt for the Yellow Jackets, the Lakers took their first lead of the game on a 55-yard pass from Schuster to Sean Byrd down the right side of the field for a touchdown, making it 14-10 after Bacik's PAT with 8:16 to play in the first half.
- Late in the second quarter, a pair of three and outs and a fumble for Black Hills State provided an opportunity for Grand Valley State to stretch their lead to two possessions entering the halftime break as Bacik split the uprights on field goals from 39-yards and 46-yards before the teams entered the locker rooms.
- The Yellow Jackets received the boost they needed in the early minutes of the third quarter to get back into the game, as Arturo Estrada blocked a Laker punt and Alexander Vasiliou was able to recover the ball and return it to the GVSU 5-yard line. BHSU then capitalized on the short field as Duby found Ashar Granger in the back left corner of the end zone for a 4-yard passing touchdown. Ewings PAT trimmed the deficit to 20-17 with 11:51 to play in the third quarter.
- After the Yellow Jackets were able to get back within three points, the Lakers once again had a response as they started their next drive with a 45-yard pass from Schuster to Wyche-El and capped it with a 27-yard rushing touchdown by Paschal Jolman with 10:42 on the clock. Then after forcing a BHSU punt, Griffin Shinrock was able to block the punt, and Derrick Woods returned the ball 13 yards for a touchdown to extend the GVSU lead to 34-17 with 7:11 remaining in the third quarter.
- The teams continued to go back-and-forth in the third quarter with Black Hills State finding the end zone once again on a 32-yard passing touchdown from Duby to Chukwurah, with Chukwurah breaking multiple tackles and tight-roping the sideline to make it to the pylon and make it a 34-23 game after the unsuccessful 2-point conversion with 3:05 left in the period. Then Grand Valley State answered back with another quick scoring drive, finding the end zone on a 14-yard passing touchdown from Schuster to Donovan Johnson with 18 ticks of the clock left in the third. The extra point by Bacik made it a 41-23 game.
- There were still fireworks left to be had in the third quarter, however, as Bryce Coulson showed off his speed and took the ensuing kickoff 96 yards to the house to cap a combined 40-point period for the two teams. Another unsuccessful 2-point conversion left the score 41-29 entering the final 15 minutes.
- The scoring continued into the first two possessions of the fourth quarter as the Lakers scored their final touchdown of the game on a 33-yard pass from Schuster to Kellen Reed, and the Bacik kick followed to make it 48-29 with 14:14 to play. Then the ensuing possession Duby found Chukwurah deep down the left sideline for a 57-yard passing touchdown. The extra point by Ewing capped the scoring in the game and made it 48-36 with 12:11 left in the contest.
- Each team's defense would end the game with fourth down stops in the red zone, with Luke Clay stopping Harrison Unger at the line of scrimmage and short of the sticks to keep it a two possession game for the Yellow Jacket offense to trim into. Duby would then connect with Olson four times for 59 yards, but the Laker defense held BHSU on fourth down at the GVSU 13-yard line with 3:24 remaining on what would be the Green & Gold's last scoring opportunity.
BLACK HILLS STATE STATISTICAL LEADERS
Luke Duby: 38-of-51 passing, 359 passing yards, 4 passing touchdowns
TJ Chukwurah: 12 receptions, 182 receiving yards, 3 receiving touchdowns
Bryce Coulson: 2 kickoff returns, 99 return yards, 1 kickoff return touchdown
Kellen Collier: 8.0 total tackles, 1.5 tackles-for-loss
Terrence Curtis: 7.0 total tackles, 1 blocked field goal
Wes Koenig: 7.0 total tackles, 1.0 tackle-for-loss
JOSH BRESKE POSTGAME INTERVIEW
LUKE DUBY POSTGAME INTERVIEW
UP NEXT
Black Hills State continues a 3-game road trip next weekend as they jump into RMAC action at Chadron State on Saturday, September 13. The 6 p.m. kickoff at Don Beebe Stadium will be the inaugural Battle for the Buckle between regional rivals.
