By Jeff Easton, RCJ
SPEARFISH — A fast start and two critical second-half turnovers led the Black Hills State University football team past South Dakota Mines on Saturday at Lyle Hare Stadium in the Battle for the Homestake Trophy.
The Yellow Jackets jumped out to a 21-0 lead, got a defensive touchdown and then turned a Kadim Phillip fumble recovery into a Peyton Gilmore TD to take the steam out of a Hardrocker comeback as Black Hills State prevailed 48-28 in the 134th meeting between the two schools.
"We played well against these guys, but we knew they weren't going to quit," Black Hills State head coach John Reiners said. "We had to make sure we finished in the second half."
A quick start and the confidence that came with it keyed the Yellow Jackets' victory on Saturday.
Black Hills jumped out to a quick 14-0 lead 13 minutes into the contest on a six-yard run by redshirt freshman quarterback Chance Eben and a 1-yard plunge by senior running back Peyton Gilmore.
Eben, who was a third-stringer a few weeks ago before injuries pressed him into a starting role, had his best game under center for BH. The Yellow Jackets mixed the run in with short passing routes that allowed Eben to get his feet underneath him, while the line kept Mines from getting much pressure on the Yellow Jacket signal-caller.
"We knew we had to come out fast, take the easy completions to get into rhythm," Eben said. "The o-line did such a good job tonight. We were able to run the ball so well."
Confidence in hand, Eben and Black Hills State built the lead to 21-0 when Jarett Jensen found himself wide open running down the left hash mark and took an Eben pass 27 yards to the end zone.
The lone hiccup of the first half — and really for the game — for Eben came with just under three minutes to go in the second quarter. Hardrocker linebacker Will Carroll jumped a short out route, intercepted an Eben pass and returned it 36 yards for Mines' lone score of the first half.
Eben, who was 19 of 33 passing for 211 yards, showed he'd put the interception behind him when Black Hills State came out after halftime and took 15 plays and six minutes to drive the ball 75 yards for a score. Gilmore, who rushed 34 times for 134 yards, scored the second of his four TDs on a 9-yard pass from Eben.
Mines didn't complete a single pass during the opening 30 minutes of play, which made the Hardrockers rely only on their running game. The struggles led head coach Zach Tinker to sit starting quarterback Toby Smith and go with junior Thomas Creese in the second half.
"We called the exact same plays, but we executed them better," Tinker said. "We were misfiring on some things the first half and we got going the second half."
Creese, who finished 14 of 23 passing for 166 yards, got off to a rough start when he fumbled the football as he was sacked by Yellow Jacket linebacker Korby Campbell, who'd come on a blitz. Devyn Vance scooped up the pigskin, broke a tackle and ran 42 yards for a score, staking BHSU to a 34-7 lead.
From there, Creese and Mines got into a good rhythm on offense.
Ahmad Lewis, who finished with 185 rushing yards on 27 carries, scored on a 2-yard run to get Mines within 34-14. After Gilmore scored his second rushing TD, the Hardrockers closed within 41-28 after Carson Hunt hauled in a 30-yard touchdown reception from Creese and Lewis scored on a 3-yard run.
The Mines' defense stiffened and forced Black Hills to punt. Momentum was firmly in the Hardrockers hands as the clock ticked under four minutes to play in the game.
Lewis took a short pass from Creese and turned up the right sideline. He looked like he had plenty of room to run, then Yellow Jacket defensive back Keyshawn Farmer laid a hit on Lewis at around the Mines-30 that popped the ball out and back down the sideline. A scramble for the ball ensued, and Black Hills defensive end Kadim Phillip came away with the pigskin at the Mines 7-yard line.
"We were talking about two things," Reiners said. "One, offense, you've got to take care of the ball. Two, defense, you have to stop them or get the ball.
"Keyshawn came up and makes a play. I've never seen anything like that. I would've thought it would've gone out of bounds. It goes all the way down the sideline and we come up with it.
Three plays later, Gilmore salted the game away with his third rushing TD, bulling his way in from a yard out with 3 minutes to play.
Both Black Hills State and South Dakota Mines are on the road next week for RMAC games.
The Yellow Jackets (2-4, 2-4 RMAC) travel to Las Vegas, N.M., to play New Mexico Highlands on Saturday. The Hardrockers (1-5, 0-5 RMAC) head to Alamosa, Colo., to face off against Adams State, also on Saturday.
