RAPID CITY, S.D. --- Although both South Dakota Mines and Black Hills State University are still relative newcomers to Division II, the Hardrockers and Yellow Jackets are no strangers on the football field.
They'll meet for the 137th time Saturday night with kickoff at 6 p.m. at what is expected to be a packed O'Harra Stadium.
The Hardrockers and Yellow Jackets have faced each other more than any other rivalry in Division II history and the fourth overall in college football.
It's called the Black Hills Brawl and it's called the Battle for the Homestake Trophy, which resides at the winning school until the next game. Some have even called it the West River Rivalry.
"I am obviously excited to be part of the tradition and the history of the Black Hills Brawl, a game that has been played 136 times and we're getting ready to play the 137th time Saturday," Mines head coach Charlie Flohr said. "For our staff, our players and our institution to be part of that that, it is a special deal. It is something that our kids are excited for because it is such a big game and a great rivalry."
Black Hills State head coach Josh Breske said that you see other coaches with rivalry games say it is just another game on the schedule, calling that just a little bit of a tactic to not put the game on a pedestal with their team.
Not this game.
"Every game is important, but with these rivalry games, whether it is South Dakota Mines volleyball versus BH volleyball or basketball or football, the rivalries are just great," he said. "They are awesome for both schools and they are awesome for the Black Hills region. It does come with a little extra oomph, you could say. Being 0-2 with this staff, our guys are excited to bring home the trophy. That's our plan."
This year's game
Since both teams joined the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference in 2013, the game between South Dakota Mines and Black Hills State is normally just for West River bragging rights.
This year, even though the season is still early, there's more at stake – first place in the RMAC.
Both teams are 2-0 in league play, with the Yellow Jackets at 4-0 overall and the Hardrockers 3-1.
"What is really exciting for this group is we still have everything laid out in front of us. And that is for both teams," Flohr said. "For the goals that both teams have really talked about all year, winning a conference championship, it's another roadblock for both teams to go in knowing that you want to achieve those goals and be a conference champion. You have to play in the next conference opponent. Fortunately for both teams we are 2-0 in the conference and we know we have to face each other to potentially take that next step of staying at the top of the conference."
The Hardrockers are coming off a 41-27 win over New Mexico Highlands, leading 41-14 in the third quarter. Highlands closed the gap with two fourth-quarter touchdowns.
Flohr said that the biggest thing for them to improve on is playing a full 60-minute football game. The Hardrockers have seemed to either start slow and finish strong, or start strong and finish slow.
"We really need to go out and play a full, complete game in all three phases, knowing that all three phases complement one another," he said. "We've got to do it from the start of the game all the way through the fourth quarter."
Mines opened 1-1 in non-conference play with a 43-30 win over Missouri S&T and a 27-20 loss against Truman State, before stopping Colorado Mesa 31-17 in Grand Junction, Colo., and New Mexico Highlands last weekend.
Redshirt sophomore quarterback Jayden Johannsen has been outstanding this season, completing 88-of-137 passes (64%) for 1,290 yards (sixth in D-II) and 10 touchdowns, while leading the team in rushing at 202 yards and three TDs.
Senior Jeremiah Bridges and sophomore Isaiah Eastman have paced the receiving attack. Bridges has four 100-yard receiving efforts in four games and is fourth in the nation in receiving yards with 570 on 28 catches and seven touchdowns. Eastman has 29 receptions for 355 yards and three scores.
Defensively, sophomore linebacker Hunter Newsom leads the way with 25 tackles, followed by junior defensive back Casey Knutsen with 21 tackles. Senior linebacker/defensive end Kyante Christian has 19 tackles and 2.5 sacks, while senior defensive back Adrian Eastman has 18 tackles.
Both Flohr and Breske came in at the same time in 2020 and it is no coincidence that both coaches have their programs pointed in the right direction.
"It is cool to see our two programs in Western South Dakota rising up at the same time," Breske said. "I am happy for those guys (Mines). They are the best team that we have seen so far. They are strong on both sides of the ball. They are focused and dangerous on special teams."
The Yellow Jackets have earned non-conference wins over Dickinson State (17-0) and William Jewell (38-19) before beating Chadron State 32-23 in Chadron, Neb., and Colorado Mesa 31-28 in Spearfish last weekend in its Homecoming contest.
After going 0-2 in the 2020 Covid season and 4-7 in 2021, Breske said that it has been good to have some validation from everything they have been doing the last two years. He said it is beginning to pay off.
"I've been telling the guys that everything they have done has counted and it has mattered," he said. "It is a reward for those two years of working hard and not having a ton of results."
Last weekend's win over Mesa was special for the Yellow Jackets, as they came back from seven points down at halftime and won the game on a 24-yard touchdown pass from junior Chance Eben to junior Hasaan Williams with 43 seconds to play.
Breske said it was the first time the Jackets had a true deficit to come back from, trailing 14-0 midway in the second quarter and 21-14 at halftime.
"To see our guys fight through while they were trailing was really cool to see," he said. "Going in (at halftime) down like we were to Mesa, it was cool to see our guys had no doubt that they knew there was plenty of game left and they could come back and win."
Mesa opened the game on a defensive touchdown when Hudson Metcalf returned a stripped fumble 71 yards for the score. But one play later, Black Hills State tied the game on a 92-yard touchdown pass from Eben to redshirt freshman TJ Chukwurah.
"It was really cool to see our guys flush it and move forward," he said.
There was a strong quarterback battle between senior transfer Aidan Willard and Eben in the spring and fall camps as Eben won the battle and started the first game. But Willard came off the bench and led the Jackets to two second-half TDs in the win over Dickinson State and he started the next two games before being injured, allowing Eben to return to the starting lineup. Eben will start again Saturday.
Eben is 29-of-42 passing for 335 yards and two TDs, while Willard is 56-of-79 for 680 yards and six TDs. Last week Eben finished 23-of-28 for 296 yards and the two scores.
"Chance's attitude was awesome, he's a great team player," Breske said. "He came on and played his very best game last weekend."
Senior Nolan Susel leads the team in rushing with 342 yards (4.9 ypc) and six touchdowns.
Defensively, sophomore linebacker Aaron Thiele leads the way with 30 tackles and one interception. Junior linebacker Ryder Blair has 22 tackles and one interception.
"I feel like the strongest part of our team right now is our defense," Breske said. "We entered the Mesa game only giving opponents 14 points a game and 124 rush yards a game. We gave up a little more against Mesa, but in the same regard, our defense is very, very strong. The defensive line unit has been playing strong, our DB's have been very well and our linebackers have been consistent."
Flohr said the Yellow Jackets are opportunistic defensively, creating a lot of turnovers, and are doing a good job of putting pressure on people when they need to and making good plays when they need to.
He added that it is the same on the offensive side.
"They (BH) have been able to stay balanced offensively, running the ball as well as throwing the ball, to take advantage of what the defense is giving them," he said. "And from a special team standpoint, they're doing a really good job, especially scoring points when they need to. From a special teams' standpoint, they are getting big returns. I've really been impressed with them from week one to week four. You can see growth within the program."
Both Flohr and Breske are excited about their team's chances, especially coming off of Homecoming wins.
"You know, I don't know if it necessarily hurts, because I think both teams had big emotional wins that past week," Flohr said of playing the rivalry game the following week after Homecoming. "And going into this week, both teams can see what things they need to work on, what things they need to fix knowing that you're going to have the same experience no matter if you are home or on the road with this type of rivalry."
Breske said the game should be a dandy.
"It is the best Tech team that I have seen since I have been here," he said. "The good thing is it is the best Black Hills team I have seen since I have been here. It should be an awesome contest and a great atmosphere."
History of the Black Hills Brawl
The first game between the two schools was -- well, kind of – in 1895, an 18-0 win by Black Hills College over Dakota School of Mines.
Black Hills College was in Hot Springs and not affiliated with Spearfish College, which went by the name of Spearfish Normal. Black Hills College had invited Spearfish Normal to play a game, but Normal declined, thus setting up the game with Mines.
The game is considered part of the chronology but is not counted in the rivalry series.
What has turned out to be the Black Hills Brawl officially began in 1900 as Dakota School of Mines became South Dakota School of Mines, winning the 1900 game 27-0, the Hardrockers would capture 18 of the first 20 games between the schools, with one tie (0-0 in 1906).
In 1917, the two teams played three times, all Mines wins, outscoring their rivals 82-6.
Black Hills State started picking up wins in the late 1920s to late 1930s, winning 12 of 14 games. There were no games during World War II from 1942-1945.
From 1946-1969, BH held a 12-9-5 record before Mines won six of 10 games in the 70s with two ties. BHSU took over by winning 14 of 16 games between 1987 and 2002.
Mines hold a 65-60-11 advantage throughout the years. Interestingly, of those 11 ties, the first four were 0-0 deadlocks. The Yellow Jackets, however, have won 27 of the last 39 games.
Some of the better matchups in recent years
Maybe one of the wilder recent games came in 2017 in Spearfish when Mines jumped out to a 24-6 halftime lead, only to see the Jackets rally for a 25-24 victory.
Mines led 14-6 at the end of the first quarter on a 3-yard TD run by Jake Sullivan and a 3-yard pass from Sullivan to Brandon LaBrie. Sullivan's 61-yard touchdown run in the second and a field goal put the Hardrockers up 24-6 at halftime.
It was all BH the rest of the way as the Yellow Jackets scored three touchdowns in the third quarter, including two touchdown runs by Phydell Paris, to take the 25-24 lead and they held on in the fourth for the win.
Two years earlier, the Hardrockers escaped with a 28-26 victory in front of 5,000 fans at O'Harra Stadium in a nationally televised Division II Game of the Week on ESPN3. Sullivan, the former St. Thomas More star, made just his second start of his illustrious career with the Hardrockers and led the team to victory. Sullivan, who has been playing professionally in Germany the last couple of years, would go on to hold 18 South Dakota Mines offensive records.
"Voice of the Hardrockers," Tom Rudebusch, has been broadcasting BHSU-Mines football games since 1981. Of the 44 games he has broadcasted, possibly the one game that sticks out the most with him was the 23-20 double overtime win for Mines in 2010.
Mines tied the game when Andy Smith kicked a 32-yard field goal with 0:02 left in the 4th quarter. Both teams scored touchdowns in the first overtime and Smith hit a 22-yard field goal in the second overtime to put the Hardrockers up 23-20.
"BH has the second possession in that overtime and had a second and goal from the 2-yard line and attempted a pass that was intercepted by Tom Lunzman in the end zone to preserve the victory," Rudebusch said. "He actually returned it 100 yards, but it wasn't necessary."
In 2014, two versions of "The Drive," occurred in the fourth quarter as the Yellow Jackets held on for a 42-30 win.
Mines pulled within five points on a 99-yard drive (closer to 99 ½ yards), only to see the Jackets respond with a 90-yard drive to seal the win in the final minutes of the game.
Junior quarterback Evan Sanders, in for injured starter Trent McKinney, calmly brought the 'Rockers downfield, keyed by a 40-yard pass to Marcus Sanchez and a 13-yard toss to Tim Crenshaw. Sanders then completed a 14-yard TD score to Crenshaw, and with the kick, cut the Jacket lead to 35-30 with 11 minutes to play.
On the ensuing kick, Black Hills State returner Erick Hairston slipped on the 10-yard line, putting the Jackets deep in a hole. Senior quarterback Ward Anderson then directed his offense to a 12-play score, capped by a 4-yard touchdown pass to senior receiver Luke Whalen, who came down with his third TD grab of the day.
In 2013, Mines outlasted BHSU 43-35.
The game featured 23 penalties, 989 total yards, and six lead changes, including two 11-point leads by the Jackets, the second midway through the third quarter.
Anderson hit Whalen on a 2-yard TD pass with three minutes to play in the third quarter for a 35-24 lead.
But Mines battled back and scored 19 unanswered points for the win. The Hardrockers scored touchdowns on two consecutive 66-yard drives that took only 3:11 off the clock at the beginning of the fourth quarter.
Holding on to a one-point lead, Mines junior cornerback Traevon Beddard intercepted Anderson's pass in the end zone and ran the ball back to mid-field. After a defensive holding penalty, senior running back Chris Sawdey took it in from 2 yards out and the point-after touchdown kick made it 43-35 with 5:21 to play.
The Mines' defense came up with one final stop with just over two minutes left and ran out the clock for the improbable victory.
In 2008, the Hardrockers were shooting for their first .500 season in 10 years when the two teams met for the season finale at O'Harra Stadium.
Back then the teams often met twice during the season and Black Hills State, which had qualified for the NAIA playoffs in the previous two seasons, won the first game 33-13 in Spearfish. BHSU had defeated Mines in six straight games dating back to the first game of the 2004 season.
The Hardrockers went into the second game on a four-game losing skid but held off the Jackets 24-23. Mines led 17-10 after three quarters, but BHSU came back with 13 unanswered points to take a 23-17 lead. The 'Rockers rallied for the win when Nick Russell scored on a 1-yard run with 1:20 to play.
Under head coach Gary Boner, the Hardrockers won two South Dakota Intercollegiate Conference championships by defeating the Yellow Jackets in the final game of the season, beating BHSU 31-14 in 1985 and 40-18 in 1991.
