SPEARFISH, S.D. – South Dakota Mines Football won the 140
th Black Hills Brawl 27-13 on a rainy night in Spearfish, South Dakota.
For the fifth straight season, the road team left with the Homestake Trophy as the Hardrockers won the last home matchup in 2020.
With rain pouring down, South Dakota Mines trailed 6-3 after the first quarter. On the opening drive,
Ethan Stendell recovered a fumble that was placed at the Black Hills 15 yard line.
Sam Eccles made a field goal to give the Hardrockers a 3-0 lead.
On the next drive
Lane Thomas picked off the Yellow Jackets to give the Hardrockers their second turnover of the game. Thomas recorded an interception on the next drive as the Hardrockers picked up three takeaways on the first three drives of the game. Black Hills State put up a touchdown but missed an extra point at the end of the quarter to go up 6-3.
Dawson Dunbar responded in the second quarter with a touchdown to give the Hardrockers a 10-6 lead. Both defenses stood tall in the second quarter as South Dakota Mines went into halftime with a four-point lead.
South Dakota Mines came out firing in the third quarter as they scored on the opening drive. Dunbar recorded a 36 yard run to put the Hardrockers deep into Yellow Jacket territory.
Ty Harris rushed in for a 16 yard touchdown as South Dakota Mines went up 17-6.
Both teams traded punts until a long drive late in the quarter for the Hardrockers. On a second and 19 at the 45 yard line,
Gage Baker completed a 32 yard pass to
Mason Galbreath to put the Hardrockers in field goal range. Eccles nailed a 40 yard attempt to make the score 20-6 at the end of the quarter.
With 7:46 left in the game,
Charlie Johnson recorded an interception to seal the win for the Hardrockers. Harris picked up a 43 yard rushing touchdown to make the score 27-6.
Adedokun Alarape recovered a fumble with 2:01 left in the game to give the Hardrockers their fourth turnover of the game.
Harris led the Hardrocker offense with 159 yards on 22 carries for 7.2 yards per attempt. He recorded two touchdowns. Dunbar picked up 80 rushing yards and one touchdown. Galbreath caught three passes for 61 yards, while
Jacoby Ogbonna had five compeltions for 58 yards. Baker was 9-for-19 with 125 passing yards against the Yellow Jackets.
Jarin Allen recorded eight total tackles to lead the team.
Will Lester picked up seven with 1.5 tackles for loss. Thomas and Johnson both combined for 11 tackles and three interceptions. Eccles nailed two field goals and was 3-for-3 on extra point attempts.
Bryson Patten had seven punts for a 34.4 yard average, including two punts inside the 20 yard line.
With the win, the Hardrockers moved to 2-4 and 2-2 in the RMAC. It was the 67
th time they topped Black Hills State and the 13
th time in Spearfish. This also marked the fifth straight game where the road team took home the Homestake Trophy.
What's Next
South Dakota Mines is back in action on Oct. 11 against (RV) Colorado School of Mines at O'Harra Stadium. That game starts a three-game homestand as the Hardrockers host #7 Western Colorado on Oct. 18 and Chadron State on Nov. 1.
