RAPID CITY, S.D. – South Dakota Mines Football moved to 2-0 after a 38-17 win over Southwest Baptist on Saturday at O'Harra Stadium.
The Hardrockers came out firing, taking a 24-0 lead into halftime. Both defenses kept the opposition in check early until Evan Hatton recorded an interception, putting the Rockers at the Southwest Baptist 49-yard line. Gage Baker then found Tobin Frost in the end zone for a 17-yard touchdown.
The Rockers extended their lead to 10-0 in the second quarter when Sam Eccles capped a long drive with a 25-yard field goal.
South Dakota Mines took a 17-0 lead after Jadon Lemmons blocked a field goal attempt and returned it 69 yards for a touchdown.
Later in the quarter, the Hardrockers forced a turnover on downs at the SBU 33-yard line. Dawson Dunbar found the end zone on an 18-yard run to give the Rockers a 24-0 lead.
The Bearcats tried to stage a comeback in the second half, scoring 14 unanswered points in the third quarter. At the end of the quarter, however, both teams cleared the field as lightning delayed the game for 30 minutes at O'Harra Stadium.
Following the delay, the Bearcats made it a one-score game with a field goal. After the Rockers offense went three-and-out, Charlie Johnson collected his second interception of the season, setting up the offense at the SBU 25-yard line. Ty Harris then ran for a touchdown to increase the Rockers lead to 31-17.
Dunbar added another touchdown late in the fourth quarter to finalize the 38-17 win for South Dakota Mines.
Dunbar led the game with 138 rushing yards and two touchdowns. Harris added a rushing touchdown on 46 yards. Baker completed 14 of 28 passes for 142 yards and one touchdown. Frost caught two passes for 41 yards, while Joshua Morales grabbed three passes for 30 yards.
On the defensive side, Johnson led the game with 12 tackles. He also had one tackle for loss and one interception. Sawyer Wald recorded eight tackles, while Hatton had seven. Seven different Rockers recorded at least half a tackle for loss. Johnson, Hatton and Jarin Allen each recorded an interception.
With the win, the Hardrockers moved to 2-0. It is the first time South Dakota Mines has won its first two games of the season since 2021.
"I am extremely happy for our players and how they came out and finished the football game," head coach Charlie Flohr said. "We battled a lot of adversity with the weather delays today, but I thought our players handled it beautifully. Hardrocker Nation showed out today."
What's Next
The Rockers will host Colorado Mesa next week on Sept. 12 at 1 p.m. Following a road game at Adams State on Sept. 19, South Dakota Mines will return home for Homecoming on Sept. 26 against New Mexico Highlands.
