Mountaineers take down Yellow Jackets in third-quarter explosion

Drew Nash fires off a jump pass.

The No. 5 Western Colorado University football team scored five touchdowns in the third quarter to defeat visiting Black Hills State 56-17 on Oct. 11. 

Quarterback Drew Nash engineered the offensive onslaught against the Yellow Jackets, tossing five touchdowns on the way to 399 yards through the air. Receivers Caden Measner and DJ Allen Jr. piled up 142 and 147 yards, respectively, and combined for four touchdown receptions.

It took much of the first quarter for Western to get its offense in gear. But with one play, the Mountaineers pushed ahead for a 7-3 lead after Nash hit Measner for a 51-yard pass in the final two minutes of the quarter.

The Mountaineers headed into the halftime break with a 14-10 lead, as the Yellow Jackets added a touchdown catch from TJ Chukwurah, the NCAA Division II leader in touchdown receptions, in the final minute of the opening half.

The halftime talk in the Western locker room hit its mark, however. Nash connected with Allen Jr. on the fourth play of the quarter for a 60-yard touchdown. Measner added a 36-yard score on the next possession, and after a BHSU 3-and-out, Nash drove the team down the field again, finishing the drive off with a jump pass at the goal line to All-American defensive end Ricky Freymond.

Logan White blocked the Yellow Jackets’ punt on their next possession, giving Nash a short field. In four plays the Mountaineer quarterback dove into the end zone for Western’s fourth score of the quarter. The Yellow Jackets returned the ensuing kickoff to their 16-yard line, but on first down, Western cornerback Easton Peterson stepped in front of a pass and strolled 20 yards for a pick-6, capping off the third-quarter explosion.

Chukwurah hit back with a 75-yard score on the Yellow Jacket’s next possession, but Western silenced the away side from that point forward. The Mountaineers added one more score through a Cole Kerr 23-yard scoring pass to Yasir Berry with nine minutes left in the game.

Nash’s 399 yards and Kerr’s 30 yards through the air combined for 429 passing yards, a figure that tied for fourth highest in program history, equaling a total from a 1991 contest against Colorado School of Mines.

Western’s 129 yards on the ground, led by Quinn Bailey’s 61 yards, combined with the passing total for 558 total yards. The Mountaineer defense limited BHSU to only 42 rushing yards and 246 yards in the air. Western totaled five sacks in the game, against three different BHSU quarterbacks. Defensive end Drew Johnson collected 3.5 sacks, while Cameron Cooper added 2.5. Ian Loomis picked up 1.5 sacks with Kade Musser, Nate Scharnhorst, Jerry Witty and Treyton Marx adding 1 each. Freymond finished the total with a half-sack assist.

The Mountaineers travel to take on another South Dakota side for their next game, heading to Rapid City to square off against host South Dakota Mines on Oct. 18.