Western wins again, improves to 8-0

Sixth-ranked Western Colorado rolled to nearly 600 yards of offense in taking care of host Black Hills State, 42-10, Saturday in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference action at Lyle Hare Stadium.

Mountaineer quarterback Josiah Roy threw for 348 yards and 2 touchdowns and rushed for another in the win over the Yellow Jackets.

Western is now 8-0 on the season and 6-0 in RMAC play. Black Hills State fell to 5-3 overall and 3-3 in league play.

After spotting Black Hills a field goal on its opening possession, Western mounted an eight-play, 74-yard touchdown drive to take the lead for good, the key plays beginning with Damien Nevil's 29-yard rush to open the drive, a 19-yard Roy to Antwuan Jackson pass on third and 10, and Isaiah Jones' 8-yard burst up the middle to finish things off.

Black Hills' opening drive came off a Mountaineer fumble, but the Western defense turned back the Yellow Jackets for minus-6 yards, then after Western's touchdown, pushed the Black Hills offense back another 7 yards on its ensuing possession.

It took the Mountaineers just three plays after a BHSU punt to double their numbers on the scoreboard, the 48-yard drive concluding with a 4-yard Nevil dash around the right edge.

The Yellow Jackets tried to answer, but a long catch-and-run play ended with a fumble recovered by Western at its 4-yard line.

Roy drove the offense the length of the field, capping a 17-play, 96-yard march that took 7:40 off the clock with his own 9-yard burst up the middle.

A third-quarter 1-yard touchdown pass to Ramon Ruiz increased the advantage and early in the fourth quarter Roy added his second touchdown toss finding Jackson in the back of the end zone.

Black Hills converted its only third down of the day on its next series, with a catch and run by Jayden Williams for its only touchdown, but Lamonte James answered on his own for Western toting the rock 9 yards, 43 yards, and then 21 yards for a three-play, 73-yard scoring drive that took just 61 seconds to close out the scoring.

Stats

• Western's defense limited the Black Hills offense to just 47 rushing yards, 1-for-10 on third downs, and just 24:30 in time of possession.
• Meanwhile, Western's 562 yards of offense include 201 rushing yards, 6.3 yards per rush, 361 passing yards, and a total of 77 plays from scrimmage.
• Joshua Dixon finished with 83 yards receiving on 5 catches, each of his receptions resulting in a Western first down, while Caden Measner had 8 receptions for 70 yards and 4 first downs.
• Ian Loomis and Kade Musser led the Mountaineer defense, each recording eight total tackles, with Musser getting one of Western's five sacks on the day.

Roy honored by RMAC

Mountaineers quarterback Josiah Roy earned the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference's offensive player of the week award, as announced by the league office Monday afternoon.

Roy completed 35 of his attempts for two touchdowns without an interception while leading Western on touchdown drives of 74, 48, 96, 61 and 78 yards.

Roy's completion percentage of .691 for the season is sixth best in the country, his 120 points responsible for ranks 29th in Division II, and his average of 17.1 points responsible for per game is 16th nationally.

Up next

The Mountaineers will host South Dakota Mines on Saturday, Oct. 31, on Hall of Fame weekend for a 1 p.m. Operation Blackout game at the Mountaineer Bowl.