SPEARFISH, S.D.  Western Colorado football, ranked eighth in the country and sporting a 5-0 record heading into the weekend, will take on host Black Hills State University Saturday afternoon in an Rocky Mountain Athletic Contest at the Yellow Jackets' Lyle Hare Stadium

WESTERN COLORADO HEADING INTO THE GAME | 2024 Stats

• The Mountaineers, at 5-0 overall and 3-0 in the RMAC, are the lone undefeated team within the league. They moved up to eighth in the American Football Coaches Association poll released Monday morning, and up to No. 10 in the D2Football.com rankings released the same day.
• Since the 2012 season, Western has posted an 8-3 mark against the Yellow Jackets, including winning the past five games.
• The Mountaineers lead the RMAC in rushing, averaging 249 yards on the ground per game, and similarly the Western defense leads the conference in rushing yards allowed at just 59 yards per game.
• Averaging just shy of 40 points per game and allowing less than 14 points per game, the offense and defense each rank second in the RMAC in the two categories.
• Three players, Braeden Hogan, Royce Pao and Drew Nash, rank within the top-10 rushers in the RMAC. Hogan is fourth averaging 69 YPG, Pao is fifth (66 YPG), and Nash is eighth (57 YPG).
• With such a potent running game, Nash has not needed to make a lot happen through the air, however he is averaging 130 yards passing, fifth in the league, and has thrown for 4 touchdowns.
• Tight end Daniel Parsek has been a solid target for Nash, averaging 50 yards receiving which is sixth highest amongst the league's receivers. Josiah Ayon (35 YGP) and Cole Riters (35 YGP) have both been growing in their roles within the passing game.
• The outstanding defensive numbers do not come from just one player or two, as opponents are finding out that it seems like the entire defense is often in on a tackle. Though consistently a total group effort that is holding offenses to a tick under two touchdowns a game, Cy Shope is averaging 5.4 tackles per game and Ricky Freymond has 5.5 tackles for loss to lead the "wall of Mountaineers," as is often proclaimed by the Mountaineer Bowl's public address announcer.

BLACK HILLS STATE COMING INTO THE GAME | 2024 Stats

• The Yellow Jackets stand at 3-2 overall and 2-1 in the RMAC, that conference loss coming against then-No. 4 Colorado School of Mines, 52-24.
• Most recently, BHSU won the 139th Black Hills Brawl, defeating South Dakota Mines on Oct. 5 by a score of 22-20.
• The Yellow Jackets look to reside in the middle of the RMAC pack statistically. Their offense is sixth in scoring (23 PPG), ninth in rushing (88 YPG) and third in passing (253 YGP). The defense is sixth in points allowed (23 PPG), second in rushing yards (79 YPG) and eighth in passing yards (236 YPG).
• Cameron Goods leads the ground attack with a 48 YPG average, with quarterback Luke Duby ranking third in the league in passing at 248 YPG, 8 touchdowns and with 3 interceptions.
• Three of Duby's receivers rank within the top 20 of RMAC players. Damien Boozer is eighth at 49 YPG, Kelby Olson is 12th (41 YPG) and Connor Boyd is 16th at 36 YPG.
• Nicc Quinones leads the Yellow Jackets defense at seven tackles per game while Mylic Ritche is tied for second in the RMAC in tackles for loss with 7.5. Quinones' three interceptions is tied for second most in the conference.

UP NEXT

• Western Colorado hosts South Dakota Mines on Sat., Oct. 19 in a 1 p.m. game at  Mojo Field at Mountaineer Bowl at The Rady Family Sports Complex.
• It will be Mountaineer Sports Hall of Fame weekend, with the Class of 2024 inducted into the Hall of Fame on Friday evening.