SPEARFISH - Black Hills State tallied 31 unanswered points, rallying from an

11-point deficit en route to a 37-17 win over Valley City State in a non-conference football game Saturday at Lyle Hare Stadium.

"The win was earned and well-deserved," Black Hills State head coach John Scott said.

One of the keys in the Yellow Jackets' opening win of the season was the ground game. Black Hills rushed for 297 yards. Tanner Erlich, a freshman from Fort Collins, Colo., led the rushing attack with 173 yards.

"It's nice when you can run the football like that," Scott said.

"Our running game enabled us to get some one-on-one coverage on the outside.

"Erlich has some skills that make him very efficient and fluid."

Marineo Tosiluku's 30-yard field goal handed Valley City State a 3-0 edge with 4:41 left in the first quarter.

Black Hills State responded to the Vikings' score on its next offensive series.

The Jackets drove 71 yards for a touchdown. Erlich capped the 11-play drive on a one-yard scoring run.

Valley City State reclaimed the lead when junior defensive back Chauncey Calhoun picked off a Drew Hodgs aerial and returned the ball 54 yards to paydirt.

A fumble recovery by the Vikings at their own 46 set up another score. Quarterback Jason Beilke reached the end zone on a sneak from a yard out. Tosiluku's PAT gave the visitors a 17-6 lead with 1:34 remaining in the half.

An interception by Sundance, Wyo., sophomore Darrell Neiman provided the Green and Gold with a necessary spark in the closing minutes of the half. Hodgs hooked up with Corey Wheeler on a 16-yard touchdown. The two point conversion attempt failed. Valley City State took a 17-12 halftime edge.

"I thought we played a great first half," VCSU coach Dennis McCulloch said.

"It was a storm from that point on."

Valley City received a major scare to the health of one of its players during halftime.

"We're not really sure what happened," said McCulloch. "He (Michael Weber) passed out and hit the ground hard."

Weber was then given CPR. "Our trainer saved his life," added McCulloch.

Weber was taken by ambulance to Spearfish Regional Hospital. He stayed overnight for observation.

"It's not easy to come back from something like that," McCulloch said.

"We're all football brothers," said Scott in reference to the misfortune to strike Valley City State.

"Our kids did a good job understanding the situation and re-establishing their focus."

The Yellow Jackets took the lead for good on a five-yard touchdown run by Josh Smith at the 1:17 mark of the third period. Smith snared the conversion pass from Hodgs, upping the Black Hills edge to 20-17.

Led by the rushing of reserves James Lemke and Clint Nicholes on its next offensive possession, the homestanding Jackets again entered the scoring column when Kraig Tafoya connected on a 35-yard field goal.

The Stinger defense came up with a huge play on the ensuing series. Running back Andy Derilus was stopped short of the first down by linebacker Josh Fundis. The play came when Valley City State elected not to punt and instead gamble on a fourth down attempt at its own 29-yard stripe.

With 4:44 left in the game, the Yellow Jackets got some breathing room when Wheeler hauled in a 20-yard scoring strike from Hodgs.

"I'm proud of our kids in the second half," McCulloch said. "They came out and gave it a whirl. Our guys didn't quit. They played hard. Black Hills State is a good football team. They ran the ball well. They are very physical."

Hodgs completed seven of his 14 pass attempts for 105 yards in only his third start as the signal caller for the Yellow Jackets.

"Drew is getting comfortable with the system," Scott said.

"The key is to maintain some consistency on offense.

Black Hills State defense limited the Vikings to 197 yards. Wacey Coleman had nine tackles; Tanner Tetrault, last year's Dakota Athletic Conference Most Valuable Player, eight tackles; and Sean Sweet, Tyler Tetrault and Nathan Batteen, seven tackles each. Neiman and Tony Dill each pilfered one pass. Scott also credited the play of the Jackets' special team's players.

The Black Hills State and Valley City State will meet in a DAC rematch at Valley City, N.D. on Nov. 3 in the final game of the regular season.

The Jackets (1-2) and Vikings (0-2) both begin league play on Saturday.

Black Hills State visits Minot State, while Valley City State hosts Dakota State.