Spearfish, S.D. – The Adams State Grizzlies Football team cruised to their second straight victory Saturday afternoon 45-31, against the Black Hills State Yellow Jackets. The contest was an offensive clinic, particularly on the ground for the Grizzlies, as they gashed Black Hills for a whopping 300 rushing yards on the day.
 
The scoring picked up early, as John Buksa drove the Grizzlies into the red zone just over a minute into the 5 play, 40 yard drive, where he would connect with star receiver Tariq Bitson from 18 yards out for a touchdown. The score would be the first of four first quarter touchdowns for the Grizzly offense.
 
The Grizzlies would prove to be dominant on defense especially in the opening quarter. They would get the ball right back to their offense with a Deon Mayers interception right around midfield. Following the turnover, Buksa would again find Bitson in the end zone, this time from 17 yards out, for the Grizzlies second score of the game.
 
After the defense would hold Black Hills to a stifling three and out, Buksa and the offense would get the ball in business at midfield, and pick up right where they left off.  The Adams State ground game would begin to dominate the game, as the combination of Duson Sproles and Jamarcus Federick would be simply too much for the Yellow Jacket defense. The quick drive would end with a Federick three-yard scamper for a touchdown, to put the Grizzlies up big 21-0, and they were still not done.
 
The Adams State defense would yet again, hold strong and force another three and out. The Yellow Jacket offense could do absolutely nothing against the Grizzly pass rush, as Alani Pututau would end the drive with an emphatic sack to send Black Hills back to their sideline searching for answers.
 
Buksa and company would put together another solid drive and get into the Yellow Jacket red zone, knocking on the door. Ziere Banner would kick that door down with his 16 yard touchdown reception from Buksa with still a minute to play in the first quarter. Through one, it was complete Adams State domination on both sides of the ball, and they led 28-0 going into the second quarter.
 
The second quarter would be the first time Adams State would be forced off the field on offense, as the teams traded punts for the first 10 minutes of the period. Quarterback John Buksa would make his first mistake of the day backed up into his own territory, as he threw a pick-six to Yellow Jacket defender Keyshawn Farmer for the first Black Hills spark of the day. Still, the score was 28-7 in favor of the Grizzlies. An Erick Ruiz field goal right before the gun would send the Grizzlies into halftime up 31-7.
 
The second half would have a different tone, as the Grizzlies would be unable to generate the kind of offense that jolted them out to a 28-0 lead in the first quarter. After a series of punts, Buksa would get the ball, backed up inside his own 5 yard line. The Black Hills rush would send a melee of defenders, and sack Buksa in the end zone for a safety. Following the free kick, the Grizzlies would still be up big, 31-9, still not having allowed a single offensive point throughout the contest.
 
The Yellow Jackets would, however capitalize on the free kick following the safety, as they would take the ball 54 yards down the field for their first offensive points of the game on a Tyler Hammons 7-yard touchdown run. The score: 31-16, Grizzlies on top.
 
Following the Black Hills touchdown drive, Sohail Mohsini came in at quarterback, replacing John Buksa. After a series of positive rushes from Sproles and Federick, Mohsini connected with Tariq Bitson, who had been quiet since the first quarter, for a 36 yard gain all the way down to the Yellow Jacket 8-yard line. From there, Jamarcus Federick dashed into the end zone for his second score of the game, to put the Grizzlies up 38-16, following the extra point.
 
The third quarter ran out with the Grizzlies well in control. The biggest threat of the entire game, however came midway through the fourth quarter, as Tyler Hammons connected with receiver Kielar Harpham on a 38-yard strike for a touchdown. The Yellow Jackets would go for two, in order to try and cut the score to 14 and succeed in that attempt, as Hammons found Harpham again for the short pitch and catch. With 7:38 to go, the score was 38-24, Grizzlies.
 
After an Adams State punt, the Yellow Jackets would get the ball back with some momentum and new life. The Grizzly defense would end those positive spirits promptly, when Bradley Smith picked off Hammons deep in Black Hills territory to put the nail in the coffin. The cherry on top came when Ziere Banner caught an easy 11 yard strike from Sohail Mohsini to cap off the Grizzly scoring for the day. With two minutes remaining, the contest was all but over, as Adams State led by three touchdowns 45-24.
 
Black Hills would manage a garbage time touchdown to make the score 45-31 when Hammons hit Harpham again in the end zone, but it was too little too late for the home team. The onside kick failed, and Adams State would run the clock out to take the win back to Alamosa.
 
For the Grizzlies, it's their second RMAC victory in as many weeks, and they will look for their third in a row next Saturday against their archrivals, the Western State Mountaineers for the Colorado Classic Trophy.