The Black Hills State football team will probably fear the name Travis Browne for a while to come.

That’s because the No. 2 Carroll College Saints’ leading receiver has pummeled them over the last two games they played.

After Carroll’s season opener, in which they blanked the Yellow Jackets 17-0 and Browne had eight catches for 139 yards and two touchdowns, the Saints turned to him once again in the first round of the NAIA playoffs Saturday at Nelson Stadium.

The result was much of the same.

The 5-foot-11, 190-pound junior erupted for eight receptions, 71 yards and a touchdown in the 34-0 blowout. He also set them up for their first touchdown of the second half when he returned a kickoff 76 yards.

Apparently, when the Saints see something that works, they like to stick to it.

“It helped us by playing them the first time and we had a lot of success,” Browne said. “We took advantage of their tendencies.

“I thought we could do it again, I think we can do it every game.”

The Saints had little trouble with the Yellow Jackets defense after the opposition fumbled, landing the Saints on their own 28-yard line.

Senior quarterback John Barnett quickly looked to Browne, hitting him on the first two passes of the game, before turning to his other receivers. After settling on the Yellow Jackets’ 8-yard line, Barnett once again looked to Browne, who was open over the middle for the touchdown.

“Coach said we had a lot of set plays for me,” Browne said. “Johnny helped me, the O-line helped me out. The offense, overall really came together,” Browne said.

He had a great deal of help from fellow wide receiver Kipp Curtis, who drew a defender away and opened him up for the pass.

Leading 13-0 after the first half, the Saints had a lead, but weren’t in the clear.

That’s when Browne turned on his charm once again, taking the Saints’ only kickoff return of the game 76 yards. After streaming down the right sideline, Browne cut in at about the 50 and found open room before being brought down on Black Hills’ 15-yard line.

Following his blockers, he had made the play of the game, which led to a 1-yard dive from Barnett for the touchdown.

Since the beginning of the season, Browne’s role has been defined less by big scoring plays, and more by the help he’s provided his teammates.

After that first game with Black Hills, Browne had another big performance, pulling in six receptions for 124 yards and two more touchdowns. The next game against Eastern Oregon University, however, he had just one catch for seven yards.

Barnett began spreading the ball out to other players, like seniors Dan Lovin and David Whitmoyer. Meanwhile, Browne, like Curtis on Saturday, became the man drawing the attention away from he his teammates.

He remained the team’s receiving leader, averaging 4.7 catches and 66.9 yards per game, but since his four touchdowns in the first two games has picked up just two more in the past 10.

That doesn’t seem to bother Browne, who celebrated nearly as much as Lovin and Whitmoyer when they made their first touchdown receptions of their college career earlier this season.

“I like seeing everybody get in on the action,” Browne said. “We all have a great relationship. It makes it more fun in meetings, that’s for sure.”