Seldom does soft-spoken Eric Brock raise his voice during postgame debriefings. Saturday afternoon he did.

Haskell Indian Nations University’s sixth-year football coach clearly was peeved after South Dakota Tech posted a boring 17-3 victory over the tepid Fightin’ Indians.

“I’m not surprised,” HINU sophomore Brigham Bert said after Brock’s unusual postgame rant. “I can’t imagine how he feels. He’s the coach, and I’m just a wide receiver, and I’m frustrated. We’re letting him down.”

The offense was particularly putrid, generating only 181 yards against a team that won only one game last season. Quarterback Victor Ramos threw for 105 of those yards, but also tossed four interceptions.

Two of the Hardrockers’ pass thefts shortened the field and led to the day’s only touchdowns – a 22-yard drive in the second quarter and a 17-yard march with just 3:12 remaining.

“Nothing seemed to work,” Brock said. “Victor’s balls were floating all over the place.”

Haskell managed only one play that eclipsed 20 yards, a Ramos-to-Sivei Martin pass that covered 23 yards just before halftime and led to Matt Martens’ 22-yard field goal as time expired after the Indians wasted a first-and-goal at the Hardrockers’ four-yard line.

“When you get outcoached, you tip your hat and say they had great schemes,” Brock said, “but it’s really frustrating when a team runs something real bland. When they line up and don’t do anything we don’t expect, that frustrates me.”

On paper, Haskell’s defense appeared to have performed at a higher level than the offense, but in truth the damage would have been worse if Tech hadn’t lost three fumbles, including one into the end zone that resulted in a touchback.

“The defense was bad, too. We missed a lot of tackles,” said Brock, who also serves as defensive coordinator, “and our linebacker play was very poor.”

Still, Haskell surrendered only one big play, a 42-yard run by tailback Joshua Jones on the Hardrockers’ first play.

Jones, a 6-foot-1, 230-pound junior who started his college career at the Air Force Academy, finished with 153 yards on 24 carries. Bubba Wills led Haskell with 60 yards on 17 carries.

Off to an 0-2 start after playing their first two games at home, the Indians are scheduled to play their next four on the road, starting with a night game Saturday at Redlands University in California.