YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio It was just another day at the office for the top-ranked team in the FCS as South Dakota State blew out Youngstown State 34-0 on the road on Saturday. The win clinched a share of the Missouri Valley Football Conference title for the Jackrabbits as they improved to 10-0 on the season.
It was the first shutout for the Jackrabbit defense since Sept. 25, 2021 when they beat Indiana State 45-0. The Penguins were averaging 35 points and 429.2 yards per game entering Saturday and the Jacks held them to just 196 yards.
Im proud of the defense, said SDSU head coach Jimmy Rogers. We had multiple stops in the red zone where they could have had points. We were able to stop the run and made them one dimensional.
Hunter Dustman got the scoring going for the Jacks as he made a 33-yard field goal with 5:24 left in the first quarter. SDSU got its first touchdown of the day near the midway point of the second quarter as Mark Gronowski found Griffin Wilde for a five-yard touchdown to make it 10-0 SDSU with 8:29 left in the first half.
Tucker Large then intercepted Hunter Davidson on the Penguins ensuing possession. It was the third interception of the season for Large and it set up the Jacks on the YSU 25. Five plays later Gronowski found Jadon Janke for a 16-yard touchdown and the Jacks led 17-0 with 6:13 to play in the first half.
The Penguins would then work their way into Jackrabbit territory but would have to settle for a field goal attempt. Andrew Lastovka came on for a 29-yard attempt and for the second straight week Ryan Van Marel got his hand on the ball and blocked the field goal. Isaiah Stalbird recovered the blocked kick and returned it to the SDSU 47.
The good field position allowed SDSU to get three more points before the end of the half as the Jacks worked their way into YSU territory. Dustman came on and hit a 43-yard field goal as time expired and the Jacks took a 20-point lead into the locker room.
SDSU would pick up right where it left off to begin the second half. On the first play from scrimmage in the third quarter Gronowski found Janke again for a 56-yard touchdown and SDSU led 27-0 22 seconds into the second half.
Janke had a career-high 166 yards on seven catches. His brother Jaxon did not make the trip due to an injury and Rogers said hes blessed to have both of them on his football team.
Hes a great player. Both of them are. Were blessed to have two of them and were going to miss them for sure, but Im going to enjoy having them while I have them and am going to make the most of the memories while theyre still here, Rogers said.
Isaiah Davis then got in on the scoring as he found the end zone from a yard out early in the fourth quarter to put the Jacks up 34-0. He finished with 130 yards on 19 carries and it was the 21st time in his career that he surpassed the century mark in a game. SDSU had 166 yards on the ground.
We knew we were going to have to control the clock, Rogers said. Thats what we do. We run the ball and the O line blocked really well the whole game. Im proud of Isaiah. He deserves every bit of credit that he gets. He makes a lot of guys miss and has a knack of making guys miss in a small hole.
Gronowski was 19-of-28 for 295 yards and three touchdowns. 10 different Jackrabbits caught passes. Zach Heins had two catches for 39 yards and Mike Morgan had two catches for 27 yards. Graham Goering had three catches for 29 yards and Wilde had two catches for 16 yards.
Adam Bock led the Jackrabbit defense with seven tackles and a sack. Stalbird and Freeman each had five tackles. Large had four tackles and DyShawn Gales had four tackles and half of a sack. Brian Williams also had half of a sack.
It was the 24th-straight win for the Jacks, which is tied for the fourth longest win streak in FCS history. It was also the eighth straight win on the road for SDSU. The Jacks will close out the regular season next weekend at home against Missouri State. Rogers said he is looking forward to honoring all of their seniors next Saturday.
Were excited. If you were to tell this group that they were going to share anything I know they wouldnt be too excited about it. So, Im excited to see how we play next week at home in front of what I hope to be a full stadium and honor these seniors one last time. It would be a special moment for them. Its been a special season so far, but we have to do it the right way and close this season out and get ready for the playoffs, Rogers said.
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