BROOKINGS – South Dakota State grinded early and pulled away late during a 36-7 Hobo Day victory over Youngstown State on Saturday afternoon at Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium.
The Jackrabbits (4-1) moved into a tie for second place in the Missouri Valley Football Conference standings at 2-1, while the Penguins (2-4) dropped to 1-2.
“It was a good win,” said SDSU coach John Stiegelmeier. “I’m really happy for our team to battle initially and then battle after guys went down. I love the heartbeat of our team that they don’t care who’s on the field, they’re going to play their tails off. And they did that.
“We lost two running backs and (C.J. Wilson) stepped up big, so I’m really proud of him.”
Senior Isaac Wallace, who entered the day averaging 103.2 rushing yards per game, went down with an injury at the 4-minute mark of the first period.
“He had a pretty series leg injury,” said Stiegelmeier. “I can’t tell you what it is but I expect him to probably be out for the season.
“I’ve never been part of an injury like his. In my 31 years of coaching, I’ve never had a young man have that injury, so I’m guessing a little bit.
“And then Pierre (Strong Jr.) got hurt, I don’t know what his injury is; Logan Backhaus got hurt; Jordan Brown was hurt. So, again, I think our team rose up really well – those are some pretty good players that went down.”
Wilson had a big day at running back, picking up 119 yards and a touchdown on 16 attempts.
Taryn Christion went 7-of-16 for 78 yards with a TD and ran five times for 89 yards with a pair of fourth-quarter scores. He broke the MVFC record for career total yards of offense.
SDSU, which had lost four the past five homecoming games, went three-and-out and had a penalty on its opening possession and then saw the Penguins move the ball to the 24-yard-line.
However, Backhaus blocked Zak Kennedy’s 41-yard field goal attempt and Christian Cox scooped up the loose ball, returning it 24 yards to the YSU 25.
Two plays later, Christion connected with Cade Johnson for a 23-yard TD toss to make it 6-0.
The Penguins answered with their lone scoring drive as Montgomery VanGorder hit Christian Turner for a 27-yard touchdown pass.
Chase Vinatieri’s 31-yard field goal at the 3:06 mark of the first put SDSU on top for good at 9-7.
Kennedy missed a 38-yard field goal attempt early in the second after YSU head coach Bo Pelini was flagged for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.
Wilson’s 41-yard run late in the half moved the ball to the YSU 3, and Mikey Daniel scored from a yard out soon thereafter to push the margin to 16-7.
The Jackrabbits got a quick stop on defense out of intermission and Wilson broke off a 48-yard touchdown run on third-and-8.
Later, Ty Mosley halted a YSU drive with an interception in the end zone – his third pick of the year.
Christion had a 49-yard TD run at the 14:08 mark of the second.
Christian Rozeboom added a pick in the fourth, returning the ball 10 yards to midfield. Christion tacked on an 11-yard scoring scamper with 7:36 remaining to provide for the final margin.
Ryan Earith, who recorded a sack, and Seven Wilson both had seven tackles. Rozeboom, Cox and Backhaus added six stops apiece.
South Dakota State takes on Northern Iowa (3-3, 2-1) on Saturday at 4:30 p.m. in the UNI Dome in Cedar Falls, Iowa.
Taryn Christion
The senior from Sioux Falls now has 10,974 career total yards of offense, breaking the previous MVFC record of 10,952 set by Illinois State’s Matt Brown from 2009-12.
Christion is 697-of-1,142 for 9,675 yards with 88 TDs and has rushed for 1,299 yards and 23 scores.
Brown is the MVFC career passing leader with 10,591 yards.
Notes
Daniel has 17 career touchdowns, including 16 rushing. … Preston Tetzlaff made three stops. … Eddie Miller started at center as SDSU was down a pair of starting offensive linemen. He also played right guard. … Saturday was Stiegelmeier’s 250th game as a head coach – all at SDSU. He has a 152-98 record, including a 110-65 mark in the division I era (69-32 in MVFC).
No. 2 SOUTH DAKOTA STATE 36, YOUNGSTOWN STATE 7
YSU (2-4, 1-2) 7 0 0 0 – 7
SDSU (4-1, 2-1) 9 7 7 13 – 36
First Quarter
SDSU – Cade Johnson 23 pass from Taryn Christion (kick field), 11:47
YSU – Christian Turner 27 pass fron Montgomery VanGorder (Zak Kennedy kick), 7:41
SDSU – Chase Vinatieri 31 FG, 3:06
Second Quarter
SDSU – Mikey Daniel 1 run (Vinatieri kick), :05
Third Quarter
SDSU – C.J. Wilson 48 run (Vinatieri kick), 12:13
Fourth Quarter
SDSU – Christion 49 run (kick failed), 12:07
SDSU – Christion 11 run (Vinatieri kick), 7:36
YSU SDSU
First Downs 17 15
Plays-Yards 68-344 56-331
Rushes-Yards 41-136 40-253
C-A-Int.-Yards 14-27-2-208 7-16-0-78
Fumbles-Lost 2-0 0-0
Penalties-Yards 8-65 2-10
Punts-Avg.-I20-TB 8-38.8-2-1 7-42.6-2-0
Kickoffs-Avg.-TB 2-65-2 7-57-3
Punt Returns-Yards-TD 4-13-0 2-7-0
Kickoff Returns-Yards-TD 3-56-0 0-0-0
Interception Returns-Yards-TD 0-0-0 2-10-0
Fumble Returns-Yards-TD 0-0-0 0-0-0
Miscellaneous Yards 0 51
Possession Time 31:31 28:29
Third-down Conversions 6-of-15 5-of-13
Fourth-down Conversions 0-of-0 0-of-0
Red Zone Chances-TD-FG 1-0-0 3-2-1
Sacks By-Yards 0-0 2-17
Field Goals 0-for-2 1-for-1
RUSHING: YSU – Tevin McCaster 22-60, Netavious Payne 5-38, Montgomery VanGorder 11-28, Christian Turner 3-10. SDSU – C.J. Wilson 16-119, Taryn Christion 5-89, Mikey Daniel 14-35, Cade Johnson 1-24, Pierre Strong 1-2, Kanin Nelson 1-(-2).
PASSING: YSU – Montgomery VanGorder 14-27-2-208. SDSU – Taryn Christion 7-16-0-78.
RECEIVING: YSU – Christian Turner 3-60, Kendric Mallory 3-32, Zack Torbert 2-14, Jeremiah Braswell 1-27, Chris Durkin 1-22, Netavious Payne 1-16, Zach Farrar 1-15, Tevin McCaster 1-14, Samuel St. Surin 1-8. SDSU – Isaac Wallace 2-31, Adam Anderson 2-14, Cade Johnson 1-23, Kallan Hart 1-6, C.J. Wilson 1-4.
DEFENSE: YSU – Armand Dellovade 7 tackles; Bryce Gibson 6 tackles; Chrispin Lee 5 tackles; Ray Anderson 5 tackles. SDSU – Ryan Earith 7 tackles, sack; Seven Wilson 7 tackles; Christian Rozeboom 6 tackles, INT; Dalton Cox 6 tackles; Logan Backhaus 6 tackles, blocked FG; Brandon Snyder 5 tackles; Zy Mosley INT; Tolu Ogunrinde sack; Jordan Brown FF.
A – 14,357.
Missouri Valley Football Conference
MVFC Overall
STATS/Coaches W-L PF/PA W-L PF/PA Strk
1/1 North Dakota State 3-0 111/55 6-0 236/75 W12
12/12 Illinois State 2-1 105/43 5-1 234/72 W2
2/5 South Dakota State 2-1 107/79 4-1 242/99 W2
Missouri State 2-1 81/82 4-2 190/172 W1
Northern Iowa 2-1 106/84 3-3 187/148 W1
24/— South Dakota 2-1 94/94 3-3 171/176 L1
Western Illinois 1-2 68/105 2-4 136/192 L2
Youngstown State 1-2 62/95 2-4 142/177 L1
Indiana State 0-3 77/116 2-4 188/188 L3
Southern Illinois 0-3 41/99 1-5 175/233 L5
Notes: The following matchups will not take place in 2018: SDSU-WIU, NDSU-InSU, UNI-SIU, YSU-MSU and IlSU-USD. … In addition to being ranked 24th in the STATS poll, USD (26th) is receiving votes in the Coaches poll. UNI (26th/27th) and MSU (30th/32nd) are receiving votes in both polls, while WIU (38th) is receiving votes in the STATS poll. … The MVFC went 17-12 in nonconference games, including a 13-5 mark versus FCS schools and a 1-7 record against FBS teams. … The Valley won the Big Sky-MVFC Challenge Series 5-3 for the second year in a row.
*MVFC game
WEEK 7 – Saturday, Oct. 13
*South Dakota State 36, Youngstown State 7
*North Dakota State 34, Western Illinois 7
*Northern Iowa 42, South Dakota 28
*Illinois State 51, Southern Illinois 3
*Missouri State 29, Indiana State 26
Notable games
Montana State 24, Idaho 23
Iowa State 34, West Virginia 14
North Dakota 41, No. 22/23 Montana 14
Open: Arkansas-Pine Bluff (1-5, 0-2 SWAC West)
WEEK 8 – Saturday, Oct. 20
*Western Illinois at Missouri State, Springfield, Mo., 2 p.m.
*Indiana State at Southern Illinois, Carbondale, Ill., 2 p.m.
*Illinois State at North Dakota State, Fargo, N.D., 2:30 p.m.
*South Dakota State at Northern Iowa, Cedar Falls, Iowa, 4 p.m.
*South Dakota at Youngstown State, Youngstown, Ohio, 5 p.m.
Notable games
Arkansas-Pine Bluff (1-5, 0-2 SWAC West) at Mississippi Valley State (0-5, 0-2 SWAC East), Itta Bena, Miss., 2 p.m.
Montana State (4-2, 2-1 Big Sky; RV) at No. 13 Weber State (4-2, 2-1 Big Sky), Ogden, Utah, 5 p.m.
North Dakota (4-2, FCS Independent; RV) at Sacramento State (2-4, 0-3 Big Sky), Sacramento, Calif., 8 p.m.
Open: Iowa State (3-3, 2-2 Big 12; FBS)
• No. 1 North Dakota State 34, Western Illinois 7
MACOMB, Ill. – The Bison scored 31 consecutive points to close the game and run their winning streak to 12 games.
NDSU’s Easton Stick was 11-of-20 for 123 yards with a TD. Lance Dunn ran for 64 yards and Ty Brooks 45 as both players found the end zone once.
WIU’s Sean McGuire went 22-of-39 for 209 yards with a TD and three INTs. Isaiah Lesure had 12 catches for 170 yards and a touchdown.
Cam Pedersen opened the scoring with a 47-yard field goal. The Leathernecks took their only lead – 7-3 – on McGuire’s 5-yard pass to Lesure at the 13:43 mark of the second quarter.
The Bison moved back on top on Dunn’s 1-yard plunge 4 minutes later. Dan Marlette returned a fumble 38 yards to paydirt to make it 17-7 at halftime.
Stick hit Darrius Shepherd for a 22-yard score early in the third. In the fourth, Pedersen had a 24-yard boot and Ty Brooks had a 15-yard touchdown rush, which was set up by Jabril Cox’s interception and 34-yard return.
NDSU’s Levi Jordheim had seven tackles, including a sack. James Hendricks picked off a pair of passes and Michael Tutsie added an INT.
WIU’s Khalen Saunders, who recorded two sacks and forced a fumble, and Quentin Moon both tallied 11 stops.
Total offense: NDSU 62-276 (43-153 rushing/11-20-123 passing), WIU 64-296 (18-9 rushing/26-46-287 passing). Turnovers: NDSU 0, WIU 5 (4 INT/1 fumble). Time of possession: NDSU 31:39, WIU 28:21. A: 2,709.
• Northern Iowa 42, No. 24 South Dakota 28
VERMILLION – The Panthers scored 21 unanswered points, breaking away from a 21-all tie to beat the Coyotes.
Eli Dunne finished 24-of-33 for 257 yards and had touchdown tosses to four different players. He also found the end zone on the ground.
Trevor Allen (56) and Marcus Weymiller (36) combined for 92 rushing yards.
USD’s Austin Simmons went 34-of-47 for 328 yards with two TDs and an INT.
The Coyotes’ Mason Lorber had field goals of 39 yards in the first quarter and 22 yards early in the second. The Panthers answered in the form of Dunne’s 13-yard connection with Jaylin James.
Simmons found Kai Henry for a 3-yard score soon thereafter to put the Coyotes up 13-7.
Dunne and Weymiller hooked up for a 9-yard touchdown with 58 seconds left in the half.
Alphonso Soko recovered Wesley Eliodor’s fumble – forced by Zac Kibby – on the ensuing kickoff and returned the ball 7 yards to the USD 4. Three plays later, Dunne plunged into the end zone from a yard out to make it 21-13 at halftime.
USD’s Brandon Thull scored on a 2-yard run at the 2:31 mark of the third and Simmons hit Dakarai Allen for the two-pointer to knot the score at 21-all.
It was all UNI after that.
Dunne hit Briley Moore for a 21-yard touchdown with 42 seconds left in the third and Nick Fossey for a 25-yarder with 11:35 to play in the fourth to push the margin to 35-21.
On the next play from scrimmage, Elerson G. Smith sacked Simmons and forced him to fumble. The ball bounced into the end zone and Brawntae Wells pounced on it for a touchdown.
The Coyotes closed out the scoring with 7:50 to go as Simmons had a 5-yard TD toss to Allen, who finished with six catches covering 98 yards.
UNI’s Chris Kolarevic had nine tackles. Rickey Neal notched a pair of sacks. Xavior Williams picked off a pass
USD’s Andrew Gray made 12 stops.
Total offense: UNI 66-356 (33-99 rushing/24-33-257 passing), USD 87-366 (40-38 rushing/34-47-328 passing). Turnovers: UNI 0, USD 3 (1 INT/2 fumbles). Time of possession: UNI 30:57, USD 29:03. A: 9,513.
• No. 12 Illinois State 51, Southern Illinois 3
NORMAL, Ill. – The Redbirds had more rushing yards (409) than the Salukis did total yards (202) as they cruised to the Homecoming win.
James Robinson picked up 202 yards on 25 carries and Markel Smith added 143 yards on 11 attempts as both players scored once.
Brady Davis was 10-of-15 for 118 yards with four TDs and one INT.
Jake Kolbe had a 1-yard TD rush, while Spencer Schnell, Braxton Haley, Andrew Edgar and Robert Gillum each had a touchdown reception. JT Bohlken kicked a 35-yard field goal and went 6-of-7 on PAT kicks.
ISU led 7-0 after a quarter, 31-0 at halftime and 38-3 heading to the fourth.
The Redbirds’ Zackary Mathews had eight tackles and Willie Edwards and Tuvone Clark both added seven.
SIU’s Sam Straub went 14-of-30 for 103 yards and ran for 49 yards. Raphael Leonard picked up 81 yards on seven catches. Nico Gualdon booted a 26-yard field goal.
Bryce Notree made 10 stops and Luke Giegling picked off a pass.
Total offense: ISU 68-541 (52-409 rushing/11-16-132 passing), SIU 67-202 (34-90 rushing/15-33-112 passing). Turnovers: ISU 1 (1 INT), SIU 0. Time of possession: ISU 33:48, SIU 26:12. A: 11,247.
• Missouri State 29, Indiana State 26
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Lorenzo Thomas scored on a 4-yard pass from Peyton Huslig – the receiver’s first career TD catch – with 16 seconds to go and Jeremiah Wilson ran in the two-point conversion from the 1 as the Bears earned their first road win of the season.
Huslig finished 21-of-33 for 169 yards.
Donovan Daniels ran 15 times for 62 yards and two touchdowns, while Wilson rushed 14 times for 61 yards and one TD.
Indiana State’s Ja’Quan Keys picked up 141 yards on 23 carries and found the end zone three times. Ryan Boyle was 18-of-22 for 152 yards.
Daniels opened the scoring with a 1-yard plunge at the 5:29 mark of the first, polishing off a 17-play, 87-yard drive that took up half the quarter.
Keys pulled the Sycamores even with a 47-yard TD run 10 seconds into the second.
Daniels’ 10-yard rush to the end zone made it 14-7 in favor of the Bears. ISU’s Jerry Nunez kicked a 48-yard field goal, before Wilson found paydirt from 18 yards out with 2:01 to go to make it 21-10 MSU at halftime.
The Sycamores put up 16 unanswered points after that.
Keys had a 2-yard TD run midway through the third and a 7-yarder with 14:28 remaining in the game to put the hosts ahead 23-21. His scoring runs completed drives of 12 plays, 73 yards (5:11) and 14 plays, 85 yards (5:31).
ISU faced a third-and-goal at the MSU 1-yard-line on its ensuing possession but had to settle for a field goal after the Bears’ Angelo Garbutt and Tyler Lovelace stuffed Chris Covington for no gain.
Nunez’s 19-yard kick with 4:04 left capped a 15-play, 84-yard drive that spanned 7:41 and put the Sycamores on top 26-21.
MSU countered with a 15-play, 68-yard march to retake the lead for good.
The Bears’ Angelo Garbutt (sack) and Titus Wall both had 11 tackles, and McNeece Egbim added 10.
The Sycamores’ Jonah Griffith made 11 stops and Katrell Moss 14. ISU had seven pass breakups.
Total offense: MSU 74-352 (41-183 rushing/21-33-169 passing), ISU 76-440 (54-288 rushing/18-22-152 passing). Turnovers: MSU 0, ISU 0. Time of possession: MSU 27:50, ISU 32:10. A: 6,721.
Notable games
• Montana State 24, Idaho 23
BOZEMAN, Mont. – The Bobcats (3-2, 1-1) rallied from a 17-7 deficit and then held on late to beat the Vandals (2-3, 1-2) in a Big Sky Conference game.
Troy Anderson ran 14 times for 159 yards and two TDs.
Isaiah Ifanse found the end zone from 2 yards out at the 6:46 mark of the third and Anderson dashed 60 yards to paydirt with 2:45 left to put MSU ahead 21-17. Triastan Bailey booted a 42-yard field goal at the 7:26 mark of the fourth.
Idaho’s David Ungerer had a 9-yard touchdown run with 3:07 to go to cut the deficit to 24-23, but Cade Coffey missed the PAT kick.
Isaiah Saunders ran for 82 yards and a pair of scores.
• Iowa State 34, West Virginia 14
AMES, Iowa – The Cyclones (3-3, 2-2) outgained the sixth-ranked Mountaineers (5-1, 3-1) 498-152 in total yards of offense and possessed the ball for more than 37 mintues in the Big 12 Conference matchup.
David Montgomery ran for 189 yards and a touchdown. Brock Purdy was 18-of-25 for 254 yards with three TDs and one INT through the air.
ISU led 13-7 after a quarter and 20-7 late in the second quarter before WVU’s Derrek Pitts returned a blocked field goal 72 yards to paydirt to cut the deficit to 20-14 at halftime. That’s where the score stood heading to the fourth, when Purdy hit Deshaunte Jones for a 32-yard touchdown toss and added a throw to Matthew Eaton on the two-point conversion to make it 28-14 with 12:17 remaining. A safety with 5:14 sealed the deal.
WVU’s Will Grier was 11-of-15 for 100 yards with a TD and an INT, while Kennedy McKoy ran for 55 yards.
• North Dakota 41, No. 22/23 Montana 14
GRAND FORKS, N.D. – The Fighting Hawks (4-2) recorded three takeaways in as many possessions to open the game and turned them all into touchdowns en route to beating the Grizzlies (4-2).
Deion Harris intercepted a pass and returned it to the UM 10-yard-line and Nate Ketteringham hit Noah Wanzek for a TD on the next play. Tykeise Johnson recovered a fumble on the ensuing kickoff and Ketteringham plunged in from a yard out soon thereafter. Donnell Rodgers recovered a fumble on the UND 2, and Ketteringham capped a 98-yard drive with a 45-yard TD toss to Garrett Maag that made it 21-0 with 4:58 to go in the first.
Ketteringham added a 55-yard scoring strike to Izzy Adeoti late in the third and, one play after Evan Holm recovered a fumble, found Noah Wanzek for a 10-yard score to make it 34-0 at halftime. James Johannesson’s 10-yard scoring rush pushed the margin to 41-0 early in the fourth.
Ketteringham finished 17-of-25 for 254 yards with four TDs and two INTs. Johannesson ran for 108 yards.
Photos by Sean Welsh:
Below 1, SDSU’s Zy Mosley tackles YSU’s Tevin McCaster during fourth-quarter action.
Below 2, freshman running back C.J. Wilson heads downfield. He picked up 119 yards on 16 carries and found the end zone once.
Below 3, South Dakota State’s Cade Johnson hauls in a 23-yard catch in the end zone during the first quarter of the Jackrabbits’ 36-7 Missouri Valley Football Conference win over Youngstown State on Hobo Day Saturday. It was his eighth touchdown reception of the season.
