Jackrabbits run over Leathernecks, 34-10

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BROOKINGS – South Dakota State went back to its bread and butter on offense Saturday as the Jackrabbits ran for 270 yards in a 34-10 win over Western Illinois.

Isaiah Davis led the way for SDSU (4-1) with 199 yards on 27 carries. The 27 carries were a career-high and the 199 yards were season-high for Davis. SDSU head coach John Stiegelmeier said it was great to see Davis finally have a game like that.

“It’s nice [to see Davis have that performance] for a number of reasons. You want that to happen for a player, but he’s such a team player. He didn’t want to break us down [in the locker room]. His humility overrode going in the middle, but I made him break us down. We know what he can do and he knows what he can do and he finally got to do it today,” Stiegelmeier said.

Davis had rushed for 333 yards in SDSU’s first four games, but his longest carry of the season was 16 yards. He said that it felt good to have some long runs on Saturday and he felt like it was going to happen at some point.

“I think we all knew this was bound to happen. We had some good looks today. We knew we had a couple plays [in earlier games] where we were just one block or one cut away from it being a big play, and today that showed out. We had a good week of preparation and a good game plan and it showed,” Davis said.

The Jacks racked up 459 total yards of offense. Mark Gronowski, who may have had his best game in a Jackrabbit uniform last weekend at Missouri State, struggled a bit on Saturday. He finished the day 17-for-33 with 188 yards and a touchdown. Stiegelmeier said he thought Gronowski had an off day, but still thinks he’s a great player.

“I think [Gronowski] was a little off and I think I said on the radio, ‘everybody has an off day.’ … He’s very hard on himself and like I said pregame, he’s a mechanical engineer. He doesn’t have a free second. He comes from class and we give him this lengthy game plan. But he’s a really good player and I’m glad he’s our quarterback,” he said.

SDSU marched right down the field on its first drive on offense, with Davis carrying the Jacks. He had 46 yards on the drive and capped it off with a two-yard touchdown run to put SDSU up 7-0 with 10:17 to go in the first quarter.

The Jacks would put more points on the board before the end of the first quarter. A promising drive stalled out and Hunter Dustman came on and connected on a 27-yard field goal.

The Leathernecks got their first points of the day early in the second quarter when Mason Larmie hit a 35-yard field goal to make 10-3.

SDSU then went on a nine-play 58-yard touchdown drive. Gronowksi completed the drive with an 11-yard touchdown run and it was 17-3 at halftime.

Neither team scored in the first 11 minutes of the second half. Dustman then hit a 25-yard field goal to make it 20-3 with 3:55 left in the third.

SDSU then put the game away early in the fourth quarter. Gronowski connected with Jaxon Janke and he fought his way into the end zone from 19 yards out to make it 27-3 with 11:41 to play.

Davis would then add to the lead on the Jacks’ next drive. He ripped off a 38-yard run and followed it up with a 12-yard touchdown to make it 34-3.

WIU got its first touchdown of the day on its next drive. Neseim Brantley broke through some missed tackles by SDSU and ran 56 yards. He fumbled at the one yard line, but Jay Parker was there to recover it in the end zone and it was 34-10 with 5:54 to play and that was the final score.

Jaxon Janke led the Jackrabbit receivers with nine catches for 94 yards. Senior tight end Zach Heins left the game after getting hit in the head. Stiegelmeier said he didn’t have an update on Heins after the game.

The SDSU defense held WIU to 220 yards of total offense and 19 rushing yards. SDSU has now held all five of its opponents under 300 yards. Senior cornerback Dyshawn Gales, who had an interception on WIU’s first play of the second half, said the success that SDSU is having on defense is due to the way that the Jacks prepare.

“The preparation and practice [is what has led to the success on defense]. We practice the way we want to play and practice attacking the ball and having that mental mindset of not letting anyone go up and down the field on us. [It’s] also just playing with effort and getting to the ball,” Gales said.

Adam Bock led the Jacks with 10 total tackles. Max Baloun, Reece Winkleman and Caleb Sanders all had a sack.

Junior linebacker Jason Freeman, who got his second career start on Saturday, had five tackles, one of which was for a loss. Freeman is a transfer from Olivet Nazarene Univeristy and Stiegelmeier said he’s been impressed with the way Freeman has excelled after transferring in.

“I think [Freeman] is a really good player. I think he’s got all of the things you need to play the position he does and I think it’s amazing with how much defense we play and how short of time he’s been with us and how well he’s doing. So, I’m really excited and that’s a guy that will get better every week just because of getting familiar with all the stuff we do” Stiegelmeier said.

Up next, SDSU will turn its attention to instate rival South Dakota. The Coyotes have beat the Jacks the past two times they’ve played and SDSU is looking for revenge. Senior offensive lineman Garret Greenfield said he’s looking forward to playing the Coyotes and it’s going to be all about how the Jacks prepare in the week leading up to the game.

“Obviously USD and SDSU, it’s going to be a big game. We know they’re going to come in here ready to go and know they’re going to be prepared. I think we’re going to be ready for that and have a great week of preparation. I think everybody is going to go about it the right way and keep the right mindset throughout the whole week and control what we can. [We have to] practice really well, prepare really well and have the right attitude. It’s going to be a good game and good battle next Saturday,” Greenfield said.