Upcoming Event: Football at South Dakota on November 8, 2025 at 3 p.m.
/
3 p.m.
Football
at South Dakota
South Dakota State University Athletics
Saturday, October 20
Brookings, S.D.
7 p.m.
South Dakota State University
3-4 , 1-0
48
vs
35
Cal Poly
4-3 , 1-1
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
F
Cal Poly
7
7
7
14
35
South Dakota State
14
14
7
13
48
Koenig leads Jackrabbits past No. 19 Cal Poly
10/20/2007 1:00:00 AM | Football
BROOKINGS, S.D. -- Cory Koenig rushed for career highs of 259 yards and four touchdowns to lead South Dakota State to a 48-35 victory over 19th-ranked Cal Poly in the Jackrabbits' Great West Football Conference opener Saturday night at Coughlin-Alumni Stadium.
With the victory, SDSU improved to 3-4 overall. Cal Poly, which had its four-game winning streak snapped, dropped to 4-3 overall, 1-1 in league play.
The Jackrabbits got an immediate boost as Adam Monke returned the opening kickoff 91 yards for a touchdown.
Cal Poly came right back to knot the game at 7-all on its first offensive possession, marching 68 yards on 10 plays. Jon Hall capped the drive with a 2-yard run that was set up by a 28-yard pass from Jonthan Dally to Ramses Barden that gave the Mustangs the ball at the SDSU 7.
The Mustangs appeared on the verge of taking the lead on their next possession, but Dally was stripped of the football by Jimmy Rogers and Danny Batten recovered the fumble at the Jackrabbit 6.
From there, the Jackrabbits put together an 11-play, 94-yard drive. Koenig picked up 80 of those yards on his own, breaking through the Cal Poly line on third-and-one for a 32-yard touchdown run with 59 seconds remaining in the first quarter.
Cal Poly came back to tie the game again on its first possession of the second quarter as Dally scampered 22 yards for a score.
SDSU came back to take the lead for good with two second-quarter touchdowns of its own. Kyle Minett scored the first TD on a 10-yard pass from Ryan Berry at the 7:32 mark, then the Jackrabbits converted another Cal Poly fumble deep in SDSU territory into points. Again on third-and-one, Koenig ran through the Mustang defense for a 46-yard touchdown, giving SDSU a 28-14 halftime edge.
In the second half, Cal Poly made good on its first offensive possession, scoring on a 4-yard run by Dally to finish off a five-play, 74-yard drive.
After SDSU blocked a Cal Poly field goal attempt late in the third quarter, the Jackrabbits turned another mistake into a touchdown. This time, on third-and-four, Koenig broke through the line for a 52-yard TD run.
The Jackrabbits tallied two more touchdowns in the fourth quarter. Berry hit JaRon Harris for a 25-yard scoring play on the first drive of the quarter to make it 41-21, then Koenig scored his final touchdown of the game on an 11-yard run with 5:52 remaining in th game.
Cal Poly also scored twice in the fourth quarter, the first on a Ramses Barden 22-yard reception from Dally that made the score 41-28. The Mustangs closed out the scoring with a 1-yard run with 3:08 remaining in the game.
The two teams combined for 699 yards of rushing, with Cal Poly holding a 387-312 advantage.
Koenig gained his 259 yards on only 21 carries, an average of 12.3 yards per play. Kyle Minett added 54 yards on 13 carries.
Dally paced Cal Poly with 30 carries for 153 yards and completed 7-of-15 throws for 115 yards. Ryan Mole contributed 112 yards on 12 carries, while Barden caught three balls for 56 yards.
The Jackrabbits also were efficient in the passing game as Berry completed 13-of-20 passes for 121 yards and the two touchdowns. Chris Doblar recorded four receptions for 34 yards.
Defensively, two of SDSU's leading tacklers came from the defensive line. Eric Schroeder led the way with 13 tackles and Mitch Pontrelli added 11 tackles, including two sacks, and blocked the field goal attempt. Linebacker Jimmy Rogers also tallied 11 tackles, forced a fumble and recovered a fumble.
Marty Mohamed led the Cal Poly defense with 13 tackles.
The Jackrabbits continue GWFC play Oct. 27 at UC Davis. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m. Pacific Time (4 p.m. Central). Cal Poly travels to Idaho State.
Game Notes: Koenig moved into sixth place on the Jackrabbit career rushing list with 2,382 yards, passing Joe Thorne (2,156 yards from 1959-61), Paul Klinger (2,161 yards from 1990-94) and Rick Wegher (2,293 yards from 1981-84) ... Koenig's 259 yards were the fifth most in a single game in school history and the most since Josh Ranek ran for 254 yards at North Dakota State in 2001 ... Parker Douglass had his school-record streak of 66 consecutive made PATs end when he missed an attempt in the fourth quarter ... Monke finished the game with 191 yards on five kickoff returns ... the series between SDSU and Cal Poly is now tied at 2-2 ... SDSU did not turn the ball over for only the second time this season ... attendance was listed at a season-low 6,545
With the victory, SDSU improved to 3-4 overall. Cal Poly, which had its four-game winning streak snapped, dropped to 4-3 overall, 1-1 in league play.
The Jackrabbits got an immediate boost as Adam Monke returned the opening kickoff 91 yards for a touchdown.
Cal Poly came right back to knot the game at 7-all on its first offensive possession, marching 68 yards on 10 plays. Jon Hall capped the drive with a 2-yard run that was set up by a 28-yard pass from Jonthan Dally to Ramses Barden that gave the Mustangs the ball at the SDSU 7.
The Mustangs appeared on the verge of taking the lead on their next possession, but Dally was stripped of the football by Jimmy Rogers and Danny Batten recovered the fumble at the Jackrabbit 6.
From there, the Jackrabbits put together an 11-play, 94-yard drive. Koenig picked up 80 of those yards on his own, breaking through the Cal Poly line on third-and-one for a 32-yard touchdown run with 59 seconds remaining in the first quarter.
Cal Poly came back to tie the game again on its first possession of the second quarter as Dally scampered 22 yards for a score.
SDSU came back to take the lead for good with two second-quarter touchdowns of its own. Kyle Minett scored the first TD on a 10-yard pass from Ryan Berry at the 7:32 mark, then the Jackrabbits converted another Cal Poly fumble deep in SDSU territory into points. Again on third-and-one, Koenig ran through the Mustang defense for a 46-yard touchdown, giving SDSU a 28-14 halftime edge.
In the second half, Cal Poly made good on its first offensive possession, scoring on a 4-yard run by Dally to finish off a five-play, 74-yard drive.
After SDSU blocked a Cal Poly field goal attempt late in the third quarter, the Jackrabbits turned another mistake into a touchdown. This time, on third-and-four, Koenig broke through the line for a 52-yard TD run.
The Jackrabbits tallied two more touchdowns in the fourth quarter. Berry hit JaRon Harris for a 25-yard scoring play on the first drive of the quarter to make it 41-21, then Koenig scored his final touchdown of the game on an 11-yard run with 5:52 remaining in th game.
Cal Poly also scored twice in the fourth quarter, the first on a Ramses Barden 22-yard reception from Dally that made the score 41-28. The Mustangs closed out the scoring with a 1-yard run with 3:08 remaining in the game.
The two teams combined for 699 yards of rushing, with Cal Poly holding a 387-312 advantage.
Koenig gained his 259 yards on only 21 carries, an average of 12.3 yards per play. Kyle Minett added 54 yards on 13 carries.
Dally paced Cal Poly with 30 carries for 153 yards and completed 7-of-15 throws for 115 yards. Ryan Mole contributed 112 yards on 12 carries, while Barden caught three balls for 56 yards.
The Jackrabbits also were efficient in the passing game as Berry completed 13-of-20 passes for 121 yards and the two touchdowns. Chris Doblar recorded four receptions for 34 yards.
Defensively, two of SDSU's leading tacklers came from the defensive line. Eric Schroeder led the way with 13 tackles and Mitch Pontrelli added 11 tackles, including two sacks, and blocked the field goal attempt. Linebacker Jimmy Rogers also tallied 11 tackles, forced a fumble and recovered a fumble.
Marty Mohamed led the Cal Poly defense with 13 tackles.
The Jackrabbits continue GWFC play Oct. 27 at UC Davis. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m. Pacific Time (4 p.m. Central). Cal Poly travels to Idaho State.
Game Notes: Koenig moved into sixth place on the Jackrabbit career rushing list with 2,382 yards, passing Joe Thorne (2,156 yards from 1959-61), Paul Klinger (2,161 yards from 1990-94) and Rick Wegher (2,293 yards from 1981-84) ... Koenig's 259 yards were the fifth most in a single game in school history and the most since Josh Ranek ran for 254 yards at North Dakota State in 2001 ... Parker Douglass had his school-record streak of 66 consecutive made PATs end when he missed an attempt in the fourth quarter ... Monke finished the game with 191 yards on five kickoff returns ... the series between SDSU and Cal Poly is now tied at 2-2 ... SDSU did not turn the ball over for only the second time this season ... attendance was listed at a season-low 6,545
Team Stats
CP
SDSU
Total Yards
502
433
Pass Yards
115
121
Rushing Yards
387
312
Penalty Yards
21
45
1st Downs
25
20
3rd Downs
8
10
4th Downs
3
0
TOP
31:59
28:01
1st Quarter
CP 0, SDSU 7
SDSU - Adam Monke 91 yd kickoff return (Parker Douglass kick)
CP 7, SDSU 7
CP - Jon Hall 2 yd run (Andrew Gardner kick), 10 plays, 68 yards, TOP 4:35
CP 7, SDSU 14
SDSU - Cory Koenig 32 yd run (Parker Douglass kick), 11 plays, 94 yards, TOP 5:14
2nd Quarter
CP 14, SDSU 14
CP - Jonathan Dally 22 yd run (Andrew Gardner kick), 8 plays, 65 yards, TOP 2:39
CP 14, SDSU 21
SDSU - Kyle Minett 10 yd pass from Ryan Berry (Parker Douglass kick) 13 plays, 76 yards, TOP 5:39
CP 14, SDSU 28
SDSU - Cory Koenig 46 yd run (Parker Douglass kick), 5 plays, 86 yards, TOP 1:04
3rd Quarter
CP 21, SDSU 28
CP - Jonathan Dally 4 yd run (Andrew Gardner kick), 5 plays, 74 yards, TOP 1:32
CP 21, SDSU 35
SDSU - Cory Koenig 52 yd run (Parker Douglass kick), 3 plays, 58 yards, TOP 1:27
4th Quarter
CP 21, SDSU 41
SDSU - JaRon Harris 25 yd pass from Ryan Berry (Parker Douglass kickfailed) 3 plays, 29 yards, TOP 1:35
CP 28, SDSU 41
CP - Ramses Barden 22 yd pass from Jonathan Dally (Andrew Gardner kick) 9 plays, 72 yards, TOP 4:04
CP 28, SDSU 48
SDSU - Cory Koenig 11 yd run (Parker Douglass kick), 5 plays, 47 yards, TOP 2:20
CP 35, SDSU 48
CP - Jonathan Dally 1 yd run (Andrew Gardner kick), 11 plays, 80 yards, TOP 2:44
Game Leaders
CMP
13
TD
2
YDS
121
INT
0
Players Mentioned
DL
/ FootballQB
/ Football
WR
/ Football
PK
/ Football
WR
/ Football
RB
/ Football
RB
/ Football
RB
/ Football
HWT
/ Wrestling
LB
/ Football
DL
/ FootballDan Jackson Weekly Press Conference (11.04.2025)
Tuesday, November 04
Football Postgame Press Conference vs Indiana State (11.01.2025)
Saturday, November 01
Football Highlights vs Indiana State (11.01.2025)
Saturday, November 01
Gameday Eve - Indiana State (10.31.2025)
Thursday, October 30