Jacks hold off Missouri State, 24-17

Saturday, October 10

Springfield, Mo.

2 p.m.

South Dakota State University

4-1 , 3-0

Missouri State

3-3 , 1-2

Team	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Final F
South Dakota State	14	3	7	0	24
Missouri State	3	7	0	7	17

10/10/2009 6:45:00 PM | Football

Box Score

By: SDSU Sports Info

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - General Parnell intercepted two passes, including one in the end zone with under a minute to play, as South Dakota State held off a Missouri State comeback attempt, 24-17, Saturday afternoon in Missouri Valley Football Conference action.

The 19^th-ranked Jackrabbits improved to 4-1 overall and stayed perfect in league play with a 3-0 mark. Missouri State dropped to 3-3 overall, 1-2 in the MVFC. The game was played before a crowd of 10,592 at Plaster Field.

Missouri State put together the first scoring drive of the game, moving the ball 58 yards on 10 plays on its first possession before Matt Hottelman nailed a 49-yard field goal.

The Jackrabbits came back to take a 14-3 lead late in the first quarter with a pair of touchdowns two minutes and 18 seconds apart. Kyle Minett capped a 10-play, 75-yard drive with a 3-yard touchdown run for the first Jackrabbit score. SDSU's Dirk Kool then recovered a short kickoff to set up the Jackrabbits at the MSU 32. Five plays later, on third-and-16, redshirt freshman quarterback Thomas O'Brien found Saunders Montague behind the Bear defense for a 23-yard touchdown.

The Bears scored first touchdown of the day with a methodical 19-play, 72-yard drive that chewed up more than seven and a half minutes. After converting twice on short fourth down plays, Miguel Warren found the end zone from six yards out.

SDSU tacked on an 18-yard field goal by Peter Reifenrath late in the second quarter to take a 17-10 halftime lead. The Jackrabbits, who had a long touchdown run by Minett called back earlier in the drive by a holding penalty, opted for the field goal rather than going for it on fourth-and-1.

The Jackrabbits were able to establish more of a running game in the second half. Minett gained 35 yards on a third-quarter drive before O'Brien hit Glen Fox on a slant for a 19-yard touchdown pass that put the Jackrabbits up 24-10 with 2:31 to play in the third quarter.

SDSU failed to score on two possessions in Missouri State territory early in the fourth quarter, while the Bears started to find their stride offensively. MSU put together another long drive, finishing off a 16-play, 80-yard drive as Jared Emery made a lunging catch on a 5-yard pass play from Cody Kirby with 6:02 remaining to pull to within a score at 24-17.

After holding the Jackrabbits three plays and out, MSU took over at its own 18 with under four minutes remaining. The Bears converted on fourth-and-four and again on third-and-14 before two long pass plays to Jermaine Saffold put the Bears at the SDSU 31. Two more completions set up the Bears first and goal at the SDSU 6, but Parnell stepped in front of a Kirby pass in the right corner of the end zone and returned the ball 63 yards to the MSU 37, sealing the Jackrabbit victory.

O'Brien, making his first career start, completed 14-of-21 passes for 211 yards and two touchdowns. Fox led the receiving corps with seven catches for 87 yards, while Minett gained 105 yards on 26 carries.

For MSU, Kirby completed 29-of-46 attempts for 288 yards, and also led the Bears with 59 yards rushing on 14 carries. All three of Kirby's interceptions came in the second half. Emery tallied seven catches for 67 yards, while All-America tight end Clay Harbor added six receptions for 53 yards.

Defensively, Derek Domino led the Jackrabbits with 12 tackles. Chris Johnson and Danny Batten each recorded eight stops. Derek Miller posted a game-high 13 tackles for the Bears, with Antoine Wilkinson and Skylar Smith each adding 12.

The Bears held a 404-344 advantage in total offense and ran 19 more plays, 78-59, than the Jackrabbits.

SDSU returns home Oct. 17 to face North Dakota State in annual Dakota Marker game. Kickoff is set for 6:07 p.m. at Coughlin-Alumni Stadium.

Notes: SDSU leads the all-time series, 2-0 ... the Jackrabbits improved to 9-2 all-time in Missouri Valley Football Conference games ... O'Brien was 6-of-8 passing for 94 yards in the first quarter and was 9-of-12 for 162 yards at halftime ... Fox moved into seventh place on the SDSU career receiving charts with 120 receptions, breaking a tie with Lionel Macklin (113 catches from 1977-79) and passing Mike Myers (116 receptions from 1990-93), Mike Ethier (118 receptions from 1981-83) and Solomon Johnson (119 catches from 2001-04) ... Minett posted the 10^th 100-yard game of his career and second against Missouri State ... Minett also extended his streak with a touchdown to 10 games ... Conrad Kjerstad recorded the first interception of the game - and eighth of his career -- for SDSU early in the third quarter ... Parnell and Kjerstad share the team lead with three interceptions ... the Jackrabbits have outscored their opponents, 55-3, in the third quarter this season ... Missouri State was 6-of-17 on third downs, but a perfect 5-for-5 on fourth-down attempts ... SDSU failed to convert on its first fourth-down attempt of the season, which came in the second quarter ... Dean Priddy averaged 45.2 yards on four punts, landing three inside the MSU 20-yard line