Jacks hold off Penguins, 35-28

Saturday, October 8

Youngstown, Ohio

3:00 PM

South Dakota State University

2-4 , 1-2

Youngstown State

2-3 , 1-2

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

South Dakota State

Youngstown State

10/8/2011 7:42:00 PM | Football

Box Score

By: SDSU Sports Info

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio - Austin Sumner and Aaron Rollin hooked up for a 73-yard go-ahead touchdown pass with 5 minutes and 55 seconds remaining in the game and the South Dakota State defense came up big in crunch time as the Jackrabbit football team held on for a 35-28 victory over Youngstown State Saturday afternoon at Stambaugh Stadium.

The Jackrabbits, who ended a four-game losing streak, improved to 2-4 overall and 1-2 in the Missouri Valley Football Conference. Youngstown State dropped to 2-3, 1-2 in league play.

The two teams traded touchdowns on their opening drives. Youngstown State took the opening kickoff and marched 75 yards on 11 plays, finishing the drive with a 7-yard touchdown run by Walter Payton Award candidate Jamaine Cook.

The Jackrabbits countered with a 1-yard touchdown run by Tyrel Kool less than four minutes later. SDSU took over at its own 40 after the kickoff went out of bounds, moving 60 yards on eight plays.

SDSU took its first lead of the game late in the first quarter with a four-play, 70-yard drive. Zach Zenner opened the drive with a 45-yard burst up the middle and Dale Moss closed the drive by scoring his first collegiate touchdown three plays later on a 27-yard pass from Austin Sumner.

After the Jackrabbits fumbled the ball away on a high snap inside the red zone, YSU used a big play of its own to knot the game at 14-all in the waning minutes of the first half. Kurt Hess went up top to Christian Bryan for a 51-yard scoring strike with 1 minute, 45 seconds left on the clock.

Sumner and the Jackrabbits ran the two-minute drill to near perfection, working the middle of the field to go on their longest scoring drive of the season. Sumner was 5-of-9 for 81 yards, capping the 11-play, 93-yard drive with a 10-yard touchdown pass to Brandon Hubert on third-and-goal with 16 seconds remaining in the half that put SDSU up 21-14. Earlier in the drive, Sumner connected with Hubert for gains of 14 and 30 yards to move the ball into Penguin territory.

Youngstown State regained the lead with a pair of touchdowns 49 seconds apart midway through the third quarter. The Penguins needed only one play to tie the game at 21-all on a 48-yard pass play down the middle of the field from Hess to Jelani Berassa. On the next Jackrabbit series, Sumner's pass on second down that was intended for Moss sailed high and was tipped into the waiting arms of Davion Rogers, who returned the ball 27 yards for a touchdown.

SDSU tied the game for the fourth time with another long scoring drive that began late in the third quarter and came to a close with 12:36 remaining in the game. Sumner capped the 14-play, 88-yard drive that chewed up more than six minutes with a 5-yard touchdown pass on third-and-goal to Rollin.

The Penguins drove into SDSU territory on the ensuing possession, but came up empty as Nicke Liste, normally YSU's punter, missed a 44-yard field goal attempt.

On the first play after the missed field goal, Sumner connected with Rollin down the right sideline for the go-ahead touchdown and the longest play from scrimmage this season by SDSU. Rollin finished the game with eight catches for a career-high 155 yards.

After the Jackrabbits gained the lead, YSU again moved the ball past midfield, but a holding penalty and sack by Andy Mink forced the Penguins to punt.

SDSU tried to run out the clock, but came up short on two short-yardage plays and was y

Once again, YSU advanced into SDSU territory, driving to the Jackrabbit 17 with under a minute to play. However, the Jackrabbit defense again held firm, forcing Hess to throw four consecutive incomplete passes to seal the victory.

Sumner ended the afternoon 22-of-35 for 345 yards and four touchdowns. Hubert caught five balls for 91 yards and Moss added five catches for 69 yards. The Jackrabbits also received strong production from their running backs as Zenner ended the game with 97 yards on 16 carries and Kool carried 15 times for 55 yards.

For YSU, Cook crossed the 100-yard mark with 107 yards on 18 carries. Hess was 18-of-34 for 243 yards, with Andre Barboza leading the receiving corps with six catches for 52 yards.

Defensively, Winston Wright and Ross Shafrath each tallied eight tackles to lead SDSU. Teven Williams recorded a game-high 10 tackles for Youngstown State.

The Jackrabbits return home to face nationally ranked Northern Iowa. Kickoff is slated for 6 p.m. at Coughlin-Alumni Stadium.

NOTES: SDSU leads the all-time series, 8-5 ... the Jackrabbits have won each of the four meetings the two squads have played since SDSU joined the Missouri Valley Football Conference in 2008 ... the Jackrabbits improved to 18-9 against Valley opponents since joining the league ... the victory was the 90th of John Stiegelmeier's career (90-70 in 15 seasons) ... SDSU's 14 first-quarter points were the most this season ... Sumner was 13-of-19 for 197 yards and two touchdowns in the first half as the Jackrabbits were 8-of-9 on third down attempts in the first 30 minutes ... Shafrath intercepted a pass on the final play of the first half and nearly scored, returning the ball 48 yards to the YSU 22 ... YSU notched the sixth interception return for a touchdown against the Jackrabbits this season ... attendance was 16,029