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South Dakota State University Athletics
Jacks host SUU in season opener
8/31/2011 3:46:00 PM | Football
The South Dakota State University football team kicks off the 2011 season Saturday night by hosting Southern Utah in the 16th Annual Cereal Bowl.
Kickoff is slated for 6 p.m. at Coughlin-Alumni Stadium on the SDSU campus.
Both teams are receiving votes in each of the major Football Championship Subdivision polls.
In 2010, Southern Utah posted its first winning season since 2004 with a 6-5 overall record. The Thunderbirds ran the table in the Great West Conference, posting a perfect 4-0 mark en route to the league title. SUU has been tabbed to repeat as conference champion by the league's coaches.
SDSU, meanwhile, is coming off its first losing season at the Division I level, turning in a 5-6 overall mark in 2010. The Jackrabbits were also part of a six-way tie for third place in the Missouri Valley Football Conference with a 4-4 mark in league play.
A free youth clinic conducted by Jackrabbit players and coaches is scheduled to run from 1:30 to 3 p.m. Saturday on the practice fields east of the stadium. Registration can be completed online at GoJacks.com until noon Friday, with on-site registration starting at 12:30 p.m. The clinic is open to children in kindergarten through eighth grade.
THE SERIES: Saturday's game will mark the fifth meeting on the gridiron between South Dakota State and Southern Utah. The series dates back to SDSU's first season at the Division I level, 2004, when both squads were members of the Great West Football Conference.
Southern Utah won the first meeting, 23-17, in double overtime at Cedar City Utah, but the Jackrabbits have won the last three meetings to hold a 3-1 series advantage.
The last meeting between the two programs came on Nov. 10, 2007, when the Jackrabbits recorded a 52-27 victory at Coughlin-Alumni Stadium. SDSU trailed 27-16 late in the third quarter before scoring the final 36 points of the game. All-America defensive back Tyler Koch returned two interceptions for touchdowns in the fourth quarter, including a school-record 99-yarder for the final score of the day.
SDSU has compiled a 13-7 record against Great West Conference opponents, including a 12-6 mark as a member of the league from 2004-07. The Great West Conference will no longer sponsor football after the 2011 season as Southern Utah, Cal Poly, UC Davis and North Dakota will move to the Big Sky Conference and the University of South Dakota joins the Missouri Valley Football Conference in 2012.
ONLINE COVERAGE: Audio and video coverage of Saturday's game is scheduled to be available via the Jackrabbit Extra subscription service at GoJacks.com, the official website of SDSU athletics. Monthly subscriptions for the Jackrabbit Extra, which includes live audio and video streaming are available for $11.95 per month or $99.95 for an entire year of coverage.
Local radio coverage Saturday begins on Jackrabbit Sports Network flagship station WNAX 570 AM at 4:30 p.m., with an expanded pre-game show. Tyler Merriam will call the play-by-play, with former Jackrabbit player Mike Struck providing color commentary and Scotty Kwas providing sideline updates. Jackrabbit Sports Network affiliates include:
• KJJQ 910 AM-Brookings • KRKI 99.1 FM-Rapid City
• KGFX 1060 AM-Pierre • KOLY 1300 AM-Mobridge
• KBFS 1450 AM-Belle Fourche • KWAT 950 AM/KDLO 96.9 FM-Watertown
Video streaming is slated to begin at 5:30 p.m.
IMMING HONORED: South Dakota State University Athletics will honor longtime radio announcer Steve Imming at halftime of Saturday's football season opener.
Imming recently announced that he is retiring from his full-time duties at Yankton-based WNAX 570 AM — the flagship station of the Jackrabbit Sports Network. He will continue to co-host the WNAX Morning Show and provide sports updates.
"It has been a privilege to be the play-by-play voice of Jackrabbit football and men's basketball for the last 19 years," Imming said. "I'm looking forward to continuing my relationship with the Jackrabbits as a fan by tuning in and making it up to some games."
Since arriving at WNAX in 1992, Imming has been behind the microphone for more than 200 football and nearly 600 Jackrabbit men's basketball games.
A St. Louis native, Imming's distinguished broadcasting career spans parts or all of six decades. Imming previously worked in radio with the U.S. Air Force in Thailand, as well as Waynesville and Rolla, Mo.; Kenosha, Wis., and Omaha, Neb. He also co-hosted the Greyhound Race of Champions on ESPN in 1985 and on Sports Channel in 1986.
Imming has won six South Dakota Associated Press Sportscaster of the Year awards, as well as being named the 1998 Sportscaster of the Year from the state by the National Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association. In 2004, the Creighton University (Neb.) graduate was honored by the North Central Conference as a recipient of the Kolpack Media Award.
CAPTAINS: Leading the Jackrabbit football team on the field and in the locker room are four senior captains:
• Kyle Harris, kicker, Florissant, Mo.;
• Dirk Kool, linebacker, Fairfield, Iowa;
• Mike Lien, linebacker, Castaic, Calif.;
• Jake Steffen, defensive end, Mount Vernon, S.D.
Kool holds the distinction of being the third generation of his family to serve as a captain for the Jackrabbit football team. His late grandfather, Marv, was a team captain in 1951, while his father, Mark, served as a captain on the Jackrabbits' NCAA Division II playoff squad in 1979. Mark Kool later served as an assistant coach at SDSU from 1987-90.
SEASON OPENERS: During the John Stiegelemeier era, the Jackrabbits have compiled a 9-5 record in season openers. SDSU won its first seven season-opening games under Coach Stig when competing at the NCAA Division II level, but has gone 2-5 in season openers since moving to the Division I Football Championship Subdivision in 2004. The Jackrabbits' last season-opening win came during the playoff season of 2009, when SDSU soundly defeated Georgia Southern, 44-6.
In home openers under Coach Stig, the Jackrabbits are 10-4, including a 6-1 mark when the home opener doubles as the season opener as is the case this weekend.
CAS TURNS 50: The 2011 campaign marks the 50th season of football at Coughlin-Alumni Stadium. Overall, SDSU has compiled a 162-99 record (.621 winning percentage) on its home field.
The Jackrabbits have enjoyed even more of a home-field advantage at Coughlin-Alumni Stadium since making the move to the Football Championship Subdivision level.
Since joining the FCS ranks at the start of the 2004 season, the Jackrabbits have posted a 29-8 mark at CAS, including a 10-2 record in Missouri Valley Football Conference games.
Lights were installed at CAS prior to the 2001 season and SDSU has turned in a 21-6 record in home night games.
A celebration of the history of Coughlin-Alumni Stadium will be observed Oct. 22, when SDSU hosts North Dakota State in the annual Dakota Marker game. Festivities that day will include halftime recognition of the 50-player Coughlin-Alumni Stadium All-Time Team.
THE CEREAL BOWL: The Cereal Bowl is South Dakota State University's recognition of the state's commodity groups who contribute more than $1 million annually in research grants, scholarships and donations to SDSU, which is the state's Land-Grant institution.
Commodity groups include:
· South Dakota Corn Utilization Council
· South Dakota Crop Improvement Association
· South Dakota Oilseeds Council
· South Dakota Soybean Research and Promotion Council
· South Dakota Wheat Commission
CEREAL BOWL HISTORY: South Dakota State enters Saturday's game with an 11-4 record in previous Cereal Bowl games.
The first Cereal Bowl game was played on Oct. 12, 1996, when the Jackrabbits defeated in-state rival South Dakota, 28-17. SDSU reeled off six consecutive Cereal Bowl victories between 2000 and 2005.
Following are the scores of the 15 previous Cereal Bowl games:
Oct. 12, 1996 • South Dakota • W, 28-17
Oct. 25, 1997 • North Dakota State • W, 34-27
Oct. 3, 1998 • South Dakota • W, 24-10
Oct. 16, 1999 • North Dakota State • L, 7-28
Sept. 9, 2000 • Wayne State (Neb.) • W, 65-3
Sept. 1, 2001 • Ferris State (Mich.) • W, 34-24
Sept. 14, 2002 • Chadron State (Neb.) • W, 28-15
Sept. 6, 2003 • Northwest Missouri • W, 20-0
Sept. 11, 2004 • Winona State (Minn.) • W, 45-20
Sept. 10, 2005 • Valparaiso (Ind.) • W, 69-6
Sept. 2, 2006 • Wisconsin-La Crosse • L, 3-17
Sept. 15, 2007 • Northern Iowa • L, 17-31
Sept. 6, 2008 • Youngstown State (Ohio) • W, 40-7
Sept. 12, 2009 • Georgia Southern • W, 44-6
Sept. 18, 2010 • Illinois State • L, 14-24
SCOUTING SOUTHERN UTAH: The Southern Utah football team enters the 2011 season with high expectations after a breakthrough campaign in 2010.
After winning the Great West Conference title with a 4-0 mark and posting a 6-5 overall record last season, the Thunderbirds are tabbed as the league favorite in 2011.
Leading the Thunderbird offense, which returns nine starters, is junior quarterback Brad Sorensen, who has been named GWC Preseason Offensive Player of the Year and is on the initial watch list for the Walter Payton Award as the top offensive player in the Football Championship Subdivision. A native of Grand Terrace, Calif., Sorensen is the top returning passer in the FCS ranks after completing an average of 23.73 passes per game in 2010, tallying a school-record 3,163 yards with 21 touchdowns.
Sorensen will be without his top top two targets from a year ago, All-American Tysson Poots and all-GWC performer Fesi Sitake, due to graduation, but does have a pair of dual-threat running backs returning in Austin Minefee and Deckar Alexander.
An all-GWC first-team selection, Minefee was the team's top rusher a year ago, totaling 764 yards while averaging 5.7 yards per carry. He also ranked third on the squad with 27 receptions for 257 yards. Alexander, meanwhile, gained 420 yards with an average of 5.5 yard per attempt, and added 11 catches for 90 yards.
Up front, Southern Utah returns its entire starting offensive line from a year ago. All five starters earned some form of all-conference recognition last season, including sophomore center Gavin Farr, who was named Great West Conference Offensive Lineman of the Year by the media as a redshirt freshman. Also returning are tackles Brock Christensen and Brandon Beddes, and guards Zach Brackus and Trevor Schauerhamer. Key reserve Devin Tavana also returns.
Four of the five projected starters on the offensive line tip the scales at 300-plus pounds.
Defensively, the Thunderbirds return two of their top four tacklers from a year ago, including leading tackler Blake Fenn. A senior from Roosevelt, Utah, Fenn recorded 97 tackles en route to second-team all-GWC honors.
Southern Utah also returns a three first-team all-conference performers from last season in defensive end Tyler Osborne, strong safety Erron Vonner and cornerback Dion Turner.
Osborne has received attention on preseason All-America teams after leading the team with seven sacks in 2010. Of his 52 total tackles a season ago, 18.5 were for loss.
Vonner finished fourth on the team with 60 tackles and also led the squad with seven pass breakups and two forced fumbles.
Turner recorded 54 tackles, 36 of which were solo stops, and also intercepted a pass with four pass breakups.
As a team, SUU finished the 2010 season with only six interceptions, but collected 11 fumble recoveries to finish plus-5 in the turnover battle.
Rounding out the list of top returners on the defensive side of the ball is interior lineman Cody Larsen, who was a second-team all-league selection. Larsen notched 29 tackles with four sacks.
The special teams unit is paced by sophomore kicker Brock Miller, who earned honorable mention all-GWC recognition last season. Miller connected on 12-of-17 field goal attempts in 2010, with a long of 50 yards. He also made 27-of-28 extra-point attempts en route to 63 points.
Return specialist Henna Brown also returns after averaging a team-best 24.6 yards per
kickoff return last season. Brian Wilson and Jared Ursua saw limited action on kickoff and punt returns, respectively, last season.
O'BRIEN NEARS TOP 10: South Dakota State University quarterback Thomas O'Brien is poised to join the Jackrabbit career top 10 for passing yards in tonight's game.
A junior from Winona, Minn., O'Brien has compiled 3,684 yards in 22 career games, including 17 starts. O'Brien needs only 64 yards to pass Bill Perron (3,747 yards from 1994-96) for the 10th spot. Last year, O'Brien's 2,236 yards were the ninth-most by a Jackrabbit in a single season.
MOSS MAKES THE TRANSITION: The Jackrabbits have gained another weapon in the passing game with the addition of Dale Moss to the receiving corps. Moss finished his four-year career on the basketball court in the spring of 2011 and joined the football team in time for spring practice. He is listed as the No. 2 receiver on the depth chart at the X-Back position.
Moss, who averaged 7.6 points and 4.5 rebounds from his guard position during his senior season on the basketball court, possesses tremendous leaping ability as he led the team in blocked shots two seasons and paced the Jackrabbits in offensive rebounds as a senior.
During his senior season at Brandon Valley High School, Moss was an all-state selection after tallying 45 receptions for 573 yards and eight touchdowns.
A LOOK AHEAD: The Jackrabbits begin a three-game road swing next Saturday by traveling to the University of Illinois for their lone matchup this season against a Football Bowl Subdivision opponent.
Kickoff is slated for 11 a.m. at Memorial Stadium in Urbana-Champaign, Ill., with the game scheduled to be televised on the Big Ten Network.
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