Jackrabbits fall short to YSU on Hobo Day

Saturday, October 25

Brookings, S.D.

2 p.m.

South Dakota State University

5-3 , 2-2

Youngstown State

6-2 , 3-1

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Youngstown State

South Dakota State

10/25/2014 7:33:00 PM | Football

Box Score

By: SDSU Sports Info

After putting together game-winning drives in the fourth quarter in each of their last two games, the third time was not the charm for the South Dakota State football team on Saturday as the Jackrabbits came up short, 30-27, to Youngstown State on Hobo Day at Coughlin-Alumni Stadium.

The Jackrabbits, ranked 13^th in the Sports Network media poll and 15^th by the Football Championship Subdivision Coaches, dropped to 5-3 overall and 2-2 in the Missouri Valley Football Conference. Youngstown State, ranked 16^th by the FCS Coaches and 17^th by Sports Network, improved to 6-2 overall and 3-1 in league play.

The game started out as a track meet as both teams scored on each of their first three offensive possessions, but finished as a defensive struggle.

SDSU opened the scoring with an 11-play, 69-yard drive that culminated with a 25-yard field goal by Justin Syrovatka with 9 minutes, 32 seconds to play in the first quarter.

YSU answered with a 32-yard field goal by Joey Cejudo on its opening drive of the game before Syrovatka booted a 35-yarder to put the Jackrabbits ahead 6-3 in the final seconds of the first stanza.

The Penguins and Jackrabbits then traded touchdowns, with YSU needing only two plays on its next possession to find the end zone. A 54-yard pass from Hunter Wells to Andrew Williams set up a 6-yard touchdown run by Martin Ruiz.

Zach Lujan and Jerry Rice Award candidate Jake Wieneke hooked up on a 56-yard pass play on the next Jackrabbit possession before Walter Payton Award candidate Zach Zenner finished the drive with a 3-yard touchdown run.

YSU again scored quickly, needing only five plays to cover 75 yards as Jody Webb found paydirt out of the backfield from 22 yards out on a pass from Wells to give the Penguins a 17-13 lead.

The combination of Lujan and Wieneke hooked up again with two minutes to go in the first half as their 24-yard touchdown connection gave the Jackrabbits what would be their final lead of the afternoon at 20-17.

However, the Penguins' quick-strike offense fired once again. Ruiz carried for 13 yards on a third-and-10 play from YSU's own 15, then ripped off a 32-yard run before Wells hit Williams for 30 yards into the red zone. Wells then capped the nine-play, 85-yard march of the Penguins by scoring on a 4-yard bootleg around the left end. The extra point was no good, keeping the score at 23-20 YSU heading into halftime.

After a scoreless third quarter, YSU put the game out of reach with a touchdown midway through the fourth and final stanza to build the advantage to 30-20. Wells and Williams hooked up twice on pass plays of 21 and 17 yards to open the drive. Facing fourth-and-5 at the Jackrabbit 28, the Penguins opted to go for the first down rather than attempt a long field goal. Wells found Andre Stubbs for eight yards and a first down before hitting Jelani Berassa on a slant for 20 yards and a touchdown with 8:21 to play.

The Jackrabbits made it a one-possession game on the ensuing 15-play, 75-yard drive, converting once on fourth down and three times on third down before Zenner scored his second touchdown of the day on a diving catch on a pass by Lujan from 6 yards out with 4:16 to play.

Youngstown State picked up a first down, forcing the Jackrabbits to burn two of their timeouts before the Penguins pinned SDSU at its own 2-yard line with two minutes to go after a 59-yard punt by Cejudo.

The Jackrabbits picked up a first down, but SDSU's only two penalties of the day on the next two snaps stalled the drive.

For YSU, Ruiz recorded a game-high 132 yards on 20 carries. Wells finished the afternoon 16-of-27 passing for 256 yards and two touchdowns, with Williams catching six passes for 139 yards.

Zenner carried 25 times for 119 yards, with Lujan completing 28-of-42 passes for 329 yards. Wieneke recorded a career-high 10 catches for 178 yards, while Brandon Andrews set career highs with seven catches and 63 yards. SDSU played most of the afternoon without leading pass-catcher Jason Schneider, who was injured in pregame warmups.

Donald D'Alesio and Julius Childs each tallied a game-high 12 tackles for YSU. Nick Mears paced the Jackrabbit defensive effort with seven tackles and added three pass breakups.

The Jackrabbits return to action Nov. 1 at top-ranked North Dakota State. Kickoff is set for 2:30 p.m. at the Fargodome.

NOTES: SDSU leads the all-time series, 10-6 … YSU ended a six-game losing streak to the Jackrabbits, dating back to when SDSU joined the MVFC in 2008 … Wieneke posted the fourth 100-yard receiving game of the season … Wieneke now holds two of the top-10 single-game receiving yard performances in SDSU history — his 183-yard performance against Missouri State on Oct. 11 ranks sixth, while his 178-yard outing Saturday is tied for eighth … Zenner hit the century mark for rushing for the 28^th time in his career … Zenner moved into sixth place in FCS career rushing with 5,666 yards and also moved into ninth for FCS career all-purpose yards with 7,129 as he added four receptions for 37 yards in the game … SDSU dropped to 59-37-5 in Hobo Day games … the Jackrabbits have lost consecutive Hobo Day games for the first time since 1983-84 … Saturday's game marked the 200^th for SDSU head coach John Stiegelmeier, who has a 116-84 record in 18 seasons … attendance was 14,480