Defense leads Jacks to 26-6 win at Southern Utah

Saturday, September 13

Cedar City, Utah

6 p.m. MT/7 p.m. CT

South Dakota State University

2-1

Southern Utah

0-3

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

South Dakota State

Southern Utah

9/13/2014 11:27:00 PM | Football

Box Score

By: SDSU Sports Info

CEDAR CITY, Utah – The South Dakota State defense intercepted three passes and carried a shutout late into the fourth quarter before the Jackrabbits prevailed, 26-6, over Southern Utah Saturday night at Eccles Coliseum.

With the win, the 10^th-ranked Jackrabbits improved to 2-1 overall, while SUU dropped to 0-3. The victory was career win No. 113 for South Dakota State head coach John Stiegelmeier, tying him with Ralph Ginn (113-89-9 record from 1947-68) for the most in program history.

The Jackrabbit offense moved the ball almost at will in the first half, starting with a methodical 13-play, 75-yard scoring march on the opening drive. Reggie Gandy capped the scoring drive with a 1-yard touchdown run.

SDSU moved the ball into Thunderbird territory in each of its first four possessions, but two ended with interceptions. The Jackrabbits did not punt in the first half and held a 250-60 advantage in total yards.

On the first play of the second quarter, the Jackrabbit defense turned the tables, converting its first takeaway of the season into six points as defensive lineman Shayne Gottlob intercepted a screen pass at the T-Bird 4-yard line and rambled into the end zone for a touchdown.

The SDSU lead grew to 21-0 late in the first half as the Jackrabbits put together an eight-play, 80-yard drive. Walter Payton Award candidate Zach Zenner crossed the 100-yard mark with a 23-yard run into SUU territory, which was followed by a 13-yard pass to Jason Schneider. Lujan then connected with redshirt freshman Jake Wieneke on a fade in the right corner of the end zone for an 18-yard touchdown to push the Jackrabbit lead to 21-0 heading into halftime.

Jimmie Forsythe came up with the Jackrabbits' second interception of the game on the second play of the second half, giving SDSU the ball at the SUU 29. The Jackrabbits moved the ball to the Thunderbird 3-yard line before settling for a 21-yard field goal by Justin Syrovatka that pushed the margin to 24-0.

SUU put together its most sustained drive to that juncture on the ensuing possession, but again came away with no points as a 39-yard field goal attempt sailed wide right.

The Thunderbirds finally broke into the scoring column with 5 minutes, 18 seconds remaining in the game. Backup quarterback Ammon Olsen ran 35 yards to set up first and goal. Toa Afatasi scored from a yard out two plays later.

After a personal foul penalty pushed the PAT try back 15 yards, Trey Carr, who intercepted a pass earlier in the half, picked off an errant pass and returned the ball for defensive extra point to push the final margin to 26-6. A true freshman from Omaha, Carr also broke up two passes and recorded a pair of tackles.

SDSU finished with a 392-263 advantage in total offense. Zenner carried the ball 25 times for 140 yards, recording the 24^th 100-yard game of his career. Backup Brady Mengarelli added 13 carries for 65 yards. Trevor Wesley led Jackrabbit receivers with four catches for 40 yards, with Wieneke tallying three catches for 68 yards. Lujan ended the night 13-of-24 passing for 162 yards.

For Southern Utah, Raysean Pringle gained 65 yards on 13 carries. Olsen, who took the bulk of the snaps the final three quarters, finished 8-of-18 passing for 94 yards and gained 62 yards on 10 carries. Chris Robinson paced the Thunderbird receivers with five catches for 75 yards.

James Cowser and Chinedu Ahanonu each notched a game-high 12 tackles for SUU, with Cowser registering 5.5 tackles for loss. Jesse Bobbit led SDSU with six tackles.

SDSU returns home to face Wisconsin-Oshkosh in the 48^th Annual Beef Bowl on Sept. 20. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. at Coughlin-Alumni Stadium.

NOTES: South Dakota State leads the all-time series, 5-1, and extended its series winning streak to five games … the Jackrabbits have won five of their last six games against Big Sky Conference opponents … Zenner moved into 23^rd place on the Football Championship Subdivision career rushing charts with 4,965 yards and also moved into 21^st place for FCS career all-purpose yards with 6,338 … Carr's defensive extra point was the second in program history – the other was by Vic Sosa at Augustana (S.D.) in 1997 … SDSU held a 37:52 to 22:08 advantage in time of possession … the Jackrabbits were flagged eight times for 78 yards, while SUU committed six penalties for 69 yards … attendance for SUU's home opener and homecoming game was 5,017