Jackrabbits bounce back with win over SIU

Saturday, October 7

Brookings, S.D.

6 p.m.

South Dakota State University

4-1 , 1-1

Southern Illinois

2-3 , 0-2

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Southern Illinois

South Dakota State

Photo by: Inertia Sports Media/Dave Eggen

10/7/2017 10:39:00 PM | Football

Box Score

By: Jason Hove

BROOKINGS, S.D. — South Dakota State scored touchdowns on all five of its first-half possessions as the Jackrabbits bounced back with a convincing 49-14 victory over Southern Illinois in the annual Hall of Fame Game Saturday night at Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium.

The Jackrabbits, ranked eighth in the STATS FCS media poll and ninth by the FCS coaches, improved to 4-1 overall and evened their Missouri Valley Football Conference mark at 1-1. SIU dropped to 2-3 overall and 0-2 in league play.

After holding the Salukis to a three-and-out and later deflecting a punt on the opening possession of the game, SDSU wasted little time getting its offense into full gear. A 38-yard run by Brady Mengarelli on the Jackrabbits' second play of the game moved the ball deep into SIU territory before Taryn Christion found Marquise Lewis in the end zone three plays later for a 10-yard touchdown.

SDSU again held SIU without a first down and the Jackrabbits followed with a five-play, 67-yard drive that culminated with a 16-yard touchdown pass from Christion to freshman tight end Skyler Cavanaugh that gave the Jackrabbits a 14-0 lead at the halfway mark of the first quarter.

The Jackrabbits added three more touchdowns in the second quarter, all on drives of at least 80 yards. Mikey Daniel scored on a 4-yard run to cap a 13-play, 89-yard drive early n the second stanza, which was quickly followed by Lewis' second touchdown catch of the game, a 23-yard strike from Christion that finished off a six-play, 80-yard drive.

SDSU's final touchdown of the second quarter came with seven seconds remaining in the opening half as Christion threw his fourth touchdown pass of the game — a 1-yard fade to Jake Wieneke in the right corner of the end zone that upped the Jackrabbit lead to 35-0. Wieneke's seventh touchdown reception of the season and 50^th of his career was the exclamation point on a methodical 14-play, 89-yard drive which lasted more than five minutes.

The first-half passing touchdowns somewhat overshadowed the Jackrabbits' success in the running game. SDSU outgained SIU, 353-106, in the opening half, with 211 yards coming on the ground.

Mengarelli rushed for 129 yards in the opening half and finished the night with a career-high 220 yards on 20 carries. The senior from Prescott, Arizona, scored both of SDSU's second-half touchdowns on runs of 28 and 32 yards.

SIU scored the lone points of the third quarter on a 6-yard touchdown run by quarterback Sam Straub as the Salukis capitalized on an SDSU turnover. Straub later threw a 39-yard touchdown pass to Raphael Leonard in the fourth quarter that made the score 42-14.

The Jackrabbits rolled up 584 yards of total offense — 368 rushing and 216 passing as Christion ended the night 16-of-30. Daniel contributed 77 rushing yards on 13 carries, with Isaac Wallace adding 53 yards on 14 attempts.

Cavanaugh was the leading receiver for the Jackrabbits with four catches for 53 yards. Wieneke tallied three receptions for 27 yards.

For SIU, Straub completed 16-of-31 passes for 179 yards, but was intercepted twice as Jordan Brown and Larenzo Williams recorded takeaways for the Jackrabbit defense. Brown also led the Jackrabbits with eight tackles and broke up another pass.

Darrell James caught a game-high six passes for 76 yards for the Salukis, who finished with 263 yards of total offense. Daquan Isom gained 45 yards on nine carries and added five catches for 40 yards.

UP NEXT
The Jackrabbits close out their two-game homestand by hosting Northern Iowa for Hobo Day on Oct. 14. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m. at Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium.

NOTES
• SDSU leads the all-time series, which dates back to 2008, 5-3
• The Jackrabbits recorded their 50^th win in MVFC play and are now 50-24 since joining the league in 2008
• SDSU ran its home winning streak to eight games
• The Jackrabbits improved to 35-11 in home night games since 2001
• SDSU's 35 first downs were the most in a single game in the Division I era (since 2004) and two shy of the single-game school record
• The Jackrabbits held a 41:30 to 18:30 advantage in time of possession
• Lewis' two touchdown receptions were the first of his career
• Mengarelli became the first Jackrabbit to rush for 200-plus yards in a game since Zach Zenner ran for 252 in an FCS playoff game at Montana State in 2014
• Wieneke moved into a four-way tie for fourth place in career receiving touchdowns at the FCS level, matching the 50 recorded by Jerry Rice (Mississippi Valley State, 1981-84); John Matthews (San Diego, 2005-08); and Ramses Barden (Cal Poly, 2005-08)
• Christion moved into second place in career passing yards at SDSU with 6,065, passing both Ted Wahl (6,016 yards from 1985-88) and Ryan Berry (6,023 yards from 2005-08)
• Christion took over third place on the Jackrabbits' career total offense chart with 6,975 yards as he passed 2017 Hall of Fame inductee Josh Ranek (6,745 yards from 1997-2001) on Saturday
• Christion also moved into third place in career touchdown passes at SDSU with 49, moving past Brad Nelson (47 touchdown passes from 2001-04)
• Williams intercepted a pass for the second consecutive game and the Jackrabbits have picked off a pass in all five games this season
• Attendance was 12,891

-GoJacks.com-