Jacks grind out 36-7 Hobo Day win

Saturday, October 13

Brookings, S.D.

2 p.m.

South Dakota State University

4-1 , 2-1

Youngstown State

2-4 , 1-2

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Youngstown State

South Dakota State

Photo by: Dave Eggen/Inertia

10/13/2018 7:00:00 PM | Football

Box Score

South Dakota State entered its Hobo Day matchup against Youngstown State as one of the top passing teams in the Football Championship Subdivision, but it was the rushing attack that paced the Jackrabbits to a 36-7 Hobo Day victory over Youngstown State Saturday afternoon at Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium.

SDSU, ranked second in the STATS FCS media poll and fifth by the FCS coaches, improved to 4-1 overall and 2-1 in the Missouri Valley Football Conference. The Penguins dropped to 2-4 overall and 1-2 in league play.

Youngstown State grabbed the momentum early, forcing the Jackrabbits to go three-and-out on their first possession and later putting together a solid first offensive drive of its own. However, Logan Backhaus blocked the Penguins' 41-yard field goal attempt, which was picked up near midfield by Dalton Cox and returned to the YSU 25.

SDSU cashed in two plays and 40 seconds later as Taryn Christion hooked up with Cade Johnson over the middle for a 23-yard touchdown. It was Johnson's eighth touchdown reception of the season. The extra point was missed.

The Penguins put together what would be their lone scoring drive of the afternoon, marching 78 yards on eight plays to take a momentary 7-6 lead. Christian Turner tallied the final 27 yards as he caught a screen pass from Montgomery VanGorder and rolled down the left sideline for a touchdown.

SDSU took the lead for good on the ensuing possession, putting together a nine-play, 61-yard drive that ended with a 31-yard field goal by Chase Vinatieri.

The Jackrabbits came into Saturday's contest minus two starters on their offensive line and lost leading rusher Isaac Wallace to injury late in the first quarter. However, freshman C.J. Wilson picked up the slack, setting up a 1-yard Mikey Daniel touchdown run late in the second quarter with a 41-yard run, then scoring on a 48-yard run on SDSU's first possession of the second half to give the Jackrabbits a 23-7 lead.

Meanwhile, the SDSU defense settled in, forcing Youngstown State to punt five times in the second half. The other two Penguin drives ended with interceptions by Zy Mosley and Christian Rozeboom. Mosley's interception, his team-leading third of the season, came in the end zone midway through the third quarter.

Christion, whose seven completions and 78 passing yards were career lows in a starting role, provided the final two Jackrabbit scores with his legs. The senior from Sioux Falls sliced through the Penguin defense for a 49-yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter. On the play, Christion became the MVFC career leader in total offense.

Christion, who carried five times for 89 yards, capped the scoring four-and-a-half minutes later by scampering to the end zone from 11 yards out.

SDSU finished with a 253-136 advantage in rushing yardage as Wilson finished with a game-high 119 yards on 16 carries. The Jackrabbit defense limited YSU's leading rusher, Tevin McCaster, to 60 yards on 22 carries.

Ryan Earith and Seven Wilson each registered seven tackles to lead the Jackrabbit defense.

Wallace caught two passes for 31 yards, with Adam Anderson notching a pair of catches for 14 yards for the Jackrabbits.

UP NEXT
The Jackrabbits travel to Northern Iowa for an MVFC matchup on Oct. 20. Kickoff is set for 4 p.m. at the UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls, Iowa.

NOTES

South Dakota State leads the all-time series with Youngstown State, 13-7, dating back to 1942.
The Jackrabbits improved to 61-39-5 record in Hobo Day games
Wilson's 48-yard touchdown rush was the longest of his career
SDSU has scored first in every game this year and has scored in 18 of 20 quarters (plus an overtime session) in 2018
Christion ended the day with 10,986 yards of total offense, passing Illinois State's Matt Brown (10,952 yards from 2009-12) for the MVFC career record
Christion has thrown a touchdown pass in 17 consecutive games and has rushed for and passed for a touchdown in the same game 17 times
The Jackrabbits have forced at least one turnover in 20 consecutive games
SDSU has recorded two interceptions in a game three times this season
SDSU is 17-2 in games played at Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium, including a 2-1 mark on Hobo Day (lost to Northern Iowa, 38-18, in 2017)
Saturday's contest marked John Stiegelmeier's 250th game as head coach at SDSU (152-98 record in 22 seasons)
Attendance was 14,357