JACKS START FAST, ROLL PAST MURRAY STATE

Saturday, November 2

Brookings, S.D.

2 p.m.

South Dakota State University

7-2 , 4-1

Murray State

1-8 , 0-6

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Murray St.

South Dakota St.

Photo by: Dave Eggen/Inertia

11/2/2024 8:31:00 PM | Football

Box Score SDSU POSTGAME PRESS CONFERENCE

South Dakota State scored on six of its seven first-half possessions and cruised to a 52-6 victory over Murray State in Missouri Valley Football Conference action Saturday afternoon at Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium.

With their 26^th consecutive home win, the third-ranked Jackrabbits improved to 7-2 overall and 4-1 in league play. Murray State dropped to 1-8 overall and 0-6 in the MVFC.

SDSU took the opening kickoff and marched 75 yards on eight plays for the opening score. The Jackrabbits, who converted 11-of-15 times on third down in the game, extended their initial drive twice in that situation as Mark Gronowski hit tight end Davin Stoffel for 12 yards on third-and-10 on the opening series and Amar Johnson gained six yards on third-and-3 to put the ball at midfield. Gronowski then connected again with Stoffel for a 41-yard gain before finding Johnson all alone in the right flat for a 10-yard touchdown pass.

Murray State got on the board later in the first quarter on a 55-yard field goal by James London, but the Jackrabbits seized the momentum back quickly thanks to a 67-yard touchdown run by Angel Johnson on the second play of the ensuing drive.

The Jackrabbit lead grew to 28-6 early in the second quarter on touchdown runs by Kirby Vorhees and Amar Johnson that were sandwiched around London's second field goal of the game, this time from 35 yards out. Both of the SDSU drives were only three plays in length as Vorhees plunged in from a yard away after a 41-yard pass and catch from Gronowski to Griffin Wilde, while Johnson reversed field and scampered around left end for a 44 yard scoring run.

After the Racers' failed attempt at a fake punt later in the second quarter, SDSU tacked on 10 more points to close out the first half. Chase Mason scored on a 5-yard touchdown run and Hunter Dustman added a 29-yard field goal with six seconds remaining in the half.

In the second half, the SDSU defense pitched a shutout and a pair of true freshmen scored their first collegiate touchdowns to cap two 90-yard scoring drives. Maxwell Woods finished off an eight-play, 90-yard drive with a 3-yard touchdown run on the Jackrabbits' opening drive of the half.

Later in the third quarter, the Jackrabbits strung together their longest drive of the season, 96 yards, which culminated on the 13^th play with an 11-yard touchdown catch by Lofton O'Groske from Mason in the right corner of the end zone. O'Groske led SDSU receivers with five catches for 50 yards, while Wilde and Stoffel each hauled in three catches for 78 and 60 yards, respectively.

Gronowski, who only played the first half, was 9-for-16 passing for 170 yards. Mason completed 10-of-16 pass attempts for 82 yards. Ten different players caught at least one pass for the Jackrabbits.

SDSU finished with a 595-236 advantage in total offense, tallying 343 rushing yards. Angel Johnson led the way with a career-high 132 yards on only seven carries, with Amar Johnson adding 83 yards on six rushing attempts.

Murray State quarterback Jayden Johannsen completed 14-of-18 passes for 95 yards, with J'Kalon Carter and Justice Hill each catching five balls for 54 and 32 yards, respectively. Jawaun Northington was the Racers' leading rusher with 39 yards on 12 carries.

Adam Bock and Caleb Francl each registered seven tackles to lead the SDSU defense. Larry Preston and Kanyon Walker were each credited with five stops to pace Murray State defensively.

UP NEXT
The Jackrabbits go back up Interstate 29 to face North Dakota on Nov. 9. Kickoff is slated for 1 p.m. at the Alerus Center in Grand Forks, North Dakota.

NOTES

Saturday's game marked the first-ever meeting between SDSU and Murray State in football
SDSU held an opponent without a touchdown for the fourth time this season and 10h time in Jimmy Rogers' 24 games as head coach
The Jackrabbits tied a season high with 31 first downs
Angel Johnson became the 21^st different Jackrabbit player to rush for 100 yards in a game in the Division I era (since 204)
SDSU has outscored the opposition by a combined 63-0 over the last seven games
Tucker Large notched his first interception of the season for the only turnover in the game
Murray State was penalized 12 times for 108 yards
Attendance was 16,376