South Dakota State pounded out over 400 rushing yards in a 63-13 victory over Youngstown State in the 110th annual Hobo Day game.

The Jacks were firing on all cylinders, but the offense especially showed out reaching the endzone on each of its first four possessions, including a third straight game with a special teams touchdown to kickoff Hobo Day.

“It was a great day for the offense. And as great as we played, I still think we could be a little bit better,” said quarterback Mark Gronowski. “There’s a lot of little things that we can continue to get better on, but it was a step in the right direction for the offense.”

Just 13 seconds into the game, junior tailback Angel Johnson returned the opening kickoff 99 yards for an early 7-0 lead, getting the seventh largest crowd in Dana J. Dykhouse stadium history (19,331) rowdy early on.

“We’re just taking the opportunities when we can,” said senior defensive back Dalys Beanum on the kick return touchdown. “Special teams, whenever they can make a big play, it can change the game tremendously.”

Then, backup quarterback Chase Mason found the endzone just three minutes later with a long 38-yard touchdown run.

“He’s going to get a lot of opportunities,” said Gronowski of Mason. He’s a top-five athlete on the field whenever he’s out there so it was great to see him succeed today.”

But the Penguins’ offense was resilient throughout the first half and was especially efficient on third down, converting on six of nine third down attempts. YSU would get on the board with a 39-yard field goal by kicker Andrew Lastovka on its second possession of the game.
The Jackrabbits didn’t miss a beat offensively despite the nearly seven-minute-long drive by the Penguins, tallying its third touchdown of the game on a 1-yard quarterback sneak by Mark Gronowski.

In total, the Jackrabbits ran for 142 first-quarter yards and 248 in the first half, taking advantage of a YSU defense that gave up nearly 200 yards on the ground coming into Hobo Day.

In the second quarter, Beanum continued his climb on the SDSU all-time interceptions leader with his 12th career pick returning it deep into YSU territory. Beanum is now tied for third most interceptions in school history.

“It always feels good to get an interception,” said Beanum. “Make a turnover for the defense and help the offense out so whenever we get a turnover in the game, especially early in the game, it helps out the team tremendously.”

The short field led to the Jacks’ third rushing score of the game by its third different player, a 5-yard touchdown run by senior tailback Amar Johnson.

Amar Johnson finished with 64 yards and a score on eight carries.

After another YSU punt, Chase Mason found the endzone once again, capping off a nine-play, 95-yard drive with a 48-yard touchdown run by Mason. The 95-yard drive marks the longest drive sustained by the Jacks this season.

“It kind of just seemed like anybody could’ve run the ball today,” said Mason. “A couple of those times I just happened to be the guy in the game that got the ball.”

The junior from Hurley, South Dakota, finished with 161 yards and two touchdowns on just five rushing attempts while completing both passing attempts for 12 yards and a touchdown.

“It was awesome. I wouldn’t be here without Mark [Gronowski] helping me these last couple of years,” said Mason. “Coming in here I had no clue what was going on so everything I’ve done is replicating what Mark has done.”

The Penguins were able to go into the halftime break on a positive note, as quarterback Beau Brungard commanded an eight-play, 91-yard drive ending in a 4-yard touchdown run for YSU.

The touchdown allowed by the SDSU defense also ends a streak of over 13 quarters without allowing a touchdown, dating back to the fourth quarter of the 45-24 victory over Incarnate Word.

“We have a standard that we live by,” said Beanum. “So, I feel like whenever we go on the field, we don’t want the team to score and get certain stuff. That’s just the standard the defense lives by and we take it personally.”

At halftime, the Jacks were averaging over 10 yards a play and 13 yards a carry, so it was the passing game’s time to shine in the third quarter.

After an opening drive stop by the defense, Gronowski connected with wideout Grahm Goering on a crossing route for a 45-yard touchdown.

Goering caught two passes for 55 yards and his fourth touchdown of the season in the win.
At 42-10, YSU was desperate for points but after managing a drive deep into Jackrabbit territory, the Yellow and Blue forced a turnover on downs at their own 7-yard line. It took just two plays for SDSU to reach the opposite endzone.

Kirby Vorhees ripped a 74-yard carry down the right sideline, which was followed by Gronowski’s second passing touchdown, finding a wide-open Griffin Wilde for a 19-yard score.

The sophomore wideout caught five passes for 62 yards and a touchdown in the victory.
With a full quarter to play yet and a blowout in Brookings, the Jacks didn’t let off the gas despite bringing in the second string.

Mason, in his first full drive under center, torched the Penguin defense for a 69-yard carry, followed by a 4-yard touchdown pass to receiver Marcus Preston.

The touchdown marked Preston’s first career touchdown for the Jacks.

The Penguins tacked on another field goal and stopped the Jacks on its ensuing possession but muffed the punt leading to the final touchdown of the YSU beatdown.

Third-string quarterback Jon Bell connected with tight end Davin Stoffel for a 14-yard touchdown, making it the first passing touchdown for Bell and the first receiving touchdown for Stoffel to end Hobo Day 2024.

In total, the Jacks tallied 557 total yards, 404 of them on the ground while averaging over 16 yards a carry.

Gronowski completed eight of 13 pass attempts for 127 yards and two passing touchdowns, while rushing for 53 yards and a score on just five attempts in the victory.
Kirby Vorhees added 84 yards on three carries, while Angel Johnson tallied three carries for 42 yards.

Redshirt freshman linebacker Chase Van Tol tallied nine tackles (two for a loss), while linebackers Caleb Francl, Graham Spalding and Adam Bock each had seven tackles. Logan Green and Dawson Ripperda combined for the team’s lone sack of the game.

“It was a huge win in conference play. To win it how we did, proud of the guys’ efforts in really every phase,” said SDSU head coach Jimmy Rogers. “But I felt like we executed well, thought the guys’ spirit was on point. We’ll celebrate tonight’s win and reset our focus on next week.”

Up Next
South Dakota State will head North next week to take on rival North Dakota State in the annual Dakota Marker game.