The South Dakota State Jackrabbits improved to 7-2 on Saturday after running past the Racers of Murray State, 52-6.
There wasn’t nearly as much anticipation and excitement in this one compared to the prior two weeks, which was something noted by SDSU head coach Jimmy Rogers of his players after the game.
“It felt like a lack of energy, just in the entire stadium,” said coach Rogers on his players. “Just looking at them. Seeing them so much at practice, I kind of know what to expect when I watch them and their energy levels.”
Regardless, the Jacks jumped out to a 38-6 lead through the first two quarters of play and never looked back. Six of the seven first-half drives ended in points for the Yellow and Blue, including five ending in the endzone.
And the offense was clicking on both aspects, racking up 202 first-half rushing yards and 172 passing yards. The Jacks were also 11-of-15 on total third-down conversions in the victory.
It started on the opening drive with Gronowski finding Amar Johnson for a 10-yard touchdown. The reigning Walter Payton award winner finished nine-of-16 passing for 170 yards and one touchdown, adding 21 yards on the ground despite only playing in the first half.
The Racers had some success on its second drive and got kicker James London within range to tie the longest field goal made in stadium history, driving the ball through the uprights from 55 yards away.
Angel Johnson got involved on SDSU’s third drive and the speedy running back broke off a 67-yard touchdown. Johnson had a career-high 132 rushing yards on the day in just seven carries.
“I’m thankful to have a career-high. Thankful to the guys for blocking up front for me,” said Angel Johnson. “I’ve had some long runs but never really put it all together so I’m thankful.”
On the ensuing drive, MSU quarterback and Sioux Falls native Jayden Johannsen’s pass was intercepted by a fellow Sioux Falls native, safety Tucker Large, near the end of the opening quarter.
“My guy kind of just swiped across the middle and ended up robbing off the quarterback’s eyes. I felt that inside slant, jumped up and it was thrown right to me,” said Large on the interception.
Another Jacks tailback, who returned from injury this week, Kirby Vorhees, was responsible for the third Jacks touchdown, plunging it in from a yard out.
Murray State tacked on its second field of the first half early in the second quarter, but that was essentially where the game ended. SDSU outscored the Racers 17-0 over the final 10 minutes of the first half, and 31-0 the rest of the game.
Amar Johnson, who totaled 83 yards and a touchdown on six carries, scores from 44 yards out, backup quarterback Chase Mason bulldozes his way in for a 5-yard touchdown, Hunter Dustman strikes a 29-yard field goal, and just like that it’s 38-6 Jacks at the break.
The second half featured many younger players getting time in the game, but it was still a lot of the same from the opening 30 minutes of play.
The first drive of the second half, led by Mason, ended in the endzone once again, this time by true freshman running back Maxwell Woods from 4 yards out for his first career score in a Jacks uniform. Woods totaled 40 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries in the win.
“It was more so giving Chase opportunities with a lead like that to operate against a Missouri Valley team and make him feel good,” said Coach Rogers on starting Mason in the second half. “Get him in rhythm, allow him to throw the ball. It’s something we’ve had in and we got to get him comfortable of throwing the ball.”
Mason helped another true freshman score their first career touchdown on the 13th play of the ensuing drive, finding receiver Lofton O’Groske on a dart in the corner of the endzone for the second passing touchdown of the day by the Jacks.
“It felt great. They gave me an opportunity and I just did my job,” said O’Groske, who caught five passes for 50 yards and a touchdown. “That’s what they say, just do your job, do your 1/11th, and that’s what I had to do so.”
Mason finished with 82 passing yards on 10-of-16 passing while rushing for 68 yards and a score on seven carries but left the game due to injury after hurdling a defender in the fourth quarter.
“He’s a dynamic talent, I mean, you guys see it when he breaks the pocket. He looks like he’s jogging and he’s running faster than most people’s sprinting,” said coach Rogers on Mason. “It’s important to keep him healthy. He’s fine after the hurdle, sometimes you just can’t control it.”
In what was just about the only mistake SDSU made was a missed 26-yard field goal from Dustman in the fourth quarter to close out the blowout victory.
The Jacks were five shy of 600 total yards on the day, including 343 yards on the ground.
“When you put up the yards that we did today, you know, somethings going right, for you,” said Angel Johnson. “We’re firing on all cylinders, and we have the capabilities to keep doing this.”
Receiver Griffin Wilde caught three passes for 78 yards, while tight ends Davin Stoffel, Brody Gormley and David Alpers each had catches in what was a big day for the tight end room. Stoffel had three catches for 60 yards, Gormley had one catch for 19, and Alpers caught a 15-yarder as well.
“We’ve got a lot of playmakers in the tight end room,” said Stoffel. “It really just came down to, we made plays when we had the opportunity to. Mark gave us some great balls and we made some plays.”
Linebackers Caleb Francl and Adam Bock each tallied seven tackles, including a tackle for loss by Bock. Defensive tackle Max Baloun recorded the only sack of the day, while Matthew Durrance, Kolton Tilford, Graham Spalding and Dawson Ripperda each had four tackles in the victory.
Up Next
The Jacks will head to Grand Forks, North Dakota, next week to take on the North Dakota Fighting Hawks. Kickoff from the Alerus Center is set for 1 p.m. and can be watched on Midco Sports, ESPN+, or listen on the Jackrabbit Sports Network.
