South Dakota State won in dominating fashion over Southern Illinois 41-10 on Senior Day at the Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium.
Recognizing 23 seniors beforehand, It was business as usual for the No. 3 Jackrabbits as it closed out its home regular season slate, scoring 31 first-half points to run away from the Salukis.
“I’ve been a part of the recruiting, whether I was the head coach here or not, it’s pretty special to see a lot of those guys, from start to finish, stick it out when many of them could’ve went elsewhere,” said SDSU head coach Jimmy Rogers.
The bulk of the Jacks’ damage came on the ground, scoring four rushing touchdowns in the second quarter with four different ball carriers.
After a first-quarter 24-yard field goal by kicker Hunter Dustman, Angel Johnson plunged into the endzone from five yards out to begin the rushing onslaught.
The Jacks’ defense got its first turnover on the ensuing drive when Matthew Durrance intercepted a wobbly pass from true freshman Jake Curry.
“It always starts up front, when those guys are getting home, the quarterback gets a little worried and throws a throw maybe he wants back, and without the d-line, who knows,” said Durrance on the interception.
The takeaway set up Gronowski and company at the SIU 20-yard line and six plays later, the Jacks were in the endzone again on a Gronowski quarterback sneak.
Gronowski was relatively quiet in the passing game with just 185 yards on 11 completions, but the yardage was good enough to move him past Austin Sumner for the second-most career passing yards in school history.
All four rushing scores in the first half were within 10 yards, a product of multiple chunk plays from senior tailback Amar Johnson.
Amar Johnson gashed the SIU defense throughout the first 30 minutes, including a 43-yard gain on the first offensive play, totaling 102 yards and a score on just nine carries at the halftime break.
“I’d say just staying patient,” Amar Johnson said of the run game. “They gave us a little struggle in the first quarter, so just stay patient. Do what we do, cause eventually, once we do what we do, stuff will start hitting.”
The senior found paydirt from nine yards out with three and a half minutes to play, leaving just enough time for one final touchdown drive of the half with the Jacks’ fourth different rusher.
Kirby Vorhees capped off an eight-play, 78-yard drive, with a 4-yard touchdown run.
Out of halftime, the SDSU scoring drives didn’t end.
Dustman booted a 39-yard field goal on a six-play drive to open the third quarter, followed by a second interception for Durrance.
“I think I’ve talked about Matt Durrance since he arrived here,” said Rogers. “He’s the player in which we recruited and is playing at that level right now, and I’m happy for him.”
The interception set up Johnson for his second touchdown of the day from three yards out, ending a career-high 157-yard rushing day for the senior tailback.
“To have a type of game that I had, especially on senior day,” said Amar Johnson. “It means a lot to me to rush for my career-high.”
SIU finally got points on the board when backup quarterback Michael Lindauer found Allen Middleton on a 48-yard touchdown on 4th down.
“When you get into the game, you’re expected to do your job, we let one slip there with the 50-yard pass, off of what was 199 yards passing,” said coach Rogers. “To keep a good team like that under with a lot of talent, under 200 yards it’s pretty impressive.”
The Saluki score marked the first third-quarter points the Jacks defense had allowed in Missouri Football Valley Conference play. SIU would tack on one final field goal late in the fourth quarter as well.
The Jacks totaled 288 rushing yards in the victory with five rushing touchdowns, on top of four different players attempting nine or more carries.
“It helps to have depth in that room,” said Rogers on the running backs. “I feel like we have great depth in that room with Angel and Kirby and you’re going to get to see Maxwell Woods a little bit more. It’s a team sport, but Amar carried the weight today.”
Angel Johnson carried the ball nine times for 50 yards and a touchdown, Kirby Vorhees totaled 39 yards and a score on nine carries, while Brendan Begeman added 10 carries for 37 yards as well.
Griffin Wilde paced the Jacks through the air with 50 yards on three catches, Amar Johnson added 39 receiving yards to his big rushing day, while Angel Johnson caught two passes for 47 yards in the win.
Defensively, the Jacks were stout all around, especially against the run allowing just 34 yards for the game.
“I think it’s just the standard we kind of talk about on the defense,” said junior defensive lineman Kobe Clayborne. “We hold ourselves to a higher standard than anything, just executing those goals that we have every week.”
Linebacker Graham Spalding tallied six tackles, including one for a loss, while Durrance and Chase Van Tol each had four tackles, including two interceptions for Durrance.
The Jacks improve to 9-2 (6-1 MVFC) with one final regular season game.
Up Next
South Dakota State takes one final road trip to Springfield, Missouri this regular season to take on the Missouri State Bears. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m. and can be watched on ESPN+ or listened to on the Jackrabbit Sports Network.
