Senior cornerback Jimmie Forsythe
2015 SPRING PREVIEW
Sophomore wide receiver Jake Wieneke
Senior linebacker T.J. Lally Junior defensive tackle Cole Langer
COACH STIG
JOHN STIEGELMEIER Head Coach 18 Seasons (120-86 record — all at SDSU) Alma Mater: South Dakota State, 1979 FOOTBALL HONORS AND RECORDS:
COACH STIG’S YEAR-BY-YEAR RECORDS NORTH CENTRAL CONFERENCE
YEAR OVERALL CONF 1997 4-6 3-6 1998 6-5 5-4 1999 8-3 6-3 2000 6-5 4-5 2001 5-6 4-4 2002 6-4 4-4 2003 7-4 4-3 42-33 30-29 TOTALS -------------------------------------------------GREAT WEST FOOTBALL CONFERENCE
YEAR OVERALL CONF 2004 6-5 2-3 2005 6-5 3-2 2006 7-4 3-1 2007 7-4 4-0 26-18 12-6 TOTALS -------------------------------------------------MISSOURI VALLEY FOOTBALL CONFERENCE
YEAR OVERALL 2008 7-5 2009 8-4 2010 5-6 2011 5-6 2012 9-4 2013 9-5 2014 9-5 52-35 TOTALS OVERALL TOTALS 120-86
CONF 6-2 7-1 4-4 4-4 6-2 5-3 5-3 37-19 77-54
• Ranks first on SDSU career football coaching victories list with 120-86 record in 18 seasons — passed Ralph Ginn, who compiled a 113-89-9 record in 22 seasons from 1947-68, with 41-3 victory Sept. 20 over UW-Oshkosh • Has led teams to winning records in 14 of his 18 seasons, including nine of 11 at the Division I Football Championship Subdivision level • Since moving to the Football Championship Subdivision in 2004, the Jackrabbits have a 78-53 overall record (.595 winning percentage) • His 37 victories in Missouri Valley Football Conference play rank fourth in league history, while his 52 overall wins since joining the league in 2008 are tied for 10th among all-time league coaches • 1999 North Central Conference Coach of the Year • 2007 Great West Football Conference Coach of the Year after leading Jackrabbits to first conference title in 44 years • 2007 American Football Coaches Association FCS Region 5 Coach of the Year • Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year Finalist in 2007 and 2009 • 2014 recipient of the Ralph Ginn Award for Coaching Excellence at South Dakota State University
PLAYOFF EXPERIENCE: • Has led Jackrabbits to four FCS playoff appearances (2009, 2012, 2013, 2014) and has a 3-4 playoff record -- 2009: Montana 61, South Dakota State 48 (at Missoula, Mont.) -- 2012: South Dakota State 58, Eastern Illinois 10 (at Brookings, S.D.) -- 2012: North Dakota State 28, South Dakota State 3 (at Fargo, N.D.) -- 2013: South Dakota State 26, Northern Arizona 7 (at Flagstaff, Ariz.) -- 2013: Eastern Washington 41, South Dakota State 17 (at Cheney, Wash.) -- 2014: South Dakota State 47, Montana State 40 (at Bozeman, Mont.) -- 2014: North Dakota State 27, South Dakota State 24(at Fargo, N.D.) • Served as a student assistant on SDSU’s lone NCAA Division II playoff-qualifying team in 1979
OTHER NOTES: • The Jackrabbits have compiled a 77-25 home record in Coach Stig’s 18 seasons as head coach • SDSU has a 176-127 overall record since Coach Stig joined the coaching staff as an full-time assistant in 1988 and has posted a winning record in 21 of 27 seasons -- Served as secondary coach and recruiting coordinator from 1988-90 under Wayne Haensel -- Served as defensive coordinator from 1991-96 under Mike Daly • Jackrabbit student-athletes have earned Capital One Academic All-America recognition 15 times • SDSU earned the Missouri Valley Football Conference Team Academic Award each of its first six seasons in the league
MILESTONE WINS: • No. 1: SDSU 17, UC Davis 7 [first game as head coach] (Sept. 13, 1997 at Davis, Calif.) • No. 2 [first home win and first NCC victory]: SDSU 20, St. Cloud State 16 (Oct. 11, 1997, at Brookings) • No. 25: SDSU 34, Ferris State (Mich.) 24 (Sept. 1, 2001, at Brookings) • No. 45 [first win over FCS opponent]: SDSU 31, Southern (La.) 24 (Sept. 25, 2004, at Baton Rouge, La.) • No. 50: SDSU 69, Valparaiso (Ind.) 6 (Sept. 10, 2005, at Brookings) • No. 69 [first Missouri Valley Football Conference victory]: SDSU 40, Youngstown State 7 (Sept. 6, 2008, at Brookings) • No. 75: SDSU 25, North Dakota State 24 (Nov. 22, 2008, at Fargo, N.D.) • No. 100: SDSU 16, Southern Illinois 12 (Nov. 3, 2012, at Carbondale, Ill.) • No. 102 [first playoff victory]: SDSU 58, Eastern Illinois 10 (Nov. 24, 2012, at Brookings) • No. 113 [SDSU record-tying victory]: SDSU 26, Southern Utah 6 (Sept. 13, 2014, at Cedar City, Utah) • No. 114 [SDSU record-breaking victory]: SDSU 41, UW-Oshkosh 3 (Sept. 20, 2014, at Brookings)
FINAL FCS NATIONAL RANKINGS: YEAR 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010
TSN 22nd 19th RV 11th NR
FCS 21st 22nd NR 11th NR
YEAR 2011 2012 2013 2014
TSN NR 14th 13th 12th
TSN – The Sports Network poll
2015 JACKRABBIT SPRING FOOTBALL
FCS NR 17th 14th 13th FCS – FCS Coaches’
2015 JACKRABBIT SPRING FOOTBALL SOUTH DAKOTA STATE UNIVERSITY INFORMATION LOCATION: Brookings, S.D. ENROLLMENT: 12,557 (fall 2014) COLORS: Yellow and Blue NICKNAME: Jackrabbits AFFILIATION: NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision CONFERENCE: Missouri Valley Football Conference STADIUM: Coughlin-Alumni Stadium (15,000 capacity - natural grass surface)
ADMINISTRATION PRESIDENT: Dr. David Chicoine ALMA MATER: South Dakota State, 1969 ATHLETICS DIRECTOR: Justin Sell ALMA MATER: Bowling Green (Ohio), 1991 OFFICE PHONE: (605) 688-6388 DEPUTY ATHLETICS DIRECTOR: Leon Costello OFFICE PHONE: (605) 688-6294 SR. ASSOCIATE AD-DEVELOPMENT/SPORT SUPERVISOR: Scott Brown OFFICE PHONE: (605) 697-7475 ASSOCIATE AD-COMPLIANCE/SENIOR WOMAN ADMINISTRATOR: Kathy Heylens OFFICE PHONE: (605) 688-5308 FACULTY ATHLETICS REPRESENTATIVE: Richard Reid
SPORTS INFORMATION ASSISTANT AD-SPORTS INFORMATION/FOOTBALL CONTACT: Jason Hove OFFICE PHONE: (605) 688-4623 HOME PHONE: (605) 692-1484 CELL PHONE: (605) 695-1827 FAX: (605) 688-5999 E-MAIL: Jason.Hove@sdstate.edu
SUPPORT STAFF FOOTBALL OPERATIONS: Kadero Watson VIDEO COORDINATOR: Alex Foster ATHLETIC TRAINER: David Rule STRENGTH AND CONDITIONING: Nate Moe EQUIPMENT: Tim DeWitt, TBA ASSOCIATE AD-TICKETS: Christi Williams ASSISTANT AD-FACILITIES: Brody Busho
GENERAL INFORMATION MAILING ADDRESS: 2820 HPER Center, Brookings, SD 57007-1497 OVERNIGHT ADDRESS: 1047 16th Avenue, Brookings, SD 57007-1497 FOOTBALL MAIN OFFICE: (605) 688-6955 TICKET OFFICE: 1-866-GO JACKS WEBSITE: www.GoJacks.com TWITTER: @GoJacksFB FACEBOOK: facebook.com/SDSUJacks.Football
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QUICK FACTS 2014 RECAP OVERALL RECORD: 9-5 CONFERENCE RECORD: 5-3 (tied for third place in Missouri Valley Football Conference) HOME RECORD: 5-1 AWAY RECORD: 4-4 FINAL RANKINGS: 12th (Sports Network)/13th (FCS Coaches)
2014 GAME RESULTS Aug. 30 Sept. 6 Sept. 13 Sept. 20 Oct. 4 Oct. 11 Oct. 18 Oct. 25 Nov. 1 Nov. 8 Nov. 15 Nov. 22 Nov. 29 Dec. 6
at Missouri CAL POLY at Southern Utah WISCONSIN-OSHKOSH *at #22 Illinois State *MISSOURI STATE *at #20 Northern Iowa *#16 YOUNGSTOWN STATE *at #1 North Dakota State *at #17 Indiana State *WESTERN ILLINOIS *SOUTH DAKOTA ^at #17 Montana State ^at #2 North Dakota State
L, 18-38 W, 44-18 W, 26-6 W, 41-3 L, 10-45 W, 32-28 W, 31-28 L, 27-30 L, 17-37 W, 32-17 W, 59-24 W, 37-14 W, 47-40 L, 24-27
*Missouri Valley Football Conference game ^Football Championship Subdivision Playoff game
COACHING STAFF HEAD COACH: John Stiegelmeier ALMA MATER: South Dakota State, 1979 RECORD AT SOUTH DAKOTA STATE: 120-86-0 (18) CAREER RECORD: Same E-MAIL: John.Stiegelmeier@sdstate.edu OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR/QUARTERBACKS: Eric Eidsness (sixth year) ALMA MATER: Sioux Falls, 1992 E-MAIL: Eric.Eidsness@sdstate.edu DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR/DEFENSIVE ENDS: Clint Brown (seventh year) ALMA MATER: Nebraska, 1996 E-MAIL: Clint.Brown@sdstate.edu CO-SPECIAL TEAMS COORDINATOR/WIDE RECEIVERS: Josh Davis (seventh year) ALMA MATER: South Dakota State, 2006 E-MAIL: Joshua.Davis@sdstate.edu CO-SPECIAL TEAMS COORDINATOR/DEFENSIVE BACKS: Jay Christensen (fifth year) ALMA MATER: Nebraska-Kearney, 1999 E-MAIL: Jay.Christensen@sdstate.edu DEFENSIVE TACKLES/RECRUITING COORDINATOR: Jesse Currier (sixth year) ALMA MATER: South Dakota State, 2008 E-MAIL: Jesse.Currier@sdstate.edu OFFENSIVE LINE: John Flynn (fourth year) ALMA MATER: Oklahoma, 2004 E-MAIL: John.Flynn@sdstate.edu
LINEBACKERS: Jimmy Rogers (third year) ALMA MATER: South Dakota State, 2009 E-MAIL: James Rogers@sdstate.edu TIGHT ENDS: Luke Schleusner (second year) ALMA MATER: North Dakota, 2002 E-MAIL: Luke.Schleusner@sdstate.edu OFFENSIVE QUALITY CONTROL: Vince Benedetto (second year) ALMA MATER: South Dakota State, 2014 E-MAIL: Vincent.Benedetto@jacks.sdstate.edu
TEAM INFORMATION LETTERMEN RETURNING: 47 Offense: 23 Defense: 22 Special Teams: 2 LETTERMEN LOST: 16 Offense: 8 Defense: 6 Special Teams: 2 STARTERS RETURNING: 16 Offense: 6 Defense: 9 Special Teams: 1 OFFENSIVE STARTERS RETURNING (6): Cam Jones, TE; Jacob Ohnesorge, OL; Bryce Siverling, OL; Dylan Seiter, OL; Jake Wieneke, WR; Trevor Wesley, WR. DEFENSIVE STARTERS RETURNING (9): Jesse Bobbit, LB; Dallas Brown, LB; Je Ryan Butler, CB; Jimmie Forsythe, CB; Shayne Gottlob, DL; T.J. Lally, LB; Cole Langer, DL; Nick Mears, S; J.R. Plote, DE. SPECIAL TEAMS STARTERS RETURNING (1): Thayer Trenhaile, LS. OTHER RETURNING LETTERMEN (31): Brandon Andrews, WR; Chris Balster, DB; Austin Benson, LB; Taylor Bloom, OL; Jay Carlson, K; Nick Carr, OL; Trey Carr, DB; Nick Farina, DB; Tyler Finnes, QB; Reggie Gandy, RB; Dallas Goedert, TE; J.T. Hassell, LB; Cody Hazelett, LB; Ezekiel Herndon, DB; Larves Jones, WR; Chase Kern, DL; Drew Kreutzfeldt, LB; Connor Landberg, WR; Kane Louscher, FB; Zach Lujan, QB; Brady Mengarelli, RB; Kyle Paris, RB; Tom Peitz, LB; Matt Raymond, WR; Isaac Rodriguez, RB; Landon Schultz, DE; Patrick Schuster, LB; Trevor Sikkink, WR; Kellen Soulek, DL; Chad Strehlow, FB; Mitch Vejvoda, TE.
CREDITS The 2015 South Dakota State University Spring Football Prospectus was produced by Jason Hove and the Jackrabbit Sports Information Service and distributed in digital format. Photos credited to Dave Eggen, Inertia Sports Media; SDSU Marketing and Communications and LifeTouch Sports.
RUNNING BACKS: Nic McKissic-Luke (third year) ALMA MATER: Alabama A&M, 2007 E-MAIL: Nic.McKissic-Luke@sdstate.edu
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2015 JACKRABBIT SPRING FOOTBALL
ROSTER ALPHABETICAL ROSTER Andrews, Brandon - 3 Balster, Chris - 28 Banasiak, Christian - 69 Bloom, Taylor - 72 Bobbit, Jeese - 7 Brown, Dallas - 15 Brown, Jordan - 9 Butler, Je Ryan - 22 Carbis, Joe - 76 Carlson, Jay - 92 Carr, Nick - 79 Carr, Trey - 12 Cox, Dalton - 53 Douglas, Dalton - 8 Ehrich, Emmanuel - 48 Farina, Nick - 24 Finnes, Tyler - 11 Forsythe, Jimmie - 25 Fry, Matt - 43 Gandy, Reggie - 30 Goedert, Dallas - 86 Gottlob, Shayne - 98 Harmon, Charlie - 68 Hassell, J.T. - 51 Hazelett, Cody - 8 Herndon, Ezekiel - 21 Hunhoff, Troy - 59 Hunt, Quinten - 84 Jones, Cam - 85 Jones, Larves - 5 Kelly, Eric - 49 Kern, Chase - 58 Kirschenman, Andrew - 45 Kleinschmit, Eric - 29 Koob, Sam - 34 Kreutzfeldt, Drew - 26 Lally, T.J. - 33 Landberg, Connor - 18 Lang, Caleb - 59 Langer, Cole - 54 Lansman, Seth - 75 Leiseth, Mason - 59 Lindsey, Tyler - 27 Little, Chris - 14 Louscher, Kane - 41 Love, Jackson - 36 Lujan, Zach - 16 Mears, Nick - 42 Menage, Jacob - 23 Mengarelli, Brady - 44 Nissen, Mitch - 13 Ohnesorge, Jacob - 62 Paris, Kyle - 32 Peitz, Tom - 4 Pickerel, Mark - 13 Plote, J.R. - 91 Pupungatoa, Tiano - 97 Ramsey, Tywan - 74 Raymond, Matt - 81 Riemer, Thor - 78 Rodriguez, Isaac - 2 Romano, Matt - 50 Romenesko, Alex - 47
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2015 SPRING ROSTER NO. 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 8 9 11 12 13 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 21 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 32 33 34 35 36 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 47 48 49 50 51 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 59 60 61 62 63 65
NAME Isaac Rodriguez Brandon Andrews Tom Peitz Larves Jones Makiah Slade Jesse Bobbit Dalton Douglas Cody Hazelett Jordan Brown Tyler Finnes Trey Carr Mitch Nissen Mark Pickerel Chris Little Dallas Brown Zach Lujan Patrick Schuster Connor Landberg Jake Wieneke Ezekiel Herndon Matt Swallow Je Ryan Butler Jacob Menage Nick Farina Jimmie Forsythe Drew Kreutzfeldt Tyler Lindsey Chris Balster Eric Kleinschmit Reggie Gandy Kyle Paris T.J. Lally Sam Koob Isaac Wallace Jackson Love Chad Strehlow Trevor Sikkink Kane Louscher Nick Mears Matt Fry Brady Mengarelli Andrew Kirschenman Alex Romenesko Emmanuel Ehrich Eric Kelly Matt Romano J.T. Hassell Dalton Cox Cole Langer Travis Zimmerman Thayer Trenhaile Caleb Lang Chase Kern Troy Hunhoff Mason Leiseth Bryce Siverling Dylan Seiter Jacob Ohnesorge Mike Shoff Jacob VanderHeiden
POS RB WR LB WR DB LB QB LB DB QB CB WR DB QB LB QB LB WR WR DB WR DB WR DB DB LB DB DB LB RB RB LB K RB RB FB WR FB DB DL RB ST DB LB DL DL LB LB DL OL LS DL DE ST DL OL OL OL OL OL
HT 5-8 6-0 6-0 6-4 6-1 6-2 6-2 6-2 6-1 6-4 5-11 6-4 6-0 6-2 5-11 6-2 6-1 6-3 6-4 5-11 6-0 5-11 6-0 5-11 5-10 5-11 5-9 5-10 6-2 5-9 6-1 6-0 5-9 6-1 5-10 6-3 6-2 6-2 5-11 6-2 5-10 5-10 5-11 6-0 6-2 6-3 5-11 6-1 6-2 6-4 5-11 6-3 6-3 6-4 6-3 6-3 6-3 6-3 6-6 6-4
WT 185 190 215 215 195 210 200 210 175 200 180 200 200 195 195 190 215 195 210 190 185 185 180 195 190 200 175 185 200 195 200 225 200 200 235 235 200 250 195 290 195 170 195 200 230 230 205 200 285 285 200 275 250 225 245 290 290 280 345 290
YR Jr. Sr. Jr. Sr. R-Fr. Jr. So. Jr. R-Fr. Sr. So. So. Sr. R-Fr. Jr. Jr. Sr. Jr. So. Jr. So. Sr. So. So. Sr. Sr. R-Fr. So. R-Fr. Sr. Jr. Sr. So. R-Fr. R-Fr. Sr. Sr. So. Jr. R-Fr. So. R-Fr. R-Fr. R-Fr. R-Fr. Jr. So. R-Fr. Jr. Sr. Jr. So. So. So. So. Sr. Sr. So. Jr. R-Fr.
EXP 2L 2L 2L 2L — 2L — 1L — 1L 1L — — — 2L 1L 3L 1L 1L 2L — 3L — 1L 3L 3L — 1L — 3L 1L 3L — — — 3L 1L 1L 2L — 1L — — — — — 1L — 2L — 2L — 1L — — 2L 2L 1L 1L —
HOMETOWN Orlando, Fla. El Centro, Calif. Crofton, Neb. Omaha, Neb. Lincoln, Neb. Palatine, Ill. Highland, Calif. Inver Grove Hts., Minn. Scottsdale, Ariz. Andover, Minn. Omaha, Neb. Tea, S.D. Columbia, Mo. Evanston, Ill. Tucson, Ariz. Anchorage, Alaska Watertown, S.D. Laguna Hills, Calif. Maple Grove, Minn. Fontana, Calif. Aberdeen, S.D. Tempe, Ariz. Springfield, Minn. Phoenix, Ariz. Omaha, Neb. Wentworth, S.D. Owasso, Okla. Sheldon, Iowa St. Helena, Neb. Minneapolis, Minn. Aliso Viejo, Calif. Chicago, Ill. Sioux Falls, S.D. Omaha, Neb. Norfolk, Neb. Suring, Wis. Castlewood, S.D. Mason City, Iowa Milbank, S.D. Plankinton, S.D. Prescott, Ariz. Elkton, S.D. Pewaukee, Wis. Maple Grove, Minn. Ashland, Neb. Laguna Niguel, Calif. Titusville, Fla. Aberdeen, S.D. Dell Rapids, S.D. Huxley, Iowa Volga, S.D. Freeman, S.D. Sioux City, Iowa Yankton, S.D. Hayti, S.D. Bloomer, Wis. Sun Prairie, Wis. Waunakee, Wis. Cambridge, Neb. Hutchinson, Minn.
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HIGH SCHOOL/PREV. SCHOOL Freedom Central Union Crofton Omaha North/Fort Scott CC Lincoln Northeast Palatine Citrus Valley Simley/Northern Illinois Paradise Valley Andover Burke Tea Area Rock Bridge Evanston Township Sabino South Anchorage Watertown Laguna Hills Maple Grove Bloomington Roncalli Marcos De Niza Springfield Desert Vista Burke Chester Owasso Sheldon Crofton DeLaSalle Aliso Niguel Marmion Academy Lincoln Ralston Norfolk Catholic Suring Castlewood Newman Catholic Milbank Plankinton Prescott Elkton Arrowhead Maple Grove Ashland-Greenwood Dana Hills Astronaut Roncalli Dell Rapids Ballard/Iowa Western Sioux Valley Freeman Sioux City East Yankton Hamlin Bloomer Sun Prairie Waunakee Cambridge Hutchinson
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2015 JACKRABBIT SPRING FOOTBALL
ROSTER
2015 SPRING ROSTER NO. 68 69 70 72 74 75 76 78 79 80 81 82 84 85 86 87 89 91 92 93 94 95 97 98
NAME Charlie Harmon Christian Banasiak Tyler Weir Taylor Bloom Tywan Ramsey Seth Lansman Joe Carbis Thor Riemer Nick Carr Trevor Wesley Matt Raymond Case Wiarda Quinten Hunt Cam Jones Dallas Goedert Mitch Vejvoda Zach Zanello J.R. Plote Jay Carlson Landon Schultz Kellen Soulek Lane Sawatzke Tiano Pupungatoa Shayne Gottlob
POS OL DE OL OL DL OL OL OL OL WR WR WR WR TE TE TE TE DL K DL DL ST DL DL
HT 6-6 6-3 6-4 6-4 6-4 6-7 6-6 6-5 6-8 5-11 5-9 6-2 6-2 6-5 6-5 6-4 6-6 6-3 6-1 6-2 6-5 6-1 6-5 6-5
WT 285 245 295 300 290 295 285 285 315 175 185 195 180 250 245 245 225 250 215 255 300 190 275 255
YR So. R-Fr. R-Fr. Sr. R-Fr. Jr. R-Fr. R-Fr. Jr. Sr. Sr. So. R-Fr. Sr. So. Jr. R-Fr. Sr. Sr. Sr. So. R-Fr. R-Fr. Jr.
EXP — — — 1L — — — — 1L 3L 3L — — 3L 1L 2L — 3L 3L 1L 1L — — 1L
HOMETOWN O’Fallon, Ill. Cape Coral, Fla. Arvada, Colo. Madison, S.D. Milwaukee, Wis. Harlan, Iowa Council Bluffs, Iowa Osceola, Wis. New Brighton, Minn. Oro Valley, Ariz. Elkhorn, Neb. Castlewood, S.D. Buckeye, Ariz. Eagan, Minn. Britton, S.D. Homer Glen, Ill. Rockford, Ill. Phoenix, Ariz. Parkville, Mo. Mason City, Iowa Freeman, S.D. Yankton, S.D. River Falls, Wis. Salem, S.D.
HIGH SCHOOL/PREV. SCHOOL O’Fallon Island Coast Pomona Madison Pulaski Harlan Community Abraham Lincoln Osceola Totino-Grace Ironwood Ridge Elkhorn Castlewood Buckeye Union Burnsville Britton-Hecla Providence Catholic Rockford Mountain Pointe Park Hill South Mason City/Iowa Western Yankton Yankton River Falls/West Point Prep McCook Central
ALPHABETICAL ROSTER Sawatzke, Lane - 95 Schultz, Landon - 93 Schuster, Patrick - 17 Seiter, Dylan - 61 Shoff, Mike - 63 Sikkink, Trevor - 40 Siverling, Bryce - 60 Slade, Makiah - 6 Soulek, Kellen - 94 Strehlow, Chad - 39 Swallow, Matt - 21 Trenhaile, Thayer - 56 VanderHeiden, Jacob - 65 Vejvoda, Mitch - 87 Wallace, Isaac - 35 Weir, Tyler - 70 Wesley, Trevor - 80 Wiarda, Case - 82 Wieneke, Jake - 19 Zanello, Zach - 89 Zimmerman, Travis - 55
2015 COACHING STAFF Head Coach: John Stiegelmeier (19th season) Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks: Eric Eidsness Defensive Coordinator/Defensive Ends: Clint Brown Co-Special Teams Coordinator/Wide Receivers: Josh Davis Co-Special Teams Coordinator/Safeties: Jay Christensen Defensive Tackles/Recruiting Coordinator: Jesse Currier Offensive Line: John Flynn Running Backs: Nic McKissic-Luke Tight Ends: Luke Schleusner Cornerbacks: Dan Jackson Offensive Quality Control: Vince Benedetto
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2015 JACKRABBIT SPRING FOOTBALL
SPRING PREVIEW For head coach John Stiegelmeier and the rest of the South Dakota State University football team, spring ball is a time to work toward mastery and setting the tone for the 2015 season. “One of my goals is that guys go into the summer knowing where they are on the depth chart,” said Stiegelmeier, who is entering his 19th season as head coach. Another focus this offseason has been to use the disappointment of a third consecutive second-round playoff exit in heartbreaking fashion at eventual national champion North Dakota State as extra motivation. “Much of our winter workouts have been geared toward the feeling of that last game — to find ways to get beyond that second round of the playoffs,” Stiegelmeier said. Stiegelmeier expects spring practice to run smoothly and efficiently thanks to the addition of the Sanford-Jackrabbit Athletic Complex, which opened last fall and will serve as the site of the Jackrabbit Spring Game on April 25. “We now have the ability to work out, run and develop our players in one location,” Stiegelmeier said. “We’re going to see the positive effects of that facility real soon.” Following is an in-depth look at Jackrabbit football: OFFENSE The SDSU offense is faced with the challenge of replacing its career passing leader (Austin Sumner), a three-time 2,000-yard rusher (Zach Zenner) and the player with the second-most receptions in program history (Jason Schneider). Of the three, the quarterback position is perhaps the most unsettled as the three players fielding the bulk of the reps this spring have combined for five collegiate pass attempts. Sophomore Dalton Douglas and redshirt freshman Chris Little, neither of whom played a down last season, are battling for the No. 1 spot, while senior Tyler Finnes continues to add depth. Finnes completed 2-of-5 passes for 35 yards last season in limited action. Zach Lujan, who filled in admirably for an injured Sumner last season by leading the Jackrabbits to a 5-2 record in seven starts, is recovering from offseason surgery and has been held out of most team activities. Lujan completed 61 percent of his passes for a team-best 1,943 yards with 13 touchdowns. The quarterback situation could be further in question in the fall when highly touted incoming freshman Taryn Christion joins the squad. The question surrounding the running back position may be better phrased not as to who will replace Zenner, but how the team will replace perhaps the best player to ever don a Jackrabbit uniform. Stiegelmeier says the 2015 edition of the Jackrabbits are likely to use two or three backs more evenly in hopes of putting together the same kind of production that Zenner supplied. The third-leading rusher in the history of the Football Championship with 6,548 yards, Zenner carried the ball 300 or more times each of his final three seasons.
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“Zach was a unique guy to be able to take that many reps and not lose a step,” Stiegelmeier said. Among the candidates to take on the bulk of the ball-carrying responsibility is sophomore Brady Mengarelli, who finished second on the team with 332 rushing yards in 2014 and averaged 5.4 yards per carry. Mengarelli also caught 14 passes for 118 yards and averaged 20.6 yards on nine kickoff returns. Reggie Gandy also has proven to be a reliable back as he rushed for 726 yards in three seasons. Gandy ranked second on the squad for rushing in both 2012 and 2013 with 321 and 297 yards, respectively. He has scored two rushing touchdowns in each of his first three seasons. Also vying for playing time at running back are juniors Isaac Rodriguez and Kyle Paris, as well as redshirt freshman Isaac Wallace. Rodriguez and Paris have seen limited action on offense while contributing on special teams. Wallace turned in an impressive first season in the program as a redshirt in 2014 and has the ability to stretch the defense with his lateral quickness and ability to slash through the line. Last season, the Jackrabbits began to incorporate a traditional fullback back into the lineup for the first time in several years. Sophomore Kane Louscher returns to fill the spot he held for much of the 2014 campaign, and will be joined by freshman Jackson Love. Another focus of the Jackrabbit coaching staff throughout spring practice has been to develop a receiver or receivers to step into the role previously held by Schneider and opposite returning All-American Jake Wieneke. A sophomore, Wieneke emerged as the top Jackrabbit receiving target during the 2014 season by recording 73 receptions for 1,404 yards and a school-record 16 touchdowns. The MVFC Freshman of the Year, as well as the runner-up for the Jerry Rice Award as the top freshman in the Football Championship Subdivision, Wieneke caught a touchdown pass in all eight conference games and posted seven 100-yard games last season. Leading candidates to fill the spot vacated by Schneider, who caught 60 or more passes the last two seasons, include seniors Brandon Andrews and Larves Jones, along with junior Connor Landberg. Andrews caught 10 passes for 101 yards in 2014, with Jones contributing five catches for 54 yards. Landberg added four catches for 41 yards, including a 10-yard touchdown reception in the Jackrabbits’ playoff victory at Montana State. Senior Trevor Wesley has played primarily in the slot position in three-receiver sets, but could see action on the outside in two-receiver formations this season. Wesley finished third on the team with 35 receptions in 2014 for 427 yards and one touchdown. Another senior, Matt Raymond, has served in a backup role and recorded eight receptions for 93 yards. Other wide receivers on the spring roster include senior Trevor Sikkink, sophomores Matt Swallow,
Mitchell Nissen and Case Wiarda, and redshirt freshman Quinten Hunt. In addition, sophomore Jacob Menage is moving from quarterback to slot receiver during spring ball. The tight end position features a strong and versatile group of returners. Leading the position group is senior Cam Jones, who has started the past two seasons. Jones is back to full strength after missing the second half of the 2013 campaign due to injury and being slowed during the 2014 campaign. Jones caught five passes for 30 yards last season. Sophomore Dallas Goedert was the leading pass catcher among Jackrabbit tight ends last season, recording eight receptions for 100 yards. His average of 12.5 yards per catch ranked third among receivers on the team with more than one reception. Also returning is junior Mitch Vejvoda, who has primarily served as a blocker and played on special teams. Vejvoda caught three passes for 17 yards in 13 games a season ago. Redshirt freshman Zach Zanello also will receive a full complement of reps at tight end during the spring season. Up front, the Jackrabbits will combine experience and youth during the 2015 season. Three regular starters — all Wisconsin natives — return to a Jackrabbit offensive line that helped pave the way for Zenner. Seniors Bryce Siverling and Dylan Seiter return at left tackle and left guard, respectively, after starting 12 and 14 games a season ago. Sophomore Jacob Ohnesorge started all 14 games at center and was recognized as the team’s offensive lineman of the week six times. Also returning are senior guards Taylor Bloom and Travis Zimmerman, junior tackles Nick Carr and Seth Lansman, and sophomore tackle Charlie Harmon. Bloom started the final six games of the 2014 season at right guard, including both Football Championship Subdivision playoff games. Carr made a pair of starts in place of Siverling and was expected to challenge for a starting role in place of first-team all-Missouri Valley Football Conference right tackle Trevor Greger, who graduated. However, Carr sufferered an injury midway through spring ball, putting his status in doubt for 2015. The Jackrabbits also hope to regain the services of junior guard Mike Shoff, who missed the entire 2014 season due to injury, in time for fall camp. Despite the success in the running game last season, the Jackrabbits struggled at times to protect the quarterback, allowing 34 sacks. “We’ve identified what we feel were the greatest weaknesses in our scheme and techniques, and will shore them up,” Stiegelmeier said. The returning group of linemen will be challenged by a quartet of redshirt freshmen made up of tackles Thor Riemer and Joe Carbis, center Tyler Weir and guard Jacob VanderHeiden. Riemer was honored as the team’s Scout Offense Player of the Year in 2014. “I am excited about our young guys, especially the four freshmen,” Stiegelmeier said. “The promise is there.”
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2015 JACKRABBIT SPRING FOOTBALL DEFENSE Overall, SDSU brings back an experienced group as nine regular starters return. Three starters return to the South Dakota State defensive line in 2015, but Jackrabbit coaches say production from the position group will need to increase if the team expects to be in contention for a fourth consecutive trip to the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs. “We feel we have good skill, good players with the defensive line,” Stiegelmeier said. “As coaches, we have to push them and work harder. When the ball is snapped and it’s a pass play, both our lines have to be better.” As a team, SDSU registered only 15 sacks a season ago, with departed senior Jack Sherlock leading the squad with three from his defensive end position. Both starting interior linemen return with juniors Cole Langer and Shayne Gottlob coming off full seasons in the starting lineup. Langer was a second-team all-Missouri Valley Football Conference selection as a defensive tackle last season, finishing in a tie for sixth on the squad with 49 total tackles, including 3.5 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks. A converted tight end, Gottlob started the final 12 games of the 2014 season at nose tackle and finished with 38 total tackles, including three for loss. Gottlob also intercepted a pass, one he returned four yards for a touchdown at Southern Utah. Sophomore Kellen Soulek also gained experience in the middle of the Jackrabbit defensive line last season. Soulek held a primary backup role last season and contributed 26 total tackles, three tackles for loss and two sacks Fellow sophomore Caleb Lang and redshirt freshmen Tywan Ramsey and Tiano Pupungatoa also will be in the mix for playing time this season. Senior J.R. Plote is the most experienced pass rusher but the Jackrabbit have a number of players who could rotate at the defensive end positions. Plote performed well down the stretch for the Jackrabbits, recording a career-high 10 tackles in the playoff loss at North Dakota State. Overall, he tallied 42 tackles, including 4.5 tackles for loss and a sack. Chase Kern had his redshirt pulled at the start of conference play last season and is line for an expanded role at defensive end in 2015. Kern registered eight tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks in limited action. Other candidates to see action at defensive end include senior Landon Schultz, junior Matt Romano, sophomore Mason Leiseth and redshirt freshman Christian Banasiak. Schultz made 21 stops in his first season after transferring in from the junior college ranks. Romano and Leiseth both were sidelined by injury in 2014. Leading the Jackrabbit corps of linebackers is senior T.J. Lally. Poised to be a four-year starter at middle linebacker, Lally posted the second 100tackle season of his career in 2014, leading the squad with 117 total tackles and 9.5 tackles for loss. A team captain, Lally registered double figures for
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SPRING PREVIEW tackles in five games, including a 20-tackle performance in the regular season matchup with North Dakota State that ranks as the highest single-game tackle total in the Division I era (since 2004). Lally is flanked by returning starter Jesse Bobbit and Dallas Brown, both juniors. Bobbit enjoyed a strong second half to the 2014 season and finished third on the team with 90 tackles. He also led the squad with two forced fumbles. Brown, a converted defensive back, tied for sixth on the team with 49 tackles. He also returned an interception for touchdown in the Jackrabbits’ road win at Northern Iowa last season. Sophomore J.T. Hassell displayed big-play ability and made the most of his limited reps during his true freshman season in 2014. Hassell finished his freshman campaign with 41 tackles, four tackles for loss, a sack and an interception. The remainder of the Jackrabbits who filled spots on the two-deep a season ago all return, but depth is an issue during spring practice as a number of linebackers have been held out or limited due to injury. Junior Tom Peitz (23 tackles) served as Lally’s backup at middle linebacker last season, while seniors Drew Kreutzfeldt (10 tackles) and Patrick Schuster (14 tackles) backed up at the outside spots. Going through their first spring practices are redshirt freshmen Dalton Cox and Emmanuel Ehrich. Cox was honored as the team’s Scout Defense Player of the Year in 2014. The Jackrabbit football team returns three of four starters in its secondary, including both starting cornerbacks. SDSU ranked second in the Missouri Valley Football Conference in pass defense during the 2014 season, allowing an average of 192.1 yards per game through the air. Senior Jimmie Forsythe has started 23 games at cornerback over the past two seasons, including all 14 games in 2014. An honorable mention all-Missouri Valley Football Conference selection last season, Forsythe ranked fifth on the team with 51 tackles, while ranking second with nine pass breakups and adding one interception. Opposite Forsythe, fellow senior Je Ryan Butler returns at the other corner. Butler tallied two interceptions and eight pass breakups, while notching 33 total tackles, including three for loss. Butler also saw extensive action as a return specialist, posting averaged of 13.2 yards on punt returns and 18.1 yards per kickoff return. Sophomore Trey Carr made the most of his time on the field, leading the team with 10 pass breakups as a backup cornerback. Carr added 31 tackles, two interceptions and recovered a fumble as he was named to the Missouri Valley Football Conference All-Newcomer Team. Adding depth at the cornerback positions are junior Ezekiel Herndon and redshirt freshmen Jordan Brown and Tyler Lindsey. At safety, the Jackrabbits return starting strong safety Nick Mears, but lost key contributors Jake Gentile and Melvin Taveras, the latter of whom led the team with three interceptions in 2014.
RETURNING STATISTICAL LEADERS PASSING - YARDS 1. Zach Lujan ..................................................1,943 RUSHING - YARDS 2. Brady Mengarelli ............................................332 3. Reggie Gandy ................................................108 RECEPTIONS 1. Jake Wieneke ..................................................73 3. Trevor Wesley ..................................................35 RECEIVING YARDS 1. Jake Wieneke..............................................1,404 3. Trevor Wesley ................................................427 TACKLES 1. T.J. Lally ..........................................................117 2. Nick Mears........................................................96 3. Jessee Bobbit ..................................................90 SACKS 2. Kellen Soulek ..................................................2.0 T3. Cole Langer ..................................................1.5 T3. Chase Kern ..................................................1.5 INTERCEPTIONS T2. Je Ryan Butler..................................................2 T2. Trey Carr ..........................................................2
“We have to find replacements at safety — that’s where we lost a lot of experience,” Stiegelmeier said. A junior from Milbank, Mears finished second on the team with 96 tackles, including 3.5 tackles for loss. He also intercepted a pass and broke up six others in 13 games. Other returning players at safety include sophomores Nick Farina (seven tackles, one interception) and Chris Balster, along with, senior Mark Pickerel. Redshirt freshman Makiah Slade is a leading candidate to fill the free safety position, with fellow redshirt freshman Alex Romenesko also vying for a spot in the defensive rotation. Romenesko was Scout Special Teams Player of the Year in 2014. SPECIAL TEAMS The special teams unit is in transition following the departures of punter Ethan Sawyer and AllAmerica kicker Justin Syrovatka to graduation. Jay Carlson, who has primarily handled kickoffs during his career, is in position to take over the placekicking duties in 2015. Long snapper Thayer Trenhaile and holder Tyler Finnes both return, giving the Jackrabbits some continuity in the kicking department. The punting chores are being handled by Ron Pavlik and Troy Hunhoff during the spring. Incoming freshmen Chase Vinatieri at kicker and Brady Hale at punter are expected to push the returning special teams players in fall camp. Another focus of special teams this spring is to improve on kickoffs — both in terms of returns and defending the return. SDSU allowed two kickoff returns for touchdowns last season, while averaging 19.9 yards on their own returns. “We are really going to work hard on the basic techniques of blocking and covering lanes,” Stiegelmeier said. “Fundamentally, we weren’t as good as we should have been.”
5
SPRING DEPTH CHART
2015 JACKRABBIT SPRING FOOTBALL OFFENSE
QB or — RB
FB
DEFENSE
8 14 11 16
Dalton Douglas, 6-2, 200, So., Highland, Calif. Chris Little, 6-2, 195, R-Fr., Evanston, Ill. Tyler Finnes, 6-4, 200, Sr., Andover, Minn. ^Zach Lujan, 6-2, 190, Jr., Anchorage, Alaska
44 30 35 32 2
Brady Mengarelli, 5-10, 195, Jr., Prescott, Ariz. Reggie Gandy, 5-9, 195, Sr., Minneapolis, Minn. Issac Wallace, 6-1, 200, R-Fr., Omaha, Neb. Kyle Paris, 6-1, 200, Jr., Aliso Viejo, Calif. Isaac Rodriguez, 5-8, 185, Jr., Orlando, Fla.
41 36
Kane Louscher, 6-2, 250, So., Mason City, Iowa Jackson Love, 5-10, 235, R-Fr., Norfolk, Neb.
WR 80 (W-Back) 81 23 21
TREVOR WESLEY, 5-11, 175, Sr., Oro Valley, Ariz. Matt Raymond, 5-9, 185, Sr., Elkhorn, Neb. Jacob Menage, 6-0, 180, So., Springfield, Minn. Matt Swallow, 6-0, 185, So., Aberdeen, S.D.
WR 19 (X-Back) 5 82
JAKE WIENEKE, 6-4, 210, So., Maple Grove, Minn. Larves Jones, 6-4, 215, Sr., Omaha, Neb. Case Wiarda, 6-2, 195, So., Castlewood, S.D.
WR 3 or 18 (Z-Back) 13 84
Brandon Andrews, 6-0, 190, Sr., El Centro, Calif. Connor Landberg, 6-3, 195, Jr., Laguna Hills, Calif. Mitchell Nissen, 6-4, 200, So., Tea, S.D. Quinten Hunt, 6-2, 180, R-Fr., Buckeye, Ariz.
TE
CAM JONES, 6-5, 250, Sr., Eagan, Minn. Dallas Goedert, 6-5, 245, So., Britton, S.D. Mitch Vejvoda, 6-4, 245, Jr., Homer Glen, Ill. Zach Zanello, 6-6, 225, R-Fr., Rockford, Ill.
85 86 87 89
DE
69 58 49
Christian Banasiak, 6-3, 245, R-Fr., Cape Coral, Fla. Chase Kern, 6-3, 250, So., Sioux City, Iowa Eric Kelly, 6-2, 230, R-Fr., Ashland, Neb.
DT
54 97 98
COLE LANGER, 6-2, 285, Jr., Dell Rapids, S.D. Tiano Pupungatoa, 6-5, 275, R-Fr., River Falls, Wis. ^SHAYNE GOTTLOB, 6-5, 255, Jr., Salem, S.D.
NT
94 57 43
Kellen Soulek, 6-5, 300, So., Freeman, S.D. Caleb Lang, 6-3, 275, So., Freeman, S.D. Matt Fry, 6-2, 290, R-Fr., Plankinton, S.D.
DE
91 93 50
J.R. PLOTE, 6-3, 250, Sr., Phoenix, Ariz. Landon Schultz, 6-2, 255, Sr., Mason City, Iowa Matt Romano, 6-3, 230, Jr., Laguna Niguel, Calif.
LB (Will) — —
8 29 48 7 17
Cody Hazelett, 6-2, 210, Jr., Inver Grove Heights, Minn. Eric Kleinschmit, 6-2, 200, R-Fr., St. Helena, Neb. Emmanuel Ehrich, 6-0, 200, R-Fr., Maple Grove, Minn. ^JESSE BOBBIT, 6-2, 210, So., Palatine, Ill. ^Patrick Schuster, 6-1, 215, Sr., Watertown, S.D.
LB (Mike) —
33 53 4
T.J. LALLY, 6-0, 225, Sr., Chicago, Ill Dalton Cox, 6-1, 200, R-Fr., Aberdeen, S.D. ^Tom Peitz, 6-0, 215, Jr., Crofton, Neb.
LB or (Sam)
15 51 26
DALLAS BROWN, 5-11, 195, Sr., Tucson, Ariz. J.T. Hassell, 5-11, 205, So., Titusville, Fla. Drew Kreutzfeldt, 5-11, 200, Sr., Wentworth, S.D.
LCB
25
JIMMIE FORSYTHE, 5-10, 190, Sr., Omaha, Neb.
—
9
Jordan Brown, 6-1, 175, R-Fr., Scottsdale, Ariz.
LT
60 68 76
BRYCE SIVERLING, 6-3, 290, Sr., Bloomer, Wis. Charlie Harmon, 6-6, 285, So., O’Fallon, Ill. Joe Carbis, 6-6, 285, R-Fr., Council Bluffs, Iowa
SS
LG
61 65
DYLAN SEITER, 6-3, 290, Sr., Sun Prairie, Wis. Jacob VanderHeiden, 6-4, 290, R-Fr., Hutchinson, Minn.
FS
24 13 6
Nick Farina, 5-11, 195, So., Phoenix, Ariz. Mark Pickerel, 6-0, 200, Sr., Columbia, Mo. Makiah Slade, 6-1, 195, R-Fr., Lincoln, Neb.
C
62 70
JACOB OHNESORGE, 6-3, 280, So., Waunakee, Wis. Tyler Weir, 6-4, 295, R-Fr., Arvada, Colo.
RCB or
RG
72 55 63
Taylor Bloom, 6-4, 300, Sr., Madison, S.D. Travis Zimmerman, 6-4, 285, Sr., Huxley, Iowa ^Mike Shoff, 6-6, 345, Jr., Cambridge, Neb.
22 12 21
JE RYAN BUTLER, 5-11, 185, Sr., Tempe, Ariz. Trey Carr, 5-11, 180, So., Omaha, Neb. Ezekiel Herndon, 5-11, 190, Jr., Fontana, Calif.
75 78 79
Seth Lansman, 6-7, 295, Jr., Harlan, Iowa Thor Riemer, 6-5, 285, R-Fr., Osceola, Wis. ^Nick Carr, 6-8, 315, Jr., New Brighton, Minn.
— RT —
42 47 28
NICK MEARS, 5-11, 195, Jr., Milbank, S.D. Alex Romenesko, 5-11, 195, R-Fr., Pewaukee, Wis. Chris Balster, 5-10, 185, So., Sheldon, Iowa
* Returning starters indicated in CAPS ^ Injured player who will be held out or limited during spring ball
SPECIAL TEAMS PK
92 34
Jay Carlson, 6-1, 215, Sr., Parkville, Mo. Sam Koob, 5-9, 200, So., Sioux Falls, S.D.
P
59 46
Troy Hunhoff, 6-4, 225, So., Yankton, S.D. Ron Pavlik, 6-0, 195, Sr., Porter, Ind.
Holder
11 81
Tyler Finnes, 6-4, 200, Sr., Andover, Minn. Matt Raymond,5-9, 185, Sr., Elkhorn, Neb.
KO
92 34
JAY CARLSON, 6-1, 215, Sr., Parkville, Mo. Sam Koob, 5-9, 200, So., Sioux Falls, S.D.
Long Snaps
56 15
THAYER TRENHAILE, 5-11, 200, Jr., Volga, S.D. Dallas Brown, 5-11, 195, Jr., Tucson, Ariz.
KOR
80 22
Trevor Wesley, 5-11, 175, Sr., Oro Valley, Ariz. Je Ryan Butler, 5-11, 185, Sr., Tempe, Ariz.
Short Snaps
56 62
THAYER TRENHAILE, 5-11, 200, Jr., Volga, S.D. Jacob Ohnesorge, 6-3, 280, So., Waunakee, Wis.
44 12
Brady Mengarelli, 5-10, 195, So., Prescott, Ariz. Trey Carr, 5-11, 180, So., Omaha, Neb.
22 12
^JE RYAN BUTLER, 5-11, 185, Sr., Tempe, Ariz. Trey Carr, 5-11, 180, So., Omaha, Neb.
PR
6
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2015 JACKRABBIT SPRING FOOTBALL
KEY RETURNERS
JE RYAN BUTLER, 5-10, 185, Sr., Cornerback/Return Specialist, Tempe, Ariz. Je Ryan has played key roles both defensively and on special teams for the Jackrabbits’ three consecutive playoff teams ... has started 25 games at cornerback over the past three seasons ... 2014: Played in all 14 games, starting 13 ... tied for second on team with two interceptions ... ranked third on squad with eight pass breakups ...recorded first interception of season in Beef Bowl victory over Wisconsin-Oshkosh ... intercepted a pass in the end zone and broke up two other passes in regular season finale versus South Dakota ... credited with season-high five tackles, including one for loss in Football Championship Subdivision playoff victory at Montana State ... matched career long with 80-yard punt return to set up touchdown in playoff game at North Dakota State ... averaged 13.2 yards on 27 punt returns and 18.1 yards on seven kickoff returns ... 2013: Played in all 14 games with five starts ... honorable mention all-Missouri Valley Football Conference selection as a punt returner ... took over punt return duties midway through 2013 season and averaged 11.8 yards per attempt ... returned punt 80 yards for touchdown in double-overtime win over Northern Iowa ... recorded five punt returns for 90 yards, including long of 39 yards in Football Championship Subdivision playoff win at Northern Arizona .... also intercepted two passes in win at Northern Arizona en route to sharing team lead for the season with four interceptions ... returned interception 39 yards for touchdown in 2013 season opener versus Butler (Ind.) ... 2012: Made seven starts, including both FCS playoff games ... of his 35 tackles, 28 were solo stops ... registered career-high eight tackles, two of which were for loss, and added interception and pass breakup in home win over South Dakota CAREER STATISTICS
Year 2012 2013 2014 Career
G 13 14 14 41
Solo 28 20 24 72
Ast 7 11 9 27
Total 35 31 33 99
TFL-Yds 2.0-7 1.0-2 3.0-4 6.0-3
PBU 2 6 8 16
Int-Yds 2-69 4-40 2-0 8-109
LG 39 *39 0 *39
BK 0 1 0 1
PR-Yds Avg 0-0 0.0 21-247 11.8 28-370 13.2 49-617 12.6
LG 0 *80 80 *80
TD 0 1 0 1
JIMMIE FORSYTHE, 5-10, 190, Sr., Cornerback, Omaha, Neb. Jimmie has been a steady contributor in the Jackrabbit secondary throughout his career ... selected as team captain for 2015 season ... 2014: Started all 14 games ... honorable mention selection to the all-Missouri Valley Football Conference team ... ranked fifth on team with 51 tackles ... finished second on squad with nine pass breakups ...made three stops and recorded lone interception of the season in road win at Southern Utah ... notched career-high seven tackles and broke up pair of passes in key road victory at Indiana State ... broke up two passes and registered four tackles in home finale versus South Dakota ... tallied two tackles and a pass breakup in each Football Championship Subdivision playoff game against Montana State and North Dakota State ... 2013: Played in 13 games at cornerback with nine starts ... broke up a pass and came up with late interception to seal win at North Dakota ... forced a fumble and registered four tackles at Nebraska ... turned in career-best 34yard kickoff return in Hobo Day game versus Southern Illinois ... notched four tackles, including 1.5 tackles for loss, in victory over Northern Iowa ... returned interception 31 yards in home finale against Indiana State ... 2012: Earned first varsity letter after playing in all 13 games ... tallied two tackles in a game four times, including in home opener versus UC Davis, when he was named squad’s Special Teams Player of the Week ... ranked second on team with eight special teams tackles ... made first career interception in regular season finale versus South Dakota CAREER STATISTICS
Year 2012 2013 2014 Career
G 13 13 14 40
Solo 11 22 39 72
Ast 3 13 12 28
Total 14 35 51 100
TFL-Yds 0-0 2.0-4 1.0-3 3.0-7
Int-Yds 1-0 2-36 1-1 4-37
PBU 0 2 9 11
KOR 4 8 0 12
Yds 76 187 0 263
Avg. 19.0 23.4 0.0 21.9
LG 24 34 0 34
CAM JONES, 6-5, 250, Sr., Tight End, Eagan, Minn. Cam is line to start at tight end for the third season in a row during the 2015 campaign ... selected as a team captain ... 2014: Played in 12 games, returning to the lineup after missing the second half of the previous season ... totaled five catches for 30 yards, while also contributing as a blocker for potent rushing attack ... opened season with one reception for three yards at Missouri ... caught one pass for eight yards at Southern Utah ... hauled in season-high two passes for 14 yards in road victory at Northern Iowa ... 2013: Caught at least one pass in six of seven games he played prior to injury ... caught three passes for 97 yards, including career-long 60-yarder, in season opener versus Butler (Ind.) ... recorded career-high six receptions for 68 yards in losing effort at Nebraska ... tallied four catches for 70 yards in Hobo Day game versus Southern Illinois ... hauled in two passes for 27 yards, including 24-yard touchdown in road win at Western Illinois ... 2012: Saw action at both tight end and in the backfield on shortyardage situations ... scored rushing touchdowns in wins over Indiana State, South Dakota and in FCS playoff game against Eastern Illinois .. also scored 8-yard receiving touchdown on final play of first half versus Eastern Illinois CAREER STATISTICS
Year 2012 2013 2014 Career
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Rec 3 18 5 26
Yds 50 315 30 395
Avg. 16.7 17.5 6.0 15.2
TD 1 1 0 2
LG 36 60 8 60
Rush 7 0 0 7
Yds 24 0 0 24
Avg. 3.4 0.0 0.0 3.4
TD 3 0 0 3
LG 10 0 0 10
7
2015 JACKRABBIT SPRING FOOTBALL
KEY RETURNERS T.J. LALLY, 6-0, 225, Sr., Linebacker, Chicago, Ill.
T.J. has been a mainstay in the Jackrabbit defensive lineup, starting all 41 games at middle linebacker over the past three seasons ... two-time team captain ... 2014: Earned second-team all-Missouri Valley Football Conference honors for the second time in his career ... started all 14 games ... led team with 117 total tackles and 9.5 tackles for loss ... recorded double figures in tackles five times, starting with 11-tackle performance at Missouri in season opener ... set Jackrabbit single-game standard in the Division I era with 20 tackles, including a sack, in regular season meeting at North Dakota State ... tallied 10 tackles in home win over Missouri State to share team’s Defensive Player of the Week award ... also honored with weekly defensive award in games against Cal Poly and Wisconsin-Oshkosh ... recorded 10 tackles in road victory at Indiana State ... registered eight tackles, including two for loss, broke up a pass and returned fumble 11 yards to set up late Jackrabbit field goal in Football Championship Subdivision playoff victory at Montana State ... closed season with 14-tackle performance in playoff loss at North Dakota State ... 2013: Ranked second on team with 89 tackles and two fumble recoveries ... recorded season-high 10 tackles and recovered a fumble in Beef Bowl victory over Southeastern Louisiana ... turned the momentum in team’s favor by recording go-ahead safety midway through third quarter of Football Championship Subdivision playoff game at Northern Arizona ... 2012: Second-team all-Missouri Valley Football Conference selection and member of the MVFC All-Newcomer Team ... started all 13 games and ranked second on team with 107 tackles ... recorded double figures for tackles five times ... shared team lead with six sacks ... was a finalist for the Jerry Rice Award as the top freshman in the Football Championship Subdivision and named to College Sports Journal All-Freshman Team ... earned MVFC Newcomer of the Week honors three times, starting with 10-tackle, four-sack performance in home opener against UC Davis CAREER STATISTICS
Year 2012 2013 2014 Career
G 13 14 14 41
Solo 73 50 52 175
Ast 34 39 65 138
Total 107 89 117 313
TFL-Yds 8.0-40 6.5-16 9.5-26 24.0-82
Sack-Yds 6.0-34 1.5-11 1.0-3 8.5-48
PBU 6 2 1 9
Int-Yds 2-31 0-0 0-0 2-31
BK 0 0 0 0
FR-Yds 1-0 2-3 1-11 4-14
FF 2 1 0 2
COLE LANGER, 6-2, 285, Jr., Defensive Tackle, Dell Rapids, S.D. Cole has a streak of 20 consecutive starts entering the 2015 season ... is a third-generation Jackrabbit student-athlete — his grandfather, Jim, was an all-conference football player and All-America baseball player at SDSU before embarking on a hall-of-fame football career with the Miami Dolphins and Minnesota Vikings, while his father, Tracy, also was an all-conference baseball player for the Jackrabbits ... 2014: Earned second-team all-Missouri Valley Football Conference honors ... tied for sixth on the team with 49 tackles, including 3.5 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks ... tallied three tackles, including half-sack, and blocked a field goal attempt in road win at nationally ranked Northern Iowa ... recorded season-high six tackles, including tackle for loss, in regular season matchup at North Dakota State ... was credited with four tackles in Football Championship Subdivision playoff games against Montana State and North Dakota State ... also contributed a blocked kick and pass breakup in playoff victory at Montana State ... 2013: Selected to the Missouri Valley Football Conference All-Newcomer Team after registering 35 tackles ... played in all 14 games as a true freshman, starting the final six ... set season high for tackles in back-to-back Football Championship Subdivision playoff games ... posted six tackles, including a sack, at Northern Arizona ... recorded seven tackles, including a tackle for loss at Eastern Washington CAREER STATISTICS
Year 2013 2014 Career
G 14 14 41
Solo 50 52 175
Ast 39 65 138
Total 89 117 313
TFL-Yds 6.5-16 9.5-26 24.0-82
Sack-Yds 1.5-11 1.0-3 8.5-48
PBU 2 1 9
Int-Yds 0-0 0-0 2-31
BK 0 0 0
FR-Yds 2-3 1-11 4-14
FF 1 0 2
ZACH LUJAN, 6-2, 190, Jr., Quarterback, Anchorage, Alaska Zach was a late addition to the Jackrabbit roster, but filled in admirably when starting quarterback Austin Sumner went down with an injury in the 2014 season opener at Missouri ... named to Missouri Valley Football Conference All-Newcomer Team after leading team to 5-2 record in seven starts ... threw at least one touchdown pass in all seven starts ... completed 21-of-28 passes for 239 yards after entering game late in first quarter at Missouri ... threw three touchdown passes in home opener against Cal Poly ... completed 17-of-28 passes for 310 yards and three touchdowns in win over Missouri State ... helped lead Jackrabbits to road win at Northern Iowa, completing 21-of-38 passes for 223 yards ... racked up season-high 329 yards passes on 28-of-42 attempts in Hobo Day game against Youngstown State ... played one season at Chabot College (Calif.), where he was named 2013 Golden Gate Conference Offensive Player of the Year and league most valuable player CAREER STATISTICS
Year 2014 Career
8
G-GS 9-7 9-7
Comp 147 147
Att 241 214
Int 10 10
Pct. .610 .610
Yds 1,943 1,943
TD 13 13
LG *78 *78
NCAA Eff. 138.22 138.22
Rush 62 62
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Yds 14 14
TD 0 0
LG 20 20
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2015 JACKRABBIT SPRING FOOTBALL
KEY RETURNERS
NICK MEARS, 5-11, 195, Jr., Safety, Milbank, S.D. Nick emerged as a leader on the Jackrabbit defense last season ... 2014: Saw action in 13 games with 11 starts ... ranked second on team with 96 tackles (64 solo) ... recorded double digits in tackles on three occasions, starting with 10-tackle performance in home opener against Cal Poly ... credited with nine tackles (8 solo) in home win over Missouri State ... registered seven tackles, including 1.5 tackles for loss, and made first career interception in road win at nationally ranked Northern Iowa ... broke up three passes and notched seven tackles in Hobo Day game versus Youngstown State ... made 10 stops and broke up a pass in regular season game at North Dakota State ... tallied career-high 12 tackles versus Western Illinois ... totaled eight tackles in each Football Championship Subdivision playoff game, against Montana State and North Dakota State ... 2013: Played in all 14 games either on special teams or as a reserve safety ... registered three tackles in collegiate debut against Butler (Ind.) ... recorded season-high nine tackles in Football Champion-ship Subdivision playoff game at Eastern Washington CAREER STATISTICS
Year 2013 2014 Career
G 14 13 27
Solo 11 64 75
Ast 16 32 48
Total 27 96 123
TFL-Yds 0-0 3.5-8 3.5-8
Sack-Yds 0-0 0-0 0-0
PBU 0 6 6
Int-Yds 0-0 1-0 1-0
BK 0 0 0
FR-Yds 0-0 0-0 0-0
FF 0 0 0
BRADY MENGARELLI, 5-10, 195, So., Running Back, Prescott, Ariz. Brady contributed both on offense and special teams during the 2014 season and will be in contention for the top running back spot this season ... 2014: Ranked second on the team in rushing with 332 yards, averaging 5.4 yards per carry ... also ranked fifth on squad with 14 receptions and averaged 20.6 yards on nine kickoff returns ... top performance was five-carry, 73-yard outing against Cal Poly, during which he scored his lone touchdown of the season and totaled 122 all-purpose yards ... named recipient of team's Effort Award after carrying 13 times for 65 yards, including season-long run of 25 yards, in road win at Southern Utah ... rushed 15 times for 63 yards in Beef Bowl victory over Wisconsin-Oshkosh ... ran six times for 20 yards and caught five passes for 34 yards in key road win at Indiana State ... returned opening kickoff 46 yards and added a 26-yard reception in regular season finale versus South Dakota ... broke off runs of 22 yards in both Football Championship Subdivision playoff games at Montana State and North Dakota State CAREER STATISTICS
Year 2014 Career
Rush 61 61
Yds 332 332
Avg 5.4 5.4
TD 1 1
LG 25 25
Rec 14 14
Yds 118 118
Avg 8.4 8.4
TD 0 0
LG 26 26
KOR 9 9
Yds 185 185
Avg 20.6 20.6
LG 46 45
JAKE WIENEKE, 6-4, 210, So., Wide Receiver, Maple Grove, Minn. Jake returns to the Jackrabbit lineup after a record-setting freshman campaign last season ... 2014: Emerged as the team's top receiver, leading the Jackrabbits with 73 receptions for 1,404 yards and a school-record 16 touchdowns ... named Missouri Valley Football Conference Freshman of the Year andalso finished as runner-up for Jerry Rice Award as top freshman in Football Championship Subdivision ... earned All-America recognition from Associated Press (second team) and Sports Network (third team) ... also named College Sporting News FCS Freshman of the Year and honored as a member of the College Sporting news FCS Fabulous Fifty ... his 73 receptions tied for second most in a season by a Jackrabbit player and his 1,404 receiving yards were the most by a Jackrabbit freshman and second most in program history ... first-team all-Missouri Valley Football Conference selection after leading league in total receiving yards, receiving yards per game (100.3 ypg) and touchdowns, while ranking third in total receptions ... caught a touchdown pass in all eight regular season league games ... posted seven 100-yard receiving games, including three performances that rank in the top 10 by a Jackrabbit in a single game ... top yardage total was 183 yards on eight catches with three touchdowns against Missouri State ... twice caught 10 passes in a game, racking up 178 receiving yards and a touchdown against Youngstown State on Hobo Day and 159 yards and three TDs versus Western Illinois ... tied Jackrabbit record with 91-yard touchdown reception at Indiana State ... closed regular season with six catches for 177 yards and a touchdown versus South Dakota ... caught 3-yard touchdown pass in waning minutes of FCS playoff game at North Dakota State as Jackrabbit upset bid came up short CAREER STATISTICS
Year 2014 Career
Rec 73 73
Yds 1,404 1,404
Avg. 19.2 19.2
TD 16 16
LG *91 *91
Rush 1 1
Yds 52 52
Avg. 52.0 52.0
TD 0 0
LG 52 52
* denotes touchdown
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2015 JACKRABBIT SPRING FOOTBALL
2015 SIGNEES South Dakota State University head coach John Stiegelmeier announced on Feb. 4 that 21 high school standouts, including five in-state recruits, signed a National Letter of Intent, indicating they will further their education and athletic pursuits as a member of the Jackrabbit football program. “Our football staff is very excited about the addition of this recruiting class. We have filled our needs with a collection of great student athletes, most of them being from the region,” Stiegelmeier said. “This class is made up of those signing national letters of intent but also a great non-scholarship group of student-athletes. The efforts of our assistant coaches, athletic support staff and many SDSU professors made the difference this recruiting season. We look forward to great things from the 2015 recruiting class.” The signees are: • Adam Anderson, 6-1, 175, wide receiver, Orlando, Fla. (Boone H.S.) Anderson was a second-team all-Central Florida and all-state selection during his senior season at Boone High School in Orlando. He set single-season school records with 66 catches and 1,176 receiving yards as a senior, after 36 passes for 576 yards as a junior. • Taryn Christion, 6-2, 195, quarterback, Sioux Falls (Roosevelt H.S.) Christion was a dual-threat quarterback for Roosevelt High School in Sioux Falls who earned all-state honors and was a member of the Sioux Falls Argus Leader Elite 45 during his junior season, when he accounted for 3,537 yards of total offense and 43 touchdowns. Christion passed for 2,549 yards and ran for 988 yards as a junior and was averaging 392 yards of total offense per game as a senior before suffering a season-ending injury in third game. He completed 42-of-69 passes for 755 yards and four touchdowns, and added 421 rushing yards and six touchdowns on 63 attempts in 2014. • Matt Clark, 6-5, 285, offensive lineman, Syracuse, Neb. (Syracuse H.S.) Clark excelled both on the football field and on the wrestling mat during his career at Syracuse High School. He named to Class C1 All-State First Team for football by both the Lincoln Journal Star and Omaha World Herald and was a second-team honoree on the Nebraska Super State squad. In wrestling, Clark was ranked as high as No. 6 nationally at heavyweight. He completed a perfect 49-0 season during the 2013-14 campaign with Class B state title, winning all four matches at state meet by pin. • Jared DeVoe, 6-4, 290, offensive lineman, New Market, Iowa (Clarinda H.S.) DeVoe played four years of varsity football and was a three-year starter for Clarinda High School. He earned all-district honors on both sides of the ball, receiving recognition as a defensive lineman in 2013 and as an offensive lineman as a senior. DeVoe was honored as a second-team all-state selection by both the Iowa Newspaper Association and the Des Moines Register, as well as a first-team honoree on all-Western Iowa Team. In addition, he
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was named District 8 Co-Player of the Year and has been selected to play in the 2015 Shrine Bowl. DeVoe anchored line for offensive unit that racked up more than 4,100 yards of total offense. He also tallied 31 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks on defense. An all-around athlete, DeVoe qualified for the 2012 state track and field meet in the shot put and also has competed in basketball, wrestling and baseball during prep career. • Ryan Earith, 6-4, 260, defensive tackle, Papillion, Neb. (Papillion-La Vista South H.S.) Earith was a force on the defensive line for Papillion-La Vista South High School, earning allMetro and first-team all-state honors. He also was honored on Super State squad after recording 37 tackles, five sacks and a fumble recovery during his senior season. On offense, Earith caught 18 passes for 323 yards and three touchdowns as a tight end in earning team most valuable player honors. • Jake Ford, 6-5, 280, offensive lineman, Chicago, Ill. (Marist H.S.) Ford was a two-sport standout at Marist High School in Chicago, excelling both on the football field and on the wrestling mat. He won regional title at heavyweight as a junior, winning 32 matches – including 24 by pin – in helping lead nationally ranked wrestling program to runner-up finish at 2014 state meet. • Brady Hale, 6-3, 200, punter/kicker, Yankton (Yankton H.S.) Hale played multiple roles in helping lead Yankton High School to 2014 Class AA state championship. He was an all-state selection and member of the Sioux Falls Argus Leader Elite 45 after averaging 38 yards per punt and connecting on 11-of-17 field goals, including a 53-yarder. Hale added 40 receptions, scored five touchdowns, and notched 25 tackles and three interceptions on defense. He also earned all-conference honors in basketball. • Jake Harms, 6-3, 205, linebacker, Crete, Neb. (Crete H.S.) Harms was honored on the Nebraska Class B allstate defensive unit during both his junior and senior seasons at Crete High School. As a senior, he recorded 74 total tackles, including 6.5 sacks as a senior, while also rushing for 377 yards and talying 408 receiving yards. • Marquise Lewis, 5-11, 180, wide receiver, Omaha, Neb. (Omaha North H.S.) Lewis excelled in all three phases of the game at Omaha North High School. A first-team all-Nebraska selection who also was named 2014 Defensive Back of the Year, he finished as the school's career leader in receptions and receiving yards, while also setting a single-season record with 952 receiving yards on 43 catches with 11 touchdowns in 2014. On special teams, Lewis returned six punts for 178 yards and two touchdowns. • Zy Mosley, 6-0, 170, cornerback, Minnetonka, Minn. (Minnetonka H.S.) Mosley was a two-time honorable mention allconference selection while playing first for Hopkins High School and later for Minnetonka High School in the Twin Cities Metro area. He also played on state champion U17 rugby team.
• Christian Rozeboom, 6-2, 205, linebacker, Sioux Center, Iowa (Sioux Center H.S.) Rozeboom was a three-time all-district honoree who helped lead Sioux Center High School to the state championship game in 2014. He was honored as Sports Spotlight Class 2A Defensive Player of the Year after tallying 58 tackles, including 12 tackles for loss and three sacks. Rozeboom earned all-state recognition from the Iowa Newspaper Association and Des Moines Register, as well as all-region honors from the Sioux City Journal. He also rushed for 1,422 yards as a senior, averaging 7.8 yards per carry. An all-around athlete, Rozeboom was an allstate selection in baseball and was member of the 2014 state champion shuttle hurdle relay in track and field. • Luke Sellers, 6-1, 245, fullback, Papillion, Neb. (Papillion-La Vista South H.S.) Sellers earned honorable mention all-state honors and was a second-team all-Metro selection as a junior at Papillion-La Vista South High School after recording 87 tackles on defense. A team captain, he was limited by injuries to four games as a senior, but rushed 21 times for 258 yards and three touchdowns. • Austin Smenda, 6-2, 215, defensive end, Fleming Island, Fla. (Fleming Island H.S.) Smenda was an all-conference and all-county selection during his senior season at Fleming Island High School after leading his team in tackles and being named squad’s defensive most valuable player. • Sam Steckman, 6-4, 235, tight end, Andover, Minn. (Andover H.S.) Steckman was a versatile performer on the offensive side of the ball for Andover High School in the Twin Cities Metro area. He earned honorable mention all-Northwest Suburban Conference honors as a tight end in both 2013 and 2014, but filled in at quarterback during senior season, passing for 499 yards and seven touchdowns in four games. In addition, Steckman rushed for 243 yards and three touchdowns, and scored one receiving touchdown. In 2013, he tallied 17 receptions for 274 yards and two touchdowns in helping lead team to section title. An accomplished musician, Steckman is a two-time member of the all-state orchestra. • Brandon Thomas, 5-11, 195, safety, Elkhart, Ind. (Concord H.S.) Thomas earned all-state honors during both his junior and senior seasons at Concord High School in Elkhart, Indiana. A team captain, he holds the school career record with 16 interceptions after tallying three interceptions and 62 tackles his senior season. • Chase Vinatieri, 6-1, 200, kicker, Sioux Falls (Roosevelt H.S.) Vinatieri excelled both as a kicker and wide receiver at Roosevelt High School in Sioux Falls. He earned all-state honors as a kicker as junior and was a two-time honorable mention all-state honoree as a receiver. In 2014, Vinatieri was named to Sioux Falls Argus Leader Elite 45 after catching 43 passes for 713 yards and eight touchdowns as Roosevelt advanced to state championship. He is the nephew of former Jackrabbit and current NFL standout kicker Adam Vinatieri.
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2015 JACKRABBIT SPRING FOOTBALL • Blake Whitsell, 6-2, 280, defensive tackle, Broomfield, Colo. (Broomfield H.S.) Whitsell received first-team all-state recognition, along with all-conference and all-region honors, during both his junior and senior seasons at Broomfield High School. His career defensive totals included 215 tackles and 15 sacks. • Alex Wilde, 6-3, 200, wide receiver, Sioux Falls (Brandon Valley H.S.) Wilde (pronounced WILL-dee) was a prolific passcatcher and a state champion in the triple jump at Brandon Valley High School. During his senior season, he was an all-state selection and member of the Sioux Falls Argus Leader Elite 45 after catching 60 passes for 1,008 yards and 10 touchdowns. Wilde also set state an 11-man single-game record with 17 receptions. His career totals included 88 receptions for 1,530 yards. • Lorenzo Williams, 6-1, 180, safety, Huron (Wolsey-Wessington H.S.) Williams put up big numbers both offensively and defensively during a standout career at WolseyWessington High School. He set state a rushing record in 2014 with 2,780 yards and 40 touchdowns in leading team to Class 9A state championship game, while passing for 668 yards and five touchdowns. On defense, he tallied 153 tackles, 18 tackles for loss and six interceptions, while recording career totals of 4,998 rushing yards and had 352 tackles. Honored twice on both the all-state team and Sioux Falls Argus Leader Elite 45 for football, Williams also earned all-state honors in basketball and has been a state qualifier in track and field. • Jessup Workman, 6-1, 200, linebacker, Beatrice, Neb. (Beatrice H.S.) Workman excelled on both sides of the ball during a highly decorated career at Beatrice High School. A three-time all-district selection, he earned recognition at both linebacker and running back. In 2014, Workman was named to Class B All-State First Team by both Omaha World Herald and Lincoln Journal Star, as well as a Super State second-team honoree. He finished his prep career with totals that included 206 tackles and three sacks on defense, as well as school-record 4,137 yards rushing with 57 touchdowns. In addition, Workman placed third in 195-pound weight class at 2014 Class B state wrestling meet and also lettered one year in baseball. • Sam Zenner, 6-0, 200, running back, Eagan, Minn. (Eagan H.S.) Zenner played quarterback during his senior season at Eagan High School, but is expected to play running back with the Jackrabbits. A two-time allconference selection, he threw for 379 yards and ran for 1,290 yards with 12 touchdowns in 2014. Zenner has earned all-state honors in both football and swimming, and also has lettered twice in baseball. He follows in the footsteps of his older brother, Zach, who was an All-America running back for the Jackrabbits and sister, Abby, who is a member of the SDSU women's swimming and diving team.
In addition, Stiegelmeier announced that 17 other prep standouts have been accepted for admission to SDSU and plan to join the Jackrabbit football program in the fall.
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2015 SIGNEES The student-athletes include: • Dayton Bird, 5-7, 165, wide receiver, Brookings (Brookings, H.S.) -- Three-time all-Eastern South Dakota selection … played all over the field, rushing for 501 yards, catching 20 passes for 254 yards and recording 48 tackles during senior season … member of Sioux Falls Argus Leader Elite 45 … returned three kickoffs for touchdowns and amassed 2,887 total yards during prep career • Turner Blasius, 6-1, 200, fullback, Kimball (Kimball H.S.) -- Two-time all-state selection and member of Sioux Falls Argus Leader Elite 45 in 2014 … career totals included 1,189 rushing yards, 321 tackles and 19 sacks … posted 98 tackles and four sacks as a senior … father, Justin, was a national champion wrestler at SDSU • Blake Bubak, 5-8, 160, defensive back, Columbus, Neb. (Columbus, H.S.) -- Earned all-state honors in 2014 after receiving honorable mention recognition as a sophomore and junior … two-time all-district honoree … career totals including 346 tackles and nine interceptions … set school record with 160 tackles during senior season, to go along with five interceptions and two fumble recoveries … also caught 34 passes for 425 yards and scored three touchdowns — two rushing and one receiving … also an honorable mention all-state selection in baseball • Mikey Daniel, 6-2, 215, defensive back, Brookings (Brookings H.S.) -- Rushed for 1,500 yards and scored 22 touchdowns in helping lead Brookings to Class 11AA state championship game … all-state honoree and two-time all-Eastern South Dakota selection … played one season at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida, before returning to Brookings for senior season • Zach Dorgan, 6-2, 220, defensive end, Ralston, Neb. (Ralston H.S.) -- Three-year letterman for Ralston High School football program … earned first-team all-district honors as a senior • Lance Eide, 5-8, 170, defensive back, Clear Lake (Deuel H.S.) -- Named East Central Conference Offensive Player of the Year in both 2013 and 2014 … all-state selection and member of Sioux Falls Argus Leader Elite 45 as a senior … holds 11 school records … career totals include 3,240 rushing yards, 917 receiving yards, 262 tackles and 11 interceptions … returned 41 kickoffs for 999 yards and three touchdowns en route to 5,694 all-purpose yards and 61 total touchdowns … two-time state finalist in 400meter dash • Matt Fitzgerald, 6-5, 210, defensive end, Yankton (Yankton H.S.) -- Two-year starter who was key member of Yankton High School’s state champion football team in 2014 … team captain for basketball … is a two-time qualifier for state track and field meet in the high jump and triple jump • Gunnar Grimsrud, 6-0, 215, linebacker, Rochester, Minn. (Mayo H.S.) -- All-state selection and Big 9 Conference Defensive Player of the Year … team captain and two-time allconference selection … career statistics included 215 tackles, 10 sacks and three interceptions • Kallan Hart, 6-5, 215, tight end, Lonsdale, Minn. (Faribault H.S.) -- Team captain for Faribault High School football team that won section championship … also a team captain in basketball and track and field … all-Big Nine Conference honoree in both football and track and field … section champion in 110-meter high hurdles … Big Nine Conference Scholar-Athlete
• Spencer Hildahl, 6-3, 265, defensive tackle, Montevideo, Minn. (Montevideo H.S.) -- Named West Central Conference Most Valuable Lineman after recording 35.5 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss and two sacks as a senior … two-time team most valuable lineman award winner … member of the National Honor Society • Nick Jensen, 6-1, 230, fullback, Sartell, Minn. (Sartell H.S.) -- Second-team all-state honoree in 2014 … played on two conference and section championship teams at Sartell High School … two-time all-conference, all-area and all-section honoree … tallied 278 receiving yards and 156 rushing yards as a senior, while scoring six total touchdowns • Zach Robertson, 6-1, 190, linebacker, Rochester, Minn. (Mayo H.S.) -- Three-year starter and two-time first-team all-Big Nine Conference selection … recorded 72 tackles at strong safety with five forced fumbles and three interceptions … a team captain, he also caught 36 passes for 640 yards and four touchdowns … three-year starter in baseball, which placed fifth in both high school and American Legion seasons • Gavin Rudoll, 6-3, 180, wide receiver, Rosemount, Minn. (Rosemount H.S.) -- Ranked among South Suburban Conference leaders for receiving, totaling 29 receptions for 541 yards and eight touchdowns … honorable mention all-conference selection in football and all-conference honoree in track and field … section champion in long jump … also competed in 4x100-meter relay at state track and field meet • Anthony Thene, 6-3, 345, offensive lineman, Sartell, Minn. (Sartell H.S.) -- All-state selection and two-time all-section honoree … four-year starter for Sartell High School … Honor Roll student • Will Whiton, 5-11, 175, defensive back, Perry, Iowa (Perry H.S.) -- Three-time first-team all-state honoree by the Iowa Newspaper Association … second-team all-state defensive squad member by the Des Moines Register in 2014 … earned all-district honors during prep career as a wide receiver (2011), defensive back (2012) and quarterback (2013, 2014) … two-time team captain … career offensive totals included 2,334 passing yards, 3,178 rushing yards, 582 receiving yards and 44 total touchdowns … on defense, tallied 106 career tackles and 13 interceptions … also recorded six returns for touchdowns (3 kickoff, 2 punt, 1 interception) … also an all-state honoree in baseball and state finalist in both 100-meter dash and long jump • Clark Wieneke, 5-11, 190, running back, Maple Grove, Minn. (Maple Grove H.S.) -- Team captain and two-time all-conference honoree … honored on Minnesota Vikings All-State Team … named conference’s offensive most valuable player his senior season … will join older brother, Jake, as a member of the Jackrabbit football team • Rayce Willett, 5-10, 210, linebacker, Cedar Falls, Iowa (Cedar Falls H.S.) -- Third-team all-state selection who also earned all-Metro and all-district honors … selected as District Player of the Year in 2014 after recording 58 total tackles, including 14 tackles for loss and one sack … older brother, Ryan, swam at South Dakota States
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2015 JACKRABBIT SPRING FOOTBALL
2014 STATISTICS 2014 TEAM STATISTICS SDSU OPP SCORING 445 355 Points Per Game 31.8 25.4 Points off Turnovers 133 138 FIRST DOWNS 298 263 Rushing 105 138 Passing 166 111 Penalty 27 14 RUSHING YARDAGE 2,480 2,572 Yards gained rushing 2,752 2,775 Yards lost rushing 272 203 Rushing Attempts 520 528 Average Per Rush 4.8 4.9 Average Per Game 177.1 183.7 TDs Rushing 25 28 PASSING YARDAGE 3,612 2,690 Comp-Att-Int 255-428-16 224-404-14 Average Per Pass 8.4 6.7 Average Per Catch 14.2 12.0 Average Per Game 258.0 192.1 TDs Passing 28 16 TOTAL OFFENSE 6,092 5,262 Total Plays 948 932 Average Per Play 6.4 5.6 Average Per Game 435.1 375.9 KICK RETURNS 42-835 60-1,122 PUNT RETURNS 28-370 13-137 INTERCEPTION RETURNS 14-66 16-130 KICK RETURN AVERAGE 19.9 18.7 PUNT RETURN AVERAGE 13.2 10.5 INT RETURN AVERAGE 4.7 8.1 FUMBLES-LOST 10-5 10-6 PENALTIES-YARDS 80-647 67-580 Average Per Game 46.2 41.4 PUNTS-YARDS 57-2,170 69-3,039 Average Per Punt 38.1 44.0 Net punt average 33.6 36.1 KICKOFFS-YARDS 88-4,787 68-3,912 Average Per Kick 54.4 57.5 Net punt average 36.8 37.5 POSSESSION TIME/GAME 31:46 28:14 3RD-DOWN ATTEMPTS 76/180 72/188 3rd-Down Pct 42% 38% 4TH-DOWN ATTEMPTS 4/14 15/25 4th-Down Pct 29% 60% SACKS BY-YARDS 15-76 34-170 MISC. YARDS 0 -6 TOUCHDOWNS SCORED 55 47 FIELD GOALS-ATTEMPTS 19-20 10-17 PAT-ATTEMPTS 50-50 35-38 ON-SIDE KICKS 0-0 1-3 RED-ZONE SCORES 45-51 39-51 Red-Zone Pct 88% 76% RED-ZONE TOUCHDOWNS 30-51 32-51 Red-Zone TD Pct 59% 63% ATTENDANCE 65,613 141,171 Games/Avg Per Game 6/10,936 8/17,646
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2014 SCORES DATE Aug. 30 Sept. 6 Sept. 13 Sept. 20 Oct. 4 Oct. 11 Oct. 18 Oct. 25 Nov. 1 Nov. 8 Nov. 15 Nov. 22 Nov. 29 Dec. 6
OPPONENT at Missouri CAL POLY at Southern Utah WISCONSIN-OSHKOSH *at #22 Illinois State *MISSOURI STATE *at #20 Northern Iowa *#16 YOUNGSTOWN STATE *at #1 North Dakota State *at #17 Indiana State *WESTERN ILLINOIS *SOUTH DAKOTA ^at #17 Montana State ^at #2 North Dakota State
SCORE L, 18-38 W, 44-18 W, 26-6 W, 41-3 L, 10-45 W, 32-28 W, 31-28 L, 27-30 L, 17-37 W, 32-17 W, 59-24 W, 37-14 W, 47-40 L, 24-27
OVERALL 0-1 1-1 2-1 3-1 3-2 4-2 5-2 5-3 5-4 6-4 7-4 8-4 9-4 9-5
CONF 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-1 1-1 2-1 2-2 2-3 3-3 4-3 5-3 5-3 5-3
TIME 3:18 2:36 2:43 2:27 2:49 2:58 3:12 2:59 2:44 2:59 3:04 3:02 3:18 3:10
ATTEND 60,598 12,219 5,017 13,731 10,919 11,348 15,049 14,480 18,832 4,905 3,204 10,631 7,747 18,113
* indicates Missouri Valley Football Conference game ^ Football Championship Subdivision playoff game
SCORE BY QUARTERS South Dakota State Opponents
1ST 110 78
2ND 3RD 133 88 124 44
4TH 114 109
OT – –
TOT 445 355
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS RUSHING Zach Zenner Brady Mengarelli Reggie Gandy Jake Wieneke Zach Lujan Kyle Paris Tyler Finnes TEAM Austin Sumner Total Opponents
GP 14 13 7 14 9 11 11 9 7 14 14
ATT 337 61 30 1 62 2 1 14 12 520 528
PASSING Zach Lujan Austin Sumner Tyler Finnes Total Opponents
GP 9 7 11 14 14
EFFIC. 138.22 155.36 58.80 144.58 117.51
GAIN 2,061 342 119 52 138 6 3 0 31 2,752 2,775
LOST 42 10 11 0 124 0 0 26 59 272 203
COMP-ATT-INT 147-241-10 106-182-5 2-5-1 255-428-16 224-404-14
NET 2,019 332 108 52 14 6 3 -26 -28 2,480 2,572
YPC 6.0 5.4 3.6 52.0 0.2 3.0 3.0 -1.9 -2.3 4.8 4.9
PCT. 61.0 58.2 40.0 59.6 55.4
YDS 1,943 1,634 35 3,612 2,690
TD 22 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 25 28 TD 13 15 0 28 16
LG *94 25 14 52 20 5 0 0 17 *94 62
YPG 144.2 23.7 15.4 3.7 1.6 0.5 0.3 -2.9 -4.0 177.1 183.7
LG 78 *91 26 *91 89
YPG 215.9 233.4 3.2 258.0 192.1
*denotes touchdown
SCORING Zach Zenner JustinSyrovatka Jake Wieneke Jason Schneider Reggie Gandy Brady Mengarelli Connor Landberg Trevor Wesley Dallas Brown Shayne Gottlob Trey Carr Austin Sumner Zach Lujan Total Opponents
TD 26 – 16 6 2 1 1 1 1 1 – – – 55 47
FG – 19-20 – – – – – – – – – – – 19-20 10-17
KICK – 50-50 – – – – – – – – – – – 50-50 35-38
|-------- PATs --------| RUSH RCV PASS 1-2 – – – – – – – – – 2 – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – 0-1 – – 2-2 1-2 2 2-3 1-2 2 2-7
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DXP – – – – – – – – – – 1 – – 1 0
SAF – – – – – – – – – – – – – 0 1
PTS 158 107 96 40 12 6 6 6 6 6 2 0 0 445 355
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2015 JACKRABBIT SPRING FOOTBALL
2014 STATISTICS
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS (cont.) TOTAL OFFENSE Zach Zenner Zach Lujan Austin Sumner Brady Mengarelli Reggie Gandy Jake Wieneke Tyler Finnes Kyle Paris TEAM Total Opponents
GP PLAYS 14 337 9 303 7 194 14 61 7 30 14 1 11 6 11 2 9 14 14 948 14 932
RECEIVING Jake Wieneke Jason Schneider Trevor Wesley Zach Zenner Brady Mengarelli Brandon Andrews Dallas Goedert Matt Raymond Larves Jones Cam Jones Connor Landberg Mitch Vejvoda Dom Wright Reggie Gandy Total Opponents
GP 14 14 14 14 13 12 14 11 10 12 14 13 3 7 14 14
NO. 73 60 35 28 14 10 8 8 5 5 4 3 1 1 255 224
PUNTING Ethan Sawyer TEAM Ron Pavlik Total Opponents
NO. 54 2 1 57 69
YDS 2,126 26 18 2,170 3,039
RUSH 2,019 14 -28 332 108 52 3 6 -26 2,480 2,572 YDS 1,404 876 427 331 118 101 100 93 54 30 41 17 18 2 3,612 2,690
PASS 0 1,943 1,634 0 0 0 35 0 0 3,612 2,690 YPC 19.2 14.6 12.2 11.8 8.4 10.1 12.5 11.6 10.8 6.0 10.2 5.7 18.0 2.0 14.2 12.0
AVG. LONG 39.4 61 13.0 26 18.0 18 38.1 61 44.0 66
TOTAL 2,019 1,957 1,606 332 108 52 38 6 -26 6,092 5,262 TD 16 6 1 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 28 16
TB FC 6 19 0 0 0 0 6 19 9 14
YPG 144.2 217.4 229.4 23.7 15.4 3.7 3.5 0.5 -2.9 435.1 375.9 LG *91 41 43 69 26 20 21 26 16 8 18 8 18 2 *91 89
YPG 100.3 62.6 30.5 23.6 8.4 8.4 7.1 8.5 5.4 2.5 2.9 1.3 6.0 0.3 258.0 192.1
I20 50+ BLK 8 8 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 19 8 2 22 20 1
FIELD GOALS FGM-FGA Pct. 1-19 20-29 30-39 40-49 50+ LG Blk Justin Syrovatka 19-20 95.0 0-0 7-7 9-10 3-3 0-0 46 0 Totals 19-20 95.0 0-0 7-7 9-10 3-3 0-0 46 0 Opponents 10-17 58.8 0-0 4-5 2-4 4-6 0-2 45 2 FG SEQUENCE Missouri Cal Poly Southern Utah Wisconsin-Oshkosh Illinois State Missouri State Northern Iowa Youngstown State North Dakota State Indiana State Western Illinois South Dakota Montana State North Dakota State
SDSU (39) (46) (21) 31, (31), (26) (22) (36) (44) (25), (35) (37) (46) (20) (32), (21), (34) (21), (30) (33)
OPPONENTS 34, 55, (44) – 39 52, (24) (25) – 49 (32) 42, (33), (45), (45) – (21) 25 – (42), (29)
Numbers in (parentheses) indicate field goal was made
PUNT RETURNS Je Ryan Butler Total Opponents
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NO. 28 28 13
YDS AVG 370 13.2 370 13.2 137 10.5
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KICKOFF RETURNS NO. YDS Trevor Wesley 13 293 Brady Mengarelli 9 185 Trey Carr 8 208 Je Ryan Butler 7 127 Mitch Vejvoda 1 10 Kevin Klocek 1 9 Landon Schultz 1 3 Chase Kern, Dallas Goedert 1 0 Total 42 835 Opponents 60 1,122
AVG 22.5 20.6 26.0 18.1 10.0 9.0 3.0 0.0 19.9 18.7
TD LG 0 45 0 46 0 39 0 27 0 10 0 9 0 3 0 0 0 46 2 *100
FUMBLE RETURNS Jesse Bobbit T.J. Lally Total Opponents
NO. 1 1 2 1
YDS 1 11 12 4
AVG 1.0 11.0 6.0 4.0
TD 0 0 0 0
LG 1 11 11 4
INTERCEPTIONS Melvin Taveras Trey Carr Je Ryan Butler Dallas Brown Jake Gentile Shayne Gottlob Jimmie Forsythe Nick Farina J.T. Hassell Nick Mears Total Opponents
NO. 3 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 14 16
YDS AVG 15 5.0 7 3.5 0 0.0 30 30.0 9 9.0 4 4.0 1 1.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 66 4.7 130 8.1
TD 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 2 1
LG 15 7 0 *30 9 *4 1 0 0 0 *30 58
INDIVIDUAL GAME HIGHS RUSHING ATTEMPTS: 32, by Zach Zenner, at North Dakota State, 12-6-14 RUSHING YARDS: 252, by Zach Zenner, at Montana State, 11-29-14 RUSHING TOUCHDOWNS: 4, by Zach Zenner, at Montana State, 11-29-14 LONG RUSH: 94 yards (for TD), by Zach Zenner, at Indiana State, 11-8-14 PASS ATTEMPTS: 42, by Zach Lujan, vs. Youngstown, 10-25-14 PASS COMPLETIONS: 28, by Zach Lujan, vs. Youngstown State, 10-25-14 YARDS PASSING: 395, by Austin Sumner, vs. South Dakota, 11-22-14 PASSING TOUCHDOWNS: 6, by Austin Sumner, vs. Western Illinois, 11-15-14 RECEPTIONS: 10, by Jake Wieneke, vs. Youngstown State, 10-25-14, and vs. Western Illinois, 11-15-14 YARDS RECEIVING: 183, by Jake Wieneke, vs. Missouri State, 10-11-14 RECEIVING TOUCHDOWNS: 3, by Jake Wieneke, vs. Missouri State, 10-11-14, and vs. Western Illinois, 11-15-14 LONG RECEPTION: ^91 yards (for TD), by Jake Wieneke, at Indiana State, 11-8-14 FIELD GOALS: 3, by Justin Syrovatka, vs. South Dakota, 11-22-14 LONG FIELD GOAL: 46 yards, by Justin Syrovatka, vs. Cal Poly, 9-6-14, and at Indiana State, 11-8-14 PUNTS: 6, by Ethan Sawyer, at Missouri, 8-30-14, and at Northern Iowa, 10-18-14 PUNTING AVERAGE: 49.3 yards, by Ethan Sawyer, vs. South Dakota, 11-22-14 LONG PUNT: 61 yards, by Ethan Sawyer, vs. South Dakota, 11-22-14 LONG PUNT RETURN: 80 yards, by Je Ryan Butler, at North Dakota State, 12-6-14 LONG KICKOFF RETURN: 46 yards, by Brady Mengarelli, vs. South Dakota, 11-22-14 TACKLES: 20, by T.J. Lally, at North Dakota State, 11-1-14 TACKLES FOR LOSS: 3.5, by Jack Sherlock, at Northern Iowa, 10-18-14 SACKS: 2.0, by Jack Sherlock, at Northern Iowa, 10-18-14 INTERCEPTIONS: 1, by 10 different players ^ tied school record
TD 0 0 0
LG 80 80 27
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2015 JACKRABBIT SPRING FOOTBALL
2014 STATISTICS DEFENSIVE STATISTICS NO. 33 42 7 1 15 54 91 51 98 22 36 12 43 38 94 4 93 20 58 24 45 81 8 32 40 92 39 21 80 13 44 TM 31 19 83 30 34 28 56 61 6 9
PLAYER T.J. Lally Nick Mears Jesse Bobbit Melvin Taveras Dallas Brown Cole Langer J.R. Plote J.T. Hassell Shayne Gottlob Je Ryan Butler Jack Sherlock Trey Carr Auston LaBlance Jake Gentile Kellen Soulek Tom Peitz Landon Schultz Freeman Simmons Chase Kern Nick Farina Kevin Klocek Matt Raymond Cody Hazelett Kyle Paris Trevor Sikkink Jay Carlson Chad Strehlow Ezekiel Herndon Trevor Wesley Mark Pickerel Brady Mengarelli TEAM Zach Zenner Jake Wieneke Jason Schneider Reggie Gandy Austin Benson Chris Balster Thayer Trenhaile Dylan Seiter Austin Sumner Ethan Sawyer Total.......... Opponents......
GP 14 13 14 13 13 14 14 14 14 14 13 14 14 13 12 14 14 14 10 14 4 11 14 11 6 14 5 8 14 5 14 9 14 14 14 7 6 9 13 14 7 14 14 14
|-----TACKLES-----| SOLO ASST TOT 52 65 117 64 32 96 36 54 90 31 24 55 29 20 49 18 31 49 15 27 42 22 19 41 15 23 38 24 9 33 15 17 32 20 11 31 10 17 27 17 10 27 12 14 26 14 9 23 9 12 21 9 3 12 4 4 8 6 1 7 5 1 6 5 1 6 4 2 6 3 2 5 2 3 5 2 3 5 2 2 4 1 3 4 3 . 3 2 1 3 2 . 2 2 . 2 2 . 2 1 . 1 1 . 1 1 . 1 1 . 1 . 1 1 1 . 1 1 . 1 1 . 1 1 . 1 520 442 962 493 504 997
TFL-YDS 9.5-26 3.5-8 4.0-8 0.5-3 3.5-7 3.5-10 4.5-11 4.0-12 3.0-6 3.0-4 7.0-29 . 2.0-6 5.0-17 3.0-15 1.0-11 1.0-2 . 2.5-9 . 2.5-7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65-199 72-252
|-SACKS-| NO.-YDS 1.0-3 . . . . 1.5-4 1.0-4 1.0-1 . . 3.0-17 . 0.5-1 1.0-9 2.0-12 1.0-11 . . 1.5-8 . 1.5-6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15-76 34-170
|---PASS DEF---| |-FUMBLES-| INT-YDS PBU QBH RCV-YDS . 1 2 1-11 1-0 6 1 . . 3 . 1-1 3-15 2 . . 1-30 2 . . . 2 4 . . . 2 . 1-0 1 1 1-0 1-4 . 3 . 2-0 8 . . . 5 5 1-0 2-7 10 . 1-0 . . 2 . 1-9 4 . . . . . . . . 1 . . . . . . . . 1-0 . . . . 1-0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14-66 54 22 6-12 16-130 42 24 5-4
TOP PERFORMANCES FF . . 2 1 . . . 1 . . 1 . . . . . . . . . . 1 . . 1 . . . . 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 6
BLKD KICK . . . . . 2 . 1 . . . . 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 2
100-YARD RUSHING GAMES Zach Zenner • at Missouri, 8-30-14 • 17 carries, 103 yards, 2 TD Zach Zenner • vs. Cal Poly, 9-6-14 • 30 carries, 193 yards, 1 TD Zach Zenner • at Southern Utah, 9-13-14 • 25 carries, 140 yards Zach Zenner • vs. Wisconsin-Oshkosh, 9-20-14 • 23 carries, 209 yards, 3 TD Zach Zenner • vs. Southern Illinois, 10-4-14 • 27 carries, 144 yards Zach Zenner • vs. Missouri State, 10-11-14 • 27 carries, 149 yards, 1 TD Zach Zenner • vs. Youngstown State, 10-25-14 • 25 carries, 119 yards, 1 TD Zach Zenner • at Indiana State, 11-8-14 • 27 carries, 193 yards, 2 TD Zach Zenner • vs. Western Illinois, 11-15-14 • 17 carries, 132 yards, 2 TD Zach Zenner • at Montana State, 11-29-14 • 23 carries, 252 yards, 4 TD Zach Zenner • at North Dakota State, 12-6-14 • 32 carries, 133 yards, 2 TD
100-YARD RECEIVING GAMES Jake Wieneke • at Missouri, 8-30-14 • 6 receptions, 107 yards Jake Wieneke • at Illinois State, 10-4-14 • 7 receptions, 116 yards, 1 TD Jake Wieneke • vs. Missouri State, 10-11-14 • 8 receptions, 183 yards, 3 TD Jason Schneider • vs. Missouri State, 10-11-14 • 7 receptions, 105 yards Jason Schneider • at Northern Iowa, 10-18-14 • 9 receptions, 117 yards Jake Wieneke • vs. Youngstown State, 10-25-14 • 10 receptions, 178 yards, 1 TD Jake Wieneke • at Indiana State, 11-8-14 • 6 receptions, 172 yards, 2 TD Jake Wieneke • vs. Western Illinois, 11-15-14 • 10 receptions, 159 yards, 3 TD Jason Schneider • vs. Western Illinois, 11-15-14 • 7 receptions, 114 yards, 2 TD Jake Wieneke • vs. South Dakota, 11-22-14 • 6 receptions, 177 yards, 1 TD
300-YARD PASSING GAMES
TEAM GAME HIGHS RUSHING ATTEMPTS: 50, at Southern Utah, 9-13-14 RUSHING YARDS: 318, vs. Cal Poly, 9-6-14 YARDS PER RUSH: 8.9, at Montana State, 11-29-14 RUSHING TOUCHDOWNS: 4, at Montana State, 11-29-14 PASS ATTEMPTS: 42, vs. Youngstown State, 10-25-14 PASS COMPLETIONS: 28, vs. Youngstown State, 10-25-14 YARDS PASSING: 427, vs. South Dakota, 11-22-14 YARDS PER PASS: 14.2, vs. South Dakota, 11-22-14 PASSING TOUCHDOWNS: 6, vs. Western Illinois, 11-15-14 TOTAL PLAYS: 84, vs. Youngstown State, 10-25-14 TOTAL OFFENSE: 547 yards, vs. Western Illinois, 11-15-14, and vs. South Dakota, 11-22-14
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YARDS PER PLAY: 8.9, at Montana State, 11-29-14 POINTS: 59, vs. Western Illinois, 11-15-14 FIRST DOWNS: 30, vs. Western Illinois, 11-15-14 SACKS BY: 3, vs. Cal Poly, 9-6-14, and at UNI, 10-18-14 PENALTIES: 11, vs. Missouri State, 10-11-14 PENALTY YARDS: 92, vs. Missouri State, 10-11-14 TURNOVERS BY: 4, at Illinois State, 10-4-14 TURNOVERS FORCED: 3, four times (last: vs. Western Illinois, 11-15-14) INTERCEPTIONS: 3, at Southern Utah, 9-13-14, and at Northern Iowa, 10-18-14 FUMBLES RECOVERED: 2, at Indiana State, 11-8-14
Zach Lujan • vs. Missouri State, 10-11-14 • 17-of-28, 310 yards, 3 TD Zach Lujan • vs. Youngstown State, 10-25-14 • 28-of-42, 329 yards, 2 TD Austin Sumner • vs. Western Illinois, 11-15-14 • 21-of-37, 366 yards, 6 TD Austin Sumner • vs. South Dakota, 11-22-14 • 16-of-28, 395 yards, 3 TD
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2015 JACKRABBIT SPRING FOOTBALL
2014 STATISTICS
GAME-BY-GAME COMPARISON SCORE OPPONENT Missouri 18-38 Cal Poly 44-18 Southern Utah 26-6 UW-Oshkosh 41-3 Illinois State 10-45 Missouri State 32-28 Northern Iowa 31-28 Youngstown State 27-30 North Dakota State 17-37 Indiana State 32-17 Western Illinois 59-24 South Dakota 37-14 Montana State 47-40 North Dakota State 24-27 445-355 TOTALS
-----FIRST DOWNS-----RUSHING---PASSING--TOTAL OFFENSETOTAL RUSH PASS PEN NUMBER-YARDS COMP-ATT-INT YARDS PLAYS-YARDS 15/19 4/13 10/6 1/0 32-119/39-215 23-32-2/13-21-0 246/178 64-365/60-393 25/20 14/14 8/6 3/0 39-318/51-226 12-20-1/16-21-0 184/202 59-502/72-428 25/13 11/6 11/7 3/0 50-230/38-150 13-24-2/9-21-3 162/113 74-392/59-263 24/12 14/6 9/6 1/0 49-292/25-72 15-22-0/21-30-1 205/164 71-497/55-236 21/21 5/14 15/6 1/1 37-139/45-331 20-40-1/7-19-1 294/168 77-433/64-499 18/15 6/11 11/4 1/0 37-129/39-136 17-30-3/12-25-1 310/113 67-439/64-249 21/15 5/5 14/7 2/3 41-94/25-122 21-38-3/20-35-3 223/178 79-317/60-300 26/18 7/7 19/11 0/0 42-137/29-163 28-42-0/16-27-0 329/256 84-466/56-419 12/21 5/16 7/5 0/0 23-89/53-290 14-28-1/12-20-1 187/115 51-276/73-405 20/18 4/7 15/9 1/2 34-212/29-116 21-35-2/28-48-1 298/206 69-510/77-322 30/22 9/11 16/9 5/2 35-181/40-188 21-37-0/14-27-2 366/214 72-547/67-402 20/24 3/7 15/15 2/2 34-120/28-184 18-30-0/22-48-1 427/254 64-547/76-438 21/24 9/12 10/11 2/1 31-277/48-198 19-28-0/20-37-0 249/294 59-526/85-492 20/21 9/9 6/9 5/3 36-143/39-181 13-22-1/14-25-0 132/235 58-275/64-416 298/263 105/138 166/111 27/14 520-2,480/528-2,572 255-428-16/224-404-14 3,612/2,690 948-6,092/932-5,262
THIRD-DOWN CONVERSIONS OPPONENT Missouri Cal Poly Southern Utah Wisconsin-Oshkosh Illinois State Missouri State Northern Iowa Youngstown State North Dakota State Indiana State Western Illinois South Dakota Montana State North Dakota State Totals Opponents
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OVERALL 5-15 6-10 5-12 6-12 5-14 6-14 7-17 9-17 2-11 6-14 4-9 4-12 6-12 5-11 76-180 72-188
RETURN YDS TURNOVERS 20/149 3/0 88/100 1/0 32/25 2/3 115/82 0/2 135/130 4/2 128/104 3/1 91/154 3/3 100/87 0/0 40/92 2/1 67/126 2/3 95/96 0/3 92/47 0/1 170/161 0/1 110/40 1/0 1,283/1,393 21/20
TIME OF POSSESSION 1ST QTR 0-4 2-3 2-3 0-0 1-2 1-4 5-7 3-5 0-3 3-4 2-3 3-3 2-2 1-4 25-47 13-42
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2ND QTR 0-3 2-3 3-3 2-4 2-5 2-3 0-5 2-4 1-4 2-5 1-3 1-4 1-4 2-2 21-52 20-52
3RD QTR 3-4 1-2 0-3 1-2 0-2 1-4 1-3 1-3 0-1 0-3 1-1 0-2 1-3 1-2 11-35 16-46
4TH QTR 2-4 1-2 0-3 3-6 2-5 2-3 1-2 3-5 1-3 1-2 0-2 0-3 2-3 1-3 19-46 23-48
OPPONENT Missouri Cal Poly Southern Utah Wisconsin-Oshkosh Illinois State Missouri State Northern Iowa Youngstown State North Dakota State Indiana State Western Illinois South Dakota Montana State North Dakota State Totals Avg. Opponents Avg.
OVERALL 35:24 30:55 36:42 34:00 31:34 31:59 36:14 36:10 21:40 30:03 34:09 31:05 26:12 28:35 444:42 31:45 395:18 28:14
1ST QTR 7:10 6:49 11:10 4:37 6:37 9:04 11:28 11:53 8:36 7:37 8:10 9:33 6:43 7:14 116:41 8:20 93:19 6:39
2ND QTR 8:05 8:22 8:31 9:43 10:36 6:35 8:10 8:14 4:37 9:23 6:20 5:11 6:06 8:12 108:05 7:43 101:55 7:16
3RD QTR 12:26 5:31 8:40 8:11 8:08 7:59 7:46 7:41 4:05 8:14 10:12 7:38 5:26 5:51 107:48 7:42 102:12 7:18
4TH QTR 7:43 10:13 8:21 11:29 6:13 8:21 8:50 8:22 4:22 4:49 9:27 8:43 7:57 7:18 112:08 8:00 97:52 6:59
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2015 JACKRABBIT SPRING FOOTBALL
2014 GAME RECAPS GAME 1
#24 [FBS] Missouri 38, #10/10 [FCS] South Dakota State 18 Aug. 30, 2014 • Faurot Field (Att.: 60,589) COLUMBIA, Mo. — Missouri used big plays in all three phases of the game to defeat South Dakota State, 38-18, in the football season opener for both teams. Each team scored a touchdown in the game’s first 63 seconds. Mizzou, ranked 24th in the Football Bowl Subdivision, took the opening kickoff and drew first blood on a 44-yard touchdown pass from Maty Mauk to Darius White to cap a three-play, 65-yard drive. The Jackrabbits, ranked 10th in the Football Championship Subdivision, needed only one play to answer. Walter Payton Award candidate Zach Zenner ended up with a bobbled snap and rambled 75 yards through the Tiger defense on his first carry of the season. The rest of the first quarter belonged to the Tigers, who scored a pair of touchdowns 1 minute and 7 seconds apart midway through the stanza. Mauk again hooked with White on a touchdown, this time from 39 yards, which was followed by a 10-yard run by Russell Hansbrough, who reversed field after being stacked up at the line of scrimmage. Hansbrough’s touchdown came immediately after a 19-yard interception return by Duron Singleton that put the Tigers at the Jackrabbit 10. SDSU starting quarterback Austin Sumner left the game late in the first quarter due to injury, but backup Zach Lujan led the Jackrabbits on the lone scoring drive of the second quarter. The Jackrabbits moved 41 yards on 11 plays, culminating with a 39-yard field goal by Justin Syrovatka which made the score 21-10 heading into halftime. The Jackrabbits drew to within 21-18 on the opening drive of the second half, putting together a 10-play, 75-yard scoring drive. Lujan was 4-of-5 passing for 60 yards on the drive, which ended on Zenner’s second touchdown of the game – a 3-yard run. Mizzou quickly wrested the momentum away from the Jackrabbits on the ensuing kickoff. Marcus Murphy fielded the ball in his own end zone and weaved his way through SDSU defenders for a 100-yard touchdown, giving the Tigers a 28-18 lead. SDSU threatened to score two more times in the final 25 minutes, but a pair of red-zone turnovers – an interception in the third quarter and fourthquarter fumble – kept the Jackrabbits from closing the gap. The Tigers further put the game out of reach on a 29-yard touchdown pass from Mauk to Bud Sasser, followed by an Andrew Baggett 44-yard field goal to provide the final margin. Mauk finished the game 13-of-21 for 178 yards and three touchdowns, while Hansbrough tallied a game-high 126 yards on the ground on 20 carries. Mizzou held a 393-365 advantage in total offense. Zenner crossed the 100-yard mark for the 22nd time in his career, gaining 103 yards on 17 carries. He also recorded a game-high seven receptions for 41 yards. Redshirt freshman Jake Wieneke tallied six catches for 107 yards in his collegiate debut. Lujan ended the game 21-of-28 passing for 239 yards. Sumner was 2-for-4 for seven yards prior to his injury. T.J. Lally led the Jackrabbit defense with 11 tackles. Markus Golden recorded 10 tackles, including a pair of sacks, to pace Missouri. SCORE BY QUARTERS South Dakota State (0-1) Missouri (1-0)
1 7 21
2 3 0
3 8 7
4 0 10
FINAL 18 38
SCORING SUMMARY 1st 14:10 MIZZ – Darius White 44 yd pass from Maty Mauk (Andrew Baggett kick) 1st 13:57 SDSU – Zach Zenner 75 yd run (Justin Syrovatka kick) 1st 7:38 MIZZ – White 39 yd pass from Mauk (Baggett kick)
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1st 2nd 3rd 3rd 4th 4th
6:31 3:58 10:28 10:12 10:18 1:13
MIZZ SDSU SDSU MIZZ MIZZ MIZZ
– – – – – –
Russell Hansbrough 10 yd run (Baggett kick) Syrovatka 39 yd field goal Zenner 3 yd run (Jason Schneider pass from Zach Lujan) Marcus Murphy 100 yd kick return (Baggett kick) Bud Sasser 29 yd pass from Mauk (Baggett kick) Baggett 44 yd field goal
TEAM STATISTICS FIRST DOWNS RUSHES-YARDS (NET) PASSING YDS (NET) Passes Att-Comp-Int TOTAL OFFENSE PLAYS-YARDS Punt Returns-Yards Kickoff Returns-Yards Interception Returns-Yards Punts (Number-Avg) Fumbles-Lost Fumble Returns-Yards Penalties-Yards Possession Time Third-Down Conversions Fourth-Down Conversions Red-Zone Scores-Chances Sacks By: Number-Yards
SDSU 15 32-119 246 32-23-2 64-365 0-0 1-20 0-0 6-35.7 2-1 0-0 5-25 35:24 5 of 15 0 of 0 1-1 0-0
MIZZ 19 39-215 178 21-13-0 60-393 3-1 2-129 2-19 4-43.0 1-0 0-0 5-27 24:36 3 of 11 2 of 2 2-3 3-12
RUSHING LEADERS: SDSU - Zach Zenner 17-103; Austin Sumner 2-18; Reggie Gandy 3-3. MIZZ - Russell Hansbrough 20-126; Marcus Murphjy 9-54; Maty Mauk 5-17. PASSING LEADERS: SDSU - Zach Lujan 21-28-1 239; Austin Sumner 2-4-1 7. MIZZ - Maty Mauk 13-21-0 178. RECEIVING LEADERS: SDSU - Zach Zenner 7-41; Jake Wieneke 6-107; Jason Schneider 5-67. MIZZ - Jimmie Hunt 3-31; Marcus Murphy 3-20; Darius White 2-83; Bud Sasser 2-37; Wesley Leftwich 2-10. INTERCEPTIONS: SDSU - none. MIZZ- Duron Singleton 1-19; Aarion Penton 1-0. SACKS: SDSU - none. MIZZ - Markus Golden 1.5-9; Shane Ray 1.0-0; Kenya Dennis 0.5-3. TACKLE LEADERS (UA-A-TOT): SDSU - T.J. Lally 9-2-11; Tom Peitz 4-1-5; Jesse Bobbit 4-0-4; Nick Mears 4-0-4. MIZZ - Markus Golden 5-5-10; Michael Scherer 3-6-9; Aarion Penton 2-5-7; Shane Ray 4-2-6; Kentrell Brothers 2-4-6.
GAME 2
#11/12 South Dakota State 44, Cal Poly 18 Sept. 6, 2014 • Coughlin-Alumni Stadium (Att.: 12,219) Zach Lujan threw for three touchdowns in his first start and Walter Payton Award candidate Zach Zenner became the Missouri Valley Conference’s career rushing leader as South Dakota State opened the home season with a 44-18 victory in the inaugural Dairy Drive game. In winning before a Coughlin-Alumni Stadium crowd of 12,219, the 11thranked Jackrabbits improved to 1-1 on the season. Cal Poly dropped to 0-2. The first half was closely contested as each team put together long scoring drives in the opening stanza. The Jackrabbits marched 86 yards on nine plays, with the drive ending on a 36-yard touchdown pass from Lujan to Trevor Wesley. Cal Poly answered with a 14-play, 82-yard drive behind the play of quarterback Chris Brown, who threw for 24 yards and ran for another 35 yards, including the final seven yards for a touchdown. However, the Mustangs missed the extra point and their kicker in the process, to keep the score at 7-6. Justin Syrovatka extended the SDSU lead to 10-6 midway through the second half with a 46-yard field goal, but the Mustangs responded with a nine-play, 85-yard drive capped by a 9-yard touchdown run by Kori Garcia with 4:29 to play in the half that gave Cal Poly its only lead of the night at 12-10 as the ensuing two-point conversion failed. The Jackrabbits gained the lead for good in the final minute of the first half as Lujan hooked up with Jason Schneider from 16 yards out. SDSU also missed a conversion attempt, but took a 16-12 lead into intermission. After forcing Cal Poly to punt on the opening drive of the second half, SDSU extended the lead 23-12 on Lujan’s third touchdown pass of the day — an 11-yarder to Jake Wieneke.
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2015 JACKRABBIT SPRING FOOTBALL Earlier in the drive, Zenner broke the league rushing record on a 17-yard run. The SDSU defense continued to find its groove in the second half against the Mustangs’ triple-option attack, forcing two more punts and taking over on downs on another drive. As a team, the Jackrabbits recorded nine tackles for loss, including three by senior safety Jake Gentile. Zenner broke into the scoring column early in the fourth quarter on a 15yard touchdown run. The senior from Eagan, Minn., ended the game with 193 yards on 30 carries to push his career total to 4,825. The previous league record of 4,746 yards was set by Western Illinois’ Herb Donaldson from 2005-08. Brown scored his second touchdown of the game on a 1-yard run midway through the fourth quarter to cut the deficit to 30-18. An 89-yard pass play from Brown to Roland Jackson on the first play of the drive set up the final Mustang score. The Jackrabbits, who gained 329 yards on the ground, sealed the victory with two late touchdowns. Reggie Gandy scored the first TD on a 1-yard run, then redshirt freshman Brady Mengarelli picked up a bobbled snap and rambled 55 yards for a score with a few ticks under a minute to play. Lujan completed 12-of-20 passes for 184 yards and connected with six different receivers. Wesley caught three passes for 67 yards, with Schneider adding three catches for 35 yards. Wieneke was credited with two catches for 37 yards, and added 52 yards on the ground after taking a lateral and weaved his way through the Cal Poly defense to set up Zenner’s touchdown run. Defensively, SDSU was led by Nick Mears’ 10 tackles. Drew Kreutzfeldt and Gentile each finished with a career-high eight tackles. For Cal Poly, Brown finished the night 16-of-21 passing for 202 yards and added 87 yards on 20 carries. Kori Garcia tallied 86 yards rushing on 17 carries and Brandon Howe had four catches for 29 yards. Nick Dzubnar registered a game-high 19 tackles for the Mustangs. SCORE BY QUARTERS Cal Poly (0-2) South Dakota State (1-1) SCORING SUMMARY 1st 7:22 SDSU – 1st 1:50 CP – 2nd 7:14 SDSU – 2nd 4:29 CP – 2nd 00:39 SDSU – 3rd 8:14 SDSU – 4th 12:13 SDSU – 4th 7:42 CP – 4th 3:08 SDSU – 4th 00:56 SDSU –
1 6 7
2 6 9
3 0 7
4 6 21
FINAL 18 44
Trevor Wesley 36 yd pass from Zach Lujan (Justin Syrovatka kick) Chris Brown 7 yd run (kick failed) Syrovatka 46 yd field goal Kori Garcia 9 yd run (run failed) Jason Schneider 16 yd pass from Lujan (run failed) Jake Wieneke 11 yd pass from Lujan (Syrovatka kick) Zach Zenner 15 yd run (Syrovatka kick) Brown 1 yd run (pass failed) Reggie Gandy 1 yd run (Syrovatka kick) Brady Mengarelli 55 yd run (Syrovatka kick)
TEAM STATISTICS FIRST DOWNS RUSHES-YARDS (NET) PASSING YDS (NET) Passes Att-Comp-Int TOTAL OFFENSE PLAYS-YARDS Punt Returns-Yards Kickoff Returns-Yards Interception Returns-Yards Punts (Number-Avg) Fumbles-Lost Fumble Returns-Yards Penalties-Yards Possession Time Third-Down Conversions Fourth-Down Conversions Red-Zone Scores-Chances Sacks By: Number-Yards
CP 20 51-226 202 21-16-0 72-428 0-0 5-100 1-0 5-37.2 2-1 0-0 7-56 29:05 5 of 13 1 of 3 3-4 1-4
SDSU 25 39-318 184 20-12-1 59-502 3-13 4-75 0-0 3-41.3 1-0 2-0 5-35 30:55 6 of 10 0 of 0 4-4 3-14
RUSHING LEADERS: CP - Chris Brown 20-87; Kori Garcia 17-86; Chris Nicholls 5-28; Brandon Howe 6-19. SDSU - Zach Zenner 30-193; Brady Mengarelli 5-73; Jake Wieneke 1-52.
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2014 GAME RECAPS PASSING LEADERS: CP - Chris Brown 16-21-0 202. SDSU - Zach Lujan 12-20-1 184. RECEIVING LEADERS: CP - Brandon Howe 4-29; Chris Nicholls 3-29; Roland Jackson 2-106. SDSU - Trevor Wesley 3-67; Jason Schneider 3-35; Jake Wieneke 2-37; Matt Raymond 2-30. INTERCEPTIONS: CP - Dave Douglas 1-0. SDSU - none. SACKS: CP - Josh Letuligasenoa 1.0-4. SDSU - Jake Gentile 1.0-9; Kellen Soulek 1.0-3; Auston LaBlance 0.5-1; Cole Langer 0.5-1. TACKLE LEADERS (UA-A-TOT): CP - Nick Dzubnar 5-14-19; Jordan Williams 3-5-8; Cameron Ontko 1-7-8; Marcus Paige-Allen 0-7-7. SDSU - Nick Mears 7-3-10; Jake Gentile 6-28; Drew Kreutzfeldt 5-3-8; J.T. Hassell 5-2-7; T.J. Lally 4-3-7.
GAME 3
#10/11 South Dakota State 26, Southern Utah 6 Sept. 13, 2014 • Eccles Coliseum (Att.: 5,017) CEDAR CITY, Utah — The South Dakota State defense intercepted three passes and carried a shutout late into the fourth quarter before the Jackrabbits prevailed, 26-6, over Southern Utah. With the win, the 10th-ranked Jackrabbits improved to 2-1 overall, while SUU dropped to 0-3. The victory was win No. 113 for South Dakota State head coach John Stiegelmeier, tying him with Ralph Ginn (113-89-9 record from 1947-68) for the most in program history. The Jackrabbit offense moved the ball almost at will in the first half, starting with a methodical 13-play, 75-yard scoring march on the opening drive. Reggie Gandy capped the scoring drive with a 1-yard touchdown run. SDSU moved the ball into Thunderbird territory in each of its first four possessions, but two ended with interceptions. The Jackrabbits did not punt in the first half and held a 250-60 advantage in total yards. On the first play of the second quarter, the Jackrabbit defense turned the tables, converting its first takeaway of the season into six points as defensive lineman Shayne Gottlob intercepted a screen pass at the T-Bird 4-yard line and rambled into the end zone for a touchdown. The SDSU lead grew to 21-0 late in the first half as the Jackrabbits put together an eight-play, 80-yard drive. Zach Zenner crossed the 100-yard mark with a 23-yard run into SUU territory, which was followed by a 13-yard pass to Jason Schneider. Lujan then connected with redshirt freshman Jake Wieneke on a fade in the right corner of the end zone for an 18-yard touchdown to push the Jackrabbit lead to 21-0 heading into halftime. Jimmie Forsythe came up with the Jackrabbits’ second interception of the game on the second play of the second half, giving SDSU the ball at the SUU 29. The Jackrabbits moved the ball to the Thunderbird 3-yard line before settling for a 21-yard field goal by Justin Syrovatka that pushed the margin to 24-0. SUU put together its most sustained drive to that juncture on the ensuing possession, but again came away with no points as a 39-yard field goal attempt sailed wide right. The Thunderbirds finally broke into the scoring column with 5 minutes, 18 seconds remaining in the game. Backup quarterback Ammon Olsen ran 35 yards to set up first and goal. Toa Afatasi scored from a yard out two plays later. After a personal foul penalty pushed the PAT try back 15 yards, Trey Carr, who intercepted a pass earlier in the half, picked off an errant pass and returned the ball for defensive extra point to push the final margin to 26-6. A true freshman from Omaha, Carr also broke up two passes and recorded a pair of tackles. SDSU finished with a 392-263 advantage in total offense. Zenner carried the ball 25 times for 140 yards, recording the 24th 100-yard game of his career. Backup Brady Mengarelli added 13 carries for 65 yards. Trevor Wesley led Jackrabbit receivers with four catches for 40 yards, with Wieneke tallying three catches for 68 yards. Lujan ended the night 13-of-24 passing for 162 yards. For Southern Utah, Raysean Pringle gained 65 yards on 13 carries.
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2015 JACKRABBIT SPRING FOOTBALL
2014 GAME RECAPS Olsen, who took the bulk of the snaps the final three quarters, finished 8-of-18 passing for 94 yards and gained 62 yards on 10 carries. Chris Robinson paced the Thunderbird receivers with five catches for 75 yards. James Cowser and Chinedu Ahanonu each notched a game-high 12 tackles for SUU, with Cowser registering 5.5 tackles for loss. Jesse Bobbit led SDSU with six tackles. SCORE BY QUARTERS South Dakota State (2-1) Southern Utah (0-3) SCORING SUMMARY 1st 9:47 SDSU – 2nd 14:55 SDSU – 2nd 1:40 SDSU – 3rd 11:53 SDSU – 4th 5:18 SUU – 4th 5:18 SDSU –
1 7 0
2 14 0
3 3 0
4 2 6
FINAL 26 6
Reggie Gandy 1 yd run (Justin Syrovatka kick) Shayne Gottlob 4 yd interception return (Syrovatka kick) Jake Wieneke 18 yd pass from Zach Lujan (Syrovatka kick) Syrovatka 21 yd field goal Toa Afatasi 1 yd run (pass failed) Trey Carr PAT return
TEAM STATISTICS FIRST DOWNS RUSHES-YARDS (NET) PASSING YDS (NET) Passes Att-Comp-Int TOTAL OFFENSE PLAYS-YARDS Punt Returns-Yards Kickoff Returns-Yards Interception Returns-Yards Punts (Number-Avg) Fumbles-Lost Fumble Returns-Yards Penalties-Yards Possession Time Third-Down Conversions Fourth-Down Conversions Red-Zone Scores-Chances Sacks By: Number-Yards
SDSU 25 50-230 162 24-13-2 74-392 2-20 0-0 3-12 4-35.8 0-0 0-0 8-67 36:42 5 of 12 0 of 0 3-5 2-14
SUU 13 38-150 113 21-9-3 59-263 0-00 1-19 2-6 5-46.2 0-0 0-0 6-69 23:18 4 of 13 0 of 1 1-2 1-7
RUSHING LEADERS: SDSU - Zach Zenner 25-140; Brady Mengarelli 13-65; Zach Lujan 9-23; Reggie Gandy 2-4. SUU - Raysean Pringle 13-65; Ammon Olsen 10-62; Levi Te’o 4-10; Toa Afatasi 5-7. PASSING LEADERS: SDSU - Zach Lujan 13-24-2 162. SUU - Ammon Olsen 8-19-2 94; Aaron Cantu 1-2-1 19. RECEIVING LEADERS: SDSU - Trevor Wesley 4-40; Jake Wieneke 3-68; Jason Schneider 3-29; Brady Mengarelli 2-17. SUU - Chris Robinson 5-75; Justin Brown 1-22; Raysean Pringle 1-11; Naia Ursua 1-5. INTERCEPTIONS: SDSU - Trey Carr 1-7; Shayne Gottlob 1-4; Jimmie Forsythe 1-1. SUU - Michael Byrd 1-6; Josh Smith 1-0. SACKS: SDSU - Kellen Soulek 1.0-9; Cole Langer 0.5-3; Kevin Klocek 0.5-2. SUU - James Cowser 1.0-7. TACKLE LEADERS (UA-A-TOT): SDSU - Jesse Bobbit 2-4-6; J.R. Plote 4-1-5; Nick Mears 4-0-4; Dallas Brown 3-1-4; Shayne Gottlob 3-1-4. SUU - James Cowser 9-3-12; Chinedu Ahanonu 8-4-12; Miles Killebrew 4-5-9; Josh Kariya 4-4-8.
GAME 4
#10/10 South Dakota State 41, Wisconsin-Oshkosh 3 Sept. 20, 2014 • Coughlin-Alumni Stadium (Att.: 13,731) South Dakota State scored touchdowns on three consecutive offensive plays in the first quarter, including two by Walter Payton Award candidate Zach Zenner, and head coach John Stiegelmeier became the school’s career wins leader as the Jackrabbits defeated Wisconsin-Oshkosh, 41-3. Playing before a Beef Bowl crowd of 13,731, the 10th-ranked Jackrabbits improved to 3-1 in their non-conference finale. UW-Oshkosh fell to 0-3. The win was career No. 114 for Stiegelmeier, who passed Ralph Ginn (113-89-9 record from 1947-68) atop the SDSU coaching victories list. Zenner opened the scoring for the Jackrabbits with a 2-yard touchdown run with 6 minutes, 26 seconds remaining in the opening quarter, capping SDSU’s first drive of the game that covered 82 yards on nine plays. Moments later, SDSU turned to the air for its next touchdown as Zach Lujan connected on a 38-yard touchdown pass to Jason Schneider on the first play of the next Jackrabbit drive. Freshman J.T. Hassell blocked a punt on the next Oshkosh possession,
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giving the Jackrabbits the ball at the Titan 36-yard line. Zenner wasted little time as he went the distance on the opening play of the drive to give SDSU a 21-0 with two minutes to play in the opening stanza. Zenner, who hit the century mark for rushing yards in the first quarter and ended the game with 209 yards on 23 carries, scored his third touchdown of the game on a 10-yard burst with 9:46 to play in the second quarter. SDSU maintained its 28-0 lead at halftime. The Jackrabbits’ final touchdown of the night came on the opening drive of the second half as Lujan again hooked up with Schneider — this time from 5 yards out — to push the SDSU lead to 35-0. For the second consecutive week, the Jackrabbit defense carried a shutout into the fourth quarter. The Titans, behind backup quarterback Brett Kasper, cracked the scoring column on a 24-yard field goal by Nate Ray with 6:39 to play in the game. UW-Oshkosh also had a long field goal attempt blocked early in the second quarter and a third-quarter drive ended with an interception in the end zone by Jackrabbit cornerback Je Ryan Butler. Justin Syrovatka, who made a 31-yard field goal in the third quarter, closed out the scoring for the Jackrabbits with a 26-yarder in the final minute. SDSU finished with a 497-236 advantage in total offense, including a 292-72 edge in rushing yards. Brady Mengarelli added 63 yards on 15 carries in a backup role for the Jackrabbits. Lujan finished the night 13-of-19 passing for 170 yards, connecting with eight different receivers. Schneider led the receiving corps with three catches for 59 yards, while Trevor Wesley added three receptions for 42 yards. UW-Oshkosh’s starting quarterback Dylann Rauch was the Titans’ leading rusher with 23 yards on four carries and also completed 15-of-22 passes for 85 yards. Kasper completed all six of his pass attempts for 79 yards, including a 51-yard pass play to Joe Sommers, who led all receivers with five receptions for 89 yards. Dallas Brown posted a career-high nine tackles to lead the Jackrabbits. T.J. Lally contributed six tackles. Reese Dziedzic and Levi Kossow shared team-high honors for UW-Oshkosh with seven stops. SCORE BY QUARTERS UW-Oshkosh (0-3) South Dakota State (3-1) SCORING SUMMARY 1st 6:26 SDSU – 1st 4:39 SDSU – 1st 2:00 SDSU – 2nd 9:46 SDSU – 3rd 11:18 SDSU – 4th 9:31 SDSU – 4th 6:39 SDSU – 4th 00:13 SDSU –
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FINAL 3 41
Zach Zenner 2 yd run (Justin Syrovatka kick) Jason Schneider 38 yd pass from Zach Lujan (Syrovatka kick) Zenner 36 yd run (Syrovatka kick) Zenner 10 yd run (Syrovatka kick) Schneider 5 yd pass from Lujan (Syrovatka kick) Syrovatka 31 yd field goal Nate Ray 24 yd field goal Syrovatka 26 yd field goal
TEAM STATISTICS FIRST DOWNS RUSHES-YARDS (NET) PASSING YDS (NET) Passes Att-Comp-Int TOTAL OFFENSE PLAYS-YARDS Punt Returns-Yards Kickoff Returns-Yards Interception Returns-Yards Punts (Number-Avg) Fumbles-Lost Fumble Returns-Yards Penalties-Yards Possession Time Third-Down Conversions Fourth-Down Conversions Red-Zone Scores-Chances Sacks By: Number-Yards
UWO 12 25-72 164 30-21-1 55-236 0-0 4-82 0-0 6-38.5 0-0 2-1 3-25 26:00 4 of 13 0 of 0 1-2 2-10
SDSU 24 49-292 205 22-15-0 71-497 3-67 2-48 1-0 1-34.0 0-0 0-0 4-35 34:00 6 of 12 0 of 1 5-6 1-4
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2015 JACKRABBIT SPRING FOOTBALL RUSHING LEADERS: UWO - Dylann Ruach 4-23; C.J. Blackburn 1-18; Dylan Hecker 9-16; Ethan Steinhoff 5-12. SDSU - Zach Zenner 23-209; Brady Mengarelli 15-63; Reggie Gandy 6-27. PASSING LEADERS: UWO - Dylann Rauch 15-22-1 85; Brett Kasper 6-6-0 79; Dylan Hecker 0-2-0 0. SDSU - Zach Lujan 13-19-0 170; Tyler Finnes 2-3-0 35. RECEIVING LEADERS: UWO - Joe Sommers 5-89; Craig Schommer 5-12; Sam Mentkowski 3-21. SDSU Jason Schneider 3-59; Trevor Wesley 3-42; Matt Raymond 2-29; Mitch Vejvoda 2-9. INTERCEPTIONS: UWO - none. SDSU - Je Ryan Butler 1-0. SACKS: UWO - Cody Huemmer 1.0-3; Marcus Senn 0.5-4; Reese Dziedzic 0.5-3. SDSU - Kevin Klocek 1.0-4. TACKLE LEADERS (UA-A-TOT): UWO - Levi Kossow 3-4-7; Reese Dziedzic 3-4-7; Beau Steffens 2-4-6. SDSU - Dallas Brown 2-7-9; T.J. Lally 0-6-6; Melvin Taveras 4-1-5; Jesse Bobbit 2-3-5; Jimmie Forsythe 1-4-5.
GAME 5
#22/22 Illinois State 41, #9/9 South Dakota State 10 Oct. 4, 2014 • Hancock Stadium (Att.: 10,919) NORMAL, Ill. — Marshaun Coprich rushed for 174 yards and four touchdowns, and quarterback Tre Roberson topped the century mark in both rushing and passing, leading 22nd-ranked Illinois State to a 45-10 victory over ninth-ranked South Dakota State Oct. 4 at Hancock Stadium. In the Missouri Valley Football Conference for both teams, the Redbirds improved to 4-0 overall. SDSU dropped to 3-2 overall. The Redbirds converted three first-quarter turnovers into 21 points, setting the tone in the first 15 minutes. One play after the Jackrabbits lost a fumble, Coprich scored from 32 yards out to open the scoring with 9 minutes, 18 seconds to play in the opening quarter. A fumble on a handoff exchange on SDSU’s next offensive play deep in its own territory led to Illinois State’s second touchdown a minute and 25 seconds later as Coprich scored from a yard out. The Jackrabbits’ third turnover of the quarter was an interception by Oshay Dunmore at the Illinois State 10-yard line. The Redbirds then marched 90 yards on 11 plays, building the lead to 21-0 in the closing seconds of the first quarter as Coprich scored from a yard out. Illinois State pushed the margin to 24-0 on a 25-yard field goal by Nick Aussieker early in the second quarter before the Jackrabbits finally cracked the scoring column. Justin Syrovatka’s 22-yard field goal with 2:09 to play in the half finished off a 15-play, 76-yard drive for the Jackrabbits. Any hopes of a Jackrabbit comeback were dashed on the ensuing kickoff as Tevin Allen went down the left sideline for a 95-yard touchdown return. After forcing a Jackrabbit three-and-out, the Redbirds delivered the knockout punch with a 28-yard touchdown pass from Roberson to Cameron Meredith with 20 seconds remaining in the first half to push the margin to 38-3. The two squads traded third-quarter touchdowns to close out the scoring. Coprich scored his fourth and final TD of the game on a 5-yard run, while the last Jackrabbit score came on a 26-yard pass from Zach Lujan to Jake Wieneke. Walter Payton Award candidate Zach Zenner posted his fifth consecutive 100-yard game and 26th of his career, carrying the ball 27 times for 144 yards. Wieneke led the Jackrabbit receiving corps with seven catches for 116 yards, with Jason Schneider adding six receptions for 79 yards. Lujan ended the day 20-of-40 passing for 294 yards. Illinois State, which rolled up 331 rushing yards, was led by Coprich with 24 carries for 174 yards. Roberson carried the ball 14 times for 151 yards and completed 7-of-19 passes for 168 yards. Lechein Neblett caught four passes for 91 yards to lead the Redbird receivers. Defensively, SDSU was led by Illinois natives T.J. Lally and Jesse Bobbit with seven tackles each. Teddy Corwin and Pat Meehan each tallied a game-high 12 tackles for Illinois State. SCORE BY QUARTERS 1 South Dakota State (3-2, 0-1) 0 Illinois State (4-0, 1-0) 21
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FINAL 10 45
2014 GAME RECAPS SCORING SUMMARY 1st 9:18 ILS – 1st 7:51 ILS – 1st 00:17 ILS – 2nd 9:15 ILS – 2nd 2:09 SDSU – 2nd 1:55 ILS – 2nd 00:20 ILS – 3rd 12:46 ILS – 3rd 1:15 SDSU –
Marshaun Coprich 32 yd run (Nick Aussieker kick) Coprich 2 yd run (Aussieker kick) Coprich 1 yd run (Aussieker kick) Aussieker 25 yd field goal Justin Syrovatka 22 yd field goal Tevin Allen 95 yd kickoff return (Aussieker kick) Cameron Meredith 28 yd pass from Tre Roberson (Aussieker kick) Coprich 5 yd run (Aussieker kick) Jake Wieneke 26 yd pass from Zach Lujan (Syrovatka kick)
TEAM STATISTICS FIRST DOWNS RUSHES-YARDS (NET) PASSING YDS (NET) Passes Att-Comp-Int TOTAL OFFENSE PLAYS-YARDS Punt Returns-Yards Kickoff Returns-Yards Interception Returns-Yards Punts (Number-Avg) Fumbles-Lost Fumble Returns-Yards Penalties-Yards Possession Time Third-Down Conversions Fourth-Down Conversions Red-Zone Scores-Chances Sacks By: Number-Yards
SDSU 21 37-139 294 40-20-1 77-433 2-9 7-126 1-0 4-36.5 3-3 0-0 4-30 31:34 5 of 14 0 of 4 1-4 0-0
ILS 21 45-331 168 19-7-1 64-499 0-0 3-126 1-0 4-44.8 1-1 1-4 5-45 28:26 3 of 10 2 of 2 4-5 4-13
RUSHING LEADERS: SDSU - Zach Zenner 27-144; Brady Mengarelli 1-5. ILS - Marshaun Coprich 24-174; Tre Roberson 14-151; Jeffrey Lewis 3-5. James Graham 2-3 PASSING LEADERS: SDSU - Zach Lujan 20-40-1 294. ILS - Tre Roberson 7-19-1 168. RECEIVING LEADERS: SDSU - Jake Wieneke 7-116; Jason Schneider 6-79; Dallas Goedert 3-42; Trevor Wesley 2-45; Zach Zenner 2-12. ILS - Lechein Neblett 4-91; Cameron Meredith 3-77. INTERCEPTIONS: SDSU - Trey Carr 1-0. ILS - Ohay Dunmore 1-0. SACKS: SDSU - none. ILS - David Perkins 1.0-8; Dontae McCoy 1.0-3; Collin Keoshian 1.0-1; Teddy Corwin 1.0-1. TACKLE LEADERS (UA-A-TOT): SDSU - T.J. Lally 4-3-7; Jesse Bobbit 1-6-7; J.T. Hassell 3-14; Dallas Brown 3-1-4; Melvin Taveras 3-1-4; Cole Langer 3-1-4. ILS - Teddy Corwin 6-6-12; Pat Meehan 3-9-12; Dontae McCoy 6-2-8; Oshay Dunmore 1-7-8.
GAME 6
#19/19 South Dakota State 32, Missouri State 28 Oct. 11, 2014 • Coughlin-Alumni Stadium (Att.: 11,348) BROOKINGS — Jerry Rice Award candidate Jake Wieneke scored three touchdowns and the South Dakota State defense pitched a second-half shutout as the 19th-ranked Jackrabbits rallied for a 32-28 victory Oct. 11 at Coughlin-Alumni Stadium. Playing before a Hall of Fame Game crowd of 11,348, the Jackrabbits improved to 4-2 overall and 1-1 in the Missouri Valley Football Conference. Missouri State dropped to 3-3 overall, 0-2 in league play. A redshirt freshman from Maple Grove, Minn., Wieneke gave SDSU a 10-7 lead early in the second quarter as he caught a pass from Zach Lujan across midfield along the right sideline and weaved his way to the middle of the field and past the Bear defense for a 78-yard touchdown. The rest of the half belonged the Missouri State, which scored the next 21 points to take a 28-10 lead. Quarterback Kierra Harris scored the first two touchdowns on two 12-yard runs two minutes and three seconds apart. His first scoring run capped an 11-play, 79-yard drive, while his second touchdown came two plays after a Dylan Cole interception deep in SDSU territory. The Bears again took advantage of a short field after a Jackrabbit turnover to push the margin to 28-10. Jeremy Springer intercepted a pass by SDSU backup quarterback Tyler Finnes and returned the ball to the SDSU 19. Four plays later, Calan Crowder scored his second touchdown of the game, from two yards out. SDSU gained some momentum heading into halftime with its longest
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2015 JACKRABBIT SPRING FOOTBALL
2014 GAME RECAPS drive of the night, a 10-play, 85-yard march that ended with a 10-yard touchdown pass from Lujan to Wieneke with 35 seconds remaining in the half. Although neither team scored in the third quarter, the Jackrabbit defense began to assert itself, limiting Missouri State to 23 yards of total offense in 13 plays. The Jackrabbits drew to within a field goal early in the fourth quarter as Lujan and Wieneke hooked up for the third time on a 26-yard pass play. SDSU added the two-point conversion on a pass from Lujan to Jason Schneider. After forcing a three-and-out, SDSU put together what proved to be the game-winning drive. A Lujan pass to Schneider for 14 yards put the Jacks across midfield before Walter Payton Award candidate Zach Zenner rambled 34 yards to the MSU 1. Zenner scored on the next play and Justin Syrovatka’s extra point provided the final margin. Missouri State’s next drive ended on an interception, but the Bears put together their best drive of the second half in the closing minutes. MSU picked up three first downs, moving the ball to the Jackrabbit 31, but Harris’ pass on fourth-and-8 with under a minute to play was broken up by Trey Carr to seal the SDSU victory. Wieneke posted the sixth-most receiving yards in a single game by a Jackrabbit receiver, finishing the night with eight receptions for 183 yards. Schneider also topped the century mark with seven receptions for 105 yards. Lujan ended the game 17-of-28 passing for 310 yards, while Zenner carried 27 times for 149 yards as he moved into the Football Championship Subdivision career top 10 for rushing yards. SDSU finished with a 439-249 advantage in total offense. For Missouri State, Harris led the way on the ground with 65 yards on 15 carries and completed 12-of-25 passes for 113 yards. Julian Burton led Bear receivers with six catches for 66 yards. Jackrabbit linebacker T.J. Lally led all players with 10 tackles, with Nick Mears adding nine stops. Dylan Cole and Christian Hoffmann each tallied nine tackles to lead Missouri State. SCORE BY QUARTERS 1 Missouri State (3-3, 0-2) 7 South Dakota State (4-2, 1-1) 3 SCORING SUMMARY 1st 6:24 SDSU – 1st 00:30 MSU – 2nd 14:39 SDSU – 2nd 9:06 MSU – 2nd 7:03 MSU – 2nd 3:56 MSU – 2nd 00:35 SDSU – 4th 11:39 SDSU – 4th 7:55 SDSU –
3 0 0
4 0 15
FINAL 28 32
Justin Syrovatka 36 yd field goal Calan Crowder 3 yd run (Marcelo Bonani kick) Jake Wieneke 78 yd pass from Zach Lujan (Syrovatka kick) Kierra Harris 12 yd run (Bonani kick) Kierra Harris 12 yd run (Bonani kick) Crowder 2 yd run (Bonani kick) Wieneke 10 yd pass from Lujan (Syrovatka kick) Wieneke 26 yd pass from Lujan (Jason Schneider pass from Lujan) Zach Zenner 1 yd run (Syrovatka kick)
TEAM STATISTICS FIRST DOWNS RUSHES-YARDS (NET) PASSING YDS (NET) Passes Att-Comp-Int TOTAL OFFENSE PLAYS-YARDS Punt Returns-Yards Kickoff Returns-Yards Interception Returns-Yards Punts (Number-Avg) Fumbles-Lost Fumble Returns-Yards Penalties-Yards Possession Time Third-Down Conversions Fourth-Down Conversions Red-Zone Scores-Chances Sacks By: Number-Yards
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MSU 15 39-136 113 25-12-1 64-249 0-0 6-65 3-39 7-40.0 0-0 0-0 6-35 28:01 7 of 16 1 of 2 4-4 5-25
SDSU 18 37-129 310 30-17-3 67-439 3-59 4-69 1-0 5-32.0 0-0 0-0 11-92 31:59 6 of 14 0 of 0 3-3 1-7
RUSHING LEADERS: MSU – Kierra Harris 15-65; Calan Crowder 12-41; Ryan Heaston 10-25; Phoenix Johnson 2-5. SDSU – Zach Zenner 27-149; Brady Mengarelli 2-8. PASSING LEADERS: MSU – Kierra Harris 12-25-1 113. SDSU – Zach Lujan 17-28-2 310; Tyler Finnes 0-2-1 0. RECEIVING LEADERS: MSU – Julian Burton 6-66; Ryan Heaston 3-11. SDSU – Jake Wieneke 8-183; Jason Schneider 7-105; Zach Zenner 1-15; Matt Raymond 1-7. INTERCEPTIONS: MSU – Vashon Landers 1-23; Dylan Cole 1-12; Jeremy Springer 1-4. SDSU – Melvin Taveras 1-0. SACKS: MSU – James Barnes 2.0-8; Colby Isbell 1.0-7; Brad Pryor 1.0-5; Cecil Bratton 1.0-5. SDSU – Chase Kern 1.0-7. TACKLE LEADERS (UA-A-TOT): MSU – Dylan Cole 6-3-9; Christian Hoffmann 4-5-9; Andrew Beisel 4-2-6; Brad Pryor 1-5-6. SDSU – T.J. Lally 5-5-10; Nick Mears 8-1-9; Dallas Brown 4-2-6; Jesse Bobbit 2-3-5; Cole Langer 2-3-5; Shayne Gottlob 1-4-5.
GAME 7
#16/18 South Dakota State 31, #20/21 Northern Iowa 28 Oct. 18, 2014 • UNI-Dome (Att.: 15,049) CEDAR FALLS, Iowa — Justin Syrovatka connected on a 44-yard field goal with 1 minutes, 42 seconds remaining as South Dakota State recovered from a number of anxious moments down to stretch to defeat Northern Iowa, 31-28, at the UNI-Dome. SDSU, ranked 16th by the FCS Coaches and 18th in the Sports Network media poll, improved to 5-2 overall and 2-1 in the Missouri Valley Football Conference. UNI, rated 20th and 21st, respectively, fell to 3-4 overall and 1-2 in league play. Syrovatka’s game-winning field goal came after Northern Iowa rallied from 14 points down late in the fourth quarter to tie the game at 28. David Johnson scored on a 2-yard run with 4:59 to play and Ray Mitchell returned an interception on a deflected pass 58 yards for a touchdown a minute and a half later. The Jackrabbits then put the game-winning drive together, highlighted by a juggling catch and run of 40 yards by Jason Schneider from Zach Lujan to the Panther 31. UNI drove into Jackrabbit territory on the ensuing drive, but Melvin Taveras made a leaping interception on a deep pass from backup quarterback Brion Carnes at the SDSU 4 with 50 seconds remaining. SDSU strung together its longest scoring drive of the season, chewing up more than seven minutes off the clock on the opening drive of the game. Jake Wieneke capped the 17-play, 84-yard drive with an 8-yard touchdown reception from Lujan. SDSU converted five times on third down on the drive. UNI tied the game at 7-all early in the second quarter as Johnson cut to the left sideline and scored from 50 yards out. The Panthers turned an interception late in the first half into points as starting quarterback Sawyer Kollmorgen found fullback Barkley Hill from 2 yards out to make the score 14-7 UNI heading into halftime. SDSU scored the next three touchdowns to take a 28-14 lad midway through the fourth quarter. After a Nick Mears interception on UNI’s first possession of the second half, the Jackrabbits knotted the game at 14-all as Walter Payton Award candidate Zach Zenner scored from a yard out. The tide further shifted in the Jackrabbits’ favor later in the quarter as linebacker Dallas Brown picked off a Kollmorgen pass and rambled in from 30 yards out to give SDSU the lead back at 21-14. The Jackrabbits appeared on the verge of putting the game away midway through the fourth quarter as they put together another methodical scoring drive. The 13-play, 84-yard drive ended on Zenner’s second 1-yard touchdown run of the game, making the score 28-14. Zenner finished the game with 80 yards on 29 carries as he became the second SDSU running back in history to top 1,000 rushing yards in three consecutive seasons. Lujan finished the game 21-of-38 passing for 223 yards, but was intercepted three times. Schneider led the Jackrabbit receiving corps with nine catches for 117 yards as he hit the century mark for the second consecutive game.
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2015 JACKRABBIT SPRING FOOTBALL Mears led the Jackrabbit defense with seven tackles, while Jack Sherlock marked his return to the lineup with six tackles, including 3.5 tackles for loss and two sacks. For UNI, Johnson paced the offense with 78 yards on nine carries and was one of three Panthers with five catches for 43 yards, along with Charles Brown and Chad Owens. Carnes was 11-of-21 passing for 93 yards, while Kollmorgen ended the night 9-of-14 passing for 85 yards, with a touchdown and two interceptions. Brett McMakin led all players with 14 tackles to lead the Panthers’ defensive effort. SCORE BY QUARTERS 1 South Dakota State (5-2, 2-1) 7 Northern Iowa (3-4, 1-2) 0 SCORING SUMMARY 1st 7:42 SDSU – 2nd 10:54 UNI – 2nd 00:40 UNI – 3rd 8:18 SDSU – 3rd 2:02 SDSU – 4th 8:58 SDSU – 4th 4:59 UNI – 4th 3:29 UNI – 4th 1:47 SDSU –
2 0 14
3 14 0
4 10 14
FINAL 31 28
Jake Wieneke 8 yd pass from Zach Lujan(Justin Syrovatka kick) David Johnson 50 yd run (Michael Schmadeke kick) Barkley Hill 2 yd pass from Sawyer Kollmorgen (Schmadeke kick) Zach Zenner 1 yd run (Syrovatka kick) Dallas Brown 30 yd interception return (Syrovatka kick) Zach Zenner 1 yd run (Syrovatka kick) Johnson 2 yd run (Schmadeke kick) Ray Mitchell 58 yd interception return (Schmadeke kick) Syrovatka 44 yd field goal
TEAM STATISTICS FIRST DOWNS RUSHES-YARDS (NET) PASSING YDS (NET) Passes Att-Comp-Int TOTAL OFFENSE PLAYS-YARDS Punt Returns-Yards Kickoff Returns-Yards Interception Returns-Yards Punts (Number-Avg) Fumbles-Lost Fumble Returns-Yards Penalties-Yards Possession Time Third-Down Conversions Fourth-Down Conversions Red-Zone Scores-Chances Sacks By: Number-Yards
SDSU 21 41-94 223 38-21-3 79-317 4-14 3-47 3-30-1 6-43.7 0-0 0-0 9-59 36:14 7 of 17 1 of 1 3-3 3-13
UNI 15 25-122 178 35-20-3 60-300 1-27 5-69 3-58-1 6-47.2 0-0 0-0 4-40 23:46 3 of 12 1 of 2 2-2 4-19
RUSHING LEADERS: SDSU – Zach Zenner 29-80; Zach Lujan 10-14. UNI – David Johnson 9-78; Brion Carnes 9-35. PASSING LEADERS: SDSU – Zach Lujan 21-38-3 223. UNI – Brion Carnes 11-21-1 93; Sawyer Kollmorgen 9-14-2 85. RECEIVING LEADERS: SDSU – Jason Schneider 9-117; Trevor Wesley 4-35; Zach Zenner 3-26; Jake Wieneke 2-24; Cam Jones 2-14. UNI – Chad Owens 5-43; Charles Brown 5-43; David Johnson 5-43. INTERCEPTIONS: SDSU – Dallas Brown 1-30; Nick Mears 1-0; Melvin Taveras 1-0. UNI – Ray Mitchell 1-58; Jake Farley 1-0; Jared Farley 1-0. SACKS: SDSU – Jack Sherlock 2.0-12; Chase Kern 0.5-1; Cole Langer 0.5-0. SDSU – Chase Kern 1.0-7. TACKLE LEADERS (UA-A-TOT): SDSU – Nick Mears 5-2-7; Jack Sherlock 5-1-6; Jesse Bobbit 5-1-6. UNI – Brett McMakin 8-6-14; Xavier Williams 3-7-10; Jake Farley 5-3-8; Deiondré Hall 5-3-7.
GAME 8
#16/17 Youngstown State 30, #13/15 South Dakota State 27 Oct. 25, 2014 • Coughlin-Alumni Stadium (Att.: 14,480) After putting together game-winning drives in the fourth quarter in each of their last two games, the third time was not the charm for the South Dakota State football team as the Jackrabbits came up short, 30-27, to Youngstown State on Hobo Day at Coughlin-Alumni Stadium. The Jackrabbits, ranked 13th in the Sports Network media poll and 15th by the Football Championship Subdivision Coaches, dropped to 5-3 overall and 2-2 in the Missouri Valley Football Conference. Youngstown State, ranked 16th by the FCS Coaches and 17th by Sports Network, improved to 6-2 overall and 3-1 in league play. The game started out as a track meet as both teams scored on each of
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2014 GAME RECAPS their first three offensive possessions, but finished as a defensive struggle. SDSU opened the scoring with an 11-play, 69-yard drive that culminated with a 25-yard field goal by Justin Syrovatka with 9 minutes, 32 seconds to play in the first quarter. YSU answered with a 32-yard field goal by Joey Cejudo on its opening drive of the game before Syrovatka booted a 35-yarder to put the Jackrabbits ahead 6-3 in the final seconds of the first stanza. The Penguins and Jackrabbits then traded touchdowns, with YSU needing only two plays on its next possession to find the end zone. A 54-yard pass from Hunter Wells to Andrew Williams set up a 6-yard touchdown run by Martin Ruiz. Zach Lujan and Jerry Rice Award candidate Jake Wieneke hooked up on a 56-yard pass play on the next Jackrabbit possession before Walter Payton Award candidate Zach Zenner finished the drive with a 3-yard touchdown run. YSU again scored quickly, needing only five plays to cover 75 yards as Jody Webb found paydirt out of the backfield from 22 yards out on a pass from Wells to give the Penguins a 17-13 lead. The combination of Lujan and Wieneke hooked up again with two minutes to go in the first half as their 24-yard touchdown connection gave the Jackrabbits what would be their final lead of the afternoon at 20-17. However, the Penguins’ quick-strike offense fired once again. Ruiz arried for 13 yards on a third-and-10 play from YSU’s own 15, then ripped off a 32-yard run before Wells hit Williams for 30 yards into the red zone. Wells then capped the nine-play, 85-yard march of the Penguins by scoring on a 4-yard bootleg around the left end. The extra point was no good, keeping the score at 23-20 YSU heading into halftime. After a scoreless third quarter, YSU put the game out of reach with a touchdown midway through the fourth and final stanza to build the advantage to 30-20. Wells and Williams hooked up twice on pass plays of 21 and 17 yards to open the drive. Facing fourth-and-5 at the Jackrabbit 28, the Penguins opted to go for the first down rather than attempt a long field goal. Wells found Andre Stubbs for eight yards and a first down before hitting Jelani Berassa on a slant for 20 yards and a touchdown with 8:21 to play. The Jackrabbits made it a one-possession game on the ensuing 15-play, 75-yard drive, converting once on fourth down and three times on third down before Zenner scored his second touchdown of the day on a diving catch on a pass by Lujan from 6 yards out with 4:16 to play. Youngstown State picked up a first down, forcing the Jackrabbits to burn two of their timeouts before the Penguins pinned SDSU at its own 2-yard line with two minutes to go after a 59-yard punt by Cejudo. The Jackrabbits picked up a first down, but SDSU’s only two penalties of the day on the next two snaps stalled the drive. For YSU, Ruiz recorded a game-high 132 yards on 20 carries. Wells finished the afternoon 16-of-27 passing for 256 yards and two touchdowns, with Williams catching six passes for 139 yards. Zenner carried 25 times for 119 yards, with Lujan completing 28-of-42 passes for 329 yards. Wieneke recorded a career-high 10 catches for 178 yards, while Brandon Andrews set career highs with seven catches and 63 yards. SDSU played most of the afternoon without leading pass-catcher Jason Schneider, who was injured in warmups. Donald D’Alesio and Julius Childs each tallied a game-high 12 tackles for YSU. Nick Mears paced the Jackrabbit defensive effort with seven tackles and added three pass breakups. SCORE BY QUARTERS 1 Youngstown State (6-2, 3-1) 3 South Dakota State (5-3, 2-2) 6
2 20 14
3 0 0
4 7 7
FINAL 30 27
SCORING SUMMARY 1st 9:32 SDSU – Justin Syrovatka 25 yd field goal 1st 6:27 YSU – Joey Cejudo 32 yd field goal
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2015 JACKRABBIT SPRING FOOTBALL
2014 GAME RECAPS 1st 2nd 2nd 2nd 2nd 2nd 4th 4th
00:02 14:26 11:57 10:05 2:11 00:11 8:21 4:16
SDSU YSU SDSU YSU SDSU YSU YSU SDSU
– – – – – – – –
Justin Syrovatka 35 yd field goal Martin Ruiz 6 yd run (Cejudo kick) Zach Zenner 3 yd run (Syrovatka kick) Jody Webb 22 yd pass from Hunter Wells (Cejudo kick) Jake Wieneke 24 yd pass from Zach Lujan (Syrovatka kick) Wells 4 yd run (kick failed) Jelani Berassa 20 yd pass from Wells (Cejudo kick) Zenner 6 yd pass from Lujan (Syrovatka kick)
TEAM STATISTICS FIRST DOWNS RUSHES-YARDS (NET) PASSING YDS (NET) Passes Att-Comp-Int TOTAL OFFENSE PLAYS-YARDS Punt Returns-Yards Kickoff Returns-Yards Interception Returns-Yards Punts (Number-Avg) Fumbles-Lost Fumble Returns-Yards Penalties-Yards Possession Time Third-Down Conversions Fourth-Down Conversions Red-Zone Scores-Chances Sacks By: Number-Yards
YSU 18 29-163 256 27-16-0 56-419 1-7 5-80 0-0 5-49.4 0-0 0-0 1-5 23:50 4 of 11 1 of 1 4-5 6-2
SDSU 26 42-137 329 42-28-0 84-466 2-17 4-83 0-0 3-42.0 0-0 0-0 2-13 36:10 9 of 17 2 of 4 4-4 0-0
RUSHING LEADERS: YSU – Martin Ruiz 20-132; Jody Webb 5-34. SDSU – Zach Zenner 25-119; Zach Lujan 14-15. PASSING LEADERS: YSU – Hunter Wells 16-27-0 256. SDSU – Zach Lujan 28-42-0 329. RECEIVING LEADERS: YSU – Andrew Williams 6-139; Andre Stubbs 5-50; Jelani Berassa 3-43. SDSU – Jake Wieneke 10-178; Brandon Andrews 7-63; Trevor Wesley 4-38; Zach Zenner 4-37. INTERCEPTIONS: none. SACKS: YSU – Derek Rivers 3.0-9; Terrell Williams 2.0-9; Emmanuel Kromah 1.0-3. SDSU – none. TACKLE LEADERS (UA-ATOT): YSU – Donald D’Alesio 6-6-12; Julius Childs 4-8-12; Tré Moore 6-5-11; Jaylin Kelly 5-510. SDSU – Nick Mears 5-2-7; Jimmie Forsythe 6-0-6; Jesse Bobbit 3-2-5; Trey Carr 3-2-5; T.J. Lally 2-3-5.
GAME 9
#1/1 North Dakota State 37, #18/19 South Dakota State 17 Nov. 1, 2014 • Fargodome (Att.: 18,832) FARGO, N.D. — Top-ranked North Dakota State scored on five consecutive second-half possessions to pull away from South Dakota State, 37-17, Nov. 1 at the Fargodome. The Bison improved to 9-0 overall and 5-0 in the Missouri Valley Football Conference, retaining the Dakota Marker and extending their winning streak to 33 games. SDSU, ranked 18th in the Sports Network media poll and 19th in the FCS Coaches rankings, dropped to 5-4 overall and 2-3 in league play. The Jackrabbits, who saw career passing leader Austin Sumner return to the lineup since being injured in the season opener at Missouri, took advantage of an NDSU turnover to crack the scoring column. Freshman linebacker J.T. Hassell’s first career interception set up SDSU at the Bison 14 before Justin Syrovatka connected on a 37-yard field goal with 8 minutes, 12 seconds to play in the first quarter. Adam Keller, who missed a 42-yard field goal attempt in the first quarter, made field goals of 33 and 45 yards in the second stanza to give NDSU a 6-3 lead. SDSU regained the lead with a quick scoring drive just before halftime. Walter Payton Award candidate Zach Zenner broke loose for a 34-yard run before Sumner and Jake Wieneke teamed up on a 42-yard touchdown pass with 37 seconds remaining, giving the Jackrabbits a 10-6 lead heading into halftime. The Bison began to assert themselves on the opening drive of the second half, marching 88 yards on 12 play. All but 11 yards of the drive came on the ground, with the final two on a pass from Carson Wentz to Kevin Vaadeland.
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NDSU pushed the lead to 20-10 on its next possession as Wentz scored on a 5-yard run one play after a quarterback keeper of 22 yards. The Jackrabbits bridged a scoring drive together between the end of the third quarter and start of the fourth to pull to within 20-17. Sumner hooked up with Larves Jones on three pass plays for a total of 39 yards before Zenner scored from a yard out with 12:04 to play. However, NDSU’s ball-control offense took control down the stretch and put the game out of reach on a 5-yard touchdown run by John Crockett to cap an 11-play, 71-yard drive. SDSU turned the ball over on its next two possessions, which the Bison converted into 10 points on a 45-yard field goal by Keller and 1-yard Crockett touchdown run to provide the winning margin. Crockett led all players with 152 yards on 28 carries, while Wentz hit the century mark in both rushing and passing by carrying 16 times for 100 yards and completing 12-of-20 passes for 115 yards. The Bison held a 405-276 advantage in total offense and 38:20 to 21:40 edge in time of possession. Sumner finished the game 14-of-28 passing for 187 yards. Zenner gained 96 yards on 17 carries, with Wieneke leading the Jackrabbit receivers with five catches for 87 yards. Defensively, NDSU was paced by defensive end Kyle Emanuel, who recorded a team-high 10 tackles and all four of the Bison sacks. T.J. Lally registered a career-high 20 tackles for the Jackrabbits — the most by an SDSU player in the Division I era (since 2004). Melvin Taveras added 11 stops. SCORE BY QUARTERS 1 South Dakota State (5-4, 2-3) 3 North Dakota State (9-0, 5-0) 0 SCORING SUMMARY 1st 8:12 SDSU – 2nd 7:10 NDSU – 2nd 1:25 NDSU – 2nd 00:37 SDSU – 3rd 8:35 NDSU – 3rd 00:40 NDSU – 4th 12:04 SDSU – 4th 6:24 NDSU – 4th 4:30 NDSU – 4th 1:16 NDSU –
2 7 6
3 0 14
4 7 17
FINAL 17 31
Justin Syrovatka 37 yd field goal Adam Keller 33 yd field goal Adam Keller 45 yd field goal Jake Wieneke 42 yd pass from Austin Sumner (Syrovatka kick) Kevin Vaadeland 2 yd pass from Carson Wentz (Keller kick) Wentz 5 yd run (Keller kick) Zach Zenner 1 yd run (Syrovatka kick) John Crockett 5 yd run (Keller kick) Keller 45 yd field goal Crockett 1 yd run (Keller kick)
TEAM STATISTICS FIRST DOWNS RUSHES-YARDS (NET) PASSING YDS (NET) Passes Att-Comp-Int TOTAL OFFENSE PLAYS-YARDS Punt Returns-Yards Kickoff Returns-Yards Interception Returns-Yards Punts (Number-Avg) Fumbles-Lost Fumble Returns-Yards Penalties-Yards Possession Time Third-Down Conversions Fourth-Down Conversions Red-Zone Scores-Chances Sacks By: Number-Yards
SDSU 12 23-89 187 28-14-1 51-276 1-8 2-32 1-0 5-45.4 1-1 0-0 1-10 21:40 2 of 11 0 of 2 2-2 1-3
NDSU 21 53-290 115 20-12-1 73-405 1-1 4-85 1-6 2-64.5 0-0 0-0 1-5 38:20 5 of 12 1 of 1 5-5 4-30
RUSHING LEADERS: SDSU – Zach Zenner 17-96; Brady Mengarelli 2-23. NDSU – John Crockett 28-152; Carson Wentz 16-100; King Frazier 6-29. PASSING LEADERS: SDSU – Austin Sumner 14-28-1 187. NDSU – Carson Wentz 12-20-1 115. RECEIVING LEADERS: SDSU – Jake Wieneke 5-87; Larves Jones 4-45; Jason Schneider 3-44. NDSU – Zach Vraa 3-31; Kevin Vaadeland 2-35; Trevor Gebhart 2-10; R.J. Urzendowski 2-3. INTERCEPTIONS: SDSU – J.T. Hassell 1-0. NDSU – Colten Heagle 1-6 SACKS: SDSU – T.J. Lally 1.0-3. NDSU – Kyle Emanuel 4.0-30. TACKLE LEADERS (UA-A-TOT): SDSU – T.J. Lally 6-14-20; Melvin Taveras 5-6-11; Nick Mears 5-4-9. NDSU – Kyle Emanuel 7-3-10; Christian Dudzik 4-1-5; Colten Heagle 3-2-5.
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2015 JACKRABBIT SPRING FOOTBALL GAME 10
#22/22 South Dakota State 32, #17/19 Indiana State 17 Nov. 8, 2014 • Memorial Stadium (Att.: 4,905) TERRE HAUTE, Ind. — Football Championship Subdivision award candidates Zach Zenner and Jake Wieneke each scored touchdowns of 90plus yards in the second half to lead South Dakota State to a 32-17 victory over Indiana State in a battle of nationally ranked Missouri Valley Football Conference teams. Both teams moved to 6-4 overall and 3-3 in the MVFC. Indiana State entered the day ranked 17th in the Sports Network media poll and 19th by the FCS Coaches. SDSU was ranked 22nd in both polls. Trailing 9-7, the Jackrabbits took the lead for good when Wieneke, a candidate for the Jerry Rice Award as the top freshman in the FCS, caught a slant pass from Austin Sumner and weaved his way through the Indiana State defense for a 91-yard touchdown with seven minutes and 14 seconds to play in the third quarter. The play tied the longest pass in school history, which was set 28 years ago to the day on a Ted Wahl-to-Jeff Tiefenthaler connection. Zenner ran in the two-point conversion to give SDSU a 15-9 lead. SDSU pushed the lead to 18-9 in the first minute of the fourth quarter on a 46-yard field goal by Justin Syrovatka. Indiana State appeared on the verge of making it a one-possession game on the ensuing drive, but sophomore linebacker Jesse Bobbit knocked the ball loose from Buck Logan and recovered the fumble just before the ball broke the plane of the goal line. Two plays later, Zenner, a Walter Payton Award candidate, broke loose through the middle for his longest run of the season, a 94-yard touchdown run that made the score 25-9 following the extra point. The Jackrabbit defense proved opportunistic once again as Melvin Taveras recorded his team-best third interception of the season to set up SDSU’s final scoring drive of the game. On third-and-4, Sumner found a wide-open Wieneke along the left side for a 31-yard touchdown. Wieneke ended the day with six catches for 172 yards, crossing the 100yard mark for the fifth time this season. SDSU fought off early adversity on special teams, which included a blocked punt that resulted in a safety and a 3-yard touchdown run by Buck Logan after the ensuing free kick sailed out of bounds. The Sycamore touchdown was set up by a 23-yard throw back to the quarterback from Chris O’Leary to Mike Perish. The Jackrabbits closed to within 9-7 late in the first half as Zenner scored from a yard out to cap a six-play, 56-yard drive. The Sycamores strung together a 16-play, 77-yard drive in the closing minutes for their final score of the day – a 2-yard pass from Mike Perish to Logan. Robert Tanyon added the two-point conversion on a pass from Perish. SDSU set a season high with 510 yards of total offense, compared to 322 by Indiana State. Sumner completed 21-of-35 passes for 298 yards, while Zenner ended the afternoon with 193 rushing yards on 27 carries, and added four receptions for 26 yards. Perish finished the day 27-of-47 passing for 183 yards, with Tonyan leading the Sycamore receiving corps with six catches for 74 yards. Logan gained 92 yards on 19 carries. SCORE BY QUARTERS 1 South Dakota State (6-4, 3-3) 0 Indiana State (6-4, 4-3) 0
2 7 9
3 8 0
4 17 8
FINAL 32 15
SCORING SUMMARY 2nd 12:41 INS – Team safety (punt blocked out of end zone) 2nd 9:44 INS – Buck Logan 3 yd run (Eric Heidorn kick)
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2014 GAME RECAPS 2nd 3rd 4th 4th 4th 4th
3:56 7:14 14:20 9:58 5:02 00:11
SDSU SDSU SDSU SDSU SDSU INS
– – – – – –
Zach Zenner 1 yd run (Justin Syrovatka kick) Jake Wieneke 91 yd pass from Austin Sumner (Zenner run) Syrovatka 46 yd field goal Zenner 94 yd run (Syrovatka kick) Wieneke 31 yd pass from Sumner (Syrovatka kick) Logan 2 yd pass from Mike Perish (Robert Tonyan pass from Perish)
TEAM STATISTICS FIRST DOWNS RUSHES-YARDS (NET) PASSING YDS (NET) Passes Att-Comp-Int TOTAL OFFENSE PLAYS-YARDS Punt Returns-Yards Kickoff Returns-Yards Interception Returns-Yards Punts (Number-Avg) Fumbles-Lost Fumble Returns-Yards Penalties-Yards Possession Time Third-Down Conversions Fourth-Down Conversions Red-Zone Scores-Chances Sacks By: Number-Yards
SDSU 20 34-212 298 35-21-2 69-510 2-27 1-24 1-15 5-27.4 0-0 1-1 5-39 30:03 6 of 14 0 of 1 1-1 2-5
INS 18 29-116 206 48-28-1 77-322 2-51 5-75 2-0 9-40.9 2-2 0-0 4-31 29:57 8 of 17 0 of 0 2-3 0-0
RUSHING LEADERS: SDSU – Zach Zenner 27-193; Brady Mengarelli 6-20. INS – Buck Logan 19-92; Dimitri Taylor 4-21; LeMonte Booker 3-8. PASSING LEADERS: SDSU – Austin Sumner 21-35-2 298. INS – Mike Perish 27-47-1 183; Chris O’Leary 1-1-0 23. RECEIVING LEADERS: SDSU – Jake Wieneke 6-172; Brady Mengarelli 5-34; Zach Zenner 4-26; Jason Schneider 3-30. INS– Robert Tonyan 6-74; Chris O’Leary 5-36; Gary Owens 4-32; A.J. Johnson 4-16. INTERCEPTIONS: SDSU – Melvin Taveras 1-15. INS – Mark Sewall 2-0. SACKS: SDSU – J.R. Plote 1.0-4; J.T. Hassell 1.0-1. INS – none. TACKLE LEADERS (UA-A-TOT): SDSU – T.J. Lally 2-8-10; Nick Mears 6-3-9; Melvin Taveras 5-3-8; J.R. Plote 3-5-8. INS – Conlan Cassidy 5-6-11; Kendall Walker 3-5-8; Mark Sewall 4-3-7.
GAME 11
#19/19 South Dakota State 59, Western Illinois 24 Nov. 15, 2014 • Couglin-Alumni Stadium (Att.: 3,204) South Dakota State University quarterback Austin Sumner threw for a career-high six touchdowns, setting the school record for career touchdown passes in the process, in leading the Jackrabbits to a 59-24 victory over Western Illinois at snowy Coughlin-Alumni Stadium. With their second victory in a row, the 19th-ranked Jackrabbits improved to 7-4 overall and 4-3 in the Missouri Valley Football Conference. Western Illinois dropped to 4-7 overall, 2-5 in league play. Walter Payton Award candidate Zach Zenner opened the scoring on a 67-yard touchdown run with 10 minutes and 10 seconds to play in the first quarter — his first of three touchdowns on the day. On the play, Zenner crossed the 6,000-yard mark for career rushing. After recovering a fumble on the ensuing kickoff, the Jackrabbits turned to the air to build a 14-0 lead on Sumner’s first touchdown pass of the day — a 14-yard strike to Jason Schneider. WIU got on the board via a 41-yard touchdown pass from Trenton Norvell to Lance Lenoir late in the first quarter, but the Jackrabbit lead grew to 28-10 midway through the second stanza on back-to-back touchdowns by Zenner. The senior running back scored from 18 yards out on a direct snap for his first touchdown of the quarter, then took a swing pass from Sumner 40 yards to paydirt for his final touchdown of the day. The Fighting Leathernecks drew to within 28-17 moments later on a 23yard touchdown run by J.C. Baker, but SDSU again countered with a quick four-play, 80-yard drive capped by a 21-yard touchdown pass to Schneider that tied Ryan Berry’s career record of 56 touchdown passes set from 2005-08. Sumner took over sole possession of the Jackrabbit record with three third-quarter touchdown passes to Jerry Rice Award candidate Jake
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2015 JACKRABBIT SPRING FOOTBALL
2014 GAME RECAPS Wieneke. The first score covered 11 yards to finish off a nine-play, 73-yard drive on the opening drive of the second half. A redshirt freshman from Maple Grove, Minnesota, Wieneke added nother 11-yard touchdown reception, followed by a 22-yarder in the final minute of the third quarter. Wieneke, who set an SDSU single season record with his 14th touchdown reception, ended the game with 10 receptions for 159 yards, while Schneider added seven catches for 114 yards. Zenner ended the afternoon with 132 yards on 17 carries, while Sumner completed 21-of-37 passes for 366 yards. For the second week in a row, the Jackrabbits piled up a season high for total yards with 547, compared to 402 by WIU. Baker paced the Fighting Leathernecks with 97 yards on 21 carries. Norvell completed 14-of-27 passes for 214 yards and two touchdowns, the last of which was a 33-yarder to Hi-C Scott in the third quarter. Lenoir collected seven catches for 82 yards, with Joey Borsellino adding six receptions for 99 yards. Sophomore safety Nick Mears racked up a game-high 12 tackles to lead the Jackrabbit defense. Linebackers T.J. Lally and Jesse Bobbit each notched nine stops, as did David Griffith for Western Illinois. SCORE BY QUARTERS 1 Western Illinois (4-7, 2-5) 7 South Dakota State (7-4, 4-3) 14 SCORING SUMMARY 1st 10:10 SDSU – 1st 7:21 SDSU – 1st 4:11 WIU – 2nd 14:53 SDSU – 2nd 11:44 WIU – 2nd 7:38 SDSU – 2nd 5:46 WIU – 2nd 3:34 SDSU – 3rd 11:12 SDSU – 3rd 8:52 WIU – 3rd 5:34 SDSU – 3rd 5:34 SDSU – 4th 7:11 SDSU –
2 10 21
3 7 21
4 0 3
FINAL 24 59
Zach Zenner 67 yd run (Justin Syrovatka kick) Jason Schneider 14 yd pass from Austin Sumner (Syrovatka kick) Lance Lenoir 41 yd pass from Trenton Norvell (Nathan Knuffman kick) Zach Zenner 18 yd run (Syrovatka kick) Knuffman 21 yd field goal Zenner 40 yd pass from Sumner (Syrovatka kick) J.C. Baker 23 yd run (Knuffman kick) Schneider 21 yd pass from Sumner (Syrovatka kick) Jake Wieneke 11 yd pass from Sumner (Syrovatka kick) Hi-C Scott 33 yd pass from Norvell (Knuffman kick) Wieneke 11 yd pass from Sumner (Syrovatka kick) Wieneke 22 yd pass from Sumner (Syrovatka kick) Syrovatka 20 yd field goal
TEAM STATISTICS FIRST DOWNS RUSHES-YARDS (NET) PASSING YDS (NET) Passes Att-Comp-Int TOTAL OFFENSE PLAYS-YARDS Punt Returns-Yards Kickoff Returns-Yards Interception Returns-Yards Punts (Number-Avg) Fumbles-Lost Fumble Returns-Yards Penalties-Yards Possession Time Third-Down Conversions Fourth-Down Conversions Red-Zone Scores-Chances Sacks By: Number-Yards
WIU 22 40-188 214 27-14-2 67-402 1-13 8-83 0-0 3-43.7 3-1 0-0 6-56 25:51 4 of 13 0 of 2 1-2 2-12
SDSU 30 35-181 366 37-21-0 72-547 0-0 4-86 2-9 4-38.5 1-0 0-0 5-65 34:09 4 of 9 0 of 0 5-5 0-0
RUSHING LEADERS: WIU– J.C. Baker 21-97; Devon Moore 12-48; Trenton Norvell 7-43. SDSU – Zach Zenner 17-132; Reggie Gandy 14-55; Kyle Paris 2-6. PASSING LEADERS: WIU – Trenton Norvell 14-27-2 214. SDSU – Austin Sumner 21-37-0 366. RECEIVING LEADERS: WIU – Lance Lenoir 7-82; Joey Borsellino 6-99. SDSU – Jake Wieneke 10-159; Jason Schneider 7-114. INTERCEPTIONS: WIU – none. SDSU – Jake Gentile 1-9; Nick Farina 1-0. SACKS: WIU – Jeremy Curry 1.0-8; Kevin Kintzel 1.0-4. SDSU – none. TACKLE LEADERS (UA-A-TOT): WIU – David Griffith 3-6-9; Jonathon Rollins 6-1-7; Kevin Kintzel 5-2-7; Richard Chungong 5-2-7. SDSU – Nick Mears 9-3-12; T.J. Lally 5-4-9; Jesse Bobbit 4-5-9.
GAME 12
#15/16 South Dakota State 37, South Dakota 14 Nov. 22, 2014 • Couglin-Alumni Stadium (Att.: 10,631) South Dakota State scored on its first five offensive possessions and cruised to a 37-14 victory over the University of South Dakota in the regular season finale for both teams. In winning the South Dakota Showdown Series contest for the third consecutive year, the Jackrabbits improved to 8-4 overall and 5-3 in the Missouri Valley Football Conference. USD dropped to 2-10 overall and 0-8 in league play. The Jackrabbits, ranked 15th in the FCS Coaches’ poll and 16th in the Sports Network media rankings, wasted little time in getting on the board. After Brady Mengarelli returned the opening kickoff 46 yards to the Coyote 49, the Jackrabbits needed only five plays to crack the scoring column. A 27-yard pass play from Austin Sumner to Jake Wieneke was followed by a 10-yard touchdown run by Walter Payton Award candidate Zach Zenner. SDSU made it 14-0 with 8 minutes and 12 seconds to play in the first quarter on a 28-yard touchdown pass from Sumner to Jason Schneider, capping a five-play, 80-yard drive that included a 41-yard connection between Sumner and Schneider on the second play of the drive. The Jackrabbits again turned to the air for their third touchdown of the opening quarter as Sumner hooked up with Wieneke from 18 yards out to finish off a six-play, 83-yard drive. Wieneke extended his streak of catching a touchdown pass to all eight MVFC games this season in upping his season total to 15 touchdown receptions. Justin Syrovatka kicked the first of his three field goals on the day — a 32-yarder — in the opening minute of the second quarter, and SDSU made it five scores in five possessions as Zenner caught a pass from Sumner in the left flat and motored in from 50 yards out to make the score 31-0. USD threatened to score three times in the second quarter, but came up empty. The first Coyote drive ended with a missed field goal, followed by turning the ball over on downs at the Jackrabbit 2-yard line. Late in the quarter, Jackrabbit cornerback Je Ryan Butler came up with an interception in the end zone. Syrovatka accounted for the only Jackrabbit scoring in the second half with field goals of 21 and 34 yards as he improved to 16-of-17 for the season. SDSU carried its shutout into the fourth quarter, but the Coyotes scored twice on a pair of 10-yard touchdown passes. Kevin Earl and Eric Shufford hooked up the first USD scores, while backup quarterback Ryan Saeger threw a 10-yard touchdown to Josh Hale in the closing minutes. For the third week in a row, the Jackrabbit offense racked up more than 500 yards, matching a season high with 547 yards. Sumner led the way with a career-high 395 yards on 16-of-28 passing. Zenner added 76 yards on 18 carries and another 53 yards on a pair of receptions. Wieneke led Jackrabbit receivers with six catches for 177 yards, with Schneider adding four receptions for 85 yards. For USD, Earl completed 20-of-44 passes for 226 yards. Riley Donovan led Coyote receivers with 94 yards on six catches, with Shufford also tallying six catches for 67 yards. The Coyote ground game was led by Drew Potter, who gained 103 yards on eight carries. Khorey Kilgore added 82 yards on 17 carries. Tyson Graham paced the USD defense with a game-high eight tackles. Freshman defensive back Trey Carr led SDSU with six tackles and added a pair of pass breakups. SCORE BY QUARTERS 1 South Dakota (2-10, 0-8) 0 South Dakota State (8-4, 5-3) 21
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2 0 10
3 0 3
4 14 3
FINAL 14 37
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2015 JACKRABBIT SPRING FOOTBALL SCORING SUMMARY 1st 12:46 SDSU – 1st 8:12 SDSU – 1st 3:39 SDSU – 2nd 14:05 SDSU – 2nd 7:34 SDSU – 3rd 8:38 SDSU – 4th 13:30 SDSU – 4th 10:34 USD – 4th 2:10 USD –
Zach Zenner 10 yd run (Justin Syrovatka kick) Jason Schneider 28 yd pass from Austin Sumner (Syrovatka kick) Jake Wieneke 18 yd pass from Austin Sumner (Syrovatka kick) Syrovatka 32 yd field goal Zenner 50 yd pass from Sumner (Syrovatka kick) Syrovatka 21 yd field goal Syrovatka 34 yd field goal Eric Shufford 10 yd pass from Kevin Earl (Miles Bergner kick) Josh Hale 10 yd pass Ryan Saeger (Bergner kick)
TEAM STATISTICS FIRST DOWNS RUSHES-YARDS (NET) PASSING YDS (NET) Passes Att-Comp-Int TOTAL OFFENSE PLAYS-YARDS Punt Returns-Yards Kickoff Returns-Yards Interception Returns-Yards Punts (Number-Avg) Fumbles-Lost Fumble Returns-Yards Penalties-Yards Possession Time Third-Down Conversions Fourth-Down Conversions Red-Zone Scores-Chances Sacks By: Number-Yards
USD 24 28-184 254 48-22-1 76-438 1-9 3-38 0-0 5-47.8 0-0 0-0 3-35 28:55 8 of 16 0 of 2 2-4 0-0
SDSU 20 34-120 427 30-18-0 64-547 3-46 2-46 1-0 4-41.5 0-0 0-0 5-49 31:05 4 of 12 0 of 0 5-5 1-11
RUSHING LEADERS: USD – Drew Potter 8-108; Khorey Kilgore 17-82. SDSU – Zach Zenner 18-76; Brady Mengarelli 9-28; Reggie Gandy 4-18. PASSING LEADERS: USD – Kevin Earl 20-44-1 226; Ryan Saeger 2-4-0 28. SDSU – Austin Sumner 16-28-0 395. RECEIVING LEADERS: USD – Riley Donovan 6-94; Eric Shufford 6-67; Brandt Van Roekel 4-41. SDSU – Jake Wieneke 6-177; Jason Schneider 4-85; Zach Zenner 2-53; Dallas Goedert 2-37. INTERCEPTIONS: USD – none. SDSU – Je Ryan Butler 1-0. SACKS: USD – none. SDSU – Tom Peitz 1.0-11. TACKLE LEADERS (UA-A-TOT): USD – Tyson Graham 4-4-8; Jacob Warner 6-1-7; Colin Buscarini 4-2-6. SDSU – Trey Carr 5-1-6; Jake Gentile 3-2-5; Nick Mears 2-3-5.
GAME 13
#13/14 South Dakota State 47, #17/17 Montana State 40 Nov. 29, 2014 • Bobcat Stadium (Att.: 10,631) BOZEMAN, Mont. — Zach Zenner accounted for 324 all-purpose yards and scored a career-high five touchdowns to lead South Dakota State to a 47-40 victory over Montana State in the opening round of the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs Nov. 29 at a snowy Bobcat Stadium. The Jackrabbits ranked 13th in the FCS Coaches’ poll and 14th in the Sports Network media rankings, improved to 9-4 overall. Montana State, ranked 17th in both polls, ended its season 8-5 overall. A Walter Payton Award candidate, Zenner tallied the first of four long scores on the second play from scrimmage and a mere 30 seconds into the game with a 45-yard touchdown run through the Bobcat defense. Montana State countered with a 12-play, 72-yard drive that ended on a Chad Newell 3-yard touchdown run. A bobbled snap on the extra-point attempt kept the Jackrabbits in the lead at 7-6. Zenner put the Jackrabbits ahead 14-6 with another quick-strike touchdown. This time, he took a swing pass from Austin Sumner and motored down the left sideline for a 69-yard score. A Justin Syrovatka field goal from 21 yards out early in the second quarter extended the lead, and Zenner put the Jackrabbits out front 24-14 late in the second quarter with a 7-yard touchdown run. Montana State pulled to within 24-20 with nine-second remaining in the first half on a 1-yard touchdown pass from Dakota Prukop to Mitchell Herbert, then took its first – and only lead – of the day on the opening drive of the second half as Newell scored from 12 yards out.
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2014 GAME RECAPS The Bobcat lead lasted all of 38 seconds as Zenner went down the right sideline for a 60-yard touchdown run, giving SDSU a 31-26 lead following the Syrovatka PAT. A 10-yard touchdown pass from Sumner to Connor Landberg with 10 minutes remaining in the game gave the Jackrabbits a 37-26 lead, and SDSU extended the margin to 14 points at 40-26 moments later by converting the only turnover of the game — a strip-sack by Jack Sherlock — into three points on a 30-yard field goal by Syrovatka. Newell kept the Bobcats in the game with a 6-yard touchdown run with 4:14 to play, pulling Montana State to within 40-32 after a failed two-point conversion. Zenner, who moved into third place on the FCS career rushing charts with 6,415 yards, finally put the game out of reach with a 69-yard touchdown run with 3 minutes and 10 seconds remaining in the game. Zenner, who posted his eighth career 200-yard game and third in a first-round FCS playoff game, finished the day with 252 rushing yards on 23 carries and added two catches for 72 yards. Montana State put together a last-ditch effort in the waning moments as Newell scored his fifth touchdown of the game from 5 yards out and the Bobcats scored the two-point conversion to make it a one-possession game at 47-40. Landberg came up with the loose football on an onside-kick attempt to seal the Jackrabbits’ third consecutive first-round playoff victory. The two squads combined for 1,018 yards of total offense – 526 for the Jackrabbits and 492 for Montana State. Sumner completed 19-of-28 passes for 249 yards, with Trevor Wesley catching six balls for 32 yards. For Montana State, Newell tied a school record with his five rushing touchdowns and ended the day with 111 yards on 24 carries. Prukop completed 19-of-36 passes for 280 yards, with Shawn Johnson catching four passes for 59 yards and Mitch Griebel adding four catches for 51 yards. Jesse Bobbit recorded a career-high 13 tackles to lead the Jackrabbit defense, with T.J. Lally and Nick Mears adding eight each. Alex Singleton paced Montana State with nine tackles, including a sack. SCORE BY QUARTERS South Dakota State (9-4) Montana State (8-5) SCORING SUMMARY 1st 14:30 SDSU – 1st 8:31 MSU – 1st 7:16 SDSU – 2nd 12:48 SDSU – 2nd 2:58 MSU – 2nd 2:10 SDSU – 2nd 00:09 MSU – 3rd 10:47 MSU – 3rd 10:09 SDSU – 4th 10:04 SDSU – 4th 7:36 SDSU – 4th 4:14 MSU – 4th 3:10 SDSU – 4th 1:10 MTSU –
1 14 6
2 10 14
3 7 6
4 16 14
FINAL 47 40
Zach Zenner 45 yd run (Justin Syrovatka kick) Chad Newell 3 yd run (pass failed) Zenner 69 yd pass from Austin Sumner (Syrovatka kick) Syrovatka 21 yd field goal Newell 1 yd run (Mitch Griebel run) Zenner 7 yd run (Syrovatka kick) Mitch Herbert 1 yd pass from Dakota Prukop (kick blocked) Chad Newell 12 yd run (pass failed) Zenner 60 yd run (Syrovatka kick) Connor Landberg 10 yd pass from Austin Sumner (pass failed) Syrovatka 30 yd field goal Newell 6 yd run (pass failed) Zenner 69 yd run (Syrovatka kick) Newell 5 yd run (Herbert pass from Prukop)
TEAM STATISTICS FIRST DOWNS RUSHES-YARDS (NET) PASSING YDS (NET) Passes Att-Comp-Int TOTAL OFFENSE PLAYS-YARDS Punt Returns-Yards Kickoff Returns-Yards Interception Returns-Yards Punts (Number-Avg) Fumbles-Lost Fumble Returns-Yards Penalties-Yards
SDSU 21 31-277 249 28-19-0 59-526 2-10 6-149 0-0 3-42.3 1-0 1-11 8-60
MSU 24 48-198 294 37-20-0 85-492 2-29 7-132 0-0 4-42.8 1-1 0-0 5-41
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2015 JACKRABBIT SPRING FOOTBALL
2014 GAME RECAPS Possession Time Third-Down Conversions Fourth-Down Conversions Red-Zone Scores-Chances Sacks By: Number-Yards
26:12 6 of 12 0 of 0 4-4 1-5
33:48 7 of 18 6 of 7 6-7 1-5
RUSHING LEADERS: SDSU – Zach Zenner 23-252; Brady Mengarelli 2-22. MSU – Chad Newell 24-111; Shawn Johnson 8-37; Dakota Prukop 11-34. PASSING LEADERS: SDSU – Austin Sumner 19-28-0 249. MSU – Dakota Prukop 19-36-0 280; Trevor Bolton 1-1-0 14. RECEIVING LEADERS: SDSU – Trevor Wesley 6-32; Jake Wieneke 4-57; Jason Schneider 4-53; Zach Zenner 2-72; Connor Landberg 2-28. MSU – Shawn Johnson 4-59; Mitch Griebel 4-51; Mitch Herbert 3-38; Tiai Salanoa 3-29. INTERCEPTIONS: SDSU – none. MSU – none. SACKS: SDSU – Jack Sherlock 1.0-5. MSU – Alex Singleton 1.0-5. TACKLE LEADERS (UAA-TOT): SDSU – Jesse Bobbit 8-5-13; T.J. Lally 6-2-8; Nick Mears 4-4-8.
GAME 14
#2/2 North Dakota State 27, #13/14 South Dakota State 24 Dec. 6, 2014 • Fargodome (Att.: 18,113) FARGO, N.D. — R.J. Urzendowski’s 12-yard touchdown reception with 54 seconds remaining propelled second-seeded North Dakota State to a 27-24 victory over South Dakota State in the second round of the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs at the Fargodome. The Bison improved to 12-1 overall. SDSU ended its season with a 9-5 overall record in making its third consecutive postseason appearance. NDSU’s game-winning drive after the Jackrabbits grabbed a 24-20 lead with three minutes, 18 seconds remaining on a 3-yard touchdown pass from Austin Sumner to Jake Wieneke. That capped a nine-play, 65-yard drive in which the Jackrabbits converted on fourth-and-3 from the Bison 32 on a 4-yard run by Zach Zenner. Zenner, who became the first player in FCS history to top the 2,000-yard mark in three consecutive seasons during the game, scored a pair of second-quarter touchdowns to pull the Jackrabbits even after falling behind 140. Zenner’s first touchdown run covered 17 yards at the 8:48 mark of the second quarter, while his second score was a 4-yard run three minutes later that followed an 80-yard punt return by Je Ryan Butler to the NDSU 11. SDSU made it 17 straight points on its opening drive of the second half, taking its first lead at 17-14 on a 33-yard field goal by Justin Syrovatka with 6:43 remaining in the third quarter. Adam Keller knotted the game at 17-all with a 42-yard field goal in the final minute of the third quarter, then gave NDSU a momentary 20-17 lead with a 29-yard field goal midway through the fourth quarter. Urzendowski put NDSU on the board on its first drive of the game, hauling in a 27-yard pass touchdown from Wentz. Wentz upped the Bison lead to 14-0 early in the second quarter as he broke loose on a scramble for a 27-yard touchdown run. The winning Bison drive appeared on the verge of being stalled by a holding penalty, but Wentz completed passes of 19 and 29 yards to Carey Woods and Urzendowski before a pass interference penalty against the Jackrabbits gave NDSU first and goal at the SDSU 7. After a false start penalty moved the ball back to the 12, Wentz found Urzendowski in the back left corner of the end zone for the game-winner. SDSU’s last-ditch effort to either tie or win the game fell short as a Sumner pass on first down was intercepted by Tre Dempsey at the Jackrabbit 25. The Bison picked up a first down behind the running of John Crockett to run out the clock.
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Urzendowski finished the game with four catches for 109 yards, while Wentz completed 14-of-25 passes for 235 yards. Crockett gained 102 yards on 23 carries. NDSU held a 416-275 advantage in total offense. Zenner fell 12 yards short in his bid to become the FCS career rushing leader, finishing the game with 133 yards on 32 carries. He finished third in FCS career rushing with 6,548, trailing all-time leader Adrian Peterson of Georgia Southern with 6,559 yards and Sacramento State’s Charles Roberts at 6,553 yards. Sumner completed 13-of-22 passes for 132 yards in his final start. Trevor Wesley led Jackrabbit receivers with four catches for 28 yards. T.J. Lally paced the Jackrabbit defense with a game-high 14 tackles. Jesse Bobbit and J.R. Plote added 11 and 10 tackles, respectively. Carlton Littlejohn led NDSU with 11 tackles. SCORE BY QUARTERS South Dakota State (9-5) North Dakota State (12-1) SCORING SUMMARY 1st 8:42 NDSU – 2nd 13:24 NDSU – 2nd 8:48 SDSU – 2nd 5:36 SDSU – 3rd 6:43 SDSU – 3rd 00:40 NDSU – 4th 7:43 NDSU – 4th 3:18 SDSU – 4th 00:54 NDSU –
1 0 7
2 14 7
3 3 3
4 7 10
FINAL 24 27
R.J. Urzendowski 27 yd pass from Carson Wentz (Adam Keller kick) Carson Wentz 27 yd run (Keller kick) Zach Zenner 17 yd run (Justin Syrovatka kick) Zenner 4 yd run (Syrovatka kick) Syrovatka 33 yd field goal Keller 42 yd field goal Keller 29 yd field goal Jake Wieneke 3 yd pass from Austin Sumner (Syrovatka kick) Urzendowski 12 yd pass from Wentz (Keller kick)
TEAM STATISTICS FIRST DOWNS RUSHES-YARDS (NET) PASSING YDS (NET) Passes Att-Comp-Int TOTAL OFFENSE PLAYS-YARDS Punt Returns-Yards Kickoff Returns-Yards Interception Returns-Yards Punts (Number-Avg) Fumbles-Lost Fumble Returns-Yards Penalties-Yards Possession Time Third-Down Conversions Fourth-Down Conversions Red-Zone Scores-Chances Sacks By: Number-Yards
SDSU 20 36-143 132 22-13-1 58-275 1-80 2-30 0-0 4-37.5 0-0 0-0 8-68 28:35 5 of 11 1 of 1 4-4 0-0
NDSU 21 39-181 235 25-14-0 64-416 1-(-1) 2-39 1-2 4-48.0 0-0 0-0 11-110 31:25 7 of 13 0 of 0 2-3 1-12
RUSHING LEADERS: SDSU – Zach Zenner 32-133; Brady Mengarelli 2-22. NDSU –John Crockett 23-102; Carson Wentz 13-70. PASSING LEADERS: SDSU – Austin Sumner 13-22-1 132. NDSU – Carson Wentz 14-25-0 235. RECEIVING LEADERS: SDSU – Trevor Wesley 4-28; Jason Schneider 3-59; Jake Wieneke 3-29; Brady Mengarelli 2-13. NDSU – R.J. Urzendowski 4-109; Kevin Vaadeland 3-27; Trevor Gebhart 2-43; John Crockett 2-16. I NTERCEPTIONS: SDSU – none. NDSU – Tre Dempsey 1-2. SACKS: SDSU – none. NDSU – Esley Thorton 1.0-12. TACKLE LEADERS (UA-A-TOT): SDSU – T.J. Lally 3-11-14; Jesse Bobbit 2-9-11; J.R. Plote 2-8-10. NDSU – Carlton Littlejohn 7-4-11; Christian Dudzik 1-8-9; C.J. Smith 1-6-7
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2015 JACKRABBIT SPRING FOOTBALL
2014 RECORDS
JACKRABBIT RECORDS SET DURING 2014 SEASON ZACH ZENNER
SCHOOL RECORDS • All-Purpose Yards, Career: 8,211 • Total Touchdowns, Career: 69 (tied record) MISSOURI VALLEY FOOTBALL CONFERENCE RECORDS • Rushing Yards, Career: 6,548 • Rushing Touchdowns, Career: 61 • Total Touchdowns, Career: 69 • Points, Career: 416 • Most Games of 100 Yards Rushing, Career: 32 • All-Purpose Yards, Career: 8,211 • All-Purpose Yards, Season: 2,350 AUSTIN SUMNER
SCHOOL RECORDS Passing Attempts, Career: 1,267 Completions, Career: 737 Yards Passing, Career: 9,458 Touchdown Passes, Career: 65 Total Offense Attempts, Career: 1,508 Total Offense Yards, Career: 9,284 Total Offense Per Game, Career: 211.0 Longest Touchdown Pass: 91 yards (tied record) JUSTIN SYROVATKA
School Records Points Kicking, Season: 107 Extra Points Kicking, Season: 50 Extra Points Made, Career: 154
ZACH ZENNER set SDSU and Missouri Valley Football Conference records for career all-purpose yards. Zenner became the first back in Division I football history to rush for three straight 2,000-yard seasons.
Extra Points Attempted, Career: 156 Extra Point Percentage, Season 1.000 Extra Point Percentage, Career: .987 Consecutive PAT, Season: 50 Consecutive FG Made: 16 Field Goal Percentage, Season: .950 (19-of-20) Field Goal Percentage, Career: .764
JAKE WIENEKE
School Records Receiving Touchdowns, Season: 16 Receiving Yards, Freshman Season: 1,404 Longest Receiving Touchdown: 91 yards (tied record) Missouri Valley Football Conference Record Receiving Touchdowns, Season: 16 (tied record)
TOP SINGLE-GAME PERFORMANCES SINGLE-GAME PASSING YARDS
1. Dan Fjeldheim (37-55-1, 460, 2) ....................460 • at St. Cloud State, 9-28-2002 2. Austin Sumner (16-28-0, 395, 3) ..................395 • vs. South Dakota, 11-22-2015 3. Todd McDonald (17-28-1, 388, 4) ..................388 • at Mankato State, 11-6-2003 4. Mike Busch (26-45-3, 379, 2)..........................379 • vs. Morningside, 9-15-1984 5. Austin Sumner (20-31-0, 377, 4) ....................377 • at Missouri State, 10-29-2011 6. Thomas O’Brien (28-45-3, 376, 2) ..................376 • at Cal Poly, 9-17-2011 7. Ryan Berry (32-53-1, 375, 1) ..........................375 • at Northern Iowa, 9-20-2008 8. Ted Wahl (26-49-3, 370, 3)..............................370 • vs. South Dakota, 10-18-1986 9. Austin Sumner (21-37-0, 366, 6) ..................366 • vs. Western Illinois, 11-15-2014 10. Mike Busch (22-39-0, 361-2) ..........................361 • vs. Nebraska-Omaha, 9-21-1985 SINGLE-GAME RUSHING YARDS
1. Zach Zenner ..........................33 carries, 295 yds. • vs. Eastern Illinois, 11-24-2012 [FCS playoffs] Zach Zenner ..........................37 carries, 295 yds. • at North Dakota, 9-7-2013 3. Josh Ranek............................41 carries, 291 yds. • vs. St. Cloud State, 11-13-1999 4. Josh Ranek............................39 carries, 282 yds. • at North Dakota State, 10-24-1998
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5. Zach Zenner ..........................34 carries, 278 yds. • at Southeastern Louisiana, 9-8-2012 6. Dan Sonnek ..........................41 carries, 268 yds. • vs. Northern Colorado, 11-16-1985 7. Dan Sonnek ..........................40 carries, 266 yds. • vs. Augustana, 10-26-1985 8. Cory Koenig ..........................21 carries, 259 yds. • vs. Cal Poly, 10-20-2007 9. Josh Ranek............................26 carries, 254 yds. • at North Dakota State, 10-20-2001 10. Zach Zenner ..........................23 carries, 252 yds. • at Montana State, 11-29-2014 [FCS playoffs] SINGLE-GAME RECEIVING YARDS
1. Jeff Tiefenthaler ..........................12 rec., 256 yds. • at North Dakota, 9-27-1986 2. Jeff Tiefenthaler ..........................14 rec., 234 yds. • at South Dakota, 10-18-86 3. Jeff Tiefenthaler ..........................10 rec., 233 yds. • at Morningside, 10-5-1985 4. Nate Millerbernd ..........................9 rec., 202 yds. • vs. Mankato State, 11-16-1996 5. Josh Davis ....................................9 rec., 187 yds. • vs. North Dakota, 10-11-2003 6. Jake Wieneke ............................8 rec., 183 yds. • vs. Missouri State, 10-11-2014 7. Jeff Tiefenthaler ............................8 rec., 179 yds. • vs. Northern Colorado 11-15-1986 8. Dale Moss......................................7 rec, 178 yds. • at Missouri State, 10-29-2011 Jake Wieneke ..........................10 rec., 178 yds. • vs. Youngstown State, 10-25-2014
10. Dean Herrboldt ............................6 rec., 177 yds. • at Mankato State, 11-6-1993 Josh Davis ....................................9 rec., 177 yds. • vs. Georgia Southern, 10-29-2005 Jake Wieneke ............................6 rec., 177 yds. • vs. South Dakota, 11-22-2014 SINGLE-GAME RECEPTIONS
1. Josh Davis ..................................16 rec., 164 yds. • vs. Western Washington, 10-12-2002 2. Jeff Tiefenthaler ..........................14 rec., 234 yds. • at South Dakota, 10-18-1986 3. Jeff Tiefenthaler ..........................12 rec., 256 yds. • at North Dakota, 9-27-1986 Josh Davis ..................................12 rec., 138 yds. • at Southern (La.), 9-25-2004 Glen Fox ....................................12 rec., 101 yds. • vs. Southern Illinois, 11-7-2009 6. Wayne Rasmussen ....................11 rec., 150 yds. • at Arkansas State, 11-16-1963 Rusty Lenners ..............................11 rec., 114 yds • at North Dakota, 9-30-1995 Josh Davis ..................................11 rec., 155 yds. • at St. Cloud State, 9-28-2002 Brian Janecek ............................11 rec., 141 yds. • vs. Augustana, 11-6-2004 Trevor Tiefenthaler......................11 rec., 139 yds. • at Eastern Washington, 12-7-2013 [FCS playoffs]
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2015 JACKRABBIT SPRING FOOTBALL
2014 AWARDS
ZACH ZENNER
JAKE WIENEKE
T.J. LALLY
JUSTIN SYROVATKA
ANDREW MUELLER
Team Most Valuable Player
Offensive MVP
Defensive MVP
Special Teams MVP
Effort Award
JASON SCHNEIDER
THOR RIEMER
DALTON COX
ALEX ROMENESKO
Scholar-Athlete Award
Scout Offense Player of the Year
Scout Defense Player of the Year
Scout Special Teams Player of the Year
MISSOURI VALLEY FOOTBALL CONFERENCE AWARDS
MISSOURI VALLEY FOOTBALL CONFERENCE OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK Zach Zenner (Sept. 6) Austin Sumner (Nov. 15)
MISSOURI VALLEY FOOTBALL CONFERENCE SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE WEEK Justin Syrovatka (Nov. 22)
MISSOURI VALLEY FOOTBALL CONFERENCE NEWCOMER OF THE WEEK Jake Wieneke (Oct. 11, Nov. 15)
MISSOURI VALLEY FOOTBALL CONFERENCE OFFENSIVE LINEMAN OF THE WEEK
ALL-MISSOURI VALLEY FOOTBALL CONFERENCE HONORABLE MENTION
FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP SUBDIVISION ATHLETIC DIRECTORS ASSOCIATION ALL-AMERICA TEAM
Jimmie Forsythe Jacob Ohnesorge Austin Sumner
Zach Zenner
MISSOURI VALLEY FOOTBALL CONFERENCE ALL-NEWCOMER TEAM Trey Carr Zach Lujan Jake Wieneke
MISSOURI VALLEY FOOTBALL CONFERENCE FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR Jake Wieneke ALL-AMERICA AWARDS
Dylan Seiter (Sept. 6) Andrew Mueller (Nov. 8)
AMERICAN FOOTBALL COACHES ASSOCIATION ALL-AMERICA TEAM
ALL-MISSOURI VALLEY FOOTBALL CONFERENCE FIRST TEAM
Zach Zenner
Trevor Greger Jake Wieneke Zach Zenner
Zach Zenner
ALL-MISSOURI VALLEY FOOTBALL CONFERENCE SECOND TEAM
Zach Zenner
T.J. Lally Cole Langer Jason Schneider Justin Syrovatka
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WALTER CAMP FCS ALL-AMERICA TEAM ASSOCIATED PRESS FCS ALL-AMERICA FIRST TEAM ASSOCIATED PRESS FCS ALL-AMERICA SECOND TEAM Justin Syrovatka Jake Wieneke
SPORTS NETWORK FCS ALL-AMERICA FIRST TEAM Zach Zenner
SPORTS NETWORK FCS ALL-AMERICA THIRD TEAM Jake Wieneke
COLLEGE SPORTING NEWS FCS FABULOUS FIFTY Jake Wieneke Zach Zenner
COLLEGE SPORTING NEWS FCS FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR Jake Wieneke COLLEGE FOOTBALL PERFORMANCE AWARDS
NATIONAL RUNNING BACK OF THE WEEK Zach Zenner (Nov. 8)
NATIONAL WIDE RECEIVER OF THE WEEK Jake Wieneke (Oct. 11)
FCS NATIONAL PERFORMER OF THE YEAR TROPHY WATCH LIST Zach Zenner
FCS ELITE PLACEKICKER AWARD Justin Syrovatka
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2015 JACKRABBIT SPRING FOOTBALL COLLEGE SPORTING NEWS AWARDS
NATIONAL ALL-STAR
2014 AWARDS HAMMER STRENGTH ALL-AMERICAN ATHLETE OF
CAPITAL ONE ACADEMIC ALL-DISTRICT 6
THE YEAR
Cole Langer Nick Mears Nick Purcell Ethan Sawyer Jason Schneider Zach Zenner
Zach Zenner
Zach Zenner (Sept. 6) Austin Sumner (Nov. 15)
ACADEMIC AWARDS
SPORTS NETWORK AWARDS
NATIONAL FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK
MISSOURI VALLEY FOOTBALL CONFERENCE ALL-ACADEMIC FIRST TEAM Jason Schneider Zach Zenner
Jake Wieneke (Oct. 11) OTHER AWARDS
MISSOURI VALLEY FOOTBALL CONFERENCE ALL-ACADEMIC SECOND TEAM
ALLSTATE AFCA GOOD WORKS TEAM Zach Zenner
Cole Langer Nick Mears Nick Purcell
WILLIAM V. CAMPBELL TROPHY FINALIST Zach Zenner
WALTER PAYTON AWARD FINALIST
MISSOURI VALLEY FOOTBALL CONFERENCE ALL-ACADEMIC HONORABLE MENTION
Zach Zenner
JERRY RICE AWARD FINALIST Jake Wieneke
MICKEY CHARLES ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
Jesse Bobbit Shayne Gottlob Ethan Sawyer
CAPITAL ONE ACADEMIC ALL-AMERICA FIRST TEAM Nick Purcell Jason Schneider Zach Zenner
CAPITAL ONE ACADEMIC ALL-AMERICA TEAM MEMBER OF THE YEAR Zach Zenner
FCS ATHLETIC DIRECTORS ASSOCIATION ACADEMIC ALL-STAR TEAM Jason Schneider Zach Zenner
FCS ATHLETIC DIRECTORS ASSOCIATION POSTGRADUATE SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENT
Zach Zenner
Zach Zenner
TEAM PLAYERS OF THE WEEK AUG. 30 AT MISSOURI Offense: Zach Lujan, Jacob Ohnesorge Defense: Jimmie Forsythe Special Teams: Justin Syrovatka Scout Offense: Jordan Brown, Thor Riemer Scout Defense: Christian Banasiak Scout Special Teams: Malik Bondon Effort: Austin Sumner SEPT. 6 VS. CAL POLY Offense: Zach Zenner, Bryce Siverling Defense: T.J. Lally, Jake Gentile Special Teams: Ethan Sawyer, Chad Strehlow Scout Offense: Thor Riemer Scout Defense: Dalton Cox Scout Special Teams: Alex Romenesko Effort: Jake Gentile SEPT. 13 AT SOUTHERN UTAH Offense: Jason Schneider, Jacob Ohnesorge Defense: Shayne Gottlob, Trey Carr Special Teams: Je Ryan Butler, Ethan Sawyer Scout Offense: Thor Riemer Scout Defense: Alex Romenesko Scout Special Teams: Emmanuel Ehrich Effort: Brady Mengarelli, Jesse Bobbit SEPT. 20 VS. WISCONSIN-OSHKOSH Offense: Zach Zenner, Jacob Ohnesorge Defense: T.J. Lally Special Teams: Je Ryan Butler Scout Offense: Jacob Menage Scout Defense: Tiano Pupungatoa Scout Special Teams: Trevor Sikkink Effort: Kevin Klocek OCT. 4 AT ILLINOIS STATE Offense: Jake Wieneke, Jacob Ohnesorge Defense: Trey Carr Special Teams: Jake Gentile Scout Offense: Mitchell Nissen Scout Defense: Dalton Cox
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Scout Special Teams: Ezekiel Herndon Effort: Trey Carr OCT. 11 VS. MISSOURI STATE Offense: Jake Wieneke, Jacob Ohnesorge Defense: T.J. Lally, J.R. Plote Special Teams: Connor Landberg Scout Offense: Dalton Douglas, Isaac Wallace Scout Defense: Rufus Martin Scout Special Teams: Emmanuel Ehrich Effort: Kyle Paris OCT. 18 AT NORTHERN IOWA Offense: Jason Schneider, Jacob Ohnesorge Defense: Entire Defense Special Teams: Ethan Sawyer, Justin Syrovatka Scout Offense: Trevor Sikkink Scout Defense: Tywan Ramsey Scout Special Teams: Makiah Slade Effort: Nick Mears OCT. 25 VS. YOUNGSTOWN STATE Offense: Zach Lujan, Dylan Seiter Defense: Jimmie Forsythe Special Teams: Je Ryan Butler Scout Offense: Isaac Wallace Scout Defense: Rufus Martin Scout Special Teams: Emmanuel Ehrich Effort: Zach Zenner NOV. 1 AT NORTH DAKOTA STATE Offense: Zach Zenner, Cam Jones Defense: Cole Langer Special Teams: Ethan Sawyer Scout Offense: Isaac Wallace, Jacob VanderHeiden Scout Defense: Dalton Cox Scout Special Teams: Makiah Slade Effort: Cole Langer NOV. 8 AT INDIANA STATE Offense: Zach Zenner, Andrew Mueller Defense: Melvin Taveras, J.R. Plote
Special Teams: Justin Syrovatka Scout Offense: Eric Kleinschmit Scout Defense: Eric Kelly Scout Special Teams: Alex Romenesko, Jacob Menage Effort: Andrew Mueller NOV. 15 VS. WESTERN ILLINOIS Offense: Austin Sumner, Jake Wieneke, Bryce Siverling Defense: Jesse Bobbit, Jake Gentile Special Teams: Trevor Wesley Scout Offense: Jordan Brown Scout Defense: Dalton Cox Scout Special Teams: Quinten Hunt Effort: Austin Sumner NOV. 22 VS. SOUTH DAKOTA Offense: Austin Sumner, Dylan Seiter Defense: Jesse Bobbit, Je Ryan Butler Special Teams: Justin Syrovatka Scout Offense: Jacob Vander Heiden, Jacob Menage Scout Defense: Emmanuel Ehrich Scout Special Teams: Jackson Love NOV. 29 AT MONTANA STATE Offense: Zach Zenner, Cam Jones Defense: Jesse Bobbit, Cole Langer Special Teams: Trevor Wesley Scout Offense: Dalton Douglas Scout Defense: Dalton Cox Scout Special Teams: Isaac Wallace DEC. 6 AT NORTH DAKOTA STATE Offense: Zach Zenner, Dylan Seiter Defense: Jesse Bobbit Special Teams: Je Ryan Butler Scout Offense: Jacob VanderHeiden Scout Defense: Alex Romenesko Scout Special Teams: Case Wiarda Effort: 16 Seniors
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SINGLE-SEASON, CAREER LEADERS
2015 JACKRABBIT SPRING FOOTBALL
CAREER PASSING YARDS 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.
Austin Sumner, 2011-14 ............................9,458 Ryan Berry, 2005-08 ....................................6,023 Ted Wahl, 1985-88 ......................................6,016 Brad Nelson, 2001-04 ..................................5,382 Andy Rennerfeldt, 1997-2000 ......................5,377 Dan Fjeldheim, 1999-2002 ..........................5,176 Todd McDonald, 1990-93 ............................4,999 Mike Busch, 1984-85....................................4,980 Shane Bouman, 1988-91 ............................4,163 Noel Bouche’, 1996-98 ................................3,947
CAREER RUSHING YARDS 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.
Josh Ranek, 1997-2001 ..............................6,744 Zach Zenner, 2011-14 ................................6,548 Kyle Minett, 2007-10 ....................................4,277 Anthony Watson, 2003-06............................3,712 Dan Sonnek, 1984-87 ..................................3,304 Les Tuma, 1970-73 ......................................3,018 Cory Koenig, 2004-07 ..................................2,990 Darwin Gonnerman, 1966-68 ......................2,598 Rick Wegher, 1981-84..................................2,293 Paul Klinger, 1990-94 ..................................2,161
CAREER TOTAL OFFENSE 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.
Austin Sumner, 2011-14 ............................9,284 Ted Wahl, 1985-88 ......................................7,245 Josh Ranek, 1997-2001 ..............................6,745 Zach Zenner, 2011-14 ................................6,548 Ryan Berry, 2005-08 ....................................5,971 Andy Rennerfeldt, 1997-2000 ......................5,765 Gary Maffett, 1977-79 ..................................5,282 Todd McDonald, 1990-93 ............................5,248 Brad Nelson, 2001-04 ..................................5,218 Mike Busch, 1984-85....................................4,933
CAREER RECEPTIONS 1. 2. 3. 4. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.
Josh Davis, 2002-05........................................225 Jason Schneider, 2011-14 ............................175 Jeff Tiefenthaler, 1983-86................................173 JaRon Harris, 2005-08 ....................................152 Glen Fox, 2006-09 ..........................................152 Aaron Rollin, 2009-12......................................140 Tyrel Kool, 2009-12 ........................................138 Rusty Lenners, 1993-96 ..................................137 Brandon Hubert, 2010-13................................136 Darren Baartman, 1988-91..............................128
CAREER RECEIVING YARDS 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.
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Jeff Tiefenthaler, 1983-86 ............................3,621 Josh Davis, 2002-05 ....................................3,192 Jason Schneider, 2011-14..........................2,404 JaRon Harris, 2005-08 ................................2,241 Rusty Lenners, 1993-96 ..............................1,942 Aaron Rollin, 2009-12 ..................................1,878 J.D. Berreth, 1986-88 ..................................1,868 Glen Fox, 2006-09........................................1,832 Mike Myers, 1990-93....................................1,818 Mike Ethier, 1981-83 ....................................1,816
CAREER FIELD GOALS 1. 2. 2. 4. 5. 6.
Parker Douglass, 2004-07 ................................62 Justin Syrovatka, 2011-14 ..............................55 Brett Gorden, 1995-98 ......................................36 Peter Reifenrath, 2008-10 ................................34 Adam Vinatieri, 1991-94 ....................................27 Tony Harris, 1977-80 ........................................23 K.C. Johnson, 1984-86......................................23 Keith Witt, 2002-03 ............................................23
SINGLE-SEASON TOTAL OFFENSE 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.
Brad Nelson, 2003........................................3,056 Ryan Berry, 2008..........................................3,009 Austin Sumner, 2013 ..................................2,987 Ted Wahl, 1986 ............................................2,965 Todd McDonald, 1993 ..................................2,937 Mike Busch, 1985 ........................................2,517 Mike Busch, 1984 ........................................2,417 Ted Wahl, 1988 ............................................2,403 Austin Sumner, 2012 ..................................2,380 Andy Rennerfeldt, 1999................................2,351
SINGLE-SEASON PASSING 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.
Brad Nelson, 2003........................................3,141 Ryan Berry, 2008..........................................3,106 Austin Sumner, 2013 ..................................2,999 Todd McDonald, 1993 ..................................2,715 Dan Fjeldheim, 2002 ....................................2,663 Mike Busch, 1985 ........................................2,554 Ted Wahl, 1986 ............................................2,542 Austin Sumner, 2012 ..................................2,443 Mike Busch, 1984 ........................................2,436 Austin Sumner, 2011 ..................................2,382
SINGLE-SEASON RUSHING 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.
Josh Ranek, 1999 ........................................2,055 Zach Zenner, 2012 ......................................2,044 Zach Zenner, 2014 ......................................2,019 Zach Zenner, 2013 ......................................2,015 Josh Ranek, 1998 ........................................1,881 Josh Ranek, 2001 ........................................1,804 Dan Sonnek, 1985........................................1,518 Rick Wegher, 1984 ......................................1,317 Kyle Minett, 2009..........................................1,304 Kyle Minett, 2008..........................................1,289
SINGLE-SEASON RECEPTIONS 1. Jason Schneider, 2013....................................78 2. Jeff Tiefenthaler, 1986 ......................................73 Jake Wieneke, 2014 ........................................73 4. Josh Davis, 2002 ..............................................70 JaRon Harris, 2008............................................70 6. Glen Fox, 2008 ..................................................66 7. Tyrel Kool, 2010 ................................................64 8. Josh Davis, 2003 ..............................................63 9. Glen Fox, 2009 ..................................................62 10. Dale Moss, 2011................................................61 Aaron Rollin, 2011 ............................................61
SINGLE-SEASON RECEIVING YARDS 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.
Jeff Tiefenthaler, 1986 ..................................1,534 Jake Wieneke, 2014....................................1,404 Jason Schneider, 2013 ..............................1,088 Jeff Tiefenthaler, 1985 ..................................1,056 Josh Davis, 2003..........................................1,028 JaRon Harris, 2008..........................................966 Dale Moss, 2011..............................................949 Jeff Tiefenthaler, 1984 ....................................906 Aaron Rollin, 2011 ..........................................906 10. Lionel Macklin, 1978........................................882
SINGLE-SEASON SCORING 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.
Josh Ranek, 1999............................................170 Zach Zenner, 2014 ........................................158 Zach Zenner, 2013 ........................................150 Josh Ranek, 2001............................................138 Kyle Minett, 2008 ............................................112 Darwin Gonnerman, 1967 ..............................102 Kyle Minett, 2009 ............................................102 8. Cory Koenig, 2007 ..........................................100 9. Parker Douglass, 2005......................................99 10. Darwin Gonnerman, 1968 ................................97
SINGLE-SEASON FIELD GOALS 1. Parker Douglass, 2005......................................19 • 19-26, LG 54 Justin Syrovatka, 2014....................................19. • 19-20, LG 46 3. Justin Syrovatka, 2012....................................18 • 18-22, LG 48 4. Russ Meier, 1981 ..............................................16 • 16-21 (led nation), LG 49 Parker Douglass, 2007......................................16 • 16-22, LG 57 Peter Reifenrath, 2008 ......................................16 • 16-22, LG 42 7. Parker Douglass, 2006......................................15 • 15-21, LG 53 8. Brett Gorden, 1998 ............................................14 • 14-22, LG 45 9. Keith Witt, 2002 ................................................13 • 13-25, LG 47 10. Parker Douglass, 2004......................................12 • 12-22, LG 47 Brett Gorden, 1995 ............................................12 • 12-13, LG 42 Tony Harris, 1979 ..............................................12 • 12-18, LG 49 Justin Syrovatka, 2013....................................12 • 12-20, LG 48
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2015 JACKRABBIT SPRING FOOTBALL
2014 POLLS
2014 FINAL FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP SUBDIVISION POLLS SPORTS NETWORK POLL FCS COACHES’ POLL PL. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25.
SCHOOL North Dakota State [152] Illinois State New Hampshire Eastern Washington Coastal Carolina (S.C.) Sam Houston State (Texas) Villanova (Pa.) Chattanooga (Tenn.) Jacksonville State (Ala.) Northern Iowa Fordham (N.Y.) South Dakota State Montana Southeastern Louisiana Harvard (Mass.) Richmond (Va.) Liberty (Va.) James Madison (Va.) Indiana State Montana State Eastern Kentucky Youngstown State (Ohio) Bethune-Cookman (Fla.) Sacred Heart (Conn.) Idaho State
RECORD 15-1 13-2 12-2 11-3 12-2 11-5 11-3 10-4 10-2 9-5 11-3 9-5 9-5 9-4 10-0 9-5 9-5 9-4 8-6 8-5 9-4 7-5 9-3 9-3 8-4
POINTS 3,800 3630 3475 3161 3046 2936 2894 2701 2585 2332 2234 2033 1969 1729 1502 1422 1365 1170 1162 1144 992 422 347 325 318
PR 2 7 1 4 6 19 5 8 3 10 9 14 12 11 13 18 20 15 25 17 16 21 22 NR 24
Notes: First-place votes in brackets; opponents listed in bold Top Teams Receiving Votes: William & Mary (Va.) 247, Stephen F. Austin (Texas) 167, McNeese State (La.) 52, Charleston Southern (S.C.) 37, North Carolina A&T 31, Yale (Conn.) 31, Alcorn State (Miss.) 30, Southern Illinois 22, Morgan State (Md.) 16, Lamar (Texas) 13, San Diego (Calif.) 12, Northern Arizona 10, Dartmouth (N.H.) 9, Cal Poly 6, Samford (Ala.) 6, Bucknell (Pa.) 4, Albany (N.Y.) 3, Bryant (R.I.) 3, Sacramento State (Calif.) 2, Western Illinois 2, Northwestern State (La.) 1, South Carolina State 1, Wagner (N.Y.) 1.
PL. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25.
SCHOOL North Dakota State [152] Illinois State New Hampshire Eastern Washington Coastal Carolina (S.C.) Sam Houston State (Texas) Villanova (Pa.) Chattanooga (Tenn.) Jacksonville State (Ala.) Northern Iowa Montana Southeastern Louisiana South Dakota State Fordham (N.Y.) Harvard (Mass.) Richmond (Va.) Liberty (Va.) Indiana State James Madison (Va.) Montana State Eastern Kentucky Bethune-Cookman (Fla.) Sacred Heart (Conn.) William & Mary (Va.) Youngstown State (Ohio)
RECORD 15-1 13-2 12-2 11-3 12-2 11-5 11-3 10-4 10-2 9-5 9-5 9-4 9-5 11-3 10-0 9-5 9-5 8-6 9-4 8-5 9-4 9-3 9-3 7-5 7-5
POINTS 625 600 568 527 516 463 458 434 414 389 356 348 335 312 251 237 214 213 202 167 139 96 64 58 44
PR 3 7 1 4 6 19 5 8 2 10 11 9 13 12 14 16 23 21 15 17 18 20 22 24 25
Notes: First-place votes in brackets; opponents listed in bold Top Teams Receiving Votes: Stephen F. Austin (Texas) 20, Idaho State 15, Alcorn State (Miss.) 14, Cal Poly 13, Charleston Southern (S.C.) 12, Morgan State (Md.) 8, San Diego (Calif.) 6, Northern Arizona 3, McNeese State (La.) 3, Yale (Conn.) 1.
2014 FINAL FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP SUBDIVISION PLAYOFF RESULTS FIRST ROUND — NOV. 29 SECOND ROUND — DEC. 6 QUARTERFINALS — DEC. 12-13 Fordham (N.Y.) 44, Sacred Heart (Conn.) 22 Indiana State 36, Eastern Kentucky 16 Northern Iowa 44, Stephen F. Austin (Texas) 10 Montana 52, San Diego (Calif.) 14 Sam Houston State (Texas) 21, Southeastern Lousiana 17 Liberty (Va.) 26, James Madison (Va.) 21 Richmond (Va.) 46, Morgan State (Md.) 24 South Dakota State 47, Montana State 40
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No. 1 New Hampshire 44, Fordham (N.Y.) 19 No. 8 Chattanooga 35, Indiana State 14 No. 5 Illinois State 41, Northern Iowa 21 No. 4 Eastern Washington 37, Montana 20 Sam Houston State (Texas) 37, No. 3 Jacksonville State (Ala.) 26 No. 6 Villanova 29, Liberty (Va.) 22 No. 7 Coastal Carolina 36, Richmond (Va.) 15 No. 2 North Dakota St. 27, South Dakota St. 24
No. 1 New Hampshire 35, No. 8 Chattanooga 30 No. 5 Illinois St. 59, No. 4 Eastern Washington 46 Sam Houston State 34, No. 6 Villanova (Pa.) 31 No. 2 North Dakota St. 39, No. 7 Coastal Carolina 32
SEMIFINALS — DEC. 19-20 No. 5 Illinois State 21, No. 1 New Hampshire 18 No. 2 North Dakota State 35, Sam Houston State 3
CHAMPIONSHIP — JAN. 10 No. 2 North Dakota State 29, No. 5 Illinois State 27
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2015 JACKRABBIT SPRING FOOTBALL
FACILITIES The Jackrabbit football team is benefitting from a facilities boom at South Dakota State University. The recently completed Sanford-Jackrabbit Athletic Complex serves as the team’s indoor practice facility. The Sanford-Jackrabbit Athletic Complex, which is connected to the Dykhouse Student-Athlete Center directly north of Coughlin-Alumni Stadium, was completed in the fall of 2014. The facility is comprised of two distinct floor areas covering more than 164,000 square feet — an indoor practice and competition space of more than 149,000 square feet and a human performance space of nearly 15,000 square feet. One of the only eight-lane, 300-meter tracks in the region will be housed in the facility, along with 100 yards of synthetic turf. Additional space is dedicated for sports medicine, athletic training, strength and conditioning, physical therapy, hydrotherapy, observation rooms and offices. Seating accommodates about 1,000 spectators. The project’s Preliminary Facility Statement was approved by the South Dakota Board of Regents in June 2011, with the Facility Program Plan approved in October 2012. The project, whis is part of South Dakota State University’s 2025 Master Plan for Athletic Facilities, was later approved by the South Dakota Legislature through SB 11 in early 2013. Fund-raising efforts kicked off in the summer of 2012. Leadership gifts from the Dale and Pat Larson family, First Bank & Trust, Sanford Health, Larson Manufacturing and other anonymous donors helped make this transformational facility a reality. The project was part of SDSU’s “It Starts With STATE”: A campaign for South Dakota State University. The
THE SANFORD-JACKRABBIT ATHLETIC COMPLEX features an 80-yard field surrounded by a 300-meter track. The multi-purpose facility opened in the fall of 2014.
six-year campaign raised more than $255 million for students, faculty, facilities, athletics and other university programs. Groundbreaking for the project was held in late August 2013, and the facility was dedicated on Oct. 11, 2014. The Sanford-Jackrabbit Athletic Complex was designed by Kansas City-based Crawford Architects, LLC, and Architecture Incorporated of Sioux Falls. Henry Carlson Company of Sioux Falls served as general contractor for the project.
CONSTRUCTION ON Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium is under way at the current Coughlin-Alumni Stadium site. The east and south sides are scheduled to be completed in time for the 2015 season, with the entire project completed prior to the 2016 campaign. When completed, the new stadium will seat more than 18,500 and feature several amenities and premium seating options.
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Also on the horizon is the construction of a new football stadium to replace Coughlin-Alumni Stadium, which has served as the home field for Jackrabbit football since 1962. Construction on Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium, which is being built on the existing Coughlin-Alumni Stadium site, began following the 2014 season. The stadium will seat between 18,500 and 20,000 spectators, with nearly 2,000 seats designated as premium club seats or within suites. Total cost of the project, which would be done in phases and completed prior to the 2016 season, is estimated between $60 and $65 million. The new stadium is being designed to provide a memorable game-day experience for student-athletes and fans, all within available resources. Lead gifts totaling $12.5 million were received in October 2013 from Sioux Falls banker and former Jackrabbit football player Dana Dykhouse, along with philanthropist T. Denny Sanford. Subsequent financial commitments have brought the total raised for the project to more than $20 million. The remaining amount — up to $38 million — is being financed through the issuance of revenue bonds by the South Dakota Building Authority. Bonds will be paid back through ticket sales, suite agreements, advertising, sponsorships and other revenue streams. In addition, the stadium site will serve as the new location for the University Police Department. In December 2013, the South Dakota Board of Regents approved the facility plan and advanced the project to the South Dakota Legislature for final approval. Senate Bill 15 was signed by Gov. Dennis Daugaard in late March 2014.
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JACKRABBIT ASSISTANT COACHES
CLINT BROWN
JOHN FLYNN
• Defensive Coordinator • Defensive Ends Coach Seventh season at SDSU Alma Mater: Nebraska, 1996
• Offensive Line Coach Fourth season at SDSU Alma Mater: Oklahoma, 2004
JAY CHRISTENSEN
DAN JACKSON
• Co-Special Teams Coordinator • Safeties Coach Fifth season at SDSU Alma Mater: Nebraska-Kearney, 1999
• Cornerbacks Coach Fourth season at SDSU Alma Mater: Nebraska-Omaha, 2008
JESSE CURRIER
NIC MCKISSIC-LUKE
• Defensive Tackles Coach • Recruiting Coordinator Sixth season at SDSU Alma Mater: South Dakota State, 2008
• Running Backs Coach Third season at SDSU Alma Mater: Alabama A&M, 2006
JOSH DAVIS
JIMMY ROGERS
• Co-Special Teams Coordinator • Wide Receivers Coach Seventh season at SDSU Alma Mater: South Dakota State, 2006
• Linebackers Coach Third season at SDSU Alma Mater: South Dakota State, 2009
ERIC EIDSNESS
LUKE SCHLEUSNER
• Offensive Coordinator • Quarterbacks Coach Sixth season at SDSU Alma Mater: Univ. of Sioux Falls, 1992
• Tight Ends Coach Second season at SDSU Alma Mater: North Dakota, 2002
2015 JACKRABBIT SPRING FOOTBALL
2015 SCHEDULE Sept. 5
at Kansas
TBA
Sept. 12
SOUTHERN UTAH [Dairy Drive]
TBA
Sept. 19
Open
Sept. 26
ROBERT MORRIS (Pa.) [Beef Bowl]
TBA
Oct. 3
*NORTH DAKOTA STATE [Dakota Marker]
TBA
Oct. 10
*INDIANA STATE [Hall of Fame Game/Military Appreciation]
TBA
Oct. 17
*at Youngstown State
TBA
Oct. 24
*NORTHERN IOWA [Hobo Day]
TBA
Oct. 31
*at Missouri State
TBA
Nov. 7
*ILLINOIS STATE [Coughlin-Alumni Stadium Farewell]
TBA
Nov. 14
*at South Dakota [Showdown Series]
TBA
Nov. 21
*at Western Illinois
TBA
Nov. 28
Football Championship Subdivision Playoffs – First Round TBA * Missouri Valley Football Conference game