SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — Third-ranked South Dakota State put together a balanced offensive attack and held another opponent out of the end zone in wrapping up the regular season with a convincing 45-9 victory at Missouri State Saturday afternoon at Plaster Stadium.
With the win, the Jackrabbits improved to 10-2 overall and secured a share of their third consecutive Missouri Valley Football Conference title after South Dakota rallied to knock off top-ranked North Dakota State. SDSU, USD and NDSU all finished league play at 7-1 overall, with the Jackrabbits receiving the MVFC’s automatic bid based on a higher finish in the Sagarin rankings.
SDSU converted three times on third-down plays as it tied its longest drive of the season in terms of plays on the opening possession of the game. The Jackrabbits moved across midfield when Mark Gronowski found Kevin Brenner for 9 yards on a third-and-9 play, then closed out the 14-play, 81-yard march with a 9-yard touchdown run by Amar Johnson.
The Jackrabbit defense was locked in from the outset, forcing three-and-outs on each of the first two Missouri State possessions, highlighted by a sack by Bryce Hawthorne on the initial drive.
Brenner gave SDSU a 14-0 lead on the second play of the second quarter as he made a juggling catch on a Gronowski pass in the right flat while facing pressure to find the end zone from 10 yards out.
All the Missouri State scoring came in the second quarter on three field goals by Yousef Obeid. The Bears’ kicker connected from 50 and 28 yards around a 40-yard field goal by his Jackrabbit counterpart, Hunter Dustman.
After Yousef’s second field goal, the Jackrabbits couldn’t corral a short kickoff which Missouri State recovered at the SDSU 2. However, the SDSU defense stood firm as Daeton Mcgaughy and Max Baloun combined on a 3-yard tackle for loss on the first play of the ensuing drive and consecutive incomplete passes forced the Bears to settle for a 28-yard field goal with 2 minutes and 13 seconds to play in the opening half.
SDSU worked the two-minute drill to near perfection with a combination of runs and passes. Gronowski completed a pass of 20 yards to Kentrell Prejean and ran for another 12 yards for a first down before a defensive pass interference call in the end zone placed the ball at the MSU 2. Three plays later and with four seconds remaining, Kirby Vorhees plunged in from 2 yards out to push the SDSU lead to 24-9 at the half.
The Jackrabbits scored again on their first drive of the second half as Johnson capped a five-play, 83-yard drive with his second touchdown of the game, this time from 3 yards out.
SDSU made it 2-for-2 on scoring drives in the third quarter when Griffin Wilde caught a short pass in the left flat, got a key block down field from fellow wide receiver Lofton O’Groske, and rolled 53 yards for a touchdown. Wilde finished the game with four catches for 139 yards, while Brenner added a career-high three receptions for 28 yards.
Meanwhile, the Jackrabbit defense harassed Missouri State quarterback Jacob Clark all afternoon, sacking him five times and breaking up six passes. Aaron Wolfcale-Holsten led the charge up front with 1.5 sacks while Tucker Large broke up three passes and linebacker Caleb Francl added a pair of breakups.
Clark ended the game 14-of-31 passing for 186 yards. D’Vontae Key was Clark’s top target with five catches for 70 yards.
The Jackrabbit defense completely shut down the Missouri State running game, limiting the Bears to 34 net yards on the ground on 26 carries. Jacardia Wright, the Bears’ leading rusher on the season, was held to 16 yards on nine carries.
Conversely, SDSU ran for 171 yards and threw for 276 in the contest to finish with a 447-220 advantage in total offense. Amar Johnson led the way in the rushing department with 58 yards on 12 carries. Kirby Vorhees added 30 yards on eight carries, including a 2-yard touchdown run midway through the fourth quarter to close out the scoring.
Gronowski tallied 258 yards on 14-of-25 passing, with Jon Bell completing both of his attempts for 18 yards.
Adam Bock paced the Jackrabbit defense with six tackles, including a sack, and recovered a fumble after a strip-sack by Jarod DePriest in the fourth quarter. Large contributed five tackles.
Michael Teason registered a game-high eight tackles for Missouri State.
UP NEXT
The Jackrabbits will find out their playoff path when the 24-team field for the Football Championship Subdivision Championship is announced at 11:30 a.m. Sunday on ESPNU.
NOTES
- South Dakota State leads the all-time series, 14-1, and has won nine in a row
- Saturday’s game marked the final time the two squads will meet for the foreseeable future as Missouri State moves to the Football Bowl Subdivision and Conference USA next season
- The Jackrabbits claimed their fifth MVFC title (2016, 2020-21, 2022, 2023, 2024) since joining the league in 2008
- SDSU is assured of its 13th consecutive berth in the FCS playoffs and 14th overall
- The Jackrabbits have not allowed a touchdown in 11 of the 27 games in Jimmy Rogers‘ two seasons as head coach
- SDSU’s five sacks matched a season high
- Wilde posted his fourth 100-yard game of the season and ended the regular season with exactly 900 receiving yards
- Bock moved into third place in career tackles at SDSU with 419, passing T.J. Lally (415 tackles from 2012-15) on Saturday
- SDSU was 7-of-11 on third-down attempts while Missouri State was 1-for-12
- Attendance was 7,142