South Dakota State scored touchdowns on each of its first seven offensive possessions to roll past Indiana State, 49-7, before a Hobo Day crowd of 19,041 Saturday afternoon at Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium.
With their eighth consecutive victory, the top-ranked Jackrabbits improved to 8-1 overall and remained alone atop the Missouri Valley Football Conference standings at 6-0. Indiana State dropped to 1-7 overall and 0-5 in league play.
SDSU used a mix of running and passing throughout the day to rack up 409 yards of total offense. The first three Jackrabbit touchdowns all came on the ground as junior running back Isaiah Davis bookended scoring runs of 4 and 10 yards around a 2-yard run by quarterback Mark Gronowski for a 21-0 lead a minute into the second quarter. Gronowski’s touchdown run came after a 49-yard punt return by Jaxon Janke, while Davis’ second score was set up by an interception by Jackrabbit cornerback Dalys Beanum.
Indiana State scored its lone touchdown of the game on a 25-yard pass from Cade Chambers to Harry Van Dyne with 9:43 remaining in the second quarter, but the Jackrabbits turned to the passing game for a pair of scores to close out the first half for a 35-7 advantage. Gronowski connected with Jadon Janke on an 11-yard scoring strike and later directed the offense in the final minute of the half by completing 6-of-7 pass attempts for 61 yards, the last two yards coming on a touchdown pass to tight end Mike Morgan.
It was more of the same in the third quarter as the Jackrabbits put two more touchdowns on the board. Tucker Kraft continued his comeback from injury by scoring on a 21-yard catch and run from Gronowski on the opening drive of the half, marking his second touchdown in as many games.
Amar Johnson, who led SDSU in the rushing department with 75 yards on 10 carries, capped the scoring with a 2-yard touchdown run later in the third quarter.
Gronowski ended the day 22-of-28 passing and connected with eight different receivers for 233 yards. Jaxon Janke tallied five catches for 82 yards, with Kraft adding five catches for 59 yards. Fellow tight end Zach Heins contributed four receptions for 38 yards.
For Indiana State, Chambers completed 11-of-24 passes for 114 yards, with Dante Hendix leading the Sycamores with four catches for 41 yards. Justin Dinka paced the ground game with 52 yards on 16 carries.
Jason Freeman led a Jackrabbit defense, which limited Indiana State to 260 yards of total offense, with 10 tackles. Saiveon Williamson contributed five stops.
UP NEXT
The Jackrabbits close out the road portion of their regular season schedule Nov. 5 at Northern Iowa. Kickoff is slated for 4 p.m. at the UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls, Iowa.
