Running back Brady Mengarelli scored three touchdowns and wide receiver Jake Wieneke added a pair of scores to lead South Dakota State in a 55-10 non-conference victory over Southern Utah Saturday night at Coughlin-Alumni Stadium.
Playing before a Dairy Drive crowd of 13,423, the Jackrabbits improved to 2-0 overall. Southern Utah dropped to 0-2 on the season. SDSU entered the matchup ranked ninth in the STATS Football Championship Subdivision media poll and 10th by the FCS coaches.
After spotting Southern Utah an early 7-0 lead, the Jackrabbits reeled off the next 48 points. Jay Carlson, who missed a field goal on the opening drive of the game, connected on a 40-yarder later in the first quarter to pull SDSU to within 7-3.
The Jackrabbits took a lead they would not relinquish midway through the second quarter on a 13-yard touchdown run by Mengarelli that capped an 11-play, 80-yard drive.
The next two SDSU scoring drives each took only two plays. The Jackrabbit lead grew to 17-7 when Zach Lujan hit Wieneke for a 66-yard touchdown and was followed three minutes later on a 37-yard touchdown run by Mengarelli that came after a 32-yard pass from Lujan to Wieneke on the first play of the drive.
Cody Hazelett intercepted a Thunderbird pass in the final minute of the first half and the Jackrabbits cashed in as Carlson booted a 27-yard field goal as time expired to give SDSU 24 second-quarter points and a 27-7 halftime advantage.
A sophomore from Prescott, Arizona, Mengarelli scored his third touchdown of the night on a 10-yard run to open the second-half scoring midway through the third quarter. Backup running back Isaac Wallace added a three-yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter.
After the Jackrabbits recovered a short kickoff, Wieneke, who finished the night with 11 catches for a career-high 205 yards, completed the Jackrabbit scoring run with an 8-yard touchdown catch from Lujan. Wieneke’s 205 yards were the fourth-most by a Jackrabbit receiver in program history.
Following a Southern Utah field goal with seven minutes to play, the Jackrabbits capped the scoring on the first play from scrimmage as backup quarterback Dalton Douglas connected with tight end Dallas Goedert on a 77-yard touchdown.
Nearly of third of the Thunderbirds’ 268 yards of total offense came on its lone touchdown drive of the night, an eight-play, 84-yard march that ended with a 9-yard touchdown pass from Ammon Olsen to Brady Measom.
Olsen completed 17-of-29 attempts for 137 yards.
SDSU, meanwhile, racked up 579 yards of total offense — 188 on the ground and 391 through the air. Lujan ended the game 19-of-27 passing for 314 yards, while Mengarelli tallied a career-high143 yards on 17 carries.
T.J. Lally led the Jackrabbit defense with six tackles, followed by five each from Nick Mears and Jesse Bobbit.
Miles Killebrew of Southern Utah led all players with 11 tackles. James Cowser recorded eight tackles, including a pair of sacks.
The Jackrabbits will have their lone bye week of the season before returning to action Sept. 26 against Robert Morris (Pa.) in the 49th Annual Beef Bowl. Kickoff is slated for 5 p.m. at Coughlin-Alumni Stadium.
