TERRE HAUTE, IND. ? The Indiana State football team was down 16-0 at the half to South Dakota State and had missed out on three scoring opportunities that could have made the game very close. However, the Jackrabbits (4-4, 3-1 MVFC) dominated the action in the second half, rolling to a 49-9 victory and spoiling the Sycamores' Homecoming game in front of a loud crowd of 6,186 fans.
SDSU scored the game's first points on the team's first possession of the game. The Jackrabbits drove 62 yards in nine plays and scored on a Kyle Minett rush from one yard out to make the score 7-0 with 8:46 left in the first quarter.
On Indiana State's next possession, kick returner Koby Kraemer returned the kickoff 37 yards to give the Sycamores good field position at their own 44 yard line. ISU put together a solid 13-play, 34-yard drive that made it down to the SDSU 22 yard line. However, the drive stalled out there and ISU was forced to attempt a 39-yard field goal, which placekicker Braulio Martinez missed wide left with 2:30 left in the first quarter.
Following a safety by the Jackrabbits early in the quarter that made the score 9-0, ISU had another solid scoring opportunity as the team had the ball first-and-goal at the SDSU nine yard line with their first drive of the quarter. After back-to-back rushes by Roberts put the ball at the seven yard line, Roberts completed a pass to Darrius Gates that put the ball at the one-yard line for a fourth-and-goal situation. Gates attempted to plunge into the endzone from a yard out, but was stopped by the SDSU defense and the ball was turned over on downs.
On ISU's next possession, Kraemer once again put the Sycamores in great field position with a 17-yard punt return that put the ball at the SDSU 32 yard line. The drive then stalled and Martinez missed his second field goal attempt of the day, this time from 47 yards, to leave the score at 9-0. SDSU then tacked on another touchdown just before halftime of a 13-yard run by Minett to make the score 16-0.
The Jackrabbits scored quickly after halftime on an eight-yard TD pass from Berry to Glen Fox to make the score 22-0 and SDSU then went for two, but missed to keep the score where it was at with 14:53 left in the quarter.
Indiana State's lone touchdown of the game came soon after, but it almost didn't happen. The Sycamores were faced with a fourth-and-seven play and ran a fake punt with Brandon Pence running 16 yards and giving Indiana State a first down at the South Dakota State 42 yard line. On the next play, ISU freshman quarterback Ryan Roberts handed off to Gates, who then connected with Jeramie Gray on a 42-yard scoring strike. Braulio Martinez booted the point after to make the score 22-7 with 11:48 left to play.
After SDSU increased the lead to 29-7 on a 39-yard TD pass from Berry to Fox, the Sycamores got on the board in a very unusual way. After Berry completed a touchdown pass to JaRon Harris to make the score 35-7 with 13:13 left to play in the game, ISU senior Dan Millington blocked the extra point attempt and Larry Carter scooped it up to pick up two points for the Sycamores and make the score 35-9.
South Dakota State then added two more touchdowns in the fourth quarter to widen its margin to 49-9 to pick up their fourth win of the season. The Sycamores were led on offense by Roberts, who finished the game 15-for-24 in the air for 124 yards passing. Gates finished with 15 yards on seven carries to go along with the 42-yard TD strike to Gray. On defense, the Sycamores were paced by senior linebacker Jayden Everett, who racked up 18 tackles, including eight solo stops.
Indiana State returns to action next weekend when it travels to Fargo, N.D., to take on the nationally-ranked North Dakota State Bison. Kick off is scheduled for 7 p.m. at the Fargo Dome.
