BROOKINGS – South Dakota State got off to a fast start and then put the game away in the second half on Saturday afternoon as the Jackrabbits beat Mercyhurst 51-7 at Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium.
The Jacks led 17-0 after one quarter and outscored the Lakers 28-0 in the second half.
"This was definitely the most complete game [we've played so far]," said SDSU head coach Dan Jackson. "... I'm proud of the coaching staff because I thought they coached a great game and had an awesome game plan going into it."
SDSU had 11 plays on its first drive of the game but only gained 43 yards. The Jacks had to settle for a field goal and Eli Stader split the uprights from 36 yards out to make it 3-0 five minutes into the game.
Mercyhurst would go three-and-out and the Jacks then found the end zone. Chase Mason found Alex Bullock for a 28-yard score and SDSU led 10-0 with 4:20 to go in the first quarter.
SDSU then forced the first turnover of the game. Adam Urena was hit as he threw and the ball sailed over his receiver’s head and into the hands of Myles Taylor. Taylor returned it to the 19-yard line and on the next play Mason passed it to O’Groske on the left side and he jogged into the end zone to make it 17-0 heading into the second quarter.
SDSU head coach Dan Jackson said having more film on their opponent and being ready to go out of the bye week led to the fast start for the Jackrabbits.
"This is the first time that our coaches had film on somebody and we really felt good about it and sometimes that leads to better [starts to the game] and a crisper start on offense. I also thought the defense took the field with a ton of excitement. We had a good, clean gameplan for them and mixed in some different things too. We talk a lot about improvement week, and it's fun for the coaches. [The players] like it, but they do this to play the games and they were ready to go," Jackson said.
Mercyhurst would then get on the board as the Lakers went on a long touchdown drive. The drive was 11 plays and it was capped off by a 22-yard touchdown pass from Urena to Evan Van Dyke to make it 17-7 a minute and a half into the second quarter.
SDSU would move the ball inside the Mercyhurst five yard line twice in the final six minutes of the first half but only came away with six points. The first time SDSU was backed up by a personal foul on David Alpers and Stader made a 25-yard field goal. Then a dropped52 snap by Mason on third and goal from the four yard line pushed them back to the 10 and forced a 28-yard field goal as time expired in the first half.
SDSU extended the lead quickly in the third quarter as it scored on its only two possessions of the third quarter. The Jacks forced a three-and-out and then Jack Smith caught an 18-yard touchdown pass from Mason. Mercyhurst punted again and a 52-yard catch and run from Graham Goering set up a one-yard run from James Basinger to make it 37-7 with 4:23 to go in the third.
The Jacks scored again early in the fourth quarter. This time it was Brenden Begeman who found the end zone as he powered his way over the goal line to make it 44-7 with 12:48 to play. SDSU had one more rushing touchdown on the day as Basinger scored again, this time from two yards out, to make the final 51-7.
SDSU finished the day 8-of-8 in the red zone with five touchdowns. Jackson said it was nice to see all four drives in the second half finish in touchdowns, which is something the Jacks need to do more of.
"I think you saw a little bit of improvement from every guy and that leads to the improvement of the collective. The third downs, that was more improved, and we went for it one time on fourth down and got it, which was good. Then in the red zone, going 8-for-8 is a positive and it's something we can get better at just with getting [more] touchdowns. And that's something that it's going to take the rest of the season," Jackson said.
The Jacks had 469 total yards of offense.
Mason was 21-for-29 with 321 yards and three touchdowns. The completions, yards and touchdowns were all career highs by him.
Mason said the game plan that the coaches put together allowed for him to have such a successful day through the air.
"Every game you scheme up different things for different teams. It really just comes down to preparation and believing in the coaches. I thought we executed really well this week," Mason said.
Goering had seven catches for 101 yards and Bullock had six catches for 75 yards. Smith had three catches for 51 yards.
Goering said he can feel that the offense is getting better with each game they play.
"I feel like the offense is flowing. [Mason] has stepped up every game and then every other player on offense is trying to do the same thing. I think there's a bond with offense and it's kind of a community thing. We have two's and three's at receiver getting touches and there's six or seven receivers that got touches today. I think we're flowing as an offense and it's good to see," Goering said.
SDSU had 126 yards rushing. Basinger led the way with 53 yards on 13 carries.
The Jacks are now 4-0 and will open conference play next weekend. They’ll play at Youngstown State at 5 p.m. on Saturday.
