BROOKINGS – South Dakota State picked up its first win of the season on Saturday night as the No. 1 ranked Jackrabbits pulled away from 12th-ranked Incarnate Word in the second half for a 45-24 victory.

A week after losing to Oklahoma State and having their 29-game win streak snapped, the Jacks bounced back and won their home opener with a strong second half. SDSU head coach Jimmy Rogers was pleased that his team came out with the win on Saturday night, but believes there is still a lot to improve on.

“There were multiple things that we could’ve done differently. To have that outcome, I know this is going to sound bad, but we didn’t play our best football. … I’m happy with [the win]. In reality this is a big win because [Incarnate Word] is a good football team. … There were a lot of positives that we did well. I thought our guys played extremely hard and played for four quarters and were able to wear them out in the fourth,” Rogers said.

Part of the reason Rogers was upset after the win was the Jacks got off to a slow start. The two teams each put together a nice opening drive but only the Cardinals came away with points. SDSU was forced to attempt a 37-yard field goal on its first drive and Hunter Dustman’s kick hit off the right upright.

UIW then had its chance at three points and Brack Peacock came on for a 37-yarder and kicked it right down the middle to make it 3-0 with just over six minutes left in the first quarter.

On their second drive the Jacks worked their way into the red zone again and this time Dustman knocked through a 30-yard field goal to tie the game on the first play of the second quarter. UIW made it into SDSU territory on its second drive but the Jacks stopped the Cardinals on fourth down to get the ball back.

After moving the ball to the UIW 41, Mark Gronowski rolled out to the right and threw a 41-yard strike to tight end Greyton Gannon for a touchdown to give the Jacks a 10-3 lead with 11:11 left in the first half.

The Cardinals then used a 10-play 75-yard drive to even the game again. The drive was capped off by a five-yard pass from Zach Calzada to Jalen Walthall and it was 10-10 with 6:51 left in the half.

It didn’t take long for SDSU to regain the lead as the Jacks went 77 yards in eight plays. Gronowski connected with Graham Goering for a 22-yard pass to make it 17-10 with 3:32 left in the first half.

The Jacks stuffed the Cardinals as Matthew Durrance stuffed Calzada on fourth down on their next drive and took over at their own 38. SDSU made its way to the UIW 35 but Gronowski tried to find Gannon again in the end zone, but he threw it off his back foot and underthrew him and the pass was intercepted by Mason Chambers so SDSU took a 17-10 lead into halftime.

Incarnate Word struck quickly out of halftime. After a pass interference call on Durrance kept the drive alive, Walthall took a screen pass 69 yards to the end zone to make it 17-17 just under two minutes into the second half.

SDSU then went on an 11-play 69-yard scoring drive to go in front again. Gronowski threw his third touchdown of the game as he found Griffin Wilde wide open in the end zone to make it 24-17 with 7:13 left in the third quarter. 

The Jacks then forced the first punt from either team. Gronowski hit tight end Brody Gormlee on an out route right after the punt and the 6-foot-7 tight end cut it up field and ran 61 yards down to the Incarnate Word six yard line. Amar Johnson then trotted into the end zone on the next play, making it 31-17 heading into the fourth.

Gormley and Gannon, who are both sophomores, combined for five catches for 97 yards on Saturday night after Gannon had two catches for 17 yards against Oklahoma State. Gronowski said it was good to get the tight ends involved in the win.

“Our tight end room has been really good over the past eight years and there’s a culture there in that room that continues to grow and they continue to pass down from age group to age group, which has been really awesome to see. … [Gormley] looked super fast on that one play and I wish he wouldn’t have gotten caught. [Gannon] continues to make plays for us. Those guys are just gritty and they want to continue to work hard and put their head down and just play football physically,” Gronowski said.

The Cardinals weren’t done yet though as Calzada lofted a rainbow pass off his back foot 35 yards to the corner of the end zone and Roy Alexander came down with it, cutting the Jacks lead to one score 38 seconds into the final frame.

SDSU responded yet again though as it moved the ball 59 yards in eight plays. Johnson had another easy touchdown, this one from three yards out, and the Jacks led 38-14 with 10:34 left in the game.

The Jacks forced their first turnover of the game on the next drive as Dalys Beanum punched the ball out from Alexander and Durrance scooped it up. 

Durrance finished with eight tackles, which was second on the team only behind Adam Bock. The junior safety was filling in for both Colby Huerter and Cale Reeder and Rogers said he did a good job stepping up when his name was called.

“Matt Durrance stepped up tonight. He didn’t play a perfect game, but he hasn’t played a lot of football. To step into that role, [be second on the team] in tackles, make a couple huge, physical tackles, especially on the four down stop [was great]. … He showed real promise,” Rogers said.

Four plays after the turnover Gronowski found Wilde on a 25-yard flea flicker to make the final 45-24.

Gronowski finished the day 21-of-32 with 285 yards and four touchdowns. He said the offense will need to continue to grow as the season goes along, but he’s pleased with the start to the season.

“I’ve been playing well, but there’s definitely a few throws that you’re going to want to get back, especially with some new receivers and some new tight ends and a new offense. But I think I’m going to continue to get better, just like how this entire offense is going to get better,” Gronowski said.

Wilde led the Jacks with 10 catches for 106 yards. The sophomore from Sioux Falls now has 256 yards and three touchdowns through two games and Rogers said the reason for his early success is because the Jacks decided to not redshirt him last season.

“He was ready last year and that’s why we pulled his [redshirt]. Honestly, it’s paid off that we pulled it because he’s not knocking off the cobwebs. He’s ready to be the No. 1 wide receiver and in the first two games against some really good skill, he’s proven himself,” Rogers said.

SDSU had 515 total yards of offense and 230 of those yards came on the ground. Amar Johnson led the way with 112 yards on 19 carries.

The Jackrabbit defense gave up 419 total yards. Calzada was 31-of-39 with 351 yards. Alexander had nine catches for 128 yards and Walthall had seven catches for 137 yards.

Rogers said his defense made some mistakes at times but sometimes you also have to tip your cap to the other team.

“Give credit to them. That quarterback is elite. He was 31-of-39 against our defense and I don’t know if anyone has done that against our defense in my entire time here. He’s a winner and he had elite talent to throw the ball to. At times we missed tackles and at times they just made the one-on-one jump ball. There were times where we were in position and just didn’t make the play,” Rogers said.

SDSU will take on Augustana in Brookings on Sept. 14 at 6 p.m. The Jacks will then head back on the road and play Southeastern Louisiana on Sept. 21 before having a bye and then starting Missouri Valley Football Conference play. Rogers said he wants to use these next three weeks to gear up for a conference schedule that’s always tough.

“The reality is, I’m constantly thinking about ways to improve. There are so many positives and it’s easier to improve after a win. I’m happy for the moment. We’ll reset ourselves and get focused on Augustana. … We’re going to be a work in progress and we have a couple games to knock the cobwebs off, because in a couple weeks we're going to be playing in an extremely tough Missouri Valley Conference,” Rogers said