Oct. 13, 2007
Final Stats
VERMILLION, SD - South Dakota 24, Western Washington 10 Early second-half burst leads Coyotes past Vikings
Running back Amos Allen ran for 136 yards and a touchdown on 25 carries, leading University of South Dakota to a 24-10 victory over Western Washington University in a North Central Conference football contest Saturday at the DakotaDome.
Western, which forced four turnovers to keep the game close, slipped to 2-4 overall and 1-4 in the NCC with the loss.
USD, which fell out of the AFCA/NCAA Division II Coaches Top 25 this week for the first time all season, improved to 4-3 overall and 3-1 in the NCC, snapping its first two-game losing streak since 2003. It was the 22nd consecutive home victory for the Coyotes, and their seventh straight triumph in a Dakota Days homecoming contest.
USD held a 10-7 lead at halftime, then broke the game open with back-to-back touchdowns in the third quarter. South Dakota went 71 yards in six plays on the opening possession of the second half, capped by a 3-yard run by Allen; and followed it up with a 8-play, 73-yard march completed by a 2-yard run by quarterback Noah Shepard that made the score 24-7.
Allen, who entered the game ranked second nationally in rushing at 178.8 yards a game, had 15 carries for 93 yards in the second half.
Western placekicker Josh Lider (So., Bellevue/Sammamish), who entered the game with a school-record tying eight consecutive successful field goals, missed a pair of attempts, both from 32 yards, before connecting on a 22-yarder with 2:38 to go for the final margin.
USD, which entered the contest averaging 545.0 yards of offense per game, was held nearly 200 yards under that mark, but still held a 368-199 advantage in total offense. The Vikings had just 71 total yards in the second half.
"I feel like we may have wasted a great effort," said Western head coach Robin Ross. "There were a lot of positives, we held them way below their average in total offense. We just didn't make plays when we had to."
Shepard completed 6-of-16 passes for 117 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions, and also ran for 61 yards and a score on 11 carries.
Western quarterback Adam Perry (Jr., Longview/R.A. Long) completed 10-of-21 passes for 105 yards, but was sacked seven times, with defensive end John Morales getting three of those sacks.
Running back Craig Garner (So., Tacoma/Lakes) rushed for 118 yards on 24 carries for the Vikings. Garner, who missed last week's contest with a bruised knee, has run for 100 or more yards in seven of his last nine games.
Western moved inside South Dakota territory on each of its first two possessions, but failed to score, and the Coyotes reached the board first late in the first quarter. Shepard scrambled for 29 yards to take the ball near midfield, and two plays later, rolled out of the pocket and hit Brooks Little for a 51-yard touchdown.
Little, who took sole possession of USD's career reception record on the scoring catch, had four receptions for 108 yards, extending his career grabs total to 154.
The Vikings tied the game midway through the second quarter. Defensive end Ryan Conwell (Sr., Kent/Kentwood) recovered a fumble, giving Western the ball at the South Dakota 22. Garner ran to the one on the next play, and on third-and-goal, Perry scored on a quarterback sneak.
South Dakota took a 10-7 lead at halftime after a 27-yard field goal by Frank Liebfarth that was set up by a drive that included nine consecutive running plays.
Vikings' linebacker Shane Simmons (Sr., Kent/Kentlake) had a game-high 13 tackles.
Next Saturday (6 p.m.), Western meets arch-rival Central Washington in the fifth annual Wells Fargo Battle in Seattle for the Cascade Cup presented by Comcast at Qwest Field in Seattle.
SCORING SUMMARYWestern Washington 0 7 0 3 --- 10South Dakota 7 3 14 0 --- 24
USD - Little 51 pass from Shepard (Liebfarth kick)WWU - Perry 1 run (Lider kick)USD - FG Liebfarth 27USD - Allen 3 run (Liebfarth kick)USD - Shepard 2 run (Liebfarth kick)WWU - FG Lider 22Attendance: 10,101
Little Becomes USD Career Receptions Leader as Coyotes Extend Home Winning Streak to 22 Games in 24-10 Win Over Western Washington on Homecoming
VERMILLION, S.D. -- On a day in which Brooks Little became the school's career receptions leader, The University of South extended its home winning streak to 22 consecutive games in the 24-10 win over Western Washington University. After back-to-back road trips that covered over 6,000 miles, the Coyotes truly felt the meaning of homecoming. In front of 10,101 fans at the DakotaDome for Dakota Days, USD put themselves back on track for the NCC title.
The win also extended South Dakota's (4-3, 3-1 NCC) homecoming winning streak to seven. With their 24-10 win over Western Washington (2-4, 1-4 NCC), the Coyotes have now outscored their opponents 169-60 during the seven-game winning streak on Dakota Days. The win also improves USD's overall Dakota Day record to 57-28-5. Since 1991, there has only been one homecoming with a higher attendance than Saturday's game. That game was in 1997 when 10,300 fans showed up to watch the Coyotes defeat South Dakota State University 21-3.
Little (Sr., Castlewood, S.D.) broke the USD career receptions record in story book fashion. With no score in the first quarter and the Coyotes facing a second and long, Little hauled in a deep pass from Noah Shepard (So., Thornton, Colo.) and ran it in 51 yards for a touchdown. The touchdown catch was his 151st of his career and it broke Chris Mikkelsen (2001-04) previous record of 150. Little finished the day with four catches for 108 yards and a touchdown, all of which were game-highs.
In addition to Little's outstanding accomplishment, Amos Allen also had an impressive note in the game. He ran the ball 25 times for 136 yards and one touchdown. His 136 yards rushing on the day were 27 yards more than what Chadron State College's Danny Woodhead gained this afternoon. Woodhead, who is the NCAA all-divisions career rushing leader, went into Saturday with a 1,076 to 1,073 lead in rushing yards over Allen for the nation's lead in rushing. However, Allen finished with 136 yards to Woodhead's 109 to take over the lead as the nation's top rusher.
Shepard finished the day with two touchdowns (1 rushing, 1 passing), despite having one of his toughest days of the season. WWU was able to pressure Shepard throughout the day and held him to just 6-of-16 passing for 117 yards. He also was intercepted twice in the game, although his first interception was on the final play of the first half on a hail mary pass into the end zone.
The USD defense was led by John Morales (Sr., Martinez, Calif.), who had a career day. The defensive end had a career-high three sacks as USD as a team combined for seven. Morales also led the Coyotes with six tackles and two pass deflections. Blake Hojer (Sr., DeSmet, S.D.) also had six tackles in the game while T.J. Simmons (Jr., Houston, Texas) added five.
South Dakota's defense had arguably its best performance of the season. They limited Western Washington to just 199 yards of total offense, the lowest amount of yardage by an opponent this season. They allowed just 105 yards passing, also the lowest amount this season, and held an opponent to under 200 yards passing for the third time this season.
Western Washington was led by Craig Garner who finished the day with 118 yards rushing on 24 carries. WWU quarterback Adam Perry completed 10-of-21 passes for 105 yards.
After Little's record-breaking touchdown that put USD up 7-0 in the first quarter, both teams struggled to get any rhythm going on offense. Neither team found the end zone until midway through the second quarter when WWU got on the board to tie the game. After a USD fumble gave the Vikings the ball at the Coyote 22, WWU wasted little time in getting into the end zone. Garner started the drive off with a 21-yard run to give the Vikings first and goal on the one. After two unsuccessful quarterback sneaks, Perry was final able to get in for a touchdown when he ran in between the left guard and tackle.
South Dakota would regain the lead on the next possession, thanks to Allen and Matt Lee (So., Oxnard, Calif.). The Coyotes two running backs ran the ball nine of the team's 11 plays on the drive and gained 59 yards. USD's only pass on the drive was an incomplete pass on third and seven. Following the incompletion, Frank Leibfarth (Sr., Yankton, S.D.) converted a 27-yard field goal to put USD back up 10-7 which would be the score going into halftime.
The Coyotes received the ball to start the second half, and quickly march down the field to score. Allen had a 27-yard run that was followed by a Shepard to Little 22-yard pass play that set up a three-yard touchdown run for Allen. His touchdown run, which put USD up 17-7, was his team-leading ninth rushing touchdown of the season.
After the Coyotes held Western Washington to a three and out on their possession following the touchdown, South Dakota put the game away with an eight play, 73-yard drive. Allen and Lee again played a critical role in the touchdown drive. Allen had a 42-yard run and Lee had a 15-yard carry. After back-to-back penalties gave the Coyotes the ball on the WWU one yard line, Shepard ran his third touchdown of the season to give USD a 24-7 lead.
Western Washington would add a field goal (as well as a missed field goal) in the fourth quarter, but it would prove to be too little, too late. Although the Coyotes did not score in the fourth, they had the ball almost equal to as long as WWU and never allowed them to gain any momentum.
South Dakota will now return to the road for their next game. The Coyotes will travel north to face in-state rivals Augustana College on Saturday, October 20 at 1:00 p.m. at Howard Wood Field in Sioux Falls, S.D.
