SMSU FOOTBALL: USF spoils homecoming with big fourth quarter to defeat SMSU
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MARSHALL -- The Southwest Minnesota State University football team entered Saturday's game against the University of Sioux Falls looking to maintain its momentum after winning back-to-back games. The Mustangs went toe-to-toe with the Cougars, battling USF to a scoreless first half and trailed by a touchdown after three quarters, but a strong fourth quarter - coupled with four Mustang turnovers on the evening - helped Sioux Falls spoil SMSU's Homecoming with a 35-7 victory at Mattke Field.
SMSU coach Cory Sauter said they competed hard but they had too many turnovers to come away with the win.
"We certainly played extremely hard; it was a very physical game, guys played with a lot of energy and a lot of passion. To be tied at halftime was huge for us, just for our players' confidence and to get it into the third quarter and really be in a position where it's a 14-7 ballgame with a chance to tie it, you couldn't ask for a better scenario," Sauter said. "From there, things started to snowball and the name of the game is turnovers and we gave the ball up four times and you're not going to win games turning the ball over four times. The two games we won this year, we had one or fewer turnovers so four isn't certainly part of that equation for us to win."
SMSU took the opening kickoff and marched down into Sioux Falls territory, but weren't able to capitalize and turned it over on downs. After both sides traded three-and-outs, the Mustangs had another chance to get on the board when Hunter Bohannon came up with an interception and took it to the USF 38-yard line, but a Cougar sack pushed SMSU in the opposite direction and stalled its drive.
Sioux Falls marched downfield in the early stages of the second quarter, but a 39-yard field goal attempt by USF was wide left with 9:44 left in the first half. The Mustangs answered with a strong drive of their own, getting down to the USF 43 thanks to a long pass from Andrew Haidet to Carter Damlo, but an interception a couple of plays later gave the ball back to the Cougars. Both sides traded empty possessions the rest of the way, as a long drive by USF in the closing minutes of the first half ended with a 39-yard field goal attempt that went wide left again, keeping things scoreless going into the locker rooms.
The second half saw Sioux Falls strike first on its opening possession, converting on a fourth-and-one before a four-yard touchdown made it 7-0 with 10:43 left in the third quarter. On the ensuing possession, USF came up with an interception and returned it 57 yards for a touchdown to push its advantage to 14-0 with 7:51 left in the frame.
SMSU had a response, though, using the ground game to drive into USF territory before a 14-yard touchdown run by Jesse Sherwood made it 14-7 with 3:51 left in the quarter. Sauter said they committed to the run game early and felt they did a good job of maintaining their physicality and aggressiveness on the ground.
"We had a mix of our wildcat plays as well as our quarterback runs, so we tried to commit to it and almost thinking four-down territory even on our side of the 50 and just try to attack on the ground and wear them out on defense," Sauter said.
The Mustangs had another strong opportunity to get on the board, as Adihia Bell took a return from a USF three-and-out 59 yards to the Cougars' 24-yard line. SMSU got as close as the 13-yard line, but another interception a few plays later by the USF defense was returned 70 yards to the SMSU 20. One play later, the Cougars scored on a 20-yard run to push their lead to 21-7 with 13:50 left. USF then added scoring plays in the form of a 69-yard run and a 5-yard run following a fourth interception to bring it to the 35-7 final.
Sherwood led SMSU with 88 yards rushing on 14 carries and a touchdown while Duce Reynolds added 30 yards on the ground and Haidet had 27 yards rushing. Haidet also completed 11 of his 24 pass attempts for 69 yards while Steven Nava completed six of his 19 pass attempts for 56 yards. Keilan Smith led in receiving with 23 yards on two catches while Zeke Robinson added 22 yards on five receptions and Albert Lemon had 18 yards on three catches.
As a team, SMSU was held to 287 yards of total offense, including just 125 yards passing. Defensively, the Mustangs allowed 353 yards of total offense, with USF passing for 178 yards and rushing for 175. Onte Burns led SMSU with 12 total tackles while Marshawn Reese added eight total tackles and Bohannon had five total tackles as well as an interception.
Up next
SMSU (2-4 overall, 2-4 NSIC) will hit the road next week, facing Winona State University next Saturday at 1 p.m.
Sioux Falls 35, SMSU 7
Sioux Falls 0 0 14 21 - 35
SMSU 0 0 7 0 - 7
SCORING SUMMARY
First quarter
No scoring.
Second quarter
No scoring.
Third quarter
USF: Pegley 4 yd pass from Mullen (Hernandez kick).
USF: Pitts 57 yd interception return (Hernandez kick).
SMSU: Sherwood 14 yd run (Dicker kick).
Fourth quarter
USF: Freeman 20 yd run (Hernandez kick).
USF: Freeman 69 yd run (Hernandez kick).
USF: Lockett 5 yd run (Hernandez kick).
Individual statistics
Passing (Comp-Att-Yds-TD): SMSU (Haidet 11-24-69; Nava 6-19-56).
Rushing (Att-Yds-TD): SMSU (Sherwood 14-88-1; Reynolds 9-30; Haidet 13-27; Allen 4-16).
Receiving (Rec-Yds-TD): SMSU (Smith 2-23; Robinson 5-22; Lemon 3-18; Osman 2-17; Damlo 1-17).
Defense (Total tackles): SMSU (Burns 12; Reese 8; Bohannon, White 5).