Feb. 6, 2001

To a man, every South Dakota senior football player had winning on their mind as the 2000 football season began last August 31. Each of the 21 seniors told Coyote head coach John Austin that being part of a program on the rebound would mean something if winning football became a reality in 2000. In the Coyote football world, it was more than perception being reality - results were real as South Dakota went 8-3, winning six of their final seven games, including four wins in a row. Along the way, they went 6-3 for third place in the always rugged North Central Conference and narrowly missed making the NCAA Division II playoffs.

"It (winning football) was something this group focused on from day one of the preseason camp to the final play in the final game. It now has become their legacy," said Austin, now 12-10 in two years as head football coach at South Dakota. "I don't know that talent-wise we are an 8-3 team but I can tell you this group has the heart and soul of a champion. They worked hard and gave their all each and every week," said Austin, a former Coyote linebacker, who is 9-9 in the NCC in his two years at South Dakota.

With true grit, spirit and renewed focus 21 South Dakota seniors led South Dakota to an 8-3 record and third place in the always rugged North Central Conference. South Dakota, ranked sixth in the midwest region and in the top 30 in some national polls, finished with a four-game winning streak that the Coyotes' best since the 1987 team opened 5-0. Three years ago, the Coyotes suffered through a tough 3-8 season, losing the final eight games of the season. Then Austin and his coaching staff stepped aboard the sinking ship and began plugging the holes. A year ago, the Coyotes made significant headway, going 4-7, including a 3-6 NCC mark. Then in 2000, the Coyotes turned a 2-0 start into an 8-3 season, the best year since the 1995 team. The four-game end of the year winning streak was the best since the 1987 team opened the season 5-0.

A simple look at the numbers shows the significant improvement that the Coyotes have made in two seasons. Two years ago, opponents outscored the Coyotes 318-181. Last year the Coyotes improved their offense but still struggled defensively as opponents held a 346-275 scoring advantage. In 2000, the Coyotes turned the numbers around by outscoring opponents 270-189. South Dakota averaged 24.5 points per game while allowing 18.5. After week four, the Coyotes outscored opponents 181-75. South Dakota held a 4,793-4,282 total yards advantage.

Perhaps the biggest surprise of the 2000 season was the play of a defense that had allowed 346 points a year ago. While Austin expected an improved defense in 2000, the progress of this unit was exceptional. This season, the Coyotes limited opponents to 15 points or less in seven games. In five games, South Dakota allowed 10 or fewer points including one shutout. Led by senior linebacker Josh Stamer's 21 tackles for loss, which led the NCC, the Coyotes rolled up 102 TFLs for 345 yards and recorded 29 sacks for 205 yards. The improvement in the Coyotes' fortunes is perhaps best exemplified through turnover margin. The Coyotes finished sixth in the nation with a +16 margin, which is a major improvement over 1999-00 in which South Dakota had a -12 in turnover margin. This season, South Dakota had 10 fumble recoveries and an NCC-high 22 interceptions as they forced 32 turnovers. The Coyotes committed just 16 turnovers offensively which gave them a +16 turnover margin which not only led the NCC but bettered second place North Dakota by six turnovers. In this turnaround season, South Dakota broke up 53 passes and blocked three kicks. Senior cornerback Russel Burwell led the NCC in two defensive categories including interceptions (8) and passes defended (25). His eight interceptions was the second most in Coyote history, only behind the 11 picked by Bob Gruber in 1979. The Coyotes led the NCC in seven team or individual categories including turnover margin, pass defense efficiency, field goals, sacks against, and individual categories: Burwell (interceptions (8), passes defended (25)) and Stamer (tackles for loss (21 for 56 yards)).

Offensively, the Coyotes outgained opponents both on the ground and through the air. South Dakota had 452 rushes for 1,727 yards (3.8 avg) and 14 touchdowns while opponents rushed for 1,112 rushing yards on 367 carries (3.02 avg). Through the air, South Dakota had 1,946 yards and 14 touchdowns while opponents had 1,699 yards and nine touchdowns. The offense averaged 333.9 total yards per game. Sophomore quarterback Ryan Justice of Harlan, Iowa, had a stellar season leading the offense. He completed 135 passes in 272 attempts with seven interceptions and 10 touchdowns. He also had 107 yards rushing and a rushing score. Freshman running back Dusty Stamer set freshman recordsfor rushing in a season and rushing yards in a game. He had 210 carries for 1,034 yards (4.9 average) and seven touchdowns including a long of 79 yards. He also had 12 receptions for 250 yards (20.8 avg. per catch) and two touchdowns including a long of 77 yards. Stamer had five rushing games over 100 yards, one game with over 100 yards receiving and one game over 200 yards rushing (242 vs. South Dakota State in week 10). Redshirt freshman receiver Charles Johnson had 34 receptions for 380 yards and three touchdowns to lead receivers. Senior kicker Adam Hicks had a record-breaking season by hitting an NCC-leading 17-of-22 field goals. He also converted 29-of-30 extra points. Hicks scored 80 points on the season, which tied him with former Coyote and Canadian Football League kicking star Mark McLoughlin for the most points in a season by a kicker. Hicks also broke the 1984 school record of 16 field goals held by Terry Godfrey (16-26). Hicks made three field goals over 50 yards (50, 50, 52) including a 52-yarder in the season ending 24-3 win over Minnesota State, Mankato. He ended his career by making eight consecutive kicks.

Burwell was named to three all-American teams including the Daktronics All-American Squad (first team), Don Hansen's Football Gazette All-American Team (second team) and the Associated Press Little College All-American Squad (second team). Burwell was also a first team Daktronics all-region team which included Josh Stamer on the second team. Stamer was an honorable mention all-american linebacker as selected by Don Hansen's Football Gazette. Burwell and junior tight end Dustin Sagedahl (30 catches for 307 yards, two touchdowns) of Spicer, Minn., were named first team all-NCC while Josh Stamer and senior defensive tackle Scott Larson (19 tackles for loss, third in the NCC, 4.5 sacks and 48 tackles) of Mobridge, S.D. were named second team all-NCC selections. Honorable mention selections included Korey Ebel (59 tackles, 5 TFLS), a sophomore linebacker from Hartley,, Iowa, sophomore defensive tackle Bill Gassen (59 tackles, 12 TFLs, two sacks, two forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries), of Rapid City, S.D., senior cornerback Kaseem Gaines (25 tackles, two TFLs, three interceptions for 71 yards and a 29 yard interception td return, and recovered blocked punt td recovery), Justice, Dusty Stamer, junior offensive tackle Josh Burr of Lancaster, Wis., and junior punter Filip Filopovic, who finished third in the NCC and sixth in the nation with a 40.1 punt average, of Belgrade, Serbia.

SEASON SUMMARY:

WEEK 1 - SOUTH DAKOTA 17, Missouri Western State 13
Led by a stellar defensive effort, the Coyotes opened with a 17-13 win over Missouri Western State at St. Joseph, Mo., in the season opener held on Thursday, August 31. Russel Burwell, who would lead the NCC in interceptions with 8 and be named to the Daktronics All-American Team and the AP Small College All-American Squad, had two interceptions.

WEEK 2 - SOUTH DAKOTA 38, Truman State 14
Ten days later, South Dakota broke from a 20-14 lead by scoring 18 fourth quarter points and defeating Truman State, 38-14 at the DakotaDome. Dusty Stamer, who would rush for a freshman record of 1,034 yards, had his coming out party, rushing for 139 yards including an electrifying 79-yard touchdown run late in the game.

WEEK 3 - North Dakota 42, SOUTH DAKOTA 14
In the NCC opener, the Coyotes opportunity for an upset ended when North Dakota converted a 3rd and 33 into a first down and subsequently a fourth quarter touchdown and put UND up 28-14. The Sioux added pair of scores late in the 42-14 win at Grand Forks.

WEEK 4 - North Dakota State 45, SOUTH DAKOTA 20
A week later, the Coyotes failed on a couple of first-half scoring opportunities and fell to the North Dakota State Bison, 45-20 at Fargo. However, a pair of freshmen had big plays in the game as Ronnie McDougle caught a 56-yard scoring toss and Charles Johnson pulled in a 50-yard touchdown pass.

WEEK 5 - SOUTH DAKOTA 15, Augustana 10
At 2-2, the Coyotes faced a crossroads in their season. It was time for the Coyotes to step up. And step up they did. On a day when the Coyotes honored one of its greatest coaches ever - Dave Triplett, the Coyotes played reminiscent of those Triplett playoff teams by limiting high-powered Augustana to 74 yards rushing and just 222 yards passing in a 15-10 win at the DakotaDome.

WEEK 6 - SOUTH DAKOTA 37, St. Cloud State 0
Next up was St. Cloud State and South Dakota took advantage of several early turnovers and rolled to a 37-0 win at St. Cloud. The Coyotes had 242 yards rushing and 222 yards passing in their best offensive performance up to that point in the season. The Coyotes recorded their second shutout during the Austin era, while recording 28 first downs and 51 rushing attempts and punting just once.

WEEK 7 - Nebraska-Omaha 21, SOUTH DAKOTA 7
With eventual conference champion Nebraska-Omaha coming to the Dome, the Coyotes had an opportunity to move into the conference race. South Dakota grabbed a 7-0 halftime lead over the Mavericks but the eventual NCC champs scored 21 second-half points including a touchdown with three-minutes to play to ice the game. Bill Gassen had an unbelievable game with 17 tackles from his defensive tackle position against one of the most formidable fronts in the nation.

WEEK 8 - SOUTH DAKOTA 27, Northern Colorado 6
After a tough loss to UNO, South Dakota showed its heart. Their never say die attitude came to the forefront and all this Coyote team did for the rest of the season was win. The first of four straight South Dakota wins was a 27-6 victory over Northern Colorado. Kaseem Gaines had a 29-yard interception return for a touchdown and an early 7-0 lead. South Dakota led 27-0 before UNC ruined the shutout on a long touchdown pass late in the game.

WEEK 9 - SOUTH DAKOTA 30, Morningside 7
South Dakota improved to 6-3 with a 30-7 win over Morningside at Roberts Stadium in Sioux City, Iowa. For the third consecutive game, the Coyotes recorded a first-half shutout. In the past five games, the Coyotes, who allowed just 172 yards total offense, had permitted just 44 points to opponents.

WEEK 10 - SOUTH DAKOTA 41, South Dakota State 28
Dusty Stamer rushed for 242 yards and had a 64-yard touchdown gallop in the second best rushing effort in Coyote history as South Dakota rolled past rival South Dakota State, 41-28 at Coughlin-Alumni Stadium in Bookings. The Coyotes used their powerful rushing game to sweep to a 24-7 lead and win their first game in Brookings since 1989. In the Coyotes' best offensive game of the year, they rushed for 278 yards and gained 541 yards in total offense. The 64-yard run by Stamer was one of four touchdown runs or receptions over 60 yards. Stamer had five games of rushing for over 100 yards.

WEEK 11 - SOUTH DAKOTA 24, Minnesota State, Mankato 3
The Coyotes closed out the season with a 24-3 win when Stamer had 127 yards rushing and 109 yards receiving as well as two touchdowns, one a 77-yard pass play from Justice to Dusty Stamer. In this game record-setting kicker Adam Hicks broke the 1984 record for field goals in a season (16) by making number 17, a 52-yarder which enabled him to end his career by making eight consecutive field goals. On the season he had three-field goals over 50 yards and his 80 points in a season tied him with former Coyote and Canadian football league kicking star Mark McLoughlin.

2000 SEASON AWARDS:

Russel Burwell (senior cornerback, Canoga Park, Calif.)
Don Hansen's National Weekly Football Gazette All-American, second team, AP Little College All-American, second team, Daktronics All-American, first team, Daktronics All-Midwest Region, first team, All-NCC, first team, USD Defensive Team MVP (shared with Scott Larson).

Josh Stamer (senior linebacker, Sutherland, Iowa)
Don Hansen's National Weekly Football Gazette All-American, honorable mention, Daktronics All-Midwest Region, second team, All-NCC, second team, All-NCC Academic, USD Coaches Appreciation Award, defense.

Dustin Sagedahl (junior tight end, Spicer, Minn.)
All-NCC, first team.

Scott Larson (senior defensive tackle, Mobridge, S.D.)
All-NCC, second team, All-NCC Academic, USD Defensive Team MVP (shared with Russel Burwell).

Filip Filipovic (junior punter, Belgrade, Serbia)
All-NCC, honorable mention, All-NCC Academic, USD Special Team MVP (shared with Adam Hicks).

Ryan Justice (sophomore quarterback, Harlan, Iowa)
All-NCC, honorable mention, All-NCC Academic, honorable mention, USD Offensive Team MVP.

Bill Gassen (sophomore defensive tackle, Rapid City, S.D.)
All-NCC, honorable mention, USD Defensive Hustle Award.

Adam Hicks (senior kicker, Sioux Falls, S.D.)
All-NCC, honorable mention, USD Special Team MVP (shared with Filip Filipovic).

Josh Burr (junior tackle, Lancaster, Wis.)
All-NCC, honorable mention.

Korey Ebel (sophomore linebacker, Hartley, Iowa)
All-NCC, honorable mention.

Kaseem Gaines (senior cornerback, Trenton, N.J.)
All-NCC, honorable mention.

Dusty Stamer (freshman running back, Grand Island, Neb.)
All-NCC, honorable mention.

Rory Triplett (senior safety, Iowa City, Iowa)
All-NCC, honorable mention.

Mitch Hauschildt (senior tackle, Marshalltown, Iowa)
All-NCC Academic.

Nate Irwin (senior guard, Cherokee, Iowa)
All-NCC Academic, honorable mention, USD Offensive Hustle Award.

Steve Young (senior wide receiver, Custer, S.D.)
All-NCC Academic, honorable mention, USD Coaches Appreciation Award, offense.

Joe Anderson (senior defensive end, Oakland, Neb.)
All-NCC Academic, honorable mention.

Michael Williams (freshman running back, Tampa, Fla.)
USD Offensive Scout Team MVP.

Michael Sonne (freshman defensive end, Mt. Vernon, S.D.)
USD Defensive Scout Team MVP.