VERMILLION, S.D. - "Extraordinary" is The University of South Dakota's marketing theme and it defined the performance of the 20th-ranked South Dakota Football Team (2-0) on Saturday. USD again broke its single-game total offense record and rolled to a second consecutive nonconference win with a 63-24 decision over Truman State (1-1) on Saturday before 5,335 in attendance at the DakotaDome.
After the game, South Dakota head coach Ed Meierkort talked about the special efforts of several Coyotes. He noted that no one fashioned a more "extraordinary" performance than junior running back Stefan Logan. "He is a special player," said Meierkort, who improved to 11-2 overall as USD's head coach. "Anything Stefan gets, he deserves because he works so hard and is a fantastic running back. We hang our hat on him."
Logan of Miami, Fla., set two single-game records with the best rushing performance in school history. Logan rushed for 295 yards on just 13 carries and scored three rushing TDs. He broke the old single game mark of 285 yards rushing in 1999 by Jamel White - now of the Detroit Lions in the NFL. Logan had TD runs of 42, 77 and a school-record 98-yards. A two-time All-NCC selection, Logan averaged 22.7 yards per carry and eclipsed 100-yards rushing for the eighth straight game, dating back to last season. He also has three 200-yard rushing games in his career. Logan had 184 yards rushing on seven carries in the third quarter.
With Logan providing the impetus, the Coyotes set five school records by putting on an offensive display unmatched in school history.
Overall, USD accumulated a school-record 746 yards on 50 plays in total offense. The Coyotes rolled up 459 yards on 30 carries on the ground and had 287 yards passing. A week ago, USD broke the 1986 team's mark of 648 yards in total offense when the Coyotes rolled up 667 yards vs. Minnesota-Crookston. Against Truman State, a member of the MIAA Conference, the Coyotes averaged 14.9 yards per play on offense.
"This feels real good," Logan said of the Coyotes' win. "We did a great job today. I had great blocking from the offensive line and our receivers and tight ends really did a job," added Logan.
With the win, USD won its eighth consecutive home game. USD has now defeated eight straight nonconference opponents.
Quarterback Wes Beschorner, a senior from Lohrville, Iowa, also shined for USD by totaling five TDs, including four by pass and one on a nine-yard scoring run. He completed 13-of-15 passes for 277 yards and four TDs. It is the second straight week Beschorner has thrown for four TDs.
Other standouts for USD included wide receiver Brooks Little, a sophomore from Castlewood, S.D., who had career-bests in catches with eight, yards with 162 and TDs with two. Wide receiver Derek Gearman, a junior from Lennox, S.D., added two catches for 63 yards and pulled in a 54-yard TD reception. Freshman T.J. Simmons of Houston, Texas, had 99 yards rushing on five carries. His 84-yard TD run - a USD freshman record - on the game's final play allowed USD to break the total offense mark.
"The sky is the limit for our offense," said Meierkort. "The offensive line carries us with their play. And, I have to say that Wesley was simply fantastic. I also am impressed by the play of Brooks Little and Derek Gearman's play is inspirational."
Offensive coordinator Glenn Caruso also lauded the play of his offense. "For an offense to have the opportunity to break the total offense mark once in a season is a dream. Now that we have done it twice in two weeks, it shows the mettle of this team. We have two staples in our offense and that is tempo and being relentless. We had that today."
While USD had a historic performance, early on the visitors from Kirksville, Mo., carried the upper hand. Truman State jumped on the Coyotes early by opening with a seven-play, 81-yard scoring drive. Jeff Amundson's 10-yard TD reception from Jonathan Duffy provided the Bulldogs with a 7-0 lead at the 11:40 mark of the first quarter.
The Coyotes quickly answered with a three-play, 77-yard scoring drive, capped by Beschorner's nine-yard scoring run with 10:10 to play in the first quarter. He also converted a two-point conversion after a mishandled extra point, providing USD with an 8-7 lead. The big play in the drive was a 61-yard pass reception by Little.
Once again, Truman State responded when the Bulldogs marched 61 yards to set up Mark Kamphoefner's 36-yard field goal. After one quarter, Truman State owned a 10-8 lead.
From that point, USD scored 42 unanswered points, including 28 in the second quarter, to put the game away. First, it was Logan who had a 77-yard scoring run at the 11:57 mark, to give USD a 15-10 lead. Next, sophomore tight end David Cronin of Holstein, Iowa, caught a one-yard scoring pass from Beschorner at the 7:26 mark. The Beschorner to Cronin TD connection occurred on a fourth-down play from inside the one-yard line. With Frank Leibfarth's extra point, USD led 22-10.
At the 2:25 mark of the second quarter, Little caught his first TD pass of the day on a 14-yard strike from Beschorner. With just 11 seconds left in the half, Beschorner and Little again hooked up, this time from 41-yards. With Leibfarth's kick, USD took a 36-10 advantage into halftime.
Early in the second half, Beschorner again connected on a big play in the passing game. He threw a 54-yard scoring strike to Gearman at the 14:21 mark of the third quarter. After Truman State was denied a scoring opportunity inside the Coyotes' five-yard line, it was Logan who again found pay dirt. At the 11:17 mark, Logan electrified the crowd with his school-record 98-yard run. The old single play mark was a 92-yard run by James Hambrick in 1986. After Leibfarth hit the PAT, USD owned a 50-10 lead.
Truman State broke through when Duffy and James Walton connected on a 30-yard scoring pass play at the 9:43 mark of the third quarter. With Kamphoefner's kick, USD had a 50-17 lead.
Just three minutes later, Logan scored his third TD of the game on a 42-yard run. Leibfarth's kick gave USD a 57-17 lead.
The score by Logan was all the scoring until the final seconds of the game. The Bulldogs scored on a 13-yard pass from Duffy to Phillip Henry with eight seconds to play in the game. Then, after USD downed the ball at its own 16-yard line on the kickoff, Simmons broke loose from a group of defenders and raced 84 yards for a TD on the final play of the game.
The Coyote defense was led by senior linebacker Alex York of Guthrie Center, Iowa, who had nine tackles. Redshirt freshman linebacker Blake Hofer of DeSmet, S.D., had six tackles and an interception. Junior linebacker Ryan Hedden of Fairmont, Neb., added six tackles. USD had six quarterback sacks, including two each by Matt Murphy, a sophomore from Rapid City, S.D., and Adam Schwaderer, a senior from Delmont, S.D.
Next for the Coyotes is a home encounter with Minnesota-Moorhead at 2 p.m. on Sept. 10 in the DakotaDome. USD defeated Minnesota-Moorhead, 51-3, in 2004.
Notes -
~ After two games, Wes Beschorner has completed 25-of-31 passes for 558 yards and eight TDs. Beschorner has a gaudy 317.01 pass efficiency rating.
~ Stefan Logan had 425 yards rushing in two games and is averaging 212.5 yards rushing per game. He is averaging 14.2 yards per rush this season. Logan has 2,925 yards rushing in his career. He now needs 502 yards to break the school's career rushing mark of Chul Schwanke, who had 3,427 yards rushing from 1982-85.
~ Brooks Little had 12 catches for 240 yards with three TDs in two games.
~ The Coyotes are averaging 70 points a game while allowing just 12.0 per outing. USD has compiled 1,413 yards in total offense or 706.5 per game. On the ground, USD is averaging 398.5 yards a game (797 total) with another 308.0 yards passing (616 total) each game. USD has scored 20 TDs in two games. The 140 points in two games is the best two-game total in school history.
~ Redshirt freshman kicker Frank Leibfarth has connected on 16-of-16 extra points but has yet to try a field goal.
