Box Score Oct. 4, 2014
Box Score
CARBONDALE, Ill.—Southern Illinois pitched a perfect second half to turn a 10-10 game at halftime into a 41-10 victory against South Dakota Saturday evening at Saluki Stadium.
The 16th-ranked Salukis (5-1, 2-0 MVFC) scored touchdowns on four of its first five possessions out of the break and kicked a field goal on the other. It has been the formula for success all season for SIU which has outscored its foes 114-13 in the second half.
Southern Illinois running back Malcolm Agnew carried 26 times for 128 yards and three touchdowns. All-American tight end MyCole Pruitt had seven catches for 137 yards and caught a 32-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter that made it 20-10. Quarterback Mark Iannotti was 19 of 32 for 264 yards.
South Dakota (2-3, 0-1) had three first downs and 88 yards of offense in the second half after posting 222 yards and 10 first downs in the first. Trevor Bouma carried 14 times for 60 yards. Jasper Sanders ran 12 times for 44 yards. Quarterback Ryan Saeger was 13 of 27 for 191 yards. He had 10 completions for 151 yards in the first half.
The Coyotes had opportunities in the first half, but couldn't convert. Saeger missed wide receiver Riley Donovan running uncovered down the middle of the field on the opening possession and settled for a 26-yard field goal and a 3-0 lead. USD drove 64 yards and faced a 4th-and-1 on the 6, but was denied on a run up the middle. Another chance on a long throw to Eric Shufford who snuck behind the secondary sailed high on a drive that resulted in a punt.
A pass interference call on 3rd-and-long gave SIU new life on its opening possession of the second half and led to a Thomas Kinney 18-yard field goal and a 13-10 lead.
Saeger was sacked on third down on the ensuing possession that took the Coyotes out of field goal range and resulted in a punt. The Salukis drove 80 yards and made it 20-10 when Pruitt broke free uncovered down the right sideline for the score with 3:33 to go in the third quarter.
A botched special teams play gave SIU a short field on a drive late in the third quarter. Four plays and 45 yards later, Agnew was in the end zone for a 27-10 lead. He made it 34-10 with a 9-yard scamper with 11:36 remaining. The final score came on a 2-yard run by Cameron Walter with 7:14 to go.
South Dakota safety Tyson Graham had a career-high 13 tackles and saved a touchdown by breaking up a third-down pass in the end zone in the first half. Kinney came on and kicked a 24-yard field goal to give SIU a 10-3 lead with 9:51 to go in the second quarter.
Saeger completed third downs of 11 yards to Josh Vander Maten and of 30 yards to Shufford on the drive that tied the game at 10-10. Saeger gained five yards on a designed run on 3rd-and-4 to reach the 5. Sanders ran off left tackle on the next play for the score.
