BROOKINGS, S.D.—South Dakota State quarterback Taryn Christion scored on a 7-yard touchdown run with 4:39 remaining and the Jackrabbits got an interception in the closing seconds to secure a 28-21 win against South Dakota Saturday at Dykhouse Stadium.
 
It was the 111^th meeting of a rivalry that dates back to 1889. The Jacks (7-3, 6-1 MVFC) have won the last eight to lead the all-time series 53-51-7.
 
It was another close call for the Coyotes (4-6, 3-4), who have lost three in a row following a three-game win streak. Eight of the team's last nine games have been decided in the final 80 seconds. In this one, the score was tied 7-7 at halftime, 14-14 just past the midway point of the third quarter and 21-21 with 12 minutes to go.
 
"We're not in this to play close," said USD head coach Bob Nielson. "We've won some really close games, we've lost some hard fought close games, but the bottom line is the goal is to win every week. I told our guys that we're going to build a culture here where that's the only goal and the only goal every week is we are going to go out and fight like crazy and nothing except a win will be acceptable."
 
South Dakota played without defensive starters Jon Maag on the line, linebacker Tyson Graham and cornerback Danny Rambo. Still, the Coyotes gamed to limit SDSU big play receivers Jake Wieneke and Dallas Goedert, and to that extent, won the battle. Wieneke and Goedert, both 1,000-yard receivers, combined for five catches for 67 yards and no touchdowns. It was their lowest output of the season, but it came at a price. The Jacks racked up 415 yards on the ground and averaged eight yards a carry.
 
"We played coverage a lot," said Nielson. "We could've stacked the run a little bit more. If you do that, then you have to defend the big play receivers. But they did some good things in the running game too that gave us some problems. With Maag, Graham and Rambo out, it left us a little thin there on the defensive side of the football."
 
SDSU running back Brady Mengarelli, who came into the game averaging 53 yards a game, got 161 Saturday on 21 carries. Isaac Wallace added 102 yards on eight totes including a 47-yard touchdown run that gave SDSU a 14-7 lead with 8:41 left in the third quarter. In addition, Christion ran for 79 yards and two scores while Kyle Paris added 74 yards and a 3-yard touchdown run for the first score of the game.
 
Despite the lopsided tally, the Coyotes had a chance. In fact, linebacker Alex Gray intercepted Christion at midfield and returned it 11 yards to the Jack 38 with the score tied at 21-21 with 11 minutes to go. The Yotes drove to the SDSU 15 on the ensuing possession, but missed a 32-yard field goal. The Jacks went 80 yards on 10 plays the other way for their go-ahead score.
 
"It was a game that we were going to have to take advantage of any opportunity that we had to put points on the board and we had a couple of opportunities that we didn't," said Nielson. "Every possession was a valuable one."
 
Trailing 28-21, South Dakota went 3-and-out on its next possession and the Jacks drained the clock to 62 seconds before punting back to USD. The Coyotes' final drive started at their own 24 and reached the SDSU 48 with 16 ticks left. SDSU linebacker Dallas Brown stepped in front of quarterback Chris Streveler's pass to seal the win.
 
Streveler completed 24 of 35 passes for 217 yards and two touchdowns. He threw a 16-yard touchdown pass to Brandt Van Roekel who made a diving catch in the back right corner of the end zone that tied the game at 7-7 with 31 seconds left in the first half. Streveler's 8-yard touchdown toss to Dakarai Allen tied the game at 14-14 in the third quarter. Streveler darted into the end zone from three yards out to cap an 8-play, 70-yard drive that tied the game at 21-21 early in the fourth.
 
The Coyotes ran 38 times for 136 yards. Streveler led the Yotes with 66 yards. Trevor Bouma and Michael Fredrick carried 10 times each for 39 and 31 yards, respectively.
 
South Dakota's defense forced two turnovers. In addition to Gray's second interception of the season, safety Jacob Warner forced Christion to fumble near the goal line and out through the back of the end zone for a touchback late in the first quarter. Linebacker Jet Moreland led USD with 14 tackles, giving him 99 on the season. Taylor Lambert earned his fifth sack of the season.
 
The Coyotes wrap up their season at home next week against North Dakota State. It will be Senior Day inside the DakotaDome. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m.