SDSU football falls to Kansas

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LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — South Dakota State was backed up to its 1-yard line to start its second series on Saturday night, but it only took one play, 13 seconds and 99 yards to convert that to a touchdown.

Sophomore running back Zach Zenner took the ball and beat the entire Kansas defense down the field to score and set school record for longest run in program history by four yards.

Zenner continued to produce for the Jackrabbits on offense and finished with 23 carries for 186 yards and a touchdown, but Kansas won the season opener 31-17.

“He works extremely hard. He’s a tough, tough football player,” South Dakota State coach John Stiegelmeier said of Zenner.

Zenner’s first carry came on a handoff came from backup quarterback Eric Kline, who started in the place injured starter Austin Sumner. He was prepared despite a decision earlier in the week to not dress out.

Sumner entered the game in the third quarter, but his first pass was intercepted. He played the remainder of the game with mixed results. Sumner connected with Tyrel Kool on a 22-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter. Sumner was picked off three more times.

“Had we made more plays other than the 99-yard run in the first half and a few other plays, I don’t think Austin Sumner would have played. We weren’t making those plays and we felt that we needed a shot in the arm,” Stiegelmeier said.

Zenner’s effort was not enough to spoil the Jayhawks’ season opener under new coach Charlie Weis.

Montana beats USD 35-24

MISSOULA, Mont. (AP) — Montana coach Mick Delaney believes no one should be surprised that his team racked up 315 yards on the ground Saturday in its season opener against South Dakota.

“I’ve been a guy who loves to run the football my whole career,” said Delaney, who is in his first season as Montana’s head coach.

Behind a power running game and a couple of key second-half turnovers, Montana gave Delaney his first Grizzly victory with a 35-24 win over the Coyotes.

Montana quarterback Trent McKinney, who also made his Grizzly debut Saturday, completed 26-of-32 passes for 214 yards and two touchdowns. Dan Moore ran for 148 yards and a touchdown and Peter Nguyen added 102 yards and a touchdown for Montana. The Grizzlies set a school record with 34 first downs.

The Montana win spoiled the homecoming of Coyote head coach Joe Glenn, who won the Football Championship Subdivision national championship while coaching at Montana in 2001.

“We didn’t hold up against the run as good as I had hoped,” said Glenn, who was coaching his first game at South Dakota. “They just took it to us down the middle.”

After trailing the entire first half, South Dakota took the lead, 24-16, with 9:47 left in the third quarter following an 80-yard touchdown pass from Josh Vander Maten to Terrance Terry and a 50-yard interception return for a touchdown by Charlie Goro.

But the Grizzlies responded with a double pass play that saw McKinney toss it to tight end Greg Hardy who then threw downfield to a wide open Bryce Carver for a 39-yard touchdown to cut the Coyote lead to 24-22 with 7:11 left in the third quarter.

The Coyotes then turned the ball over on their next two possessions, resulting in a 14-yard touchdown run by Moore and a 3-yard scoring run by Nguyen.

“The momentum changed after we turned it over twice,” Glenn said.

In the first half, McKinney connected on scoring tosses of 4 yards to Sam Gratton and 18 yards to Cam Warren.

“A huge advantage today was our tempo. We wore them down,” Delaney said. “We have a good offensive line and guys who can run the ball.”

Moore credited the Montana offensive line for the running game success.

“Those are some big dudes who can move some bodies,” Moore said.

For the Coyotes, Vander Maten and Terry hooked up on an 8-yard scoring pass in the first half. Vander Maten finished the game with 172 passing yards, while Terry grabbed four balls for 109 yards.

Presentation wins opener 26-13

By The Daily Republic

ABERDEEN — Jalanni James caught a 13-yard touchdown pass from Stephen Braswell on the opening drive as Presentation went on to defeat Haskell Indian Nations 26-13 in college football action Saturday in Aberdeen.

Braswell finished 21-of-37 for 257 yards in the air with two touchdowns and four interceptions.

Presentation (1-0) takes on Waldorf College in its next action Saturday in Forrest City, Iowa.

Augustana takes down NSU 35-14

SIOUX FALLS — Augustana’s Josh Hanson threw for four touchdowns and ran for another as the Vikings defeated Northern State University 35-14 in football action Saturday in Sioux Falls.

Hanson put Augustana on the board early with an 18-yard touchdown run. NSU tied the game at 7 with a 30-yard run from John Hughes, but the Vikings would lead 21-7 at the half and scored early in the third quarter for a 28-7 lead.

Dajon Newell had 106 yards rushing for Augustana. Grant Gebhardt had 104 yards receiving for the Vikings, which improved to 1-0 on the season. Mitchell natives Jason and Justin Greenway, despite suiting up in their first college football game, did not get any carries in the win for Augustana.

NSU fell to 0-1 on the season and takes on Southwest Minnesota State at 2:30 p.m. Saturday at Swisher Field in Aberdeen.

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