BROOKINGS, S.D. – No. 1 ranked South Dakota State rang up 477 yards of total offense and pulled away late to defeat Missouri State, 35-17, here Saturday in the Bears’ season finale.
SDSU (11-0, 8-0 MVFC) clinched a Missouri Valley regular-season championship last week and extended its overall win streak to 25 in a row this week. The Jackrabbits also picked up their 18th straight home win and 17th straight conference victory.
The Bears (4-7, 3-5 MVFC) completed their first season under coach Ryan Beard with a respectable showing against the nation’s top FCS club, playing even in the second half and racking up 343 total yards themselves.
MSU quarterback Jordan Pachot completed 23-of-35 passes for 261 yards and two touchdowns with standout receiver Raylen Sharpe reeling in 8 receptions for 86 yards to finish the campaign with 991 yards – the second-highest season total in program history, while his 73 receptions broke MSU’s season high-water mark.
After trailing 21-3 at the half, the Bears drove 93 yards on just seven plays on their first possession of the third quarter for their first touchdown of the game. The three-yard TD pass from Pachot to Hunter Wood capped the drive after a 31-yard completion to Sharpe started the series, and a 27-yard rush by Jayden Becks took it to the Jackrabbit four-yard line. Pachot hit Wood three plays later to cut MSU’s deficit to 21-10 at the time.
SDSU would push ahead 35-10 with touchdown drives on two of its next three possessions, but the Bears responded with 1:34 to go in the game. Pachot’s second TD pass of the game to Wood, this time from 40 yards out, to cap a 75-yard scoring drive on the club’s last offensive drive of the season. The scoring series included a clutch third-down reception by Sharpe, but it was Wood whose sprint down the far sideline made it a 35-17 game.
Wood finished the day with 4 receptions for 78 yards.
Jackrabbits’ QB Mark Gronowski finished the afternoon 16-for-23 for a career-high 323 yards and 2 touchdowns. Jadon Janke had 10 receptions on 10 targets for 187 yards and a score for the home club.
The Bears outgained South Dakota State by a 234-189 margin in the second half, with both clubs accounting for 14 points.
In the first half, the Jackrabbits scored on their first three possessions to lead 21-7 at the game’s midway point. The Bears were able to come up with a fumble recovery takeaway late in the second quarter and held SDSU to a missed field goal on the home club’s final drive of the opening 30 minutes.
Owen Rozanc’s 33-yard field goal at the 3:56 mark of the opening quarter accounted for MoState’s only scoring play of the opening half. The 13-play, 67-yard drive took nearly seven minutes and was extended on a pair of key third-down pass completions from Pachot – the first to Sharpe and the second on an acrobatic catch by Larry Wright III that got the ball to the SDSU 10. The drive stalled there, allowing Rozanc to push through his ninth field goal of the season and 42nd of his career.
Later in the half, the Jackrabbits coughed up the ball deep in their own territory with Jared Lloyd and Caleb Blake combining to force and recover the SDSU mishap at the 15. In a rare missed red zone opportunity, the Bears lost four yards on the first three plays before Rozanc’s 36-yard attempt sailed just right to keep it a 21-3 game at the break.
Pachot finished the season with 2,285 passing yards and 19 touchdowns, ranking seventh and third, respectively, in MSU history for single-season performances.
