5-3 , 1-1
North Dakota
2-5 , 0-3
Cal Poly Edges North Dakota, 22-21, in Great West Game
10/23/2010 12:00:00 AM | Football
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. – Junior slotback Mark Rodgers rushed for 94 yards and a pair of touchdowns and Cal Poly held off North Dakota in the final 11 minutes for a 22-21 Great West Conference victory Saturday night before 10,220 in Alex G. Spanos Stadium on Parents Weekend.
Rodgers scored on runs of 42 yards in the second quarter and two yards in the fourth period as Cal Poly, playing its first home game since Sept. 11, improved to 5-3 on the year and evened its Great West mark at 1-1.
North Dakota, held to just 73 yards and two first downs in the first half, fell to 2-5 and 0-3.
Cal Poly, which had played five consecutive games on the road, built a 13-0 lead in the opening 22 minutes as senior quarterback Tony Smith ran four yards for a touchdown midway through the first quarter and Rodgers scampered 42 yards around left end thanks to a key block by slotback David Mahr with 6:58 to go in the second period.
North Dakota scored three consecutive touchdowns to build a 21-13 lead.
The Fighting Sioux cut the deficit to 13-7 as Jake Landry hit Greg Hardin wide open down the middle on a 43-yard touchdown pass with 6:40 to play in the half.
Tailback Josh Murray connected with Hardin on a 25-yard halfback pass less than two minutes into the third quarter, giving North Dakota a 14-13 advantage.
Murray's five-yard run with 9:16 to play in the third period gave the Fighting Sioux a 21-13 cushion.
Cal Poly answered with a 22-yard field goal by senior Jake West on the final play of the third quarter and a two-yard run by Rodgers with 10:57 to play in the game.
Linebacker Max Schulz's sack forced Landry to fumble and Kyle Murphy's fumble recovery set up the field goal by West. A 29-yard punt return by Asa Jackson, who also had 37-yard return earlier in the game, ignited the 32-yard drive culminating with Rodgers' scoring run.
North Dakota had three possessions in the final 11 minutes.
The first drive ended at the Cal Poly 44 with a punt while the second march to the Mustang 24-yard line ended with Zeb Miller's field goal attempt from 41 yards which missed wide left with 3:09 to go.
Cal Poly picked up one first down on a third-down pass from Smith to Mike Anderson before punting the ball to North Dakota with 59 seconds remaining.
The Fighting Sioux, with no timeouts remaining, drove 51 yards to the Cal Poly 29-yard line on their final possession before the clock ran out.
In addition to Rodgers' 94 yards on 17 carries, senior fullback Jordan Yocum added 58 yards on 14 trips and Mahr gained 52 yards on nine carries. Junior fullback Jake Romanelli contributed 49 yards on 10 trips.
Smith, starting for the first time since that Sept. 11 home game – a 35-33 win over then-No. 1-ranked Montana, completed 12 of 16 passes for 80 yards. Senior wide receiver Dominique Johnson caught five passes for 27 yards.
Sophomore quarterback Andre Broadous, who started four straight games, sat out Saturday's contest with a shoulder injury.
Murray rushed for 48 yards on eight carries and Mitch Sutton added 33 yards on 10 trips for North Dakota.
Landry completed 17 of 25 passes for 222 yards and one score. His favorite targets were Hardin with six receptions for 136 yards and Sutton with five catches for 37 yards.
Defensively, Cal Poly was led by linebacker Kenny Jackson with nine tackles and Marty Mohamed, another linebacker, with eight stops and a pass breakup.
End Gavin Cooper notched two sacks among his five total tackles and also was credited with one pass breakup and three quarterback hurries.
Linebacker Dan Hendrickson earned 10 tackles for North Dakota while Joel Schwenzfeier added eight tackles and an interception -- only the second time a Cal Poly quarterback had been intercepted all season.
Cal Poly had the advantage in first downs, 21-17, total offense, 329 to 306, and also built a 13-minute advantage in time of possession, thanks in large part to the Mustangs' opening drive of 78 yards in 18 plays which took 8:52 off the clock, culminating with Smith's four-yard scoring run.
At halftime, Cal Poly's newest quartet of inductees to the Athletics Hall of Fame -- football player Dick Mannini, Olympic discus gold medalist Stephanie Brown Trafton, hammer thrower Tom Pagani and retired president Dr. Warren Baker -- was introduced.
Cal Poly, 3-0 at home this season, hosts Saint Francis of Pennsylvania for its Homecoming Game on Saturday, Oct. 30. Kickoff is set for 6:05 p.m.
Saint Francis fell to 1-6, losing 19-7 to Monmouth (N.J.) on Saturday.
Team Stats
UND 0, CP 7
CP - Tony Smith 4 yd run (Jake West kick), 18 plays, 78 yards, TOP 8:52
UND 0, CP 13
CP - Mark Rodgers 42 yd run (Jake West kickfailed), 5 plays, 64 yards, TOP 1:46
UND 7, CP 13
UND - HARDIN,Greg 43 yd pass from LANDRY,Jake (MILLER,Zeb kick) 1 plays, 43 yards, TOP 0:09
UND 14, CP 13
UND - HARDIN,Greg 25 yd pass from MURRAY,Josh (MILLER,Zeb kick) 5 plays, 73 yards, TOP 1:30
UND 21, CP 13
UND - MURRAY,Josh 5 yd run (MILLER,Zeb kick), 6 plays, 45 yards, TOP 2:04
UND 21, CP 16
CP - Jake West 22 yd field goal 5 plays, 16 yards, TOP 1:58
UND 21, CP 22
CP - Mark Rodgers 2 yd run (Tony Smith passfailed), 6 plays, 32 yards, TOP 2:29
