South Dakota
No. 19/18 Cal Poly Rallies to Beat South Dakota, 38-24
11/6/2010 12:00:00 AM | Football
VERMILLION, S.D. – Junior slotback Mark Rodgers surpassed the 200-yard mark rushing the football, averaged 31 yards per kickoff return and even completed a pass in wildcat formation as No. 19/18 Cal Poly rallied from a 14-0 first-half deficit to beat South Dakota 38-24 in a Great West Conference football game Saturday afternoon in the Mustangs' first visit to the DakotaDome.
With his 235 yards on just 15 carries, Rodgers became the first Mustang to rush for over 200 yards in five years and helped Cal Poly maintain its Football Championship Subdivision playoff hopes.
Cal Poly improved to 7-3 overall and 2-1 in Great West games with its third straight victory. South Dakota fell to 4-6 and 1-3.
Cal Poly caught the Coyotes at 17-17 and 24-24 in the third quarter and grabbed the lead for the first time with a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns.
Rodgers scampered 45 yards down the left sideline for the game's first tie and junior fullback Jake Romanelli's second two-yard touchdown run of the game tied the game again at 24-24 in the final minute of the third period.
Rodgers broke through a hole at right tackle and sprinted 74 yards for the go-ahead Mustang touchdown and Eric Gardley's three-yard run on a reverse gave Cal Poly a 38-24 advantage with 7:10 to play in the game.
South Dakota jumped to a 14-0 lead in the first 16 minutes of the game, forcing Cal Poly to play catchup the rest of the way.
Junior quarterback Dante Warren twice hit Will Powell on touchdown passes spanning 31 and 17 yards to give the Coyotes their early 14-point lead.
Cal Poly answered with a two-yard run by Romanelli and a 21-yard field goal by James Langford to get back into the game. The Mustangs trailed 14-10 at halftime.
Both scores were set up by long returns. Rodgers returned a kickoff 44 yards to set up Romanelli's touchdown run and Kellen Moriarty returned a punt 52 yards to set up the field goal by Langford.
Rodgers led Cal Poly's ground game to 379 total yards with his 235 yards. Jordan Yocum added 62 yards on 15 carries and Romanelli finished with 39 yards on 12 trips.
Senior quarterback Tony Smith rushed for 40 yards on eight option carries but completed just two of 12 passes for 41 yards. Gabriel Umoh caught two passes for 41 yards and Yocum caught one pass for seven yards. Dominique Johnson's streak of 19 consecutive Mustang games with a catch came to an end.
For South Dakota, Chris Ganious, trying to become the first opposing back to rush for 100 yards against the Mustangs this season, gained 77 yards on 20 carries while Warren was 17 of 37 for 270 yards and two scores. Powell caught six passes and Dustin Nowotny caught five passes for the Coyotes.
Cal Poly's defense was led by cornerback Nico Molino with 10 tackles and his second interception of the season. Linebacker Marty Mohamed added nine tackles while end Gavin Cooper notched seven tackles, including a pair of sacks. Kenny Jackson, another linebacker, recorded eight tackles, including two for lost yardage.
The Mustangs compiled a 427-382 edge in total offense, rushing for 379 yards and passing for 48 more. Cal Poly enjoyed a two-minute advantage in time of possession, but lost the first-down battle, 17-16.
Cal Poly, 3-3 on the road this season after going winless at 0-6 in 2009, wraps up the 2010 regular season next Saturday at home against UC Davis in a Great West Conference game at 6:05 p.m. in Alex G. Spanos Stadium. The Mustangs, 4-0 at home so far, and Aggies will meet for the 36thtime in the Battle for the Golden Horseshoe.
The Aggies (4-5, 2-1 Great West), who own a 17-16-2 edge in the series following last year's 23-10 win over the Mustangs in Davis, defeated North Dakota 35-16 in a Great West Conference game Saturday in Grand Forks, N.D.
Mustang Notes
The DakotaDome is the second indoor football facility in which Cal Poly has won a game ... the Mustangs have won four times in Idaho State's domed stadium and are 0-10 combined in domed stadiums at Northern Arizona, Idaho, Northern Iowa, North Dakota and North Dakota State ... Tony Smith earned his first win on the road as a starting quarterback at Cal Poly; the senior is 8-1 at Alex G. Spanos Stadium and 1-7 on the road as a starter ... South Dakota seventh-year head coach Ed Meierkort was 33-4 at the DakotaDome prior to Saturday's loss to Cal Poly ... the interception by Nico Molino was Cal Poly's first since the Old Dominion game Oct. 9 ... the Mustang defense had 18 takeaways in the first six games this season, but only one in the last three contests prior to Molino's interception and Keaton Taylor's fumble recovery against South Dakota.
