Racers drop conference opener
VERMILLION, S.D. — South Dakota put on another offensive clinic for South Dakota in front of nearly 8,000 fans on Dakota Days as L.J. Phillips erupted for 244 yards and four touchdowns to lead the Coyotes past Murray State 49-24.
South Dakota improves to 3-3 (1-1 MVFC) on Saturday, in win streak in the DakotaDome now at 11, while Murray State falls to 0-5 (0-1 MVFC).
Phillips continued his dominant trend of running the football in front of the home crowd as he posted 244 yards on 24 carries, averaging 10.2 yards per carry. He tied his career-high with four rushing touchdowns on the day.
South Dakota quickly jumped out to a 14-0 lead in their first two possessions after the defense forced a pair of three-and-outs from the Racers.
In the first possession of the day, Aidan Bouman found Larenzo Fenner for a 41-yard touchdown that got the DakotaDome energized early on.
Murray State put together its best drive of the season after falling behind by two scores, moving 80 yards in 10 plays with Jim Ogle connecting with JK Carter from 16 yards to make it 14-7 with 1:04 left in the opening period.
It was all Coyotes in the first half, however, with a 35-7 lead at the break behind 172 first half yards and three touchdowns from Phillips. Zach Witte also picked up his second touchdown reception of the season in the first half.
The defense was stellar in the first half.
The Racers had five full possessions in the first 30 minutes, and the Coyote defense forced four punts — all on three-and-outs. In those four shut down drives, the Yotes surrendered just 22 yards.
If the game wasn’t decided at the halftime break, Phillips made sure to finish it off with the first Coyote play from scrimmage in the third quarter.
Fresh off the defense’s fifth three-and-out of the day, Phillips broke off a 67-yard touchdown run to make it 42-7.
Carter became the first Racer in 12 years to catch a touchdown pass and throw for a TD in the same game when he hit Darius Cannon on a 29-yard reverse-pass play to make it 40-14 with 9:43 remaining in the third quarter.
Jack Tannehill booted his fourth field goal of the season from 25 yards at 4:23 in the third quarter, and Tyrell Campbell finished the MSU scoring for the day with a one-yard TD run in the fourth quarter.
The Racers come home next Saturday against the Illinois State Redbirds on Tackles for a Cure Day in Murray. Kickoff will be 6 p.m.
South Dakota hits the road for the next two weeks, beginning Saturday at Terre Haute, Ind., against the Sycamores of Indiana State with kickoff slated for 12 p.m.