Box Score
Saturday, Southern (2-2 overall, 1-0 Southwestern Athletic Conference) allowed South Dakota State senior quarterback Brad Nelson to pull the Jackrabbits out of a 14-point hole in the Jags’ 31-24 loss.
The 6’5’’, 215-pound senior completed 19 of 34 passes for 223 yards and scored four touchdowns before a crowd of 16,445 at A.W. Mumford Stadium.
The victory was the Jackrabbits (3-1, 0-1 Great West Football Conference) first against an NCAA Division I-AA team.
“We got down right away in the game (the first half),” Nelson said. “We just stuck together as a team and we got a great victory. This is a huge victory for South Dakota.”
The Jags seemed to have everything under control in the first half. Senior quarterback Thomas Ricks found junior wide receiver James Vernon for the first of two touchdown receptions only a minute and a half into the game. Although South Dakota responded with an 11-yard touchdown reception by junior wide-out Josh Davis, Southern jumped ahead of the Jackrabbits with a two-touchdown lead.
A third quarter resurgence allowed the Jackrabbits to score two touchdowns and successfully kick a field goal to tie the game at 24. With 4:48 left on the clock, a 10-yard pass to senior tight end Greg Peitz sealed South Dakota State’s fate and handed Southern their second loss of the season.
“We had too many mistakes as far as playing a good football team. We just couldn’t capitalize,” Southern head coach Pete Richardson said. “We started off and had a number of opportunities and many times you make minimum mistakes.”
In addition to a 4-yard loss, Southern’s leading running back Gerald Holmes suffered a bruise to his right shin during a play just minutes before halftime. Holmes finished the game with nine carries for 60 yards.
Ricks passed 22 of 35 for 198 yards and one touchdown.
Southern senior line backer Taurus Morgan had 14 tackles and seniors Victor Phillips and Gabe Wallace had 10 tackles apiece.
Southern will go on to play the Hornets of Alabama State in Montgomery, Ala. at 4 p.m. Oct. 2. Last season, the Jags defeated the Hornets 20-9 in the SWAC Championship.
