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Cyclones Pick Off Five Passes In 44-17 Rout Of SDSU
By LUKE MEREDITH
AP Sports Writer
AMES, Iowa (AP) — Austen Arnaud threw a touchdown pass and ran for a score in his first career start, and Iowa State returned five interceptions for a school-record 202 yards in a 44-17 rout of South Dakota State on Thursday night.
Freshmen Sedrick Johnson and Darius Darks each caught touchdown passes for Iowa State (1-0), which forced the undersized Jackrabbits into six turnovers. The Cyclones picked up their most lopsided win under second-year coach Gene Chizik.
Iowa State, which led 20-0 at halftime, put the game away late in the third quarter. Arnaud threw his first career touchdown pass, a 18-yarder to Darks, to make it 27-3. Three plays later, Derec Schmidgall took an interception 37 yards to push Iowa State’s lead to 34-3 with 2:14 left in the third quarter.
South Dakota State tacked on a pair of meaningless fourth-quarter touchdowns; a 3-yard TD run by Kyle Minett and a 76-yard touchdown run by JaRon Harris.
Ryan Berry was 23-of-37 passing for 170 yards and five interceptions for South Dakota State, in its first year as a full-fledged FCS program and facing its first major college opponent since 1984.
It didn’t go nearly as well as the Jackrabbits hoped.
South Dakota State turned it over five times in the first half, and Iowa State used three long interception returns to build a 20-0 halftime lead.
The Cyclones drove 69 yards on the game’s opening possession and went ahead 7-0 on a 1-yard TD plunge by Arnaud. The Cyclones then turned it over twice themselves, but defensive end Kurtis Taylor picked off a pass at the Iowa State 26 and ran it back 48 yards.
Grant Mahoney’s first career field goal, 35-yarder, made it 10-0 with 2:42 left in the first quarter. Michael Bibbs then intercepted a tipped ball at the Iowa State 6 and took it 53 yards. Mahoney connected from 36 yards out to put the Cyclones ahead 13-0 with 6:55 left in the second quarter.
Berry threw a pick to another defensive linemen, Austin Alburtis, on the Jackrabbits’ next drive, and he returned it 61 yards. Bates connected with Johnson on a 14-yard touchdown pass on the next play, pushing Iowa State’s lead to 20-0 with 4:16 left in the half.
Arnaud, who beat out Bates in a heated competition during fall camp, was 8-of-11 passing for 98 yards. Bates was 5-of-8 passing for 61 yards and a touchdown, and he ran for 55 yards on nine carries.
Jason Harris added a 68-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter for Iowa State.
Minett lead the Jackrabbits with for 111 yards rushing.
North Dakota 40, Texas A&M-Kingsville 14
GRAND FORKS, N.D. (AP) — North Dakota’s debut as a Division I football team was a success Thursday as the Sioux defeated Texas A&M-Kingsville 40-14.
UND moved up from Division II to the D-I Football Championship Subdivision this season, although it won’t be eligible for the playoffs. The game also marked Chris Mussman’s debut as UND’s head coach.
“There was a lot of buildup from the community and fans about the D-I thing,” UND wide receiver Brady Trenbeath said. “But for the players, it was more about playing our opening game of the season and coach Mussman’s first game as the head guy.
“While the hype was on D-I, we just wanted to play Sioux football no matter what division we are in.”
The Sioux did play well after a rocky first quarter that ended with them trailing 7-3. But they scored touchdowns on five of their six possessions in the middle two quarters, outscoring Kingsville 34-0 in that stretch.
“Our guys came out too fired up,” Mussman said. “They were ready to play, but they had too many emotions going. Once we settled in, we did a real good job.”
Trenbeath caught two touchdown passes from quarterback Danny Freund, who also ran for one score. Trenbeath had nine receptions for 171 yards, including a 41-yarder that set UND up for another score at the Kingsville 1.
Freund completed 18 of 25 passes for 260 yards and the two scores to Trenbeath. UND’s balanced running attack gained 167 yards, including 57 yards and a touchdown by Josh Murray.
“Once we got a few pass completions under our belts, we were able to get into a rhythm,” Freund said. “We came out rusty and nervous, but were able to overcome mistakes.”
UND had a 431-342 advantage in total yardage. The Kingsville touchdowns came on a 1-yard run by Logan Morris and a 21-yard pass from Daniel Ramirez to Jareko Taylor.
“They scored their first touchdown after a trick play and the other touchdown came late, so I was very happy with our defense,” Mussman said.
Kingsville Coach Bo Atterberry said it was difficult to stop the Sioux once they got rolling. “We talked beforehand about how disciplined UND is and they were,” he said. “We made a mistake and they capitalized. Then we made another mistake and it snowballed from there.”
The attendance of 11,434 marked the largest crowd for a season opener in the eight years of playing at the Alerus Center.
North Dakota State 41, Austin Peay 6
FARGO, N.D. (AP) — It didn’t take long for Nick Mertens to shed the starting quarterback jitters.
Mertens threw a 69-yard completion on his first attempt and finished with 304 yards passing and three touchdowns to help North Dakota State defeat Austin Peay 41-6 Thursday night.
The Bison held the Governors to 91 yards of total offense.
Mertens, a 6-foot-1, 215-pound junior, last started a game in November 2004, when he guided East Grand Forks to the Minnesota Class 3A football championship in the Metrodome. He said he was nervous before his Bison debut in the Fargodome.
“If you don’t get nervous before a game, then why are you playing?” Mertens said.
Mertens said he calmed down quickly after the long pass completion to tight end Jerimiah Wurzbacher on the team’s second play from scrimmage, after the Bison forced the Governors to punt on their first possession.
“After I got that behind me, I felt comfortable throwing the ball,” said Mertens, who was 14 of 16 with one interception.
His favorite target was veteran receiver Kole Heckendorf, who caught eight passes for 179 yards and all three of Mertens’ touchdown passes. That included a 69-yard touchdown pass on the first play from scrimmage in the second half, making it 27-0.
Craig Bohl, NDSU head coach, said Mertens was sharp on most of his passes, and had help from Heckendorf on others.
“A few of the throws weren’t exactly perfect,” Bohl said. “It’s really good to have Kole out there making a lot of plays.”
Austin Peay geared its defense to stop the run, holding the Bison to 17 yards rushing in the first half. Running back Tyler Roehl, a preseason all-America pick, ran for 14 yards in the first half and finished with 74 yards.
But Mertens was allowed to scan the field on most pass plays.
“We saw what they were giving us,” Bohl said. “They were also doing some things that gave us some problems with the running game.”
The Governors finished with 56 yards rushing and 35 yards passing. Ryan White scored Austin Peay’s only touchdown on a 2-yard run in the third quarter, following an interception by Kevis Buckley.
“I think it was a good game for the defensive line and for the defense in general,” said Bison end Joe Lardinois. He then brought laughter in the post-game news conference when he said, “I hope we didn’t peak too soon.”
Augustana 13, St. Cloud State 10, OT
SIOUX FALLS — Luke Butler hit Tyler Schulte for a 23-yard scoring strike in overtime, giving Augustana a 13-10 overtime victory in the season and Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference opener for both squads.
The Augustana win spoiled the head coaching debut for St. Cloud State head coach Scott Underwood, an Augustana graduate, who took over the reins of the Huskies in March. The overtime win was the first for the Vikings since a triple-overtime win over South Dakota State in 2002.
Jeremy Huber put Augie on the board late in the first quarter, scoring on a 5-yard run. St. Cloud State tied the game with 10:39 to play in the game when Fred Williams caught a 24-yard pass from Mitch Watkins.
In overtime, St. Cloud State scored first on a 37-yard field goal by Brian Cristan, but Schulte scored on the second play of their possession, ending the game.
Butler threw for 151 yards on 16-31 passing, with Schulte making five catches for 85 yards. Joe Clark rushed for 53 yards for the Vikings.
Watkins threw for 193 yards, with Williams catching nine passes for 73 yards. Michael Graham rushed for 100 yards on 24 carries for the Huskies.
Christ Janisch made 12 tackles, 2 1/2 for loss, for Augustana. David Kamin made eight stops for St. Cloud State.
Chadron St. 37, Mary 17
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — Aaron Cooksley ran for 144 yards and a touchdown to lead Chadron State to a 37-17 win over the University of Mary on Thursday.
Cooksley scored on a 24-yard run to help the Eagles (1-0) race out to a 20-0 lead. Mary cut the deficit to 20-17 at the half, but Chadron State scored the game's final 17 points.
Joe McLain was 13-for-25 for 184 yards and two touchdowns for the Eagles, who held Mary to just 172 total yards. McLain also ran for a score.
Jesse Kozak completed 18 of 25 passes for 195 yards and two touchdowns. The Marauders (0-1) were held to minus-23 yards rushing
Freshmen Sedrick Johnson and Darius Darks each caught touchdown passes for Iowa State (1-0), which forced the undersized Jackrabbits into six turnovers. The Cyclones picked up their most lopsided win under second-year coach Gene Chizik.
Iowa State, which led 20-0 at halftime, put the game away late in the third quarter. Arnaud threw his first career touchdown pass, a 18-yarder to Darks, to make it 27-3. Three plays later, Derec Schmidgall took an interception 37 yards to push Iowa State’s lead to 34-3 with 2:14 left in the third quarter.
South Dakota State tacked on a pair of meaningless fourth-quarter touchdowns; a 3-yard TD run by Kyle Minett and a 76-yard touchdown run by JaRon Harris.
Ryan Berry was 23-of-37 passing for 170 yards and five interceptions for South Dakota State, in its first year as a full-fledged FCS program and facing its first major college opponent since 1984.
It didn’t go nearly as well as the Jackrabbits hoped.
South Dakota State turned it over five times in the first half, and Iowa State used three long interception returns to build a 20-0 halftime lead.
The Cyclones drove 69 yards on the game’s opening possession and went ahead 7-0 on a 1-yard TD plunge by Arnaud. The Cyclones then turned it over twice themselves, but defensive end Kurtis Taylor picked off a pass at the Iowa State 26 and ran it back 48 yards.
Grant Mahoney’s first career field goal, 35-yarder, made it 10-0 with 2:42 left in the first quarter. Michael Bibbs then intercepted a tipped ball at the Iowa State 6 and took it 53 yards. Mahoney connected from 36 yards out to put the Cyclones ahead 13-0 with 6:55 left in the second quarter.
Berry threw a pick to another defensive linemen, Austin Alburtis, on the Jackrabbits’ next drive, and he returned it 61 yards. Bates connected with Johnson on a 14-yard touchdown pass on the next play, pushing Iowa State’s lead to 20-0 with 4:16 left in the half.
Arnaud, who beat out Bates in a heated competition during fall camp, was 8-of-11 passing for 98 yards. Bates was 5-of-8 passing for 61 yards and a touchdown, and he ran for 55 yards on nine carries.
Jason Harris added a 68-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter for Iowa State.
Minett lead the Jackrabbits with for 111 yards rushing.
North Dakota 40, Texas A&M-Kingsville 14
GRAND FORKS, N.D. (AP) — North Dakota’s debut as a Division I football team was a success Thursday as the Sioux defeated Texas A&M-Kingsville 40-14.
UND moved up from Division II to the D-I Football Championship Subdivision this season, although it won’t be eligible for the playoffs. The game also marked Chris Mussman’s debut as UND’s head coach.
“There was a lot of buildup from the community and fans about the D-I thing,” UND wide receiver Brady Trenbeath said. “But for the players, it was more about playing our opening game of the season and coach Mussman’s first game as the head guy.
“While the hype was on D-I, we just wanted to play Sioux football no matter what division we are in.”
The Sioux did play well after a rocky first quarter that ended with them trailing 7-3. But they scored touchdowns on five of their six possessions in the middle two quarters, outscoring Kingsville 34-0 in that stretch.
“Our guys came out too fired up,” Mussman said. “They were ready to play, but they had too many emotions going. Once we settled in, we did a real good job.”
Trenbeath caught two touchdown passes from quarterback Danny Freund, who also ran for one score. Trenbeath had nine receptions for 171 yards, including a 41-yarder that set UND up for another score at the Kingsville 1.
Freund completed 18 of 25 passes for 260 yards and the two scores to Trenbeath. UND’s balanced running attack gained 167 yards, including 57 yards and a touchdown by Josh Murray.
“Once we got a few pass completions under our belts, we were able to get into a rhythm,” Freund said. “We came out rusty and nervous, but were able to overcome mistakes.”
UND had a 431-342 advantage in total yardage. The Kingsville touchdowns came on a 1-yard run by Logan Morris and a 21-yard pass from Daniel Ramirez to Jareko Taylor.
“They scored their first touchdown after a trick play and the other touchdown came late, so I was very happy with our defense,” Mussman said.
Kingsville Coach Bo Atterberry said it was difficult to stop the Sioux once they got rolling. “We talked beforehand about how disciplined UND is and they were,” he said. “We made a mistake and they capitalized. Then we made another mistake and it snowballed from there.”
The attendance of 11,434 marked the largest crowd for a season opener in the eight years of playing at the Alerus Center.
North Dakota State 41, Austin Peay 6
FARGO, N.D. (AP) — It didn’t take long for Nick Mertens to shed the starting quarterback jitters.
Mertens threw a 69-yard completion on his first attempt and finished with 304 yards passing and three touchdowns to help North Dakota State defeat Austin Peay 41-6 Thursday night.
The Bison held the Governors to 91 yards of total offense.
Mertens, a 6-foot-1, 215-pound junior, last started a game in November 2004, when he guided East Grand Forks to the Minnesota Class 3A football championship in the Metrodome. He said he was nervous before his Bison debut in the Fargodome.
“If you don’t get nervous before a game, then why are you playing?” Mertens said.
Mertens said he calmed down quickly after the long pass completion to tight end Jerimiah Wurzbacher on the team’s second play from scrimmage, after the Bison forced the Governors to punt on their first possession.
“After I got that behind me, I felt comfortable throwing the ball,” said Mertens, who was 14 of 16 with one interception.
His favorite target was veteran receiver Kole Heckendorf, who caught eight passes for 179 yards and all three of Mertens’ touchdown passes. That included a 69-yard touchdown pass on the first play from scrimmage in the second half, making it 27-0.
Craig Bohl, NDSU head coach, said Mertens was sharp on most of his passes, and had help from Heckendorf on others.
“A few of the throws weren’t exactly perfect,” Bohl said. “It’s really good to have Kole out there making a lot of plays.”
Austin Peay geared its defense to stop the run, holding the Bison to 17 yards rushing in the first half. Running back Tyler Roehl, a preseason all-America pick, ran for 14 yards in the first half and finished with 74 yards.
But Mertens was allowed to scan the field on most pass plays.
“We saw what they were giving us,” Bohl said. “They were also doing some things that gave us some problems with the running game.”
The Governors finished with 56 yards rushing and 35 yards passing. Ryan White scored Austin Peay’s only touchdown on a 2-yard run in the third quarter, following an interception by Kevis Buckley.
“I think it was a good game for the defensive line and for the defense in general,” said Bison end Joe Lardinois. He then brought laughter in the post-game news conference when he said, “I hope we didn’t peak too soon.”
Augustana 13, St. Cloud State 10, OT
SIOUX FALLS — Luke Butler hit Tyler Schulte for a 23-yard scoring strike in overtime, giving Augustana a 13-10 overtime victory in the season and Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference opener for both squads.
The Augustana win spoiled the head coaching debut for St. Cloud State head coach Scott Underwood, an Augustana graduate, who took over the reins of the Huskies in March. The overtime win was the first for the Vikings since a triple-overtime win over South Dakota State in 2002.
Jeremy Huber put Augie on the board late in the first quarter, scoring on a 5-yard run. St. Cloud State tied the game with 10:39 to play in the game when Fred Williams caught a 24-yard pass from Mitch Watkins.
In overtime, St. Cloud State scored first on a 37-yard field goal by Brian Cristan, but Schulte scored on the second play of their possession, ending the game.
Butler threw for 151 yards on 16-31 passing, with Schulte making five catches for 85 yards. Joe Clark rushed for 53 yards for the Vikings.
Watkins threw for 193 yards, with Williams catching nine passes for 73 yards. Michael Graham rushed for 100 yards on 24 carries for the Huskies.
Christ Janisch made 12 tackles, 2 1/2 for loss, for Augustana. David Kamin made eight stops for St. Cloud State.
Chadron St. 37, Mary 17
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — Aaron Cooksley ran for 144 yards and a touchdown to lead Chadron State to a 37-17 win over the University of Mary on Thursday.
Cooksley scored on a 24-yard run to help the Eagles (1-0) race out to a 20-0 lead. Mary cut the deficit to 20-17 at the half, but Chadron State scored the game's final 17 points.
Joe McLain was 13-for-25 for 184 yards and two touchdowns for the Eagles, who held Mary to just 172 total yards. McLain also ran for a score.
Jesse Kozak completed 18 of 25 passes for 195 yards and two touchdowns. The Marauders (0-1) were held to minus-23 yards rushing
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