The South Dakota football team took down South Dakota State, 24-17, behind a huge day from running back L.J. Phillips Jr.

The Coyote rusher posted a big day of 168 yards and two touchdowns on the ground to power South Dakota to its first win over its in-state rival since 2021. One of his scores was a 32-yard scamper, which was the only score of the second half.

The win improved USD to 7-4 overall and 5-2 in conference play, while it dropped the Jackrabbits to 7-3 and 3-3 in league play.

The Jackrabbits provided the opening score 11 seconds into the game as wide receiver Jack Smith took a pitch through a seam on the right side and outraced the USD secondary for a 75-yard touchdown run.

USD also found the end zone on its first possession, stringing together a 15-play, 70-yard drive in which the Coyotes extended the march by converting on fourth-and-3. Phillips closed out the drive with a 10-yard touchdown run.

SDSU regained the lead on a 40-yard field goal by Eli Stader later in the first quarter, which was answered by a 34-yard field goal by the Coyotes’ Will Leyland at the 4:14 mark of the second quarter.

The Coyotes came up with a quick strike of their own as they grabbed the lead for the first time late in the first half. After a personal foul against SDSU on the first play of the drive, Aidan Bouman found Larenzo Fenner down the left side for a 37-yard gain before the duo hooked up a play later in the right corner of the end zone for a 19-yard score with 1:03 to play in the first half.

Henry, who became the third SDSU starter at quarterback this season, ran the two-minute drill to knot the game for a third time. The redshirt freshman completed 5-of-6 passes over 52 seconds, three of which were completed to Alex Bullock. Henry’s final pass of the drive covered 27 yards on a post route to Bullock with five seconds remaining in the half to make the score 17-17.

USD put together what would prove to be the game-winning drive on the first possession of the second half. Facing third-and-6 at the SDSU 32, Phillips took a handoff and knifed his way through the middle of the Jackrabbit defense for his second touchdown of the afternoon.

The Jackrabbits were unable to move the ball into USD territory on their two possessions of the third quarter, but were in position to tie the game early in the fourth quarter behind an 18-yard pass from Henry to Smith and a pair of first-down runs by Julius Loughride that advanced the ball to the Coyote 23. The drive would end, however, when Henry’s pass to the end zone was intercepted by Dejuan Lewis.

The SDSU defense came up with a much-needed stop to get the ball back at its own 41 with under five minutes to play. Once again, the offense couldn’t convert as the Jackrabbits turned the ball over on downs and USD was able to run out the clock.

USD finished with a 333-330 advantage in total offense. Bouman completed 14-of-21 passes for 158 yards, with Fenner catching four balls for 68 yards.

For the Jackrabbits, Smith ended the day with 197 all-purpose yards, including 82 on the ground after his opening touchdown. He also led the SDSU receiving corps with a career-high six catches for 61 yards.

Loughridge added 44 yards on 10 carries, with Henry ending the day 13-of-24 passing for 139 yards.

A Groton, South Dakota man died Sunday following a crash Wednesday morning, Oct. 29, five miles west of Webster.Preliminary crash information indicates the driver, 73, of a 2017 Toyota RAV 4 was traveling on U.S. Highway 12 when his vehicle entered the south ditch and struck a power line pole at 9:30 a.m. on Oct. 29, the South Dakota Department of Public Safety announced in a release.The driver, who was wearing a seat belt, was taken to an Aberdeen hospital with serious, life-threatening injuries. The driver died at the hospital on Sunday, November 2, the release states.The South Dakota Highway Patrol is investigating the crash. All information released so far is only preliminary.The Highway Patrol is an agency of the South Dakota Department of Public Safety.

The name of the person involved has not been released pending notification of family members.

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – A conference that focuses on the revitalization of Midwestern studies comes to South Dakota this month, bringing with it nearly 30 academics from across the country.

The Lost Region Recovery Project Conference, which is hosted by the “Middle West Review,” will take place Nov. 15 at the Washington Pavilion in Sioux Falls. It’s part of a broader effort to highlight the history of the Midwest and bring a level of organization and order to the concentrated study of the region.

Just over a decade ago, historian Jon Lauck, who teaches at the University of South Dakota, founded the “Middle West Review” after writing his first book, “Prairie Republic,” on South Dakota history. During that process, he found resources to understand Midwestern history few and far between. 

“I wanted to write a follow-up article (after the book’s publication), and I just couldn’t find anything. And I was like, ‘What?’ There must be more about this region,” Lauck told News Watch. “I just noticed there’s not much written about the Midwest. That’s really how this began.”

The journal, which is published from USD by the University of Nebraska Press, is the first of its kind for Midwestern historians. Lauck also helped found the Midwestern History Association, which advocates for the further study of the Midwest.

Lauck said the Midwest has a relatively sparse academic field dedicated to its study compared to other regions in the country.

“I think there’s 10 different academic centers for the study of the South. And I think there’s at least as many for the American West. But in the Midwest, there’s a total of zero. Which is pretty shocking,” he said.

Though the field is young, there is substantial interest in it, Lauck said. The Midwestern History Association now hosts five officers and a board of directors that includes historians from the National Museum of American History, Northwestern University and the University of Notre Dame.

“A lot of teachers, a lot of young professors have come (to the conference), and they’ve decided to add more about the Midwest to their courses. And they’ve started research projects, and there’s a couple of book series that have gotten underway in the last six, seven years. So those are all good signs,” Lauck said.

‘Middle West Review’ helps crystallize Midwestern identity

In 2023, the journal conducted a survey asking people from across the region whether they identified as a Midwesterner. The results were surprising in their far-reaching nature – people from Pennsylvania to Idaho felt that they were part of the region.

Surveys like those are only a small part of the work that the “Middle West Review” publishes, but Lauck said it illustrates the importance of a focused Midwestern studies field.

“For Iowa, a quintessential Midwestern state, 97% of people said, ‘Yes, I am a Midwesterner (in the survey).’ When you get 97% of people saying anything in this day and age, this day of fractured polarization, that means that belief and that sense of identity is pretty strong,” Lauck said. 

“So if we’ve established that people believe this is who they are, and this is where they’re from, what does that mean exactly? What is that history? And we’re trying to tease that out with (the “Middle West Review”) and with conferences like this.”

Conference speakers range from Midwestern music to democracy

Eight themes will lead the conference, ranging from “Present Perils,” speaking to issues plaguing Midwestern studies, to “Hope,” which will focus on how the field can contribute to cultural development in the region.

“Rural people, in particular, have an interest in place and rootedness and where they are from. They often grow up on farms that have been in the family for 100 or 150 years. So their roots are particularly deep, much deeper than someone who grows up in the suburbs of Chicago, going to McDonald’s and who doesn’t have as much connection to a particular place or space,” Lauck said. “So I think rural Americans, rural South Dakota, will appreciate this effort to understand their place better.”

In the “Midwestern Voices” section of the conference, three academics will speak about three different racial groups who call the Midwest home:

• David Brodnax Sr., a Trinity Christian College professor, will discuss the Midwestern African American population.
• Kristy Nabhan-Warren, a professor at the University of Iowa, will speak about the Midwestern Hispanic population.
• Mary Stockwell, a historian and author studying Native American and Midwestern history, will speak on the intersection of those topics. Stockwell said that her books, which highlight topics like the removal of Native Americans in Ohio and President Ulysses S. Grant’s federal Indian policy, focus on both sides of historical events without painting sides as good or bad.

“I’m amazed to find it’s not black and white, it’s not good versus evil everywhere,” Stockwell told News Watch. “I write about people on all sides of this great conflict, collision and creativity of people that have created the United States of America.”

She said that studying the past has allowed her to understand more fully how the Midwest acts in the present – and how others can learn from how it has developed.

“I always say, ‘Can you imagine the United States of America if you didn’t have the Midwest?’ It’s incomprehensible,” Stockwell said.

“That miracle is happening in the center of the United States, and historians have told this story. Maybe, if we do worry about democracy in the future, we can look back to the Midwest and see what it did for good. It is truly the heart of America. That’s not a sentimental thing. That’s almost a scientific thing.”

This story was produced by South Dakota News Watch, an independent, nonprofit organization. Read more stories and donate at sdnewswatch.org and sign up for an email for statewide stories. Investigative reporter Molly Wetsch is a Report for America corps member covering rural and Indigenous issues. Contact her at molly.wetsch@sdnewswatch.org.