South Dakota
South Dakota football cruises past Southern Illinois in conference opener
ootball coach Bob Nielson discusses his team’s first conference win
South Dakota football earned their first conference win of the season on Saturday, defeating Southern Illinois 42-13.
VERMILLION, S.D. — The matchup against Southern Illinois was supposed to be South Dakota football’s first real test of the 2024 season.
The Coyotes dominated in both of their wins over Northern State and Drake, and even put up a fight against Wisconsin in Week 2, but a matchup against a conference opponent would really show where USD stands.
And what Saturday’s game showed is that the No. 17 Salukis were no match for No. 5 South Dakota as the Coyotes defeated Southern Illinois, 42-13.
“I’m getting up there where I don’t necessarily celebrate birthdays much, because I’ve had too many of them, but that’s great way to celebrate one right there,” South Dakota football coach Bob Nielson said. “That’s a tremendous win against a really good team where all three phases of the game went out and executed at a high level. So we’re really proud of (how) our team played today, and excited to keep building forward here”
USD pounced on the Salukis from the jump, scoring 14 in the first while holding SIU scoreless through the first frame. South Dakota added another 21 points in the second and gave up just one touchdown on a quick pass play to go into halftime in firm control, leading 35-7.
Senior quarterback Aidan Bouman had one of his best games of the season throwing for 247 yards and two touchdowns. The run game also looked impressive, especially in the first quarter. Travis Theis paced the running back room with 147 yards and two touchdowns on 25 carries.
South Dakota was also strong defensively, particularly when it came to stopping Southern Illinois on third down in the first half. They only allowed the Salukis to convert on four of 11 third-down attempts.
Here are a few takeaways from South Dakota’s first conference win of the season.
All South Dakota early
Last week’s 42-3 win over Drake was the most complete the USD offense had looked, until this week anyway. And this week’s game being the first against a conference opponent makes the performance that much more impressive.
South Dakota took clear control of the game early, scoring on five of their first seven drives while only allowing one touchdown. The Coyotes took a comfortable 35-7 lead into halftime and really weren’t threatened in the second half.
“We were super efficient in the first half,” Nielson said. “Scoring 35 points in a half against a Missouri Valley defense is something pretty special.”
The run game decided this one
Nielson issued a challenge to his team early in the week heading into the matchup against Southern Illinois. He wanted them to play with a high level of physicality. They were going to need it in their first game against Missouri Valley competition.
The Coyotes on the offensive and defensive line answered the call.
South Dakota’s offensive lineman opened up significant gaps for their explosive backs to get through. USD’s run game got going early against the 27th-best run defense in the FCS. Theis rushed for 45 yards and a touchdown in the first quarter while the other half to his dynamic duo, Charles Pierre Jr., added 22 yards and another touchdown. Theis ended the night with 106 rushing yards while Pierre Jr. ran for 84.
The Salukis allowed only 112.8 rushing yards per game entering Saturday’s contest, but USD surpassed that, rushing for 302 yards against Southern Illinois.
“That sounds like Coyote offense,” Theis said postgame when told the team’s rushing stats. “I think we have a 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, punch, really. It can be anybody.”
On the other side of the ball the defensive linemen exerted pressure and limited the Salukis’ rushing attack. The Coyotes held Southern Illinois to just 60 rushing yards in the entire game.
“That was one of the things going in. You know, whichever team is going to make the other one more one dimensional is going to have a chance to win the game,” Nielson said. “Offensively we were very balanced, defensively we wouldn’t let them run the football.”
USD’s passing offense came to life in the second quarter
The second quarter was all Coyotes but their approach was a little different than in the first quarter. Because the run game dominated in the first, Southern Illinois focused their coverage on stopping the run, opening up the passing game.
After throwing for just 37 yards in the first quarter, Bouman ended the first half with 220 yards and two touchdowns. A couple of highlight plays accounted for the majority of that yardage. The first was an 80-yard touchdown pass from Bouman to JJ Galbreath and the second was a 61-yard touchdown pass to Quaron Adams.
“They know we’re a really good running team, so we took advantage early of our matchups outside,” Bouman said postgame. “We have a lot of skill and a lot of speed out there, and it’s my job to let them make a play, and they did a great job of that today.”
This performance from Bouman was a great sign for a team that has been talking about wanting to be more explosive offensively. The senior quarterback finished the game with 247 passing yards and two touchdowns, completing 11 of his 17 passes.
Up next
South Dakota will travel to Murray, Ky. to face Murray State on Saturday, Oct. 5 at 2 p.m.
Jonathan Fernandez covers high school and college sports for the Argus Leader. Contact him at jfernandez1@argusleader.com. Follow him on Twitter at@JFERN31
See Republican Zach Lahn speak after primary win in governor’s race
GOP gubernatorial candidate Zach Lahn speaks to his supporters during an election night watch party on June 2, 2026, in West Des Moines.
The makeup of the Legislature was up in the air as of 1 a.m. after South Dakota’s primary election.
Ten Republican state lawmakers ousted in 2024 are angling to get their seats back in 2026. Results were mixed for the nine who had primaries on Tuesday, with results still coming in for several races and others set for possible recounts.
Shawn Bordeaux of Rosebud won the state’s only Democratic primary, beating Troy “Luke” Lunderman for a chance to return to the state Senate.
Bordeaux will face Chamberlain Republican Rebecca Reimer in November’s general election. Reimer, who was term-limited in the state House of Representatives, beat Lower Brule Sen. Tamara Grove in Tuesday’s primary.
In Watertown’s District 5, Rep. Josephine Garcia fell in a state Senate primary to incumbent Sen. Glen Vilhauer. Garcia beat Byron Callies in the 2024 primary to earn her seat in the House of Representatives, but opted to challenge Vilhauer for his Senate seat instead of seeking reelection to the House.
Callies, Vilhauer and Garcia are all from Watertown.
Vilhauer won with 59% of the vote. His was one of the first state legislative victories of the night reported on the Secretary of State’s website.
Vilhauer won handily, but he said he wasn’t necessarily expecting to as polls opened on Tuesday.
“I knew it was going to be a battle going in,” Vilhauer said. “She worked hard on her side, and I didn’t know what to expect.”
Callies was among the first to call Vilhauer to congratulate him, around 9:30 p.m.
“I’m happy, because Glen’s a solid legislator,” said Callies, who’s angling to win his seat back in the general election.
Garcia did not return a call seeking comment.
In District 21, Sen. Mykala Voita of Bonesteel beat former Sen. Erin Tobin of Winner in a rematch of their 2024 contest, which Voita won by a few dozen votes that year. This time around, Voita bested Tobin by 1,002 votes.
In response to a request for comment, Voita sent a text reading “Glory to God!”
Tobin did not return a call from South Dakota Searchlight about her race after it was called, but said earlier in the evening she would be “at peace” with the results regardless of what they might be.
Another rematch saw Yanktonites Lauren Nelson and Jean Hunhoff battling for District 18’s state Senate seat. Nelson was a newcomer in 2024 when she beat Hunhoff, who’d spent decades in the Capitol between stints in the House and Senate. On Tuesday, Nelson held off Hunhoff, winning by 243 votes.
Other notable races
- District 4 Rep. Dylan Jordan of Clear Lake, first elected in 2024, finished fourth in a five-way race. As of 1 a.m. Wednesday, he trailed Ryan Kohl of Milbank and former Rep. Fred Deutsch of Florence, in first and second place, respectively. A recount is possible in that race, with 59 votes separating the top two vote-getters while Rep. Kent Roe, of Hayti, came in third place, with 72 fewer votes than Deutsch.
- District 4 has two possible recounts. In the other, Bryant’s Stephanie Sauder beat Clear Lake’s Tim Begalka by 105 votes in the unofficial tally from the Secretary of State.
- District 1 Rep. Logan Manhart of Aberdeen, elected in the 2024 primary, fell to Rep. Nick Fosness, a hospital administrator appointed by Gov. Larry Rhoden in 2025, and newcomer Daniel Kjos.
- Another recount was possible as of Wednesday at 1 a.m., in the District 16 race for House of Representatives. Rep. John Shubeck of Beresford trailed Lisa Bogue of Beresford by 245 votes in unofficial results. Jason VanDenTop of Canton was in third place, trailing Shubeck by 68 votes.
Vote totals incomplete
- Sen. John Carley of Piedmont, who won his first term in 2024, trailed William Meirose of Sturgis by 166 votes as of 1 a.m. Wednesday.
- Former Rep. Tyler Tordsen led Rep. Tony Kayser by two votes in the District 14 primary, with results still coming in. The Sioux Falls men are vying for second place and a spot on the November general election ballot alongside Rep. Taylor Rehfeldt of Sioux Falls, who led by more than 600 votes early Wednesday.
- District 28 Sen. Sam Marty of Prairie City was in a close race with former legislator Ryan Maher of Isabel.
- Former Rep. Gary Cammack of Union Center, who lost his seat in 2024, and Gary Deering of Hereford, led Reps. Terri Jorgenson of Piedmont and Kathy Rice of Blackhawk in the District 29 race.
- In District 30, Hot Springs Sen. Amber Hulse led former Sen. Julie Frye-Mueller of Rapid City by more than 1,300 votes.
- Former Sen. David Johnson of Rapid City led Sen. Curt Voight of Rapid City in a rematch of their 2024 race for District 33 Senate in early results.
- Rep. Heather Baxter of Rapid City has signaled her intention to challenge sitting Secretary of State Monae Johnson for the Republican nomination to that constitutional office at the state’s Republican Party convention this summer. In early results, Baxter trailed former Rapid City Rep. Becky Drury and Rep. Mike Derby in the District 34 primary.
- Early results in the District 35 primary put Sen. Greg Blanc, elected in 2024, in a close race with fellow Rapid City resident Nicole Mitzel.
South Dakota Searchlight is part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.
South Dakota
Republican businessman Toby Doeden advances to primary runoff in South Dakota governor’s race
Republican businessman Toby Doeden has advanced to a runoff in South Dakota governor’s race, NBC News projects.
Gov. Larry Rhoden, who replaced Kristi Noem last year when President Donald Trump nominated her to lead the Department of Homeland Security, was battling with Rep. Dusty Johnson and former state House Speaker Jon Hansen for a second spot in the July 28 runoff. The primary will go to a runoff because no candidate eclipsed 35% of the vote.
Trump did not issue an endorsement in the race. Doeden branded himself on his campaign website as “a total political outsider who’s tired of the government’s failure to deliver on its promises” and one of Trump’s “fiercest supporters.”
Rhoden, a former lieutenant governor, agriculture secretary and lawmaker, campaigned on property tax cuts and lowering crime in his bid for a four-year term.
Johnson is the state’s lone representative in the House, where he previously was chair of the Republican Main Street Caucus. Hansen, who was elected to the South Dakota House in 2010, held several leadership positions before he became speaker.
The Republican nominee will be the favorite to win the general election in the solidly red state this fall. A Democrat has not served as governor in South Dakota since the 1970s, and Trump carried the state by 29 points in 2024.
News
Agronomist: eastern South Dakota crops hit and miss
An agronomist in eastern South Dakota says corn and soybeans are hit and miss as the growing season begins.
Steven Zemlicka with AgTegra Cooperative tells Brownfield, “We’ve got corn anywhere from V1 all the way up to V4. Biggest stuff’s maybe touching V5. Corn’s coming right along, looks pretty good. A little bit of hail here too, but I don’t think it’s going to be much of an issue. Stands for the most part are pretty good, pretty solid.”
Zemlicka says soybean emergence has been slow due to the wet, cool conditions, and there are a few fields that still need planted.
“People were still working on planting soybeans when we got the recent rain.”
He says recent rain totals ranged from a half inch to as much as four inches in the northeast part of South Dakota; the southern part of the state has been drier.
South Dakota’s corn is rated 61 percent good to excellent, with soybean conditions rated 57 percent good to excellent, according to USDA’s first condition ratings of the season.
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