South Dakota State football dominates Southern Illinois, extends win streak to 4 games

South Dakota State football kept its winning ways up on Saturday by cruising past Southern Illinois, 41-10.

The Jackrabbits scored points on seven of their first eight overall possessions, a stretch that spanned into the third quarter. Five of those drives ended in the end zone with touchdowns.

By the end of the first quarter, South Dakota State was up just 3-0, but things got out of hand quickly in the second quarter when the Jackrabbits scored 28 points to take a 31-0 lead into the locker room for halftime.

The second half was a lot more calm, with the Jackrabbits scoring 10 points in the third and zero in the final frame.

The Jackrabbits outgained Southern Illinois 503 yards to 233 with a balanced approach of 215 yards through the air and another 288 on the ground. South Dakota State converted on nine of their 14 third-down tries. The SDSU defense picked the ball off twice and earned two sacks.

South Dakota State QB Mark Gronowski went 11-of-17 for 185 yards. He also racked up five yards and a score on the ground. Running back Amar Johnson put up 157 yards on the ground and scored twice. Angel Johnson added a touchdown on the ground to go along with his 50 yards. Kirby Vorhees also found the end zone on the ground.

The Jackrabbits will be back in action Saturday when they hit the road to take on Missouri State to wrap up the regular season. That game is slated to kick off at 2 p.m. CT