Published: Oct 9, 2005
Saturday stunner
SDSU topples Cal Davis
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Chris Solari
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Article Published: 10/9/05
Frustrated after allowing a two-point conversion pass completion right in front of him minutes earlier, Hank McCall delivered the biggest play of South Dakota State's season.
McCall stripped the ball from Cal Davis receiver Blaise Smith on a near two-point conversion completion that would have tied the game late in the fourth quarter, and the Jackrabbits held on to defeat the Aggies 16-14 in Great West Conference action Saturday.
"I think (Smith) was calling for pass interference, but I didn't think I interfered with him at all," said McCall, who led the Jacks with 11 tackles, an interception and two pass deflections. "The rest is history - Jacks win."
The victory featured a little bit of revenge. A year ago, Davis battered SDSU 52-0 in California in what was the Jacks first-ever Division I-AA contest.
There was almost nothing to cheer about in that game. But, in SDSU's first home football game ever held in Sioux Falls, the 7,239 SDSU fans at Howard Wood Field had plenty to cheer about - especially with a few critical plays on special teams.
Sophomore kicker Parker Douglass broke the Jackrabbit school record with a 54-yard field goal with the strong wind in the third quarter. He also connected from 38 and 32 yards and came up short on a 65-yard try at the end of the first half by about a foot.
McCall's key defense of the two-point conversion pass from Aggies quarterback Jon Grant was followed by SDSU's Chris Doblar fielding the ensuing onside kick like a shortstop.
Punter Neal Bainbridge saved the victory, corralling a slightly high snap and getting off his punt under intense pressure with less than a minute to play. Bainbridge's quick boot forced Cal Davis redshirt freshman Nero Evero into a roughing the punter penalty, which gave SDSU an automatic first down that sealed the win.
"It's just a huge win for our players, and I think we deserved it," Jackrabbit coach John Stiegelmeier said. "Not that (the Aggies) didn't, but our guys have battled, and we've lost some close ones. Now, we've won a close one, and you forget all that other stuff from the weeks before."
The Jackrabbits (3-3, 1-1 Great West) sliced apart the Aggies defense on the ground, with sophomore Cory Koenig powering his way to 141 of their 185 rushing yards. It was Koenig's third straight game with more than 100 yards after becoming the starter.
Jackrabbit junior quarterback Andy Kardoes, still battling a high ankle sprain, was 10-of-22 for 85 yards, but showed some mobility by rushing for 20 yards. His offensive line, also ravaged by injuries, allowed just one sack and two quarterback hurries.
"It's all about the line," Koenig said.
Koenig's 52-yard run early in the first quarter, on the first play after McCall's interception, set up Kardoes' 2-yard sneak for a touchdown that was SDSU's only TD of the game. The 7-0 score marked the first time the Jacks held a lead since Sept. 10 against Valparaiso.
Meantime, Cal Davis (2-3, 0-1) struggled offensively throughout the first half and into the third quarter. A pass-heavy squad, led by 2004 first-team all-Great West quarterback Jon Grant, the Aggies had just 94 yards through the air after three periods against SDSU's soft zone.
Douglass, who missed the 65-yarder only after a 55-yard try was negated by an SDSU holding penalty, kicked two field goals in the third. His 54-yarder broke the 52-yard mark that Douglass tied against Cal Poly in Brookings two weeks earlier. His 32-yarder with six seconds to play in the quarter gave the Jacks a 14-0 edge.
That's when Grant's general-like leadership took over, marching the Aggies 80 yards to start the fourth and converting on third down three times. The last one was an 18-yard touchdown to redshirt freshman DeMario Warren, who squirted through the Jackrabbits on a screen pass with 9:35 to play.
Grant then found Smith on a quick slant for the two-point conversion, with McCall a half-beat too late, to make it 16-8.
SDSU was forced to punt on its next drive. The Aggies benefitted from a 15-yard penalty on the Jacks' Brock Gentile for interfering with the catch, setting up Cal Davis at its own 45.
On fourth-and-8 from the SDSU 42, Grant connected with receiver Kale Turner in the heart of the Jacks' defense for 17 yards to keep the drive alive. Needing 6 yards on another fourth-down try, the pair hooked up again on the exact same slant route to put the Aggies at the SDSU 3.
Two plays later, Grant hit tight end Matt Gravette on a quick flare to put Cal Davis within two.
"It was just good play-calling," said Grant, who finished 26-of-41 for 218 yards, 124 of them coming in the final quarter.
With 2:05 left, Davis needed the conversion to tie. The Aggies called a pass play to Smith, which was added to the playbook just this week, and Grant lobbed a perfect pass high into the back right corner of the end zone. The 6-foot-2 receiver jumped and had the ball in his hands on his way down when 5-11 McCall stuck his hand in and batted the ball to the ground.
"Hank was mad the first time they got the two-point conversion on him the first time," Stiegelmeier said. "He would have been the guy that was saying in our huddle, more than anybody else, 'Try to go at me.'
"That's the kind of guy he is. He's a competitor. He wants to be the guy who wins the game."
Cal Davis players argued that Smith had landed before the ball was stripped, but the conversion attempt was ruled incomplete.
"I thought the call could have gone either way. It's a judgement call on the official - did he have possession or not?" Aggies coach Bob Biggs said. "In his judgement, he didn't have possession. It was a nice play by the DB."
Warren finished with 180 all-purpose yards for the Aggies, 114 of them rushing. Two weeks ago, Cal Davis shocked Division I-A Stanford 20-17 on a last-second Grant TD pass to Smith. In SDSU's I-AA debut last year, the Aggies won 52-0.
The battered Jackrabbits get a week off to heal and rest before hosting D-II Missouri-Rolla for Hobo Day on Oct. 22 in Brookings.
"I think it's pretty critical right now," Kardoes said. "We're all banged up all around. Nothing serious, but something that a week's rest is going to help."