The South Dakota football team posted one of its top offensive performances of the season to propel the Coyotes to a thrilling 50-48 victory over Cal Poly in front of more than 7,900 fans in San Luis Obispo, Calif. The win handed the Mustangs their first home loss of the season and sealed a 5-5 season for USD, while also giving the Coyotes third place in the Great West Conference with a 2-2 record.

Senior quarterback Noah Shepard (Thorton, Colo.) continued his assault on the USD record book with another career day, as he tied USD’s single-game completion record. A record he already set in 2007, Shepard connected on 26 of his 37 attempts for 413 yards against the Mustangs. He also became the record holder for career 400-yard passing game with two, while his five touchdown passes versus Cal Poly were just one short of the single-game record. He also rushed for two touchdowns on the day.

Shepard’s work was almost undone, though, as Cal Poly mounted a late comeback to nearly claim the victory. USD led by 22 points or more on three occasions in the second half, but the Mustangs scored the final three touchdowns of the game, including one with 20 seconds left, to climb to within two. Junior linebacker Corey Kuehl (Rock Rapids, Iowa) preserved the win when he batted down the pass attempt on the two-point conversion. The Mustangs were able to recover the onside kick, but the Coyote defense forced four straight incompletions to end the game.

Leading an offense that racked up 553 yards of total offense, Shepard connected with five different Coyote wide receivers for his touchdowns. He completed scoring passes to junior tight end London Landry (six yards), sophomore running back Chris Ganious (44 yards), senior Dan Skelly (35 yards), freshman wide receiver Will Powell (43 yards) and freshman wide receiver Tom Flanagan (nine yards). Skelly’s touchdown grab broke USD’s career record and gave him 19 in his four years at USD, as he finished the day with 123 yards on five catches. He ends his Coyote career with exactly 2,000 receiving yards, becoming the fourth USD player to accomplish the feat. Flanagan hauled in six catches for 70 yards to build on a freshman record for catches that he broke last week, while Powell set a career high with 92 yards.

Cal Poly scored first to take an early 7-0 advantage at the 11:05 mark in the first quarter, but it would prove to be their only lead of the contest. The Coyotes would score on their next eight possessions, starting with a 10-play, 67-yard drive that was capped with Shepard’s six-yard toss to Landry. After a Cal Poly punt, USD stormed down the field again with a seven-play, 80-yard drive to end the first quarter with a 12-7 advantage after a one-yard touchdown run by Shepard.

The second quarter was more of the same for the Coyotes, as South Dakota posted 17 points in the frame. Ganious scampered for a 44-yard touchdown after catching a screen pass from Shepard at the 14:00 mark, but Cal Poly cut the deficit to 19-14 midway through the quarter with a six-yard touchdown run of the its own. USD responded with a 10-point run behind a 23-yard field goal from sophomore Dustin Nowotny (Rapid City, S.D.) with 2:49 left and an eight-yard touchdown run from Shepard with eight seconds in the period to take a 36-14 advantage into halftime.

A scoring frenzy broke out in the third quarter with both squads scoring three touchdowns. Skelly caught a 35-yard strike from Shepard at the 14:18 mark, but Cal Poly responded with a 42-yard touchdown pass of its own. Not to be outdone, Shepard found Powell for a 43-yard scoring connection at the 9:09 mark, before the Mustangs responded with a 59-yard touchdown pass. The Coyotes settled things down with a nine-play, 68-yard drive that ended with a nine-yard scoring completion to Flanagan, but once again Cal Poly had an answer. This time finding Dmnque Johnson for one of his five touchdown catches with 2:08 left in the quarter.

The Coyotes crafted several drives in the fourth quarter, including a 44-yard effort in 5:16, but were unable to post any more points, which allowed the Mustangs to close the gap, but USD held in the final minutes.

Sophomore linebacker Adam Broders (Bloomfield, Neb.) led the South Dakota defense with 13 tackles, including eight solo stops and a sack. Senior defensive lineman Wayne Curry (Tampa, Fla.) posted seven tackles and a sack to finish his career with 17 sacks, good enough for sixth all-time at USD.

Notes: USD’s 50 points are the most since putting up 51 against Drake on Sept. 19…the contest was also the third this season in which USD has posted at least 50 points….USD’s 5-5 record in 2009 means the Coyotes have never had a losing season under Head Coach Ed Meierkort.

Courtesy: USD Sports Information.