Senior quarterback Noah Shepard threw five touchdown passes and ran for two more scores as South Dakota led by 22 points on three occasions in the second half and held on to beat Cal Poly 50-48 in a Great West Conference football game Saturday night before 7,979 in Alex G. Spanos Stadium.

Shepard completed 22 of his first 26 passes and finished 26 of 37 for 413 yards as the Coyotes completed their 2009 season with a 5-5 overall record and 2-2 in Great West games.

Cal Poly, despite season highs of 48 points and 533 yards, fell to 4-6 and 1-3. The Mustangs, who won the Great West title a year ago, are assured of their first losing season since 2003.

Trailing 50-28 late in the third quarter, Cal Poly mounted a comeback with three touchdown passes from junior quarterback Tony Smith to junior wide receiver Dominique Johnson.

But a two-point conversion pass by Smith which would have tied the game with 20 seconds to play was batted down by South Dakota junior linebacker Cory Kuehl.

An onside kick was recovered by Cal Poly senior safety David Fullerton, but Smith threw four incomplete passes to end the game.

Shepard connected with London Landry (six yards), Chris Ganious (44 yards), Dan Skelly (35 yards), Will Powell (43 yards) and Tom Flanagan (nine yards) on scoring passes for the Coyotes. He also ran one and eight yards for touchdowns as South Dakota built 36-14, 43-21 and 50-28 advantages.

Dustin Nowotny added a 23-yard field goal for the Coyotes in the second quarter.

Johnson caught scoring passes of 20, 59, 13, 42 and 42 yards, his five touchdown passes breaking a Cal Poly record. Ramses Barden, now with the New York Giants, caught four scoring passes against Weber State in 2007.

Smith’s six touchdown passes – he connected with Eric Gardley on a 42-yard scoring pass in the third quarter – tied the school mark. Jonathan Dally twice threw six touchdown passes in a game.

Gardley ran six yards on a reverse for a Mustang touchdown in the second period.

Each team scored three touchdowns in a wild third quarter.

South Dakota posted advantages of 27-23 in first downs and 553-533 in total yards. The Coyotes, avenging a 49-22 loss to Cal Poly in 2008, scored on their first eight possessions of the game before Shepard was intercepted by sophomore safety Greg Francis late in the third quarter.

Smith recorded career highs of 24 completions, 38 attempts and 407 yards passing. Johnson finished with career highs of 13 receptions and 273 yards while sophomore slotback David Mahr caught five passes for 41 yards.

Sophomore fullback Jake Romanelli rushed for 91 yards on 16 carries to lead all rushers in the game.

For South Dakota, Shepard rushed for 61 yards on eight trips and Isaac Newton added 53 yards, also on eight carries. Top Coyote receivers were Flanagan and Nowotny, each with six catches.

Mustang redshirt freshman linebacker Kenny Jackson led the Cal Poly defense with 11 tackles, including seven solo stops. Sophomore linebacker Adam Broders made 13 stops for the Coyotes.

There was just one interception in the game – Francis’ interception which was returned 22 yards – but Cal Poly failed to score on the succeeding possession midway through the second half. There were no fumbles by either team.

Cal Poly concludes its 2009 season with a non-conference game next Saturday at Weber State. Kickoff is set for 11:05 a.m. PST.

advertisement | your ad here

Discuss Story On Newsvine
Rate Story:
View popularLowHigh
Email
Instant Message
Print