Box Score

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – The University of Sioux Falls, ranked No. 24 nationally, used several big scoring plays in the first half and then used a pair of big defensive stops to hold on for a 39-21 victory over Southwest Minnesota State in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference football at Bob Young Field on Saturday night.
 
USF (2-1, 2-1 NSIC South), which has now defeated SMSU seven straight times, finished the game with 500 yards offense, including 304 on the ground on 55 attempts. Gabriel Watson rushed for a game-high 193 yards and two touchdowns to pace the Cougar offense, while teammate Caden Walters completed 12 of 17 pass attempts for 196 yards and four touchdown passes.
 
USF held a 33-21 lead in the fourth quarter, but SMSU wouldn't go away and had pair of red-zone opportunities to cut the deficit to one score, but the Cougars defense came through with a pair of big stops to seal the win.
 
SMSU (0-3, 0-3 NSIC South) closed the game with 339 yards of offense and 21 first downs with Blake Gimbel completing 24 of 42 passes for 301 yards and two touchdowns to pace the Mustang attack. He completed passes to 12 different receivers in the game, while racking up his ninth career 300-yard passing game.
 
SMSU's Daniel Davis caught a game-high seven passes for 105 yards and one touchdown and also had a 47-yard punt return. Max Simmons rushed for a team-high 38 yards and one touchdown on 16 attempts.
 
The SMSU offense was much stronger tonight after being held to 142 yards and eight first downs in last week's loss to Wayne State.
 
The Mustang defense was led by Shane Ratkovich, who racked up a game-high 16 tackles with one sack. Cory Hollowell added 11 tackles, while Lucas Fisher finished with eight stops.
 
Sioux Falls opened the game's scoring on its fourth offensive play of the game as Walters completed a 57-yard touchdown pass to Nate Johnson to make the score 6-0 at the 9:08 mark following a missed PAT.
 
On USF's next possession, Watson broke free on an 81-yard touchdown run to push the lead to 12-0 with 6:28 remaining in the opening quarter.
 
Following a USF punt late in the first quarter that pinned SMSU at its own six-yard line, the Mustang put together its most impressive drive of the season to put up its first points of the game. SMSU moved 94 yards on 14 plays with Simmons closing the drive with a four-yard touchdown run with 10:52 left in the second quarter to trim the lead to 12-7. SMSU racked up five first downs on the drive with Gimbel connecting with Davis on a 25-yard reception and later on a 13-yard pass play to keep the drive alive.
 
USF was forced to punt on its next drive, but the SMSU offense failed to pick up a first down despite taking over at the Cougar 48-yard line.
 
USF countered with a seven-play, 78-yard drive, capped by a Walters 41-yard touchdown pass to Michael Maxwell to push the lead to 19-7 with 5:19 left in the half.
 
The Cougars answered once again with a big 13-play drive that covered 70 yards as Walters fired a 4-yard touchdown pass to Nate Johnson with 13 seconds left in the half to build a 26-14 halftime lead.
 
USF finished the opening half with 317 total yards of offense and 13 first downs. SMSU closed the first half with 190 yards and 12 first downs.
 
USF started the second half with another scoring drive to extend the margin to 33-14. Early in the possession, the Cougars faced second-and-25 from their own 43-yard line, but picked up a first down two plays later following an 11-yard run and a 24-yard pass. The drive was closed off by a 1-yard touchdown run by Watson on fourth-and-goal.
 
The Mustang offense came right with its own scoring drive as Gimbel fired a 13-yard touchdown pass to Aaron Murphy to close off a 13-play, 84-yard drive at the 4:15 mark of the third quarter. SMSU converted on third-down three times during the drive, including a 15-yard pass from Gimbel to Davis on third-and-10 from the USF 28-yard line.
 
The SMSU special teams came up big moments later as Davis nearly broke free for a touchdown, but had to settle for a 47-yard punt return down the USF 4-yard line. SMSU failed to convert on the golden opportunity and cut the deficit to five points, as the USF defense forced SMSU to turn the ball over on downs at the 2-yard line to maintain the 33-21 lead early in the fourth quarter.
 
USF picked up a pair of first downs to get out of the shadow of its own end zone before being forced to punt. On the punt attempt, the snap went over the head of punter Thomas Chapin, but Chapin calmly picked up the ball and booted a 33-yard punt, setting up SMSU at its own 33-yard line.
 
Moments later, Gimbel completed a 54-yard pass to Carter Kirk down to the USF 13-yard line. But bad luck struck again for SMSU as Gimbel had a screen pass tipped and intercepted by Brody Grantham, who returned the ball to the SMSU 41-yard line. USF would later score as Walters found Johnson on a 15-yard touchdown pass to push the lead to 39-21 midway through the fourth and secure the win.
 
USF is now 66-8 at home since Young Field opened in 2007.
 
Southwest Minnesota State returns home next Saturday, Sept. 22, facing Upper Iowa University (1-2, 1-2 NSIC South) with kickoff set for 1 p.m. at the Schwan Regional Event Center.