This story was posted at 12:37 a.m. Sunday, Oct. 19.
The No. 3/5 Cal Poly football team passed a critical road test Saturday, defeating No. 21/22 South Dakota State 42-28 at Coughlin-Alumni Stadium in Brookings, S.D.
The Mustangs defense hounded the Jackrabbits, recording a school Division-I record 10 sacks, and freshman safety Greg Francis intercepted two passes in the win.
With the non-conference win, Cal Poly (4-1, 1-0 Great West Conference) denied South Dakota State a third straight victory in the series, which Cal Poly now leads 3-2.
The Mustangs never trailed, scoring on their first possession on a 2-yard touchdown run by junior running back Jono Grayson.
Grayson, starting for the injured James Noble, rushed for 124 yards and two touchdowns on eight carries while senior quarterback Jonathan Dally had a touchdown running and passing in the win.
The Mustangs, who came into the contest second in the Football Championship Subdivision (formerly Division I-AA) in sacks, were led by junior defensive end Ryan Shotwell’s three. Nose tackle James Chen and linebacker Carlton Gillespie added 2 « apiece for Cal Poly.
The game seemed to be in hand for the Mustangs after taking a 42-21 lead on a Ryan Mole 1-yard run, but the Jackrabbits fought back.
Senior wide receiver JaRon Harris caught a 5-yard pass from senior quarterback Ryan Berry to cut the lead to 42-28. South Dakota State (3-4, 2-1 Missouri Valley Conference) would recover the ensuing onside kick in scoring position again before three straight sacks from Sean Lawyer, Gillespie and Chen forced a punt.
The Mustangs were then able to pick up two first downs on four rushes to run out the clock.
Grayson scored on an 81-yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter to give Cal Poly its largest lead of the game, 35-14.
Dally completed 11 of 18 passes for 132 yards, including a career-high seven to senior wide receiver Tre’dale Tolver for 59 yards.
Senior running back Ryan Mole had 81 yards on 10 carries.
Cal Poly will play host to its next four opponents beginning Saturday against conference foe Southern Utah at 6:05 p.m. in Alex G. Spanos Stadium.