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Border rivalry keeps growing (Argus Story)

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  • Border rivalry keeps growing (Argus Story)

    http://www.argusleader.com/apps/pbcs...06/1002/SPORTS



    Border rivalry keeps growing
    Great West title possibly at stake



    CHRIS SOLARI
    csolari@argusleader.com

    Article Published: 11/12/05

    The North Dakota State Bison have waited a year for revenge. South Dakota State needs two wins for a share of the Great West Conference championship.

    Yet another seed in this fledgling cross-border rivalry.

    The Jackrabbits must hang onto the Dakota Marker trophy today if they want a shot at the title, taking the road north to face the Bison at 6 p.m. in the Fargodome.

    “You hope that the games at the end of the season become big games,” Jackrabbit coach John Stiegelmeier said. “We’ve played ourselves into a position to talk about more than we’ve been used to at South Dakota State. All the rivalry and trophy stuff, that’s the outside stuff right now.”

    SDSU, at 5-4 and 2-1 in the Great West, must win its last two games to garner at least a share of the title, which would be the school’s first football conference championship since 1963 in the NCC.

    “It’s what we think about 24 hours a day. It’s what I think about every night before bed,” senior receiver Josh Davis said. “The chance to win a conference championship is something that we haven’t had around here in a while.”

    The Jacks are a half-game behind Cal Poly and Cal Davis, both of which have one league game left. If all three win out, SDSU will share the title.

    First however, the Jackrabbits must take care of business in Fargo. A year ago, behind Brad Nelson’s 22-yard touchdown pass to Chris Molitor with 39 seconds to play, SDSU shocked the Bison. It was the opening salvo in the effort to create a Division I-AA rivalry.

    “I think our guys really recognize when this game was established as a rivalry game between the student bodies of SDSU and NDSU, that it was a great idea,” Bison coach Craig Bohl said. “We were disappointed we didn’t win last year, and SDSU played well and beat us. Our players are certainly excited and will be ready to play.”

    The billing for this year’s version is as a battle between potent offense and stingy defense.

    SDSU leads the Great West in scoring (35.1 points) and total yards per game (402.9), mainly because of its battering ram running back tandem of Anthony Watson and Cory Koenig. Junior Watson, who has reclaimed the starting role, averages 94.9 yards with nine touchdowns and is coming off a third straight 100-yard game in SDSU’s 55-7 win a week ago against Southern Utah. Sophomore Koenig, who played sparingly last week, averages 86 yards a game with six TDs.

    Meanwhile, the NDSU allows a league-low 273.3 yards and just 13.9 points a contest.

    “In three years since I’ve been a head coach, (the Jackrabbits) are playing the best I’ve seen,” Bohl said. “They’ve got some big weapons over there, and we’re playing well on defense and well as a football team. It should be a classic matchup.”

    But Stiegelmeier is quick to point out that SDSU’s defense is no slouch, allowing 21.8 points despite yielding 348.2 yards a game. Stopping the Bison running attack, led by junior Kyle Steffes is the top priority.

    "I don’t like those 52-48 games – that’s not the way football was made to be played,” Stiegelmeier said. “I expect it to be a defensive battle.”

    Today’s prize is a 250-pound granite obelisk, a scaled-down version of the North-South Dakota border markers, that sits proudly on display in a Ralph Ginn Trophy Room case. To reclaim it, the Jacks must survive the hostile, cacophonous Fargodome crowd.

    “Having that Montana game under our belts, it ain’t going to be as big a thing as it might have been in the past,” SDSU junior quarterback Andy Kardoes said of the dome’s atmosphere. “But anytime you go up there, their crowds are crazy. It’s going to be fun.”

    Reach Chris Solari at 977-3923.


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