Brookings, South Dakota — Mark Gronowski threw a season-high three touchdown passes to the Janke brothers and the Jackrabbit defense held Holy Cross out of the end zone as top-seeded South Dakota State opened the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs with a 31-3 victory Saturday afternoon at Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium.
The Jackrabbits improved to 6-1 on the season, while Holy Cross had its season come to an end with a 3-1 mark.
The Missouri Valley Football Conference Offensive Player of the Year, Gronowski connected with Jaxon Janke on an 11-yard touchdown pass with 2 minutes, 31 seconds remaining in the first half to open the scoring. That capped a six-play, 63-yard drive that included a 33-yard run by Pierre Strong, Jr. that put the Jackrabbits deep into opposing territory.
After Cole Frahm kicked a 20-yard field early in the second quarter for a 10-0 lead, the Jackrabbits pushed their lead to 17 later in the stanza on a 13-yard touchdown pass from Gronowski to Jadon Janke.
Holy Cross answered on its next drive for its lone points of the game. After having a 49-yard field goal attempt on their opening drive, the Crusaders’ Derek Ng knocked in a 47-yard field goal into the wind in the final 30 seconds of the first half.
Any hope of a Holy Cross comeback was dashed in the span of two plays. The Crusaders stopped SDSU on its first offensive drive of the second half, but fumbled the ensuing punt with the Jackrabbits’ Chase Norblade recovering at the HC 45. On the very next play, Gronowski hit Jadon Janke deep over the middle for the touchdown and a 24-3 lead.
SDSU turned to the ground game for most of the remainder of the game, closing out the scoring with a 60-yard touchdown run by running back Isaiah Davis. A freshman, Davis posted a career-high 156 yards on 10 carries, while Strong ended the day with 13 carries for 76 yards. As a team, the Jackrabbits ran for 281 yards and finished with a 439-198 advantage in total offense.
Gronowski ended the afternoon 12-of-21 passing for 153 yards. Jadon Janke tallied three receptions for 69 yards and the two touchdowns, while twin brother, Jaxon, caught a team-high five passes for 37 yards and a score.
Holy Cross quarterback Matthew Sluka, also a Jerry Rice Award finalist for the top FCS freshman along with Gronowski, completed 10-of-21 passes for 76 yards, but was sacked four times. Peter Oliver paced the Crusaders on the ground with 52 yards on nine carries, while Spence Gilliam caught a game-high six passes for 55 yards.
Adam Bock led the Jackrabbit defense with nine tackles, followed by eight from fellow linebacker Preston Tetzlaff. Joe Lang and Jacob Dobbs of Holy Cross shared game-high honors in tackles with 13 apiece.
The Jackrabbits are in line to host Southern Illinois in quarterfinal action.
