Montana State University
University of South Dakota
MSU Downs Coytoes in Overtime Win, 31-24
10/17/2009 4:51:26 PM | Football
USD won the toss and elected to give the ball to the Bobcats to start the overtime. MSU was dinged for a personal foul on the first play, but moments later Kempt found the streaking sophomore for the go-ahead score.
On its overtime possession, USD marched the ball down to the Bobcat 3-yard line. But on fourth down and needing a touchdown, Noah Shepherd's perfect pass was dropped in the end zone and the non-conference game went to the Bobcats, now 4-2 overall. The Coyotes fell to 3-4.
Overtime was setup by a 21-yard field in regulation from MSU's Jason Cunningham with 38 seconds remaining.
Kempt started at quarterback in place of ailing Mark Iddins who was out all week with a sickness. The junior was rust-free, hitting 23 of 34 passes for 249 yards and three touchdowns.
CJ Palmer, also making his first start of the season, rushed for 109 yards on 19 carries and a score. Palmer, a sophomore, was filling in for regular Aaron Mason who suffered a concussion in last week's loss to Northern Arizona.
Kempt's favorite target was Julius Lloyd who collected seven passes for 96 yards.
MSU enjoyed its highest scoring half of the season and took a 21-10 lead into halftime. Kempt opened the scoring with a 13-yard reception to Everett Gilbert, who followed a crushing block by tackle Leo Davis. Later in the first quarter, Kempt found Kyle Begger for a 1-yard score.
USD responded with a 1-yard scoring pass from Shepherd to Tom Flanagan. Early in the second quarter Dustin Nowotny kicked a 25-yard field goal to cut MSU's lead to 14-10.
The Bobcats responded with a 1-yard run by Palmer, making it 21-10 at the half. Palmer rushed for 59 yards in the first half.
Then came the third quarter when, for the first time all season, the Bobcats were shutout. Shepherd found Will Powell for a 17-yard score.
Shepherd was 20 of 35 for 261 yards and had three touchdowns. Running back Chris Ganious led USD with 97 yards on the ground.
The score remained 21-17 until the Coyote combination of Shepherd and Flanagan connected on a 52-yard scoring pass to give USD its only lead of the game, 24-21 with 3:19 left to play. That was all the time needed for the Bobcats to get into Cunningham's range for the tying field goal.
The Bobcats are on the road next week, traveling to Eastern Washington in a Big Sky Conference game. USD visits Northern Colorado in another non-conference tilt for the Coyotes.
