A few bounces went the way of South Dakota Saturday to allow them to break free from Missouri S&T and go on to a 34-3 win over the Miners in the DakotaDome.
S&T gave the host Coyotes all they wanted for much of the afternoon, but the breaks that went USD's way were able to either halt Miner scoring drives or set up scores.
The Miners had the first good scoring chance in the game, as Mike Greaving's leaping catch along the sideline midway through the first quarter set them up at the two-yard line.  However, Jerome Miller was stopped for a loss on a fourth down play from inside the one.
USD got on the board first with 4:30 to go in the half when Ben Oberle caught a deflected pass in the back of the end zone for an eight-yard touchdown.  Kirk Stilwell blocked the extra point to keep the score at 6-0, which is the way it stayed for the balance of the half.
S&T's defense held the Coyotes to 176 yards of total offense in the first half, but were only able to generate 95 yards themselves and had only four first downs in the first 30 minutes.
The balls continued to bounce in favor of the Coyotes early in the second half and they were able to extend their lead as a result.
First, Miner linebacker Justin Butler knocked the ball free from tailback Chris Ganious during the course of a 24-yard run -- only to have guard Luke Nordquist pick up the loose ball and take it to the Miner four-yard line.  Three plays later, Issac Newton scored on a three-yard run and a two-point conversion made it 14-0.
S&T drove right back down the field and moved all the way to the USD five, but Brad Guidry's pass to Mike Greaving was knocked out of his hands by Isaiah Dixon and into the hands of Byron Thomas, who returned the pick from his own end zone back to the Miner 17.  Noah Shepherd closed that short drive with a one-yard scoring run.
S&T, 3-3 on the season, returns home next Saturday to host Kentucky Wesleyan for Homecoming at Allgood-Bailey Stadium.  Game time will be at 1 p.m.

Team Statistics
First Downs: S&T 16, USD 19
Yards Rushing: S&T 94, USD 157
Yards Passing: S&T 171, USD 188
Total Yards: S&T 265, USD 345
Passing: S&T 24-37, USD 15-22
Int. Thrown: S&T 1, USD 2
Fumbles Lost: S&T 0, USD 1
Penalties: S&T 4-30, USD 6-68
Punting: S&T 5-34.0, USD 2-40.0.

The score by periods:
S&T                 0    0      3      0--  3
South Dakota   0    6    14    14--34
The scoring plays:
USD -- Oberle 8-yard pass from Shepard, kick blocked (4:30).
USD -- Newton 3-yard run, Shepard runs in conversion (12:38).
USD -- Shepard 1-yard run, conversion fails (8:08).
S&T -- Drahos 34-yard field goal (5:49).
USD -- Foster 1-yard run, Veazie kick (12:37).
USD -- Ganious 5-yard run, Veazie kick (6:58).

Individual Statistics
Rushing -- S&T: Shields 9 for 39, Shockley 1 for 26, Miller 7 for 21, Howard 2 for 19, Greaving 1 for 5, Guidry 1 for minus 2, Schleuter 4 for minus 14. South Dakota: Ganious 13 for 94, Lee 7 for 24, Shepard 6 for 24, Foster 4 for 17, Newton 9 for 17, Oberle 1 for minus 7, Nowotny 4 for minus 15, Nordquist 1 for 11.
Passing -- S&T: Guidry 11-20-81-1, Schleuter 13-15-90-0, Greaving 0-2-0-0. South Dakota: Shepard 14-20-159-1, Warren 1-1-29-0, Fance 0-1-0-1.
Pass Receiving -- S&T: Crider 6 for 44, Beard 5 for 50, Howard 5 for 37, Greaving 3 for 30, Shockley 3 for 8, Shields 1 for 2, Drallmeier 1 for 0. South Dakota: Skelly 9 for 124, Oberle 2 for 23, Ganious 1 for 16, Nowotny 1 for 12, Landry 1 for 9, Helland 1 for 4.