No. 2-ranked Cougars shut out Briar Cliff, 42-0, on homecoming

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — In front of a capacity crowd of 3,045, the University of Sioux Falls football team made its homecoming game a successful one, easily handling the Briar Cliff Chargers, 42-0, Saturday afternoon at the Sanford Health Sports Complex at Bob Young Field.

The Cougars now stand at 6-0 on the season, and 6-0 in the GPAC, while the Chargers drop to 1-5 on the year, and 1-4 in conference play.

It was the fourth shutout in six games for the Cougar defense, and third in three home games (outscored opponents 159-0).

The Cougars got on the board early in the first quarter when quarterback Lorenzo Brown (Bristol, Conn.) threw the first of his four touchdowns on the day, an eight-yarder to wideout Tony Benedetto (Crystal Lake, Ill.), making it 7-0 with 9:40 remaining. It was the first touchdown of Benedetto’s career at USF (transferred from Bemidji State).

After BCU quarterback Kyle Gerdes threw and interception to Andrew Schoenfelder (Sioux Falls, S.D.), Brown found sophomore wideout Alex Anderson (Sioux Falls, S.D.) wide-open in the end zone for a 30-yard touchdown strike, giving USF 14-0 lead with 7:56 left.

Benedetto caught his second touchdown of the day, a 10-yarder, increasing the advantage to 21-0 with 17 seconds to play.

In the second quarter, the Cougars tacked on two more touchdowns. Brown threw his fourth touchdown of the day when he threw a bubble screen to tailback Kristian Porter (Hawarden, Iowa), who took it seven yards to the house, making it 28-0 USF with 8:15 left in the half. Porter scored his second touchdown of the afternoon on an 11-yard scamper with 2:18 to play, making it 35-0. It would be that way heading to halftime.

In the third quarter, the Cougars put a capper on the victory, as Porter scored his second rushing touchdown of the day (third overall), a five-yarder, making it 42-0 with 4:42 left in the quarter.

It was a solid day for Brown, as he went 16-23 passing with 199 yards and four touchdowns. Anderson led the receiving corps, catching four passes for 90 yards, and one touchdown. Porter led all rushers with 91 yards on nine carries. In addition, with his 58 yards rushing, senior tailback Erik Cimpl (Dante, S.D.) moved past former Cougar Trey Erickson (Yankton, S.D.) into 10th on the team’s all-time rushing list.

Defensively, the Cougars held the Chargers to only 59 total yards, and only two rushing yards. In six games, the Cougars have now allowed 19 rushing yards (3.1 per game). Trevor Holleman (New Holland, S.D.) and Tyler Newman (Aberdeen, S.D.) each had two tackles for loss, totaling 14 and 16 yards, respectively.

After a bye week, the Cougars return to action on Saturday, Oct. 25, when they travel to Mitchell, S.D., to face rival Dakota Wesleyan University. Kick-off is set for 1:00 p.m.
*Courtesy: USF Sports Information