Determination drove the USD football team in the Coyotes 50-48 win over Cal Poly this past weekend.
To lose would have meant head coach Ed Mierkort’s first losing season in 10 years, six of which have been with the Coyotes and the win was enough to cling to a 5-5 record.
“A lot of people checked out on this team when we were 3-5 and they didn’t know how much we have improved since then,” Meierkort said. “When you are going through this transition and you can finish .500 or better, that is big. With all tough teams we played this year, we won’t sweat going anywhere next year. We continued to get better every week. I just wish we had another game.”
Senior quarterback Noah Shepard said finishing at .500 was great for the program.
“The seniors and the rest of the team didn’t want to go out with a losing record at all,” Shepard said. “It’s just a positive that the team to build on and be proud of to battle back from 3-5. It will help the team with recruiting.”
But victory didn’t come easy for the Coyotes as the game boiled down to the last minute yet again. Cal Poly scored with 20 seconds left when Tony Smith hit Dominque Johnson for a 42-yard touchdown after the ball was initially tipped by sophomore Shane Potter.
Cal Poly then had the chance to tie the game with the two point conversion, but sophomore Cory Kuehl batted the pass attempt away to keep the Coyotes up 50-48.
“I saw the quarterback fake the pitch and stuck with him and he bootlegged right into me,” Kuehl said. “I was in his face and he threw the ball up and I was able to just bat it away.”
However, the play didn’t seal the game for the Coyotes as Cal Poly recovered the ensuing on-side kick, but the USD defense forced four straight incomplete passes to seal the game.
“At the time I thought the play ended the game, but they went out there and recovered the on-side kick and we knew we had to stop them,” Kuehl said. “We knew we had to make a play. We executed well on their final drive and stepped up to stop them.”
Usually this year, the Coyotes have been on the wrong side of a last second comeback, but Meierkort said the team wasn’t about to let it happen again.
“This game we found out a way to win at the end,” Meierkort said. “Cory stepped up on the last play to get us out of there with a win. It was a big time play.”
Cal Poly scored first to start the game when Smith hit Johnson for a 20-yard touchdown pass to go up 7-0 with 11:05 left in the first quarter.
But the Coyotes responded right away when Shepard hit junior tight end London Landry for a six-yard touchdown. The extra point failed, but Shepard said the team’s opening drive helped get the team going.
“Coming out on that first possession and moving down the field and scoring helped us to stick with our game plan,” Shepard said. “When we get behind, we aren’t always able to stick with it, so I think that first drive really helped.”
The Coyotes’ offense continued to roll as they scored on their next seven possessions.
Shepard did most of the scoring as he got in the end zone twice on two rushing touchdowns, a one-yard run and an eight-yard run, and threw touchdown passes of 44, 35, 43 and nine yards.
Sophomore Dustin Nowotny provided the Coyotes other score with a 23-yard field goal in the second quarter.
The Coyotes had built a 50-28 lead with 4:23 left in the third quarter before the Mustangs started their comeback.
Cal Poly got a touchdown pass from Smith to Johnson for 13-yards before the end of the third quarter, and then Smith hit Johnson for two more touchdowns, both 42 yards, in the fourth quarter to pull within 50-48 before Kuehl batted away the two-point coversion.
“I thought our defense played well, except for some of our corner play, which gave up some big plays that we didn’t need to give up,” Meierkort said. “We did have a few tipped passes that we had control that they ended up getting, so they had some fortunate bounces.”
Meierkort said the offense was phenomenal.
“That’s the best an offense has ever performed that I’ve coached,” Meierkort said. “Noah was amazing with seven touchdowns and our receiving core did a great job. It was a game where we were definitely going to throw the ball with what they were doing to us.”
The Coyotes racked up 553 yards of total offense and was led by Shepard, who passed for 413 yards and five touchdowns on 26 of 37 passing and a pick, and also rushed for 61 yards and two touchdowns on eight carries.
The performance helped Shepard earn Co-Player of the Week in the Great West Conference in his last college game.
Shepard said he tried to not to think it was his last game that much.
“It was in my mind a little bit, but I was just having fun throughout the game,” Shepard said. “I got emotional after the game. I’ve had a great career and thankful things ended up the way they did and I wouldn’t trade it for the world. I am blessed for all of this and how things turned out.”
Another senior who had a memorable game was wide receiver Dan Skelly, who had five receptions for 123 yards and a touchdown.
Skelly’s 35-yard touchdown reception put him in sole possession of the USD career receiving touchdowns record with 19.
“He said after he caught it, that a gorilla had been taken off his back. It was in the back of his mind and he wanted to get that touchdown and move on,” Shepard said. “He was more excited that we were winning the game more than anything else.”
Meierkort said the way the season ended, with wins over Southern Utah University and Cal Poly, is exciting for the program.
“Yes, we could’ve been 7-3, but the last two weeks have sent this program in a positive direction,” Meierkort said. “The seniors stepped up and played well down the stretch. A lot of good things come out of these last two weeks.”
Kuehl said ending the season the way the team did was tremendous for next year.
“It’s big for the young guys and we want to keep the winning streak going next year,” Kuehl said. “We start off with some tough opponents, but we won’t back down from them.”
Even though the team will lose many key seniors on the offensive and defensive end, Meierkort said the team is still in good shape.
Freshmen Will Powell and Tom Flanigan will continue to carry the receiving end, Meierkort said, and sophomore Dante Warren will be the quarterback.
“Defensively, we are going to miss our four linemen because even though they weren’t the most physically gifted, they were gutty guys,” Meierkort said. “They will be replaced by some young guys with more talent, but it’s up to them to be as tough as what our seniors were.”
Reach reporter Justin Rust at Justin.Rust@usd.edu.
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