VERMILLION, S.D. -- 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 (St. Louis, Mo./St. Mary's)'s leaping catch along the sideline midway through the first quarter set them up at the two-yard line. However, Jerome Miller (Toronto, Ont./Don Bosco) 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 (Ballwin, Mo./Parkway South) 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 (Tulsa, Okla./Holland Hall) 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 (Rusk, Texas/Rusk)'s pass to Mike Greaving (St. Louis, Mo./St. Mary's) 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.

The Miners came back with their first scoring drive of the afternoon, a 43-yard drive that ended with a 34-yard field goal by Joe Drahos (Cedar Rapids, Iowa/Washington) with 5:49 remaining in the third quarter.

South Dakota added to its lead on a one-yard scoring run by Dion Foster and a five-yard run by Ganious in the fourth quarter.

The Miners finished the contest with 265 yards of total offense, 171 of which came through the air. Guidry completed 11 of 20 passes for 81 yards while Jason Schlueter (Lafayette, Ind./McCutcheon) was 13-of-15 for 90 yards.