The 2013 South Dakota Coyotes have matched the win total of the 2012 team with a season opening 10-7 win over UC Davis at the DakotaDome in Vermillion.

The Coyote defense was stingy in the second half, limiting Davis to just 136 yards of total offense.

Auston Johnson and Devin Tarverna each had 7 tackles for USD.

Offensively, Josh Vander Maten was 9-17 for 91 yards passing, while running the ball 16 times for 35 yards.

Newcomer Tervor Bouma was five yards short of 100 yards in the USD debut, Jordan Roberts collected 66 yards on the ground.

USD failed to take advantage of an Aggie mistake on their first possession when Dylan Know forced a Gabe Manzanares fumble on the Davis 18 yard line.  But the Coyotes managed just one yard on three plays before Miles Bergner missed a 30-yard field goal.

South Dakota did get on the board first with a 10 play, 77 yard drive from the end of the first quarter to the beginning of the second, ending with a Josh Vander Maten 3-yard touchdown run to make it 7-0 USD.

Davis had two chances to score in the second quarter, but missed a 45-yard field goal and had a 20-yard attempt blocked on the final play of the half.

The Coyotes added a 39-yard field goal from Bergner with 7:40 left in the game to push it to 10-0.

The Aggies cut it to 10-7 with a Gabe Manzanares 1-yard touchdown run with 3:50 to play.

The Coyotes offense sealed the win by running out the final moments of the game with a drive that moved the chains three times.

The margin of victory was typical for this series.  USD and Davis have played five times in the last six years, the last four have been decided by four points or less.

The Coyotes play at Kansas next Saturday night at 6:00pm.

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