VERMILLION - The University of South Dakota football team ended its 2009 home season on an impressive note with a 45-21 win over Southern Utah in Great West Conference action Saturday at the DakotaDome in Vermillion.

The win ended a four-game losing streak for USD (4-5 overall, 1-2 GWC), while also keeping the Coyotes' hopes of sharing the Great West title alive. It also handed Southern Utah its second GWC loss of the season.

It was a game that marked a similar formula to USD's win over the Thunderbirds in 2008 - a dominant Coyote running game. USD rushed for 334 yards on 54 carries, averaging 6.2 yards per carry. USD had three 100-yard rushers a year ago, and this year, had two players - Chris Ganious and Isaac Newton - eclipse 100 yards this year as the Coyote offensive line controlled the line of scrimmage. Ganious finished with 170 yards and two touchdowns on 22 carries, while Newton finished with 113 yards and a touchdown on 18 carries.

The Coyotes had a potential scoring threat thwarted in the first quarter. The Coyotes started a drive on their own 5-yard line but quickly started to move, as Shepard hit Dustin Nowotny for a big 23-yard gain to get things rolling.

USD rushed for 39 yards on the drive to move inside the Southern Utah 20-yard line, but Dion Turner intercepted Shepard in the end zone to stop the Coyotes' drive.

The Coyote defense got off to a strong start, holding the Thunderbirds to just 12 yards of offense and six offensive plays on their first two possessions.

After a SUU punt, the Coyote offense got moving midway through the first quarter. Ganious accounted for 32 rushing yards on a 12-play, 83-yard drive that was capped off by a 17-yard scoring pass from Shepard to Will Powell. With Nowotny's extra point, USD held a 7-0 lead with 10 seconds left in the opening quarter.

It looked like that would be the quarter score, but Southern Utah responded as Cade Cooper hit Tysson Poots for a 65-yard touchdown as the quarter expired to tie the game at 7-7.

The second quarter was all USD, thanks to big plays in all three facets of the game.

After Southern Utah's score, the Coyotes put together an impressive an eight-play, 67-yard drive capped off by a 2-yard score by Isaac Newton.

After that, it was the Coyote special teams that delivered big, as forcing a fumble on the ensuing kickoff which was covered by Ryan Routh at the SUU 27-yard line.

Six plays later, USD found the end zone as Shepard scored on a 1-yard sneak, giving USD a 21-7 lead with 8:31 left in the half.

Southern Utah moved inside the USD 40-yard line but the Coyote defense delivered a big play, as Jim Thompson picked off a Cooper pass to end the threat.

The Coyotes turned the interception into points, going on an eight-play, 84-yard drive. Ganous broke free for a 45-yard touchdown to give the Coyotes a 28-7 lead with 2:53 left in the half.

Thompson ended another threat for the Thunderbirds with his second interception of the quarter at the Coyote 28-yard line, helping preserve USD's 28-7 lead.

USD outscored SUU 21-0 in the second quarter and forced three turnovers. For the first half, the Coyotes had 372 yards, compared to 154 for SUU. USD also ran 50 offensive plays compared to 19 for SUU.

Ganious had 97 yards in the first half, while Shepard was 15-of-20 for 191 yards and a touchdown. Tom Flanagan had a huge first half with eight catches for 112 yards.

In the second half, USD looked to add to its lead but missed a field goal, and Southern Utah answered with 35-yard touchdown pass from Cooper to Poots to cut the USD lead to 28-14 with 4:32 left in the third.

The Coyotes extended their lead once again as the third quarter expired as Nowotny connected on a 27-yard field goal, pushing the USD advantage to 31-14.

After Southern Utah scored to cut the Coyote lead to 31-21 early in the fourth, USD's offense again answered with an big drive, going 70 yards on eight plays, capped off by a 7-yard run by Ganious, putting USD up 38-21 with 7:16 left in the contest.

The Coyotes put an exclamation point on the impressive win late as Marcus Sims scored from five yards out in the final minute to make the final score 45-21.

Flanagan finished with 109 yards on nine catches, while Nowotny had three catches for 42 yards. Shepard finished 19-of-29 for 235 yards and a touchdown.

Thompson finished with two interceptions for the Coyote defense, while Routh and Mychal Bogan (Sr., Los Angeles, Calif.) added interceptions. Routh also had a fumble recovery.

The Coyotes will end their 2009 season at Cal Poly next Saturday.