GRAND FORKS, N.D. — A week after rushing for 83 yards for a touchdown in a single play against Indiana State, Charles Pierre Jr. took another long run the distance in South Dakota’s 42-36 victory over UND last Saturday.

But this one had far greater historical significance.

The Coyotes were on their own 24-yard line with 9:44 left to go in their matchup against the Fighting Hawks. He received the handoff on an ordinary-looking draw play. But once he broke through into the secondary, he juked one defender before running a one-man race to the end zone for the touchdown.

It was his second total touchdown of the day and gave him more than 100 rushing yards for the second straight week. More importantly, he ran into the USD history books as the first running back to rush for 1,000 yards in a season since the program rose to the Division I ranks in 2008.

Pierre needed 128 rushing yards to reach the century mark coming into the game. He ended the day with a career-high 173 rushing yards and the rushing touchdown.

But, he also had a big day in the receiving game with a career-high 75 yards and a receiving touchdown. Both his rushing and receiving marks were team-highs in the victory. His big day also earned him Missouri Valley Football Conference Offensive Player of the Week honors.

USD coach Bob Nielson said the last two weeks for Pierre have been about finding space. He gave equal credit to Pierre’s high level of play and the play of the offensive line for the recent success.

“He’s been able to break some big runs,” Nielson said. “That means two things: we're blocking and getting him through the first level of defense and when he gets into the secondary, he's been able to make guys miss and outrun them. He brings that dimension to our run game in combination with what Travis brings and those two were really good on Saturday, both well over 100 yards. Charles certainly with the fact that he's played every game, goes over 1,000 (yards), which is a great accomplishment for him and demonstrates the effectiveness of our run game offensively.”

With the plethora of talented running backs that have come through Vermillion since USD’s move to Division I, Nielson said it’s a testament to the work Pierre has put into bettering himself and to the offensive coaches that have made the Coyote offense a running back’s paradise.

“It shows that it’s not easy to rush the football in our league,” Nielson said. “I think we developed some really good run schemes that complement what those guys do from a running back standpoint and what Charles does really well. He just continues to get better, he’s playing with more confidence, he’s seeing the run game really well right now and as I said, he's got some different ability from a big play capability because of his speed.”

The performance is the second-straight week Pierre has been the best USD player on the offensive side of the ball. Last week against the Sycamores, he finished the day with 165 rushing yards and two touchdowns. Combine that with his performance in Grand Forks and he’s rushed for 338 rushing yards, gained 413 yards from scrimmage and scored four total touchdowns.

But it’s just a microcosm of what has been one of the best seasons by a USD running back in recent history and is standing as one of the best in the nation this season. His 1,045-yard season to this point is the best in the conference and is 16th-best in the country. His 15 rushing touchdowns are second-best in the conference and are tied for fifth-best in the country.

Those 1,045 yards are currently the 10th-most in a single season in Coyote history. His performance last week saw him pass Dusty Stamer’s 2000 season (1,034). Those 15 rushing touchdowns are tied for the fifth-most in a single season with Amos Allen’s 2007 campaign.

With a victory on Saturday, the Coyotes would clinch a share of what would be the program’s first MVFC title. Not to mention Pierre’s play gives the Coyotes a chance to make a deep postseason run.

“We’ve got a lot of guys that are playing at a high level and Charles is one of those,” Nielson said. “To win in the playoffs, you’ve got to be able to run the football. At the same time, we're going to have to be balanced this week against a really good North Dakota State defense and hopefully create some big plays.”