RAPID CITY, S.D. -- Azusa Pacific went to the air for three early touchdowns, and college football's leading rusher Terrell Watson took over for another 200-yard effort to lead the NCAA Division II No. 25-ranked Cougars to a 52-30 road win over South Dakota Mines (1-7, 0-4 Great Northwest Athletic Conference) on Saturday.

The victory was Azusa Pacific's sixth in a row this year, and the Cougars (7-1, 4-0 GNAC) are averaging 42.8 points during the current streak. The Cougars also extended their GNAC winning streak to 11 games and have won 17 of their past 18 conference games dating back to the middle of the 2012 season.

The combined air and ground assault produced 510 yards of total offense, and Azusa Pacific manufactured timely turnovers and big plays that kept the explosive South Dakota Mines offense out of the end zone after halftime despite over 600 yards of offense from the Great Northwest Athletic Conference's most productive offense.

"They have shown on tape that they are a very efficient passing team, and they have one of the best quarterbacks in the league," Azusa Pacific head coach Victor Santa Cruz said. "We knew what their game would be, and defensively we had some breakdowns that we're going to have to go back and correct. Despite all that, I'm always fired up to win a game. Hats off to them, because we knew they were a good football team and we beat a good football team today."

Watson carried 28 times for 206 yards and three touchdowns, extending his season rushing total to a national-best 1,485 yards. His 20 rushing TDs also puts him among the nation's leaders, as the national leaders in that category entered the weekend with 19 rushing scores. Watson has now gone over 200 rushing yards in three of his past four games and for the fourth time overall this season and the seventh time in his career.

However, the Cougars made their early attack through the air, starting with a 34-yard pass from redshirt freshman QB Chad Jeffries to junior wide receiver Tanner Henry on the second play of the game. The pair hooked up again three plays later for a 36-yard score, and after sophomore Tyree Davis broke a 65-yard punt return for a score, Jeffries added two more TD passes to junior wide receiver Blake Robertson to give Azusa Pacific a 28-3 lead with 10:02 left in the second quarter.

"This game showed our ability to run the ball and execute our offense while our defense got third-down stops and hemmed up a good dual-threat quarterback," Santa Cruz said. "In the big picture, we're happy with the way the game started and how we were able to get some turnovers that we knew would put them into some passing situations."

Watson took over on the ensuing drive, rushing for 49 yards including a one-yard TD to cap a 72-yard drive that chewed up 6:33 and extended the lead to 35-10. However, the Hardrockers marched 75 yards on eight plays to pull within 35-17 with 38 seconds left in the first half, and they recovered a fumble on the ensuing kickoff to punch in another score from 28 yards away and cut the Cougars' halftime margin to 35-24.

The Azusa Pacific defense, which forced three first-half turnovers, made a crucial fourth-down stop with five minutes left in the third quarter and registered another takeaway in the fourth quarter. South Dakota Mines only managed six points after halftime, scoring two fourth-quarter field goals which were both answered by the Cougar offense with rushing touchdowns from Watson.

"We put together another win and did well in all three phases of the game, and our young players continued to grow," Santa Cruz said. "This was one of those odd games statistically, but we were excited to beat a good football team."

Linebackers Steven Fanua and Na'im Colbert recorded 10 tackles each to lead the defense, and Colbert forced and recovered a fumble while notching one of the Cougars' six sacks. Senior free safety Tyler Thornton forced another fumble to go with nine tackles, and sophomore rover Jonathan Thropay recovered the fumble Thornton caused and picked off Hardrocker QB Trenton McKinney. Senior defensive end Kalvin Davis added two sacks that sent South Dakota Mines back for a loss of 17 yards.

Jeffries rushed for 55 yards and threw for 251 yards, completing 12-of-22 attempts, and Henry had Azusa Pacific's first 100-yard receiving game this season with three catches for 104 yards. Robertson had a team-high four catches for 73 yards and two scores, and Watson added a 22-yard reception to give him 228 all-purpose yards. Tyree Davis added two long kickoff returns of 62 and 53 yards, finishing with 180 total return yards on the afternoon.

South Dakota Mines was led by McKinney, who completed 36-of-54 passes for 481 yards, three TDs, and an interception, and he also picked up 54 yards rushing on 15 carries. Marcus Sanchez was McKinney's favorite target, collecting 12 receptions for 200 yards and two TDs.

Azusa Pacific has two conference games left on the schedule, hosting Western Oregon on Saturday, Nov. 1, before wrapping up the GNAC slate on Nov. 8 at Simon Fraser. The regular season concludes with a non-conference home matchup against Menlo College on Saturday, Nov. 15.