Aidan Bouman, Quaron Adams rally South Dakota past Tarleton State 42-31 in FCS second-round duel
VERMILLION, S.D. (AP) — Aidan Bouman threw a go-ahead touchdown pass in the fourth quarter and Quaron Adams followed with a 70-yard touchdown on a reverse as No. 4 seed South Dakota pulled away late to beat 13th-seeded Tarleton State 42-31 on Saturday in the second round of the FCS playoffs.
South Dakota will host the winner of Saturday’s matchup between No. 5 seed UC Davis and 12th-seeded Illinois State in the third round.
The Coyotes (10-2) trailed by seven points four times until Bouman connected with Keyondray Jones-Logan for a 12-yard touchdown and a 35-31 lead with 9:36 left to play.
Tim White intercepted a Victor Gabalis pass, giving South Dakota the ball at its own 15-yard line. Adams, a sophomore receiver, raced to the end zone three plays later for his first career rushing touchdown and the Texans (10-4) never recovered in their first trip to the postseason.
Gabalis threw three first-half touchdown passes, giving Tarleton State leads of 7-0, 14-7 and 21-14 at halftime.
Travis Theis had two short touchdown runs in the first half to pull the Coyotes even and his 2-yard scoring run 51 seconds into the fourth quarter tied it at 28.
Tarleton State took its last lead on a 23-yard field goal by Corbin Poston with 11:23 left to play.
Bouman completed 18 of 22 passes for 213 yards and also had a 5-yard scoring toss to Jones-Logan off a deflected pass that stood up to a video review and tied the game at 21. Theis carried 25 times for 130 yards.
Gabalis totaled 379 yards on 23-for-31 passing with four touchdowns and three interceptions. Darius Cooper caught nine passes for 161 yards and three scores. Cody Jackson had the other touchdown reception.
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