120625_FB_Fleming at Tarleton State
Leighton Chamblee
13
North Dakota UND 8-6 , 5-3
31
Winner Tarleton St. TAR 12-1 , 7-1
North Dakota UND
8-6 , 5-3
13
Final
31
Tarleton St. TAR
12-1 , 7-1
Winner
Score By Quarters
Team 1st 2nd 3rd 4th F
UND North Dakota 0 7 0 6 13
TAR Tarleton St. 3 10 11 7 31

Game Recap: Football | | Tyler Wells, FightingHawks.com

NoDak drops 31-13 decision at No. 4 seed Tarleton State in FCS Second Round

STEPHENVILLE, Texas – No. 19/23 North Dakota (8-6) dropped a 31-13 decision at No. 5/5 Tarleton State (12-1) at Memorial Stadium in the FCS Second Round on Saturday afternoon.

In the game, Lance Rucker make school history and broke the single-season sack record at North Dakota with a strip-sack late in the first quarter. He now has 11.5 sacks this season and broke the record, which was shared by Eric Schmidt (2001) and Wes Atkinson (1999) with 10.5 sacks apiece those seasons. In the playoffs this year alone, Rucker recorded four strip-sacks.

Tarleton State led 24-7 heading into the final stanza. Sawyer Seidl attempted to help North Dakota mount a comeback and scored his second touchdown of the afternoon with 11:15 left in the game with a five-yard rush to trim the deficit to 24-13. The Fighting Hawks were unsuccessful on the two-point try and one play into the following Texan drive, Tarleton State delivered the knockout blow with a 77-yard touchdown pass to see the lead balloon to 31-13.

The Fighting Hawks were limited to 248 yards of total offense in the game, registering 136 yards rushing and 112 yards passing. The Texans amassed 437 yards offensively, highlighted by 292 yards through the air. Tarleton State, the top team in the FCS in turnover margin per game, finished +1.0 in that category and picked off two North Dakota passes. TSU also controlled the clock and logged over 37 minutes of possession.

Jerry Kaminski ended the contest 11-for-28 passing for 112 yards while surrendering the two interceptions. He also led the UND rushing attack with 63 yards on 11 attempts. Seidl scored both of the touchdowns for the Hawks and finished with eight carries for 18 yards, while Gaven Ziebarth contributed 47 yards on five touches.

B.J. Fleming was the top NoDak receiver and notched three grabs for 47 yards. Caden Dennis was the next most productive receiver and had two catches for 26 yards.

Malachi McNeal and Zach Lewis shared the team lead in tackles with eight stops apiece. McNeal also contributed a team-best two tackles-for-loss. Rucker and Kyjuan Vengrowsky had the lone sacks and finished with one each.

North Dakota trailed 13-7 at intermission. Tarleton State scored the first 13 points of the contest with a pair of field goals and then a three-yard touchdown pass early in the second quarter. UND was struggling to move the ball until Bennett Walker picked off a pass and returned it 30 yards to set up the first Fighting Hawk score of the afternoon. Two plays after the interception, Seidl scored on a three-yard rush to bring the tally to 13-7.

At intermission, the Texans held a +1.0 turnover margin with their two interceptions. TSU put down 199 yards of offense while UND accumulated 126 yards offensively in the half.

Early in the third stanza, the Texans extended their lead with a 64-yard passing touchdown and then successfully converted the two-point conversion to push their lead to 21-7 with 13:16 left in the quarter. With 3:08 left in the frame, Brad Larson connected on his third field goal of the afternoon and moved the lead to 24-7.

No. 4 seed Tarleton State will host No. 12 seed Villanova in the FCS Quarterfinal on Friday (Dec. 12) or Saturday (Dec. 13).

Postgame Notes
  • North Dakota is now 0-1 in the all-time series with Tarleton State.
  • This was the deepest the Fighting Hawks have made it in the FCS playoffs since reaching the FCS Quarterfinals in the modified 2020-21 season.
  • UND was 2-for-13 on third down attempts, while TSU went 4-for-15 on its third downs.
  • NoDak struggled to move the ball in the first quarter and did not have a first down until the 11-minute mark of the second quarter. The Fighting Hawks finished with 13 first downs.
  • Tarleton State scored on a 21-yard field goal on its opening drive. The Texans were the only team to score on the Fighting Hawk defense on their opening drive of a game this season.
  • Late in the first quarter, Lance Rucker had a strip-sack and broke the school record for sacks in a single season with 11.5. He broke the record of Eric Schmidt (2001) and West Atkinson (1999), who had 10.5 sacks those seasons. Rucker put down four strip-sacks in the playoffs this season.
  • North Dakota looked to have a 7-0 lead early after a blocked punt, but the play came back due to a leaping penalty.
  • Luke Silvernale drilled a season-long 71-yard punt in the first quarter.
  • Bennett Walker jump started a drive with an interception and a 30-yard return. It was his first pick as a Fighting Hawk.
How It Happened
First Quarter
7:12 – TSU | Brad Larson connects on a 21-yard field goal. 15 plays, 87 yards, 6:39.
Second Quarter
14:56 – TSU | Larson connects on a 39-yard field goal. 4 plays, 1 yard, 0:27.
12:28 – TSU | T'iar Young scores on a 3-yard pass from Victor Gabalis. (Larson kick). 2 plays, 31 yards, 0:39.
10:21 – UND | Sawyer Seidl scores on a 3-yard rush. (C.J. Elrichs kick). 2 plays, 10 yards, 0:42.
Third Quarter
13:16 – TSU | Peyton Kramer scores on a 64-yard pass from Gabalis. (Conversion successful). 4 plays, 75 yards, 1:44.
3:08 – TSU | Larson connects on a 26-yard field goal. 14 plays, 55 yards, 7:07
Fourth Quarter
11:15 – UND | Seidl scores on a 5-yard rush. (Conversion unsuccessful). 4 plays, 62 yards, 1:57.
10:28 – TSU | Marquis Willis scores on a 77-yard pass from Gabalis. (Larson kick). 1 play, 72 yards, 0:43.

For more information on North Dakota football, follow on social media @UNDfootball or visit FightingHawks.com.
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