VERMILLION, S.D. – The 2024 season for Tarleton State Football was truly historic, and for three quarters on Saturday in the second round of the FCS Playoffs at South Dakota, it looked like the Texans’ magical ride would continue on another week. But the Coyotes proved too tough at the end, ending Tarleton’s season in Vermillion, South Dakota.
The No. 13 Texans (10-4) had their offense clicking for three quarters and led at The DakotaDome 28-21 entering the fourth quarter. The No. 4 Coyotes (10-2) outscored Tarleton 21-3 in the final frame to win 42-31 in a playoff classic between two top-15 teams in the country.
“Hats off to South Dakota, they’ve got a great team, they had just maybe three or four penalties and no turnovers, so they played really clean,” head coach Todd Whitten said. “But I just couldn’t be more proud of the way that our guys played. I thought we played really hard, battled until the end. We had a great season, an incredible senior class, so it kind of hurts right now, but I’m really proud of our team.”
Texan wide receiver Darius Cooper proved once again he belongs in the NFL, wowing the crowd with his acrobatic catches and touchdowns, finishing with three touchdowns on the day, a Texan Football playoff receiving record. He recorded nine receptions for 161 yards and three touchdowns overall.
Texan quarterback Victor Gabalis also set program playoff records with four passing touchdowns and 379 passing yards, completing 23-of-31 (.742). After going turnover-free over the previous four game, Gabalis had three interceptions on Saturday, two off of deflections that bounced the Coyotes’ way.
Cody Jackson eclipsed 100 receiving yards, along with Cooper, finishing with four catches for 104 yards and a touchdown. Kayvon Britten rushed for 86 yards on 24 carries, and Benjamin Omayebu added five catches for 76 yards.
Defensively, Donta Stuart led the way with 15 tackles and a tackle for loss, his third game of the season posting double-digit tackles. Blake Smith added a tackle for loss and seven total tackles.
South Dakota narrowly held the edge in total yardage at 509-477, outgaining the Texans on the ground 296-98, while Tarleton had the passing attack going 379-213. Tarleton didn’t punt the entire game, but South Dakota won the turnover battle 3-0 and the time of possession 33:12 to 26:48.
USD RB Travis Theis scored three touchdowns on the ground, totaling 130 yards on 25 carries (5.2 YPC). Charles Pierre Jr. added 80 yards on nine carries (8.9 YPC) and Quaron Adams busted one for a 70-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter. Quarterback Aidan Bouman completed 18-of-22 (.818) for 213 yards and two touchdowns, one to Carter Bell (five receptions, 98 yards, one TD) and the other to Keyondray Jones-Logan (four receptions, five yards, one TD). Tim White, Mike Reid and Shahid Barros each had an interception for USD, while Mountain Valley Conference Defensive Player of the Year Mi’Quise Grace had a team-high seven tackles and the team’s lone tackle for loss.
Tarleton had a great start to this one, taking the opening drive 79 yards across 10 plays for a 33-yard Cooper touchdown. The first quarter nearly ended with just two drives spanning the 15-minute period, with South Dakota bleeding 9:41 off the clock across 15 plays. Theis capped it off with a 1-yard touchdown rush to make it 7-7 with 36 seconds left in the first quarter.
The Texans scored again on their next drive, this time a 43-yard Gabalis to Jackson connection to seal an 80-yard scoring drive. USD answered once again with another long drive, taking 12 plays and 7:37 off the clock, covering 75 yards. Theis once again cashed in on a 1-yard touchdown rush, knotting the game 14-14.
With 38 seconds left in the second quarter, Tarleton made it 3-for-3 on its three drives in the first half, with Cooper scoring his second touchdown, this time from 20 yards out. The Coyotes drove down quickly to give themselves a chance at a field goal, but Zeke Mata’s 48-yard attempt was no good, putting the Texans in the locker room ahead at the break 21-14.
To start the third quarter, the Texans forced a three-and-out, the first punt of the game. Tarleton couldn’t take advantage, failing to score a touchdown for the first time, as Barros came down with the interception. USD took it down 60 yards on 11 plays, scoring on a Jones-Logan receiving touchdown from five yards out as he caught it off of a teammate’s drop.
Tarleton responded quickly, covering 75 yards in five plays, scoring a 23-yard Cooper touchdown in just over two minutes of game action. Following that, Tarleton forced another punt, but another interception gave USD the ball in good field position to end the third quarter.
Theis ran it in from two yards out less than a minute into the fourth to tie the game 28-28. Tarleton scored for the final time on its next drive, a 23-yard Corbin Poston field goal, putting the Texans ahead 31-28 with 11:16 remaining.
Bouman found Jones-Logan for a 12-yard reception, who lateraled it to Bell for a touchdown to give the Coyotes their first lead of the game 35-31 with 9:36 remaining. Tarleton strung together a nice drive to put the Texans in prime position to take the lead, getting to the USD 35-yard line, but they turned it over for a third time to put the game in jeopardy. Adams burst for a 70-yard touchdown to put the Coyotes up two scores with 5:13 left. Tarleton marched down to give themselves a chance, getting to the USD 21-yard line, but turned it over on downs to essentially end the game with just over two minutes to play. Three more first downs by Theis allowed USD to run out the clock and advance the Coyotes to the quarterfinals.
USD remained undefeated at home on the year, improving to 7-0. The Coyotes will host No. 5 UC Davis in Vermillion next week.
For the Texans, this was the longest season in Tarleton Football history, playing 14 games for the first time and playing until Dec. 7 for the first time.
Cooper ends his Texan career with 29 career touchdowns, the second most in program history, only behind Zimari Manning (34). Cooper also concludes with 3,185 career receiving yards, the most in program history. Britten ends his Texan career with 3,132 rushing yards across just two seasons, the fourth most in program history.
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