Henry’s desperate TD throw in OT sends South Dakota State past North Dakota 34-31

GRAND FORKS, N.D. (AP) — Jack Henry threw a 23-yard touchdown pass to a leaping Grahm Goering in overtime to give South Dakota State a dramatic 34-31 overtime win against North Dakota on Saturday.

Ranked 22nd in the FCS despite entering with a four-game losing streak, South Dakota State (8-4, 4-4 Missouri Valley Football Conference) finished second in the conference and is expected to secure an at-large bid to the FCS playoffs.

Kenten Laughman gave North Dakota (7-5, 5-3) a 31-28 lead to start overtime.

On the Jackrabbits’ ensuing drive, on third-and-8, the Fighting Hawks blitzed the middle of the line, broke through and forced Henry to escape running to his right. Without the luxury of being able to stop and plant his feet, he threw a pass across his body from the 37-yard line that an outstretched Goering snared before landing on his back.

Henry completed just 6 of 17 passes for 132 yards and two touchdowns and was intercepted twice. Joisah Johnson ran for 76 yards on 19 carries and had three touchdowns for South Dakota State.

North Dakota built leads of 14-0 after a quarter and 17-7 at halftime before the Jackrabbits scored two touchdowns in the third and one in the fourth for a 28-0 lead. North Dakota evened it when Jerry Kaminski threw a 16-yard touchdown to Nate DeMontagnac with 1:52 left in regulation. The two-point conversion forced overtime.

Kaminksi threw for 292 yards, two touchdowns, and an interception while running for a touchdown for 13th-ranked North Dakota.

All five of North Dakota’s defeats were against ranked opponents by a combined 17 points.

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