FARGO, N.D. – Kobe Johnson broke free for a 31-yard touchdown run midway through the final quarter, Dawson Weber came up with a clutch interception with just over a minute left and North Dakota State came back twice to beat Incarnate Word 35-32 in a Football Championship Subdivision semifinal Friday night.
The win sends the defending national champions to their 10th championship game in program history. The Bison will take on the winner of Saturday's semifinal between Montana State and No. 1-seed South Dakota State on January 8 in Frisco, Texas.
Incarnate Word, playing in the semifinals for the first time, took a 16-0 first-quarter lead after Lindsey Scott Jr. tossed a 1-yard touchdown pass to Darion Chafin and Jarrell Wiley dashed 15 yards for a score. The other two points came when the Cardinals tackled TK Marshall in the end zone for a safety.
Griffin Crosa got North Dakota State on the board with a 27-yard field goal in the first quarter and the team roared back on a short touchdown run by Johnson and a 2-yard run by quarterback Cam Miller to take a 17-16 lead at the half.
Johnson padded the lead when he broke through the line, then raced down the sideline for a 49-yard touchdown early in the third quarter.
The Cardinals came back on a pair of 1-yard touchdown runs by Scott to take a 29-24 advantage after three quarters.
The teams traded long fourth-quarter field goals before Johnson scored his third touchdown and Braylon Henderson hit Joe Stoffel for a two-point conversion to put the Bison in front, 35-32.
Incarnate Word drove to the North Dakota State 22 with just over five minutes to play, but its drive bogged down and Scott threw incomplete on fourth down to turn the ball over.
