Quarterback Chase Mason returned to the South Dakota State football lineup after a long layoff and led the 14^th-seeded Jackrabbits to touchdowns on their first four possessions en route to a 41-3 victory over New Hampshire on Saturday afternoon in the opening round of the FCS playoffs at a snowy Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium.

The Jackrabbits, who were hosting a postseason game for the 10^th season in a row, improved to 9-4 overall. New Hampshire had its season end with an 8-5 mark.

SDSU took the opening kickoff and effectively mixed the run and the pass to find the end zone for the first time with a nine-play, 75-yard march. Julius Loughridge tallied the longest play of the drive with a 27-yard run before scoring on a 1-yard plunge.

After a UNH punt, Mason continued his hot start by completing all five of his passes for 63 yards as part of a 13-play, 88-yard scoring drive. Three of his passes went to Grahm Goering for gains of 17, 11 and 11 yards, with the other two going to tight end Coleman Kutz for 6 and 18 yards. Josiah Johnson finished off the drive with a touchdown run from a yard out for a 14-0 Jackrabbit lead with a minute to go in the first quarter.

Mason, who last played when he was injured on the opening series Oct. 18 at Murray State, completed his final 11 passes of the first half, including a pair of touchdowns in the second quarter. His first scoring toss came on a tipped ball to Alex Bullock from 7 yards out, with the other going to Jack Smith on a bubble screen in which the redshirt freshman from Sioux Falls turned the corner down the left sideline and out-raced the Wildcat defense for a 42-yard touchdown.

Those Jackrabbit touchdowns were sandwiched around UNH’s lone scoring drive of the game. The Wildcats were able to get the run game going behind Denzell Gibson, who broke off a 26-yard run to move the ball into SDSU territory. Nick Reed connected on a 30-yard field goal to close out the 15-play, 63-yard drive.

After a scoreless third quarter, SDSU added to its lead on the first play of the fourth quarter on a 16-yard touchdown pass from Mason to Kuntz.

The Jackrabbits provided the final tally with a 14-play, 56-yard scoring drive that chewed up nearly eight and a half minutes later in the fourth quarter. SDSU ran 13 consecutive running plays before backup quarterback Jack Henry found fullback/tight end Andrew Gustad in the right flat for a 2-yard touchdown pass on fourth and goal.

SDSU ended the day with a 425-192 advantage in total offense, including a 232-48 disparity in the passing department. Mason completed 16-of-20 passes for 230 yards and tied a career high with his three touchdown passes.

Loughridge paced the ground game with 100 yards on 16 carries, followed by 32 yards on nine carries by Corey Blair Jr. and 30 yards on 10 carries by Johnson.

Bryce Johnson filled in for an injured Cullen McShane and registered 10 tackles for SDSU to tie a career high. Fellow linebacker Joe Ollman notched eight tackles.

UP NEXT:

South Dakota State advances to face third-seeded Montana in second-round action Dec. 6. Kickoff is slated for noon Mountain Time (1 p.m. Central) at Washington-Grizzly Stadium in Missoula, Montana. It will mark the third consecutive season and fifth time overall the two programs have met in postseason play, with each winning twice.