Griz slip past Sac State, tie winning streak
11/13/2002 12:00:00 AM | Football
It wasn't pretty, but there were no style points awarded for Montana's 31-24 win over Sacramento State - just another all-important win Saturday in front of 19,174 fans at Washington-Grizzly Stadium.
The Grizzlies' win stretched their winning streak to 24 games, tying the Division I-AA record set by Pennsylvania in the mid-'90s. Montana is 10-0 overall, 5-0 in the Big Sky Conference.
Montana head coach Joe Glenn and his team haven't spent too many thoughts on tying the record.
"We haven't even had time to reflect on it," Glenn said. "At the end of the year it will be nice, but right now we are on to our next game."
Had it not been for another fourth-quarter comeback by John Edwards and a stellar late defensive stand by UM's defense, Penn would still have the record all to itself.
After struggling for most of the first half and at times in the second, Montana's offense took the field down 24-21 with 8:51 remaining in the game.
Edwards calmly engineered a seven-play, 50-yard drive that culminated with a 13-yard touchdown strike to Tate Hancock, putting the Griz up 28-24. The touchdown toss was Edwards' third of the game, as the senior quarterback finished the contest with 282 yards passing.
From there, the Montana defense, which had been picked apart by the Hornets, stood rock solid when it absolutely had to.
Sac State drove the ball deep inside Montana territory, but the drive stalled, and on fourth down UM safety Trey Young preserved the win by sacking Hornet quarterback Ryan Leadingham.
"We didn't have our A game," Glenn said. "But we played well enough to get a win."
Throughout most of the first half, both teams were stagnant offensively.
Misfired passes, untimely penalties, sacks and a poor rushing attack - Sacramento State held Montana to a total of 40 yards rushing in the game, a season low - mired the Grizzly attack. Despite his apparently strong game, Edwards struggled in the first half, completing 8 of 15 passes for 120 yards.
Toward the end of the second half, the Grizzlies finally punched one into the end zone, with Jefferson Heidelberger catching his first touchdown as a Grizzly, from 22 yards out.
The touchdown gave the Grizzlies a 14-0 lead. UM scored its first touchdown when Shane MacIntyre blocked a punt and Brent Meyers returned it 10 yards for the score.
Even with all its struggles early, Montana was up by two touchdowns and appeared headed to another easy victory at home. Sacramento State though, as it has a knack of doing while playing in Missoula, didn't roll over and play dead. The last time Sacramento State visited Missoula, the Hornets were ahead 20-0 at halftime before UM rallied to a 24-20 win. During the 1999 campaign the two teams went to double overtime before Montana escaped with a 41-38 victory.
This year's game would prove to be no different.
All-purpose back Garret White leapt over the goal line with seven seconds left in the first half for Sacramento State's first score of the game, trimming the Montana lead to 14-7.
The Hornets carried that burst of confidence into the second half as Kendall Riley rattled off two straight touchdowns, giving Sac State a 21-14 lead. Riley scored on runs of 1 and 37 yards, pacing the Hornet rushing attack.
Sacramento State punched through Montana's defense for 171 yards on the ground and 415 yards of total offense.
"This seems to be a good venue for them to play in," Glenn said. "They played one heck of a football game."
After the second touchdown by Riley, the Grizzly offense finally responded after being dormant for most of the game.
Montana put together a 13-play, penalty- and sack-free drive of 72 yards to tie the game. Edwards spread the ball around to all of his receivers, who played well in the absence of Jon Talmage. The final throw of the drive was a 5-yard touchdown to Rory Zikmund, who ran a slant to get open. That score tied the game, setting up the fourth-period dramatics.
The Grizzlies' win stretched their winning streak to 24 games, tying the Division I-AA record set by Pennsylvania in the mid-'90s. Montana is 10-0 overall, 5-0 in the Big Sky Conference.
Montana head coach Joe Glenn and his team haven't spent too many thoughts on tying the record.
"We haven't even had time to reflect on it," Glenn said. "At the end of the year it will be nice, but right now we are on to our next game."
Had it not been for another fourth-quarter comeback by John Edwards and a stellar late defensive stand by UM's defense, Penn would still have the record all to itself.
After struggling for most of the first half and at times in the second, Montana's offense took the field down 24-21 with 8:51 remaining in the game.
Edwards calmly engineered a seven-play, 50-yard drive that culminated with a 13-yard touchdown strike to Tate Hancock, putting the Griz up 28-24. The touchdown toss was Edwards' third of the game, as the senior quarterback finished the contest with 282 yards passing.
From there, the Montana defense, which had been picked apart by the Hornets, stood rock solid when it absolutely had to.
Sac State drove the ball deep inside Montana territory, but the drive stalled, and on fourth down UM safety Trey Young preserved the win by sacking Hornet quarterback Ryan Leadingham.
"We didn't have our A game," Glenn said. "But we played well enough to get a win."
Throughout most of the first half, both teams were stagnant offensively.
Misfired passes, untimely penalties, sacks and a poor rushing attack - Sacramento State held Montana to a total of 40 yards rushing in the game, a season low - mired the Grizzly attack. Despite his apparently strong game, Edwards struggled in the first half, completing 8 of 15 passes for 120 yards.
Toward the end of the second half, the Grizzlies finally punched one into the end zone, with Jefferson Heidelberger catching his first touchdown as a Grizzly, from 22 yards out.
The touchdown gave the Grizzlies a 14-0 lead. UM scored its first touchdown when Shane MacIntyre blocked a punt and Brent Meyers returned it 10 yards for the score.
Even with all its struggles early, Montana was up by two touchdowns and appeared headed to another easy victory at home. Sacramento State though, as it has a knack of doing while playing in Missoula, didn't roll over and play dead. The last time Sacramento State visited Missoula, the Hornets were ahead 20-0 at halftime before UM rallied to a 24-20 win. During the 1999 campaign the two teams went to double overtime before Montana escaped with a 41-38 victory.
This year's game would prove to be no different.
All-purpose back Garret White leapt over the goal line with seven seconds left in the first half for Sacramento State's first score of the game, trimming the Montana lead to 14-7.
The Hornets carried that burst of confidence into the second half as Kendall Riley rattled off two straight touchdowns, giving Sac State a 21-14 lead. Riley scored on runs of 1 and 37 yards, pacing the Hornet rushing attack.
Sacramento State punched through Montana's defense for 171 yards on the ground and 415 yards of total offense.
"This seems to be a good venue for them to play in," Glenn said. "They played one heck of a football game."
After the second touchdown by Riley, the Grizzly offense finally responded after being dormant for most of the game.
Montana put together a 13-play, penalty- and sack-free drive of 72 yards to tie the game. Edwards spread the ball around to all of his receivers, who played well in the absence of Jon Talmage. The final throw of the drive was a 5-yard touchdown to Rory Zikmund, who ran a slant to get open. That score tied the game, setting up the fourth-period dramatics.
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