Grizzlies top Vikings, 37-16
10/29/2005 12:00:00 AM | Football
Junior halfback Lex Hilliard rushed for two first-half touchdowns and junior Tuff Harris broke loose for a 74-yard punt return for a score to pace the fifth-ranked University of Montana Grizzlies to a key 37-16 Big Sky Conference victory over the visiting 20th-ranked Portland State Vikings Saturday afternoon in UM's Washington-Grizzly Stadium.
The victory gave Montana its 20th consecutive winning season, dating back to 1986.
The Vikings (5-4/3-2) entered the game in first place in the Big Sky, while the Grizzlies (6-2/3-1) trailed by half-a-game. The Griz are now tied for first place with intrastate rival Montana State, both with 3-1 Big Sky records.
Montana took an early lead on their second possession of the game and never relinquished it, marching 83 yards on 12 plays, Hilliard scoring on a 1-yard run. Dan Carpenter's PAT made it 7-0 Montana at the 4:53 mark of the opening quarter. The Griz went up 14-0 a couple of minutes later on Harris' first career touchdown on a punt eturn with 3:32 remaining in the first quarter.
PSU got on the scoreboard early (14:07) in the second quarter on a 29-yard field goal by junior kicker Eric Azorr.
Montana went into the locker-room at halftime with a 24-3 lead, thanks to a 36-yard ield goal by Carpenter and another 1-yard run by Hilliard with seven second left until ntermission. Hilliard's scoring run was set up when free safety Torrey Thomas' picked off Smith pass and returned it to the PSU 25-yard line.
The only scoring in the third quarter was a season-long 46-yard field goal by Carpenter at the 5:41 mark.
Viking junior quarterback Sawyer Smith opened the final quarter with a 1-yard run to close the Griz lead to 27-9 with 14:14 to go, capping a 14-play, 91-yard drive.
Carpenter booted his third field goal of the day to push the Montana advantage to 30-9 with 3:10 remaining.
PSU's final points came with 2:03 left in the game, as Smith passed to senior Shaun Bodiford for a 5-yard touchdown.
Griz junior running back Brady Green put an exclamation point on the Griz win, breaking up the middle for an 18-yard scoring run with 1:48 to go on his only rush of the game.
Hilliard picked up 75 yards on 18 carries. Redshirt freshman quarterback Cole Bergquist gained 35 yards on eight rushes, while senior halfback JR Waller rushed for 27 yards on 14 tries.
Bergquist was 14-of-24-0 for 165 yards, but was knocked out of the game late in the game and did not return. Junior quarterback Jason Washington, who had started UM's first four game this year before suffering an injury against Weber State, returned to action and was 2-of-3 passing for 15 yards.
Sophomore receiver Ryan Bagley led UM in receiving with career-highs of eight receptions for 122 yards. Griz senior receiver Jon Talmage also returned to action after missing last week's Cal Poly game with an injury, and had five grabs for 27 yards.
Junior end Dustin Dlouhy led the Griz defense with 8 tackles and a sack, while sophomore linebacker Tyler Joyce also had 8 stops. Torrey Thomas had 7 tackles and had his third interception of the season.
Carpenter was perfect on all three of his field goal attempts and has now made nine in a row.
Smith was 18-of-35-1 for 199 yards and a touchdown. His favorite target was senior tight end Adam Whitehead, who had 5 catches for 45 yards.
PSU free safety Jordan Senn had a game-high 11 tackles, and senior linebacker Joey King added 10 stops.
A crowd of 23,605, the eighth largest in Washington-Grizzly Stadium history (142 games) watched UM's final regular-season contest of the 2005 season. The Grizzlies' last three games this season are at Northern Arizona (Nov. 5), at Sac State (Nov. 12), and at Montana State (Nov. 19).
The Vikings are at Idaho State next Saturday.
The victory gave Montana its 20th consecutive winning season, dating back to 1986.
The Vikings (5-4/3-2) entered the game in first place in the Big Sky, while the Grizzlies (6-2/3-1) trailed by half-a-game. The Griz are now tied for first place with intrastate rival Montana State, both with 3-1 Big Sky records.
Montana took an early lead on their second possession of the game and never relinquished it, marching 83 yards on 12 plays, Hilliard scoring on a 1-yard run. Dan Carpenter's PAT made it 7-0 Montana at the 4:53 mark of the opening quarter. The Griz went up 14-0 a couple of minutes later on Harris' first career touchdown on a punt eturn with 3:32 remaining in the first quarter.
PSU got on the scoreboard early (14:07) in the second quarter on a 29-yard field goal by junior kicker Eric Azorr.
Montana went into the locker-room at halftime with a 24-3 lead, thanks to a 36-yard ield goal by Carpenter and another 1-yard run by Hilliard with seven second left until ntermission. Hilliard's scoring run was set up when free safety Torrey Thomas' picked off Smith pass and returned it to the PSU 25-yard line.
The only scoring in the third quarter was a season-long 46-yard field goal by Carpenter at the 5:41 mark.
Viking junior quarterback Sawyer Smith opened the final quarter with a 1-yard run to close the Griz lead to 27-9 with 14:14 to go, capping a 14-play, 91-yard drive.
Carpenter booted his third field goal of the day to push the Montana advantage to 30-9 with 3:10 remaining.
PSU's final points came with 2:03 left in the game, as Smith passed to senior Shaun Bodiford for a 5-yard touchdown.
Griz junior running back Brady Green put an exclamation point on the Griz win, breaking up the middle for an 18-yard scoring run with 1:48 to go on his only rush of the game.
Hilliard picked up 75 yards on 18 carries. Redshirt freshman quarterback Cole Bergquist gained 35 yards on eight rushes, while senior halfback JR Waller rushed for 27 yards on 14 tries.
Bergquist was 14-of-24-0 for 165 yards, but was knocked out of the game late in the game and did not return. Junior quarterback Jason Washington, who had started UM's first four game this year before suffering an injury against Weber State, returned to action and was 2-of-3 passing for 15 yards.
Sophomore receiver Ryan Bagley led UM in receiving with career-highs of eight receptions for 122 yards. Griz senior receiver Jon Talmage also returned to action after missing last week's Cal Poly game with an injury, and had five grabs for 27 yards.
Junior end Dustin Dlouhy led the Griz defense with 8 tackles and a sack, while sophomore linebacker Tyler Joyce also had 8 stops. Torrey Thomas had 7 tackles and had his third interception of the season.
Carpenter was perfect on all three of his field goal attempts and has now made nine in a row.
Smith was 18-of-35-1 for 199 yards and a touchdown. His favorite target was senior tight end Adam Whitehead, who had 5 catches for 45 yards.
PSU free safety Jordan Senn had a game-high 11 tackles, and senior linebacker Joey King added 10 stops.
A crowd of 23,605, the eighth largest in Washington-Grizzly Stadium history (142 games) watched UM's final regular-season contest of the 2005 season. The Grizzlies' last three games this season are at Northern Arizona (Nov. 5), at Sac State (Nov. 12), and at Montana State (Nov. 19).
The Vikings are at Idaho State next Saturday.
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