Griz beat Cats, snag share of Big Sky title
11/22/2008 12:00:00 AM | Football
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The fifth-ranked Montana Grizzlies ended the regular season with a dominating 35-3 victory over the cross-state rival Montana State Bobcats in their 108th meeting. The Grizzlies surprised the record crowd of 25,629 at Washington Grizzly Stadium when they took the field in their copper and gold throwback jerseys.
The Grizzlies were able to put the game out of reach in the fourth quarter when they put together a 20-play, 98-yard touchdown drive that took nearly 10 minutes off the clock, capped with a Chase Reynolds 15-yard rushing touchdown.
Reynolds rushed 27 times for 115 yards and two touchdowns. Quarterback Cole Bergquist completed 11 of his 22 throws for 156 yards and one touchdown.
Montana State quarterback Mark Desin was 7-of-20 for 81 yards and two interceptions. Running back Demetrius Crawford rushed for 203 yards on 26 carries.??
On the Bobcats??? second play from scrimmage, Crawford sprang an 84-yard run before being forced out by Junior safety Shann Schillinger at the 3-yard line. The Grizzlies made a big defensive stand, stuffing three Montana State run plays. The Bobcats elected to go for it on fourth-and-1, but came up short when Desin rolled out to the right then cut it back and was met by a wall of Montana defenders who forced Desin to fumble.
The Grizzly offense had difficulties moving the ball early in the game, but their special teams picked up the slack. With 6:10 left in the first quarter, Marc Mariani fielded a short punt and returned it 75 yards down the sideline for the first touchdown of the game.
A couple of big plays from the Bobcats ??? Desin???s 42-yard completion to Deon Toliver and a Crawford 18-yard rush ??? put them in field goal range. Kicker Jason Cunningham put Montana State on the board with 2:17 remaining in the first quarter on a 25-yard field goal, 3-7.
Cunningham had an opportunity to bring the Bobcats within one point early in the second quarter, but missed the 37-yard field goal attempt wide left.
At the eight-minute mark in the second quarter, Desin fumbled as he tried to hand it off to his runningback.?? Senior defensive end Mike Stadnyk recovered the ball at the Bobcat 21-yard line, but the Grizzly offense couldn???t capitalize on the great field position when, on fourth-and-2, the Bobcats tackled Reynolds a yard short of the first down mark.
Montana was again given great field position on their next possession when punter Eric Fisher shanked a 19-yard punt out of bounds at the Bobcat 32 yard line. This time, they made the most of it when Reynolds extended the ball over the goal line on the 6-yard touchdown run. The drive took just two plays to give the Griz a 14-3 lead with 4:04 left in the second quarter.
On Montana State???s next possession, Crawford fumbled the ball, which fell into the arms of junior defensive end Jace Palmer at the Bobcat 27-yard line. The Grizzlies gave the ball back without putting up any points when they tried a fake field goal on fourth down, but came up short. The Bobcats ran the clock out to end the first half.
The Bobcats got great field position with five minutes remaining in the third quarter, but had a big turnover when Schillinger intercepted an underthrown ball from Desin. Montana???s offense capitalized on the turnover with a four-play, 71-yard drive. It was capped off by a 37-yard touchdown reception from Bergquist to Mariani to extend their lead to 21-3. Mariani injured his left ankle on the play and did not return.
Following the time-consuming 98-yard drive, Junior defensive end George Mercer put an exclamation mark on the afternoon when he intercepted a screen pass from Desin and returned it 73 yards for a game-ending touchdown. The final score was 35-3.
The Grizzlies end their regular season 11-1 overall and 7-1 in conference, giving Montana a share of the Big Sky championship, their 11th straight. The NCAA FCS playoff bracket will be announced Sunday.
The fifth-ranked Montana Grizzlies ended the regular season with a dominating 35-3 victory over the cross-state rival Montana State Bobcats in their 108th meeting. The Grizzlies surprised the record crowd of 25,629 at Washington Grizzly Stadium when they took the field in their copper and gold throwback jerseys.
The Grizzlies were able to put the game out of reach in the fourth quarter when they put together a 20-play, 98-yard touchdown drive that took nearly 10 minutes off the clock, capped with a Chase Reynolds 15-yard rushing touchdown.
Reynolds rushed 27 times for 115 yards and two touchdowns. Quarterback Cole Bergquist completed 11 of his 22 throws for 156 yards and one touchdown.
Montana State quarterback Mark Desin was 7-of-20 for 81 yards and two interceptions. Running back Demetrius Crawford rushed for 203 yards on 26 carries.??
On the Bobcats??? second play from scrimmage, Crawford sprang an 84-yard run before being forced out by Junior safety Shann Schillinger at the 3-yard line. The Grizzlies made a big defensive stand, stuffing three Montana State run plays. The Bobcats elected to go for it on fourth-and-1, but came up short when Desin rolled out to the right then cut it back and was met by a wall of Montana defenders who forced Desin to fumble.
The Grizzly offense had difficulties moving the ball early in the game, but their special teams picked up the slack. With 6:10 left in the first quarter, Marc Mariani fielded a short punt and returned it 75 yards down the sideline for the first touchdown of the game.
A couple of big plays from the Bobcats ??? Desin???s 42-yard completion to Deon Toliver and a Crawford 18-yard rush ??? put them in field goal range. Kicker Jason Cunningham put Montana State on the board with 2:17 remaining in the first quarter on a 25-yard field goal, 3-7.
Cunningham had an opportunity to bring the Bobcats within one point early in the second quarter, but missed the 37-yard field goal attempt wide left.
At the eight-minute mark in the second quarter, Desin fumbled as he tried to hand it off to his runningback.?? Senior defensive end Mike Stadnyk recovered the ball at the Bobcat 21-yard line, but the Grizzly offense couldn???t capitalize on the great field position when, on fourth-and-2, the Bobcats tackled Reynolds a yard short of the first down mark.
Montana was again given great field position on their next possession when punter Eric Fisher shanked a 19-yard punt out of bounds at the Bobcat 32 yard line. This time, they made the most of it when Reynolds extended the ball over the goal line on the 6-yard touchdown run. The drive took just two plays to give the Griz a 14-3 lead with 4:04 left in the second quarter.
On Montana State???s next possession, Crawford fumbled the ball, which fell into the arms of junior defensive end Jace Palmer at the Bobcat 27-yard line. The Grizzlies gave the ball back without putting up any points when they tried a fake field goal on fourth down, but came up short. The Bobcats ran the clock out to end the first half.
The Bobcats got great field position with five minutes remaining in the third quarter, but had a big turnover when Schillinger intercepted an underthrown ball from Desin. Montana???s offense capitalized on the turnover with a four-play, 71-yard drive. It was capped off by a 37-yard touchdown reception from Bergquist to Mariani to extend their lead to 21-3. Mariani injured his left ankle on the play and did not return.
Following the time-consuming 98-yard drive, Junior defensive end George Mercer put an exclamation mark on the afternoon when he intercepted a screen pass from Desin and returned it 73 yards for a game-ending touchdown. The final score was 35-3.
The Grizzlies end their regular season 11-1 overall and 7-1 in conference, giving Montana a share of the Big Sky championship, their 11th straight. The NCAA FCS playoff bracket will be announced Sunday.
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