Griz beat Jackrabbits 61-48
11/28/2009 12:00:00 AM | Football
The University of Montana Grizzlies put together perhaps the most impressive comeback in school history to register a 61-48 victory over the South Dakota State Jackrabbits in an NCAA Football Championship Subdivision first-round game in UM???s Washington-Grizzly Stadium Saturday afternoon.
Top-ranked Montana (12-0) trailed 11th-ranked SDSU (8-4) twice by a 27-point margin, the first 41-14 with 11:15 left in the third quarter, after the Jacks had blocked a Grizzly punt and junior safety Corey Jeske bounced on the ball in the end zone for a touchdown.
The Grizzlies cut the Jacks??? lead to 48-21 a few minutes later when senior running back Thomas Brooks-Fletcher scored on a 2-yard run with 6:45 to go in the third stanza.
But SDSU pushed its lead back up to 27 points less than a minute later when junior running back Kyle Minett scored on a 2-yard run, making it 48-21 Jacks with 5:40 left in the third period.
After that the Grizzlies offense clicked into full gear, and the UM defense finally started to slow down the SDSU offense ??? in a BIG WAY.
Just 15 seconds after Minett???s score, Montana???s versatile returner/receiver Marc Mariani started his team???s miraculous turnaround, breaking loose for a 98-yard touchdown on a kickoff return, reducing the Jack???s lead to 48-27 (the PAT attempt by sophomore Brody McKnight was missed), with 5:25 remaining in the third period.
The Grizzlies dominated the fourth quarter, scoring 34 unanswered points.
A 15-yard scoring pass to Mariani from junior quarterback Andrew Selle started the Grizzlies??? offensive explosion in the final stanza. That scoring hook-up made it 48-34 SDSU at the 14:56 mark of the fourth quarter. Senior wide receiver Tyler Palmer had two key plays in the drive with 2 catches for 32 yards.
Griz junior running back Chase Reynolds then scored on back-to-back 1-yard runs, the second touchdown knotting the game up a 48-48 with 4:11 remaining.
The Grizzly defense held the Jacks to a second straight three-and-out on their possession following Reynolds??? game-tying run, and then Mariani gave UM good field position on a 19-yard punt return to the SDSU 41-yard line. Five plays later the senior from Havre put his name in the records books in grand fashion, scoring on a 4-yard pass from Selle, and McKnight???s PAT gave the Grizzlies their first lead of the game, 55-48, with 1:08 left to play.
UM???s final score was set up when Griz sophomore linebacker Alex Shaw deflected a pass by SDSU redshirt quarterback Thomas O???Brien. The tipped pass landed in the arms of junior defensive end Severin Campbell, who returned the interception 32 yards for a touchdown.
The Jacks jumped to a 17-0 lead on back-to-back touchdown passes from Thompson to junior tight end Colin Cochart and a 34-yard field goal by Kyle Harris.
Montana finally got on the board when Reynolds scored his first of three rushing TDs, his first one from one yard out. That made the score 17-7 SDSU with 7:14 left in the second quarter.
After a sack and forced fumble by Jace Palmer the Grizzlies took over on the SDSU 25-yard line, and on the first play after the turnover Selle hit Tyler Palmer for a touchdown which cut the Jacks??? lead to 17-14 with 6:47 to go in the second quarter.
But, SDSU came right back, as O???Brien and Cochart hooked up on a 5-yard TD pass, Minett scored on a 1-yard run, and Harris nailed a 39-yard field goal. Those 17 unanswered points resulted in a 34-14 lead by the Jacks at intermission.
Mariani had a career-high 12 receptions for 171 yards and two touchdowns. He also had six kickoff returns for 178 yards and a score, and six punt returns for 40 yards. Tyler Palmer had 6 catches for 85 yards and a score, while redshirt freshman Sam Gratton had 5 for 27 yards.
Selle, who overcame a shaky first half, was 27-of-43-2 overall for 309 yards and three TDs, but he completed 21-of-28-0 passes for 241 yards in the second half.
Reynolds had 35 hard-earned yards on 14 carries, but scored three times. He has 18 touchdown runs this season and 40 in his career. The Griz rushed 26 times for 40 net yards.
Montana senior free safety Shann Schillinger had a career-high 14 tackles, and junior strong safety Erik Stoll had a career-best 11 stops. Campbell had 4 tackles, a sack, and a pair of interceptions. Sophomore cornerback Trumaine Johnson had his fifth pick of the season.
The Grizzly "D" held the Jacks to 128 total yards and seven first downs in the final half (compared to Montana???s 18 first downs and 296 yards). SDSU had 48 yards in the fourth quarter, including just two rush yards.
Mariani set a single-game record with 389 all-purpose yards, breaking the mark of 321 yards set by running back Damon Boddie in 1994 at Idaho State. His 5,079 career all-purpose yards broke the school standard held by running back Yohance Humphery (4,997 yards, 1998-2001).
Mariani???s game-winning touchdown grab was the 27th of his career, breaking the school record of 26 shared by Etu Molden, Mike Erhardt, and Shalon Baker. He now has 1,151 receiving yards this season and is the first player in UM history to go over the 1,000-yard mark in a season twice (he had 1,308 yards last year). He also moved up to second on the career receiving yards list with 2,690, and trails all-time leader Matt Wells (2,733 yards, 1992-95) by just 43 yards.
Minett rushed 35 times for 131 yards and a pair of touchdowns. O???Brien was 14-of-27-3 for 198 yards and three scores ??? all to Cochart. SDSU???s leading tackler was junior cornerback Cole Brodie with 12 stops.
The Grizzlies will host the 12th-ranked Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks (10-2) of the Southland Conference Saturday, Dec. 5, in a FCS quarterfinal game. Stephen F. Austin defeated 13/14th-ranked Eastern Washington 44-33 in a first-round game in Nacogdoches this afternoon.
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