Griz Defeat Bengals 47-28
10/9/2010 12:00:00 AM | Football
University of Montana running back Chase Reynolds became the leading touchdown scorer in school history as the host Grizzlies defeated the visiting Idaho State Bengals 47-28 in a Big Sky Conference game Saturday afternoon in UM???s Washington-Grizzly Stadium (attendance 25,568 is the ninth largest is stadium history).
Reynolds, a senior from Drummond, scored on a 3-yard run early in the third quarter, giving him his school-record 54th career touchdown (48 rushing and six receiving). He surpassed the record of 53 total touchdowns set by running back Lex Hilliard from 2003-07. The 12th-ranked Grizzlies (4-2/3-1 Big Sky) dominated the Bengals (1-5/0-4), and took a comfortable 47-14 lead with 10:37 left in the game on a 15-yard touchdown pass from freshman quarterback Jordan Johnson to senior wide receiver Jeff Larson, the former with his first career TD throw, and the latter with his first career touchdown reception. Montana scored 20 unanswered points to start the game on a pair of field goals by junior kicker Brody McKnight and a 17-yard scoring pass from senior quarterback Justin Roper to sophomore wide-out Sam Gratton along with a "trick play" ??? a Reynolds to Roper halfback pass that covered seven yards. ISU finally got on the board on a 10-play, 80-yard drive which culminated with a 1-yard touchdown run by fullback Jacob Hutton. That made it 20-7 Grizzlies with 2:30 to go until intermission. With three seconds left until halftime McKnight tacked on his third field goal of the first half and Montana took a 23-7 lead at the break. Reynolds started the scoring in the second half with his record-breaking touchdown, giving Montana a 30-7 lead with 10:19 to go in the third quarter. The Bengals??? second and final touchdown on offense came on an 8-yard pass from senior quarterback Russel Hill to junior wide receiver Kelvin Krosch, cutting the Griz lead to 30-14 with 4:46 remaining in the third stanza. Montana then scored on a 6-yard scoring pass from Roper to halfback Dan Moore (his first receiving touchdown); McKnight???s fourth field goal (33 yards); and the Johnson-to-Larson hook-up, and took its commanding 47-14 advantage with 10:37 left to play. ISU???s final two scores came in the return game, as speedy junior Tavoy Moore broke loose for a 100-yard kickoff return for a touchdown on the ensuing kickoff after Larson???s TD grab, and then busted free on a punt return for an 84-yard touchdown with 1:42 left in the contest. Roper passed for a career-high 319 yards, going 28-of-42-1 for two scores. Johnson, a true freshman who was activated last week at Northern Colorado, was 7-of-9-0 for 19 yards, and tossed the TD pass to Larson. ??Thirteen different Griz players caught passes, led by sophomore Bryce Carver (6-29-0), junior Antwon Moutra (5-94-0), Reynolds (5-35-0), and sophomore tight end Greg Hardy (4-62-0). Roper rushed for a game-high 61 yards on eight carries, while Reynolds gained 30 yards on 10 carries, and sophomore halfback Gerald Kemp picked up 26 yards on seven totes. Sophomore linebacker Jordan Tripp had a team-high 8 tackles, while senior end Severin Campbell had 7 stops, 3.5 tackles for loss, two sacks, and a forced fumble, and junior linebacker Caleb McSurdy also had 7 tackles. McKnight was four-of-five in field goal attempts and had a 39-yarder blocked. On the season, he had booted 10-of-12 field goal attempts, and both of his missed have been blocked. ISU???s Hill was 13-of-29-1 for 142 yards and one TD. Krosch had a team-highs of 5 catches for 59 yards and a score. Junior linebacker A.J. Storms had a game-high 20 tackles. Montana out-gained ISU in total yards, 476 to 202, and had 13 more (25 to 12) first downs. The Griz play Portland State in Hillsboro, Ore., next Saturday in a 6:05 p.m. (Mtn.) game. ISU hosts Weber State. PSU lost 44-31 at Montana State today.
