Montana
2-2 , 1-1
Sacramento State
2-2 , 1-1
Turnovers give Sacramento State first-ever win over Montana
9/24/2011 12:00:00 AM | Football
Sept. 24, 2011
Box score
Senior quarterback Jeff Fleming ran for two touchdowns and passed for two more to lead Sacramento State to a 42-28 victory over the University of Montana. The win was the first for the Hornets over the Grizzlies in 17 tries.
Sacramento State never trailed in the game and controlled the clock with a balanced attack. Sac ran for 254 yards on the ground and threw for 224 yards. The Hornets held the ball for over twice as long as the Grizzlies on the evening.
Another big factor in the game was turnovers. The Grizzlies turned the ball over five times including a muffed punt and a blocked punt which both led to Hornet touchdowns. Sophomore quarterback Jordan Johnson struggled to find his grove and threw three interceptions on the evening.
Sacramento State never trailed in the game and started the scoring off with a long drive on their first possession. The drive was capped with a nine yard pass by Fleming to senior receiver Chase Deadder for the 7-0 Hornet lead.
The Grizzlies traded short possessions with the Hornets before tying the game at 7-7 on a one yard run by junior running back Dan Moore after a 73 yard drive.
The Grizzlies then forced Sac State to punt but the short kick deflected off of a Grizzly player and the Hornets recovered the ball on the Montana 14-yard line. Fleming ran for the seven yard score to give Sac the 14-7 lead.
"The turnovers really hurt us," head coach Robin Pflugrad said. "We had some momentum going then lost the fumble and they cashed in on that and scored a touchdown. You can't give and offense like Sac's that many opportunities."
The Grizzlies responded quickly with a 75 yard drive that culminated in a 33 yard touchdown pass from Johnson to junior receiver Bryce Carver to even the score at 14-14.
Sacramento State punched back, this time scoring on another Fleming run from the nine yards out to again take the seven point lead, 21-14.
Both teams traded possessions but the Hornets ended the half with a missed 25-yard field goal as time expired.
Things started snowballing for the Grizzlies on the first possession after halftime. After one first down the drive stalled on the UM 40-yard line and the ensuing punt by senior Sean Wren was blocked by Deadder. The ball was picked up by Sophomore defensive back Markell Williams and returned 30 yards for the touchdown giving the Hornets a 28-14 lead.
Momentum had shifted entirely into the hands of Sacramento State. On the first play from scrimmage of the next drive Johnson threw his second interception of the night. The Hornets were not able to move the ball however and went three -and-out.
After a first down by the Griz a promising possession was stalled by penalties and Montana was forced to punt. Sacramento State took full advantage of their next possession and drove 69 yards in just three plays to take the 35-14 lead.
Johnson found the endzone on the Grizzlies next possession to close the gap to 35-21. The Grizzlies appeared to be gaining momentum after recovering a fumble on the ensuing kickoff but were unable to get any points on the board after senior kicker Brody McKnight was wide right on his 36-yard field goal attempt.
Sacramento State put an end to the Grizzlies' comeback hopes with a 14-play, 80-yard drive that ate up nearly nine minutes of game time and culminated in a 37-yard touchdown pass from Fleming to senior receiver Brandyn Reed.
The Grizzlies found the their way across the goal line once more in the final minute on another Moore touchdown but the game was well out of hand.
"We knew we would have our hands full," Pflugrad said. "Sac has a very good football team, especially at the skill positions and that showed up big tonight."
The Grizzlies loss was the first ever to the a Sacramento State team but the Big Sky Conference is full of great teams this year and Pflugrad knows that if they expect to compete for the championship they will have to do better.
"There is a lot of parity in our conference now," Pflugrad said. "You have to play you're 'A' game if you expect to win. Obviously we did not do that tonight."
For the second week Johnson led the team in rushing with 64 yards on seven carries and a touchdown, Moore gained 43 yards on 15 carries and two touchdowns.
Senior running back Bryan Hilliard was the work horse for the Hornets; he carried the ball 22 times for 100 yards but didn't find pay dirt. Junior running back Sam McCowen came in for Hilliard in the second half while he was receiving medical attention for his ankle and ran for 71 yards and a touchdown. Fleming ran for 62 yards on 9 carries and two touchdowns.
Fleming was 18-of-27 for 224 yards on the night with no interceptions while Johnson was 9-of-19 for 148 yards with 3 picks.
The Grizzlies head back to Missoula for next Saturday's homecoming game against Northern Colorado who is coming off a 45-21 loss to Weber State.
Team Stats
UM 0, SAC 7
SAC - Chase Deadder 9 yd pass from Jeff Fleming (Jason Diniz kick) 13 plays, 82 yards, TOP 7:20
UM 7, SAC 7
UM - Dan Moore 1 yd run (Brody McKnight kick), 9 plays, 73 yards, TOP 3:14
UM 7, SAC 14
SAC - Jeff Fleming 7 yd run (Jason Diniz kick), 5 plays, 14 yards, TOP 2:27
UM 14, SAC 14
UM - Bryce Carver 33 yd pass from Jordan Johnson (Brody McKnight kick) 4 plays, 75 yards, TOP 1:19
UM 14, SAC 21
SAC - Jeff Fleming 9 yd run (Jason Diniz kick), 3 plays, 68 yards, TOP 1:09
UM 14, SAC 28
SAC - M. Williams 30 yd blocked punt return (Jason Diniz kick)
UM 14, SAC 35
SAC - Sam McCowan 42 yd run (Jason Diniz kick), 3 plays, 69 yards, TOP 1:23
UM 21, SAC 35
UM - Jordan Johnson 4 yd run (Brody McKnight kick), 9 plays, 72 yards, TOP 2:22
UM 21, SAC 42
SAC - Brandyn Reed 37 yd pass from Jeff Fleming (Jason Diniz kick) 14 plays, 80 yards, TOP 8:50
UM 28, SAC 42
UM - Dan Moore 1 yd run (Brody McKnight kick), 10 plays, 48 yards, TOP 2:03
