Halftime Update: Montana 35, Savannah State 3

9/16/2017 2:35:00 PM | Football

By: Montana Sports Information

MISSOULA, Mont. – The Grizzlies are rolling against Savannah State, leading the visiting Tigers 35-0 at halftime. Quarterback Reese Phillips completed his first 13 passes for 148 yards and Alijah Lee scored the first two touchdowns of his Griz career. On defense Josh Buss has two sacks and an interception and Ryan McKinley recorded a pick six.

However, the game took a turn early in the second quarter when Phillips went down with a leg injury and had to be carted off the field. Scrambling to try to find positive yardage on a broken play, he was tackled and looked to seriously injure his left leg.

In came redshirt freshman Gresch Jensen, who on the next series rushed for his first career touchdown. The score was set up by the defense and special teams, with the D forcing a three-and-out – all three plays resulted in lost yardage – and Giovanni Lugo taking the ensuing punt 41 yards to the Tigers 12-yard line.

The defense wasn't done, though. Just three plays after Jensen's touchdown, Ryan McKinley intercepted TJ Bell's pass and returned it for 53 yards and a touchdown.

Bell was facing heavy pressure from Connor Strahm and a handful of other Griz defenders and threw up a desperate pass. McKinley was the only player near it and worked his way through a slew of Savannah State players and into the end zone. It marked UM's second game in a row with a pick six.

The Tigers reached the red zone on their first two drives of the game, but came away empty handed both times. On their first drive, Buss intercepted Bell's pass at the 6-yard line, resulting in a UM touchdown six plays later. On the Tigers' second drive, they reached the 8-yard line, only to have a 25-yard field goal blocked by Josh Sandry.

Late in the first half, Savannah State reached as far as the UM 23-yard line, but another Buss sack pushed the Tigers out of field-goal range. Jensen then led the Grizzlies on an 85-yard scoring drive, throwing his first career touchdown – an 8-yard strike to Keenan Curran.

Lee has 56 yards on seven rushes (8.0 average), including scores of one yard and six yards. Jerry Louie-McGee has 64 receiving yards, including a 40-yard catch that set up UM's second score.