eGriz
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Big Sky and I-AA Top 25 Results; Big Sky Conference Standings.
Major blockage: MacIntyre's heroics preserve Grizzlies' victory
(Missoulian).
Griz ride positive outlook (Missoulian).
UM blocks another big kick to seal barnburner (Great Falls Tribune).
Montana tops EWU 31-28 to stay perfect in the Sky (MontanaGrizzlies.com).
In Another Thriller, Eagles Lose to Montana (Eastern Washington).
Griz deny EWU (Spokesman-Review).
---
I-AA Review: Week Seven (Coulson, I-AA.Org).
MSU vs. PSU: Comeback Cats keep clawing back (Great Falls Tribune).
NAU vs. WNM: A win's a win (Arizona Daily Sun).
CSU vs. WSU: Hornets end scoreless streak in win (Sacramento Bee).
***
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Big Sky Conference Results
Montana St 31, Portland St 24 (OT)
Montana 31, at Eastern Wash 28
NAU 34, W New Mex 14
Sacramento St 31, Weber St 12
Others
Sam Houston 38, Nicholls St 10
Hofstra 19, Delaware 20
Maine 20, James Madison 24
N Colorado 24, Fla Atlantic 39
Big Sky Conference Standings
Conf Overall
W L PF PA W L PF PA
UM 3 0 97 71 6 1 221 171
MSU 3 0 68 54 4 2 115 120
EWU 3 1 161 88 4 3 234 175
NAU 2 1 95 72 3 3 149 131
PSU 1 2 76 72 3 3 166 113
Sac 1 2 31 69 2 4 84 203
ISU 0 3 57 88 1 5 147 203
WSU 0 4 77 148 0 7 137 245
Big Sky Conference Schedule, October 23
Montana, idle
NAU vs. Portland St
Montana St vs. South Dakota St
Idaho St vs. Sacramento St (HC)
Weber St vs. Eastern Wash (HC)
---
I-AA Top 25 Results
1. won Southern Ill 38, #4 Western Ky 10
2. won Ga Southern 54, #15 Appalachian St 7
3. won Delaware 20, at Hofstra 19
4. LOST Western Ky 10, at #1 Southern Ill 38
5. won Montana 31, at #23 Eastern Wash 28
6. won Wofford 15, W Carolina 12
7. LOST New Hampshire 21, UMass 38
8. won Furman 33, Citadel 14
9. won Cal Poly 38, Texas St 21
10. won S F Austin 22, at #21 UC-Davis 19
11. won Northwestern St 47, McNeese St 17
12. LOST Maine 20, #17 James Madison 24
13. won Sam Houston 38, Nicholls St 10
14. won Jacksonville St 49, Tenn St 35
15. LOST Appalachian St 7, at #2 Ga Southern 54
16. won WM & Mary 31, Rhode Island 24
17. won James Madison 24, at #12 Maine 20
18. won Lehigh 30, at Yale 24
19. LOST Northeastern 14, at Harvard 41
20. won Colgate 10, Cornell 6
21. LOST UC-Davis 19, #10 S F Austin 22
22. won Hampton 58, Norfolk St 10
23. LOST Eastern Wash 28, #5 Montana 31
24. won Villanova 49, Richmond 10
25. won Penn 14, Columbia 3
***
Major blockage: MacIntyre's heroics preserve Grizzlies' victory
By FRITZ NEIGHBOR of the Missoulian
http://www.missoulian.com/articles/2004/10/17/sports/sports01. txt
CHENEY, Wash. - After another last-gasp win by Montana, this one 31-28 over
Big Sky Conference foe Eastern Washington, Grizzly coach Bobby Hauck
reiterated that no championship trophy changed hands on Saturday.
But the view from the driver's seat is sure nice for the No. 5 Grizzlies.
Sophomore running back Lex Hilliard ran for a career-high 116 yards and
three touchdowns, and the Griz blocked a potential game-tying game field
goal for the second straight game - this time by linebacker Shane MacIntyre
- to knock No. 23 Eastern Washington from the top of the Big Sky. Montana
improved to 3-0 in league play, and 6-1 overall. Eastern, playing before a
Woodward Field-record 10,754 fans, fell to 3-1 in the Big Sky and 4-3
overall.
The fans got their money's worth. Montana scored twice in the last 3:46 of
the first half to forge a 14-10 lead, then appeared to have command before
Eastern rallied in the final 3:44 of the game.
The usual suspects played key roles. Quarterback Craig Ochs threw for 230
yards, 70 of those coming on an 85-yard drive in the final 90 seconds of the
first half. Freshman kicker Dan Carpenter supplied the eventual winning
points with a 39-yard field goal with 5:45 left in the game.
Add in the fact that Eastern became the fourth team to outgain the Griz this
season and lose, and it's just another day, another dollar.
"You can never tell what's going to happen," said MacIntyre, who came
through untouched to block Sheldon Weddle's 28-yard field goal with 18
seconds left. "Last week Jonny Varona did 'er (blocked a field goal to
preserve a 24-22 win over Idaho State). It's crazy.
"We'd like to win in a little different fashion, but a win's a win,
especially against these guys. They're a good team."
Eastern quarterback Erik Meyer had a strong game statistically, throwing for
320 yards and one touchdown, but was also picked off twice in the first
half, and took a critical sack near the end of Eastern's final drive.
The junior had been fairly well contained by an active Griz defense until
Carpenter's field goal made it 31-21. Then Meyer drove the Eagles 77 yards
in seven plays, the last 11 on a slant pass to standout receiver Eric Kimble
with 3:44 left. That cut the gap to 31-28.
Montana went three-and-out on its ensuing possession, setting up another
wild finish. Kimble got things started by breaking five tackles on a 19-yard
punt return, putting the ball at Eastern's 44-yard line with 2:10 remaining.
From there the Eagles got off 11 plays, including a 14-yard scramble by
Meyer on third-and-13, and a 2-yard run by Darius Washington on third-and-1.
That put the ball at Montana's 17, and Meyer hit Craig McIntyre for 11 yards
down to the 6.
Meyer followed that with a quarterback draw that netted 2 yards, then took a
7-yard loss when Mike Potts came in from the left side for a sack. Eastern
called time out with 30 seconds left, and tried one more pass that Meyer
threw away under pressure from Mike Murphy.
That set up MacIntyre.
"We just had block called on my side," said the junior, who had team-high 10
tackles, three for losses. "Mike Murphy was the D-end going with me, and he
drew a double team. They stepped down to him, and I sort of came clean and
laid out, and got it."
It was a heartbreaker for Eastern, which had just crawled back into the I-AA
rankings, and had the look of a champion early. The Eagles led 10-0 before
the first quarter ended when Washington, who ran for 82 yards and two
touchdowns, scored from 2 yards out with 59 seconds left.
Things could've really gone south from there, because EWU kicker Skyler
Allen squibbed the ensuing kickoff off of Griz up-man Brady Green, and Kyle
Long recovered for the Eagles at midfield.
"At that point, we knew we really had to buckle down," MacIntyre said. "The
defense did a great job of shutting them down the rest of the half."
Montana forced a punt, then put together three drives, although the first
ended with a blocked kick of its own, thanks in part to a high snap. But
that put EWU at its own 5, and the Eagles had to punt again, setting up the
Griz with a short field.
Hilliard capped a 37-yard march with a 16-yard burst up the left side,
cutting the gap to 10-7.
Montana got the ball back with 1:29 left when freshman Torrey Thomas broke
in front of Eagle receiver Richmond Sanders for the Grizzlies' second
interception. A 33-yard pass to 6-foot-3 Jon Talmage, who was matched up
with 5-7 cornerback Isaiah Trufant, was key. Ochs was 5-for-7 on the drive,
including a 2-yard TD pass to tight end Willie Walden with 33 seconds left
in the half.
From there Hilliard and running mate Justin Green (46 yards) helped control
the tempo for the Griz.
"At halftime, Justin and I talked to each other, and we said, 'You need me,
I need you, let's go out and blow these guys off the line,' " Hilliard said.
"And our line really did a good job of taking control."
Hilliard added scoring runs of 8 yards at 3:28 of the third - aided by a
wild scramble and throw from Ochs that netted 25 yards to Levander Segars -
and 2 yards with 9:50 left in the game. Hilliard set up his last TD with a
41-yard burst down to the EWU 15-yard line.
Then it was a matter of holding off the Eagles.
"I'm just disappointed for the kids," said EWU coach Paul Wulff. "We're down
10 points late in the game and we kept fighting. We did not play our best
game. We've played better, but to not play our best game and still come in
and play hard, and still have a chance to win, I couldn't be prouder.
"I told the kids, 'This postgame speech was going to be the same whether we
won or lost, in that we've gotta flush this game.' We've got Weber State
next week, and all our goals are still intact."
So, of course, are the Grizzlies'.
"It puts us in first place," said Hauck, whose team has next weekend off.
"As I said before the game, there's a long way to go. The Big Sky
championship wasn't won by us today, it wasn't lost by them today. But the
team that wins takes a step forward. It's a good place to be."
---
Box
TSN
http://www.sportsnetwork.com/merge/tsnform.aspx?c=sportsnetwor k&page=cfoot2/scores/final/boxscore.aspx?GAMEID=6727
MSNBC
http://www.scoreboard.msnbc.com/msnbc/main.asp?frames=0&cat=bo x&box=200410160113&sport=ncaafb1a
Missoulian
1 2 3 4 Score
UM 0 14 7 10 31
EWU 10 0 11 7 28
1st Quarter
EWU FG: 28-yarder by Sheldon Weddle. 6:49 Remaining.
EWU TD: 2-yard run by Darius Washington. (Skyler Allen kick) 0:59 Remaining.
2nd Quarter
Griz TD: 16-yard run by Lex Hilliard. (Dan Carpenter kick) 3:46 Remaining.
Griz TD: 2-yard pass from Craig Ochs to Willie Walden. (Dan Carpenter kick)
0:33 Remaining.
3rd Quarter
EWU FG: 21-yarder by Sheldon Weddle. 9:07 Remaining.
Griz TD: 8-yard run by Lex Hilliard. (Dan Carpenter kick) 3:28 Remaining.
EWU TD: 1-yard run by Darius Washington. (Erik Meyer pass to Eric Kimble)
0:10 Remaining.
4th Quarter
Griz TD: 2-yard run by Lex Hilliard. (Dan Carpenter kick) 9:50 Remaining.
Griz FG: 39-yarder by Dan Carpenter. 5:45 Remaining.
EWU TD: 11-yard pass from Erik Meyer to Eric Kimble. (Skyler Allen kick)
3:44 Remaining.
Team Stats
Griz EWU
First Downs 22 26
Rushing 8 8
Passing 11 18
Penalty 3 0
Third Down Eff. 6-15-40 8-18-44
Fourth Down Eff. 1-1-100 0-0- -
Rushes - Net Yds 43-157 40-126
Avg Per Rush 3.7 3.2
Comp - Att - Int 16-31-1 27-42-2
Net Passing 230 320
Avg Per Pass 7.0 7.1
Sacks - Yards Lost 2--9 3--27
Total Plays - NYds 76-387 85-446
Return Yards 2 25 (exc. KOs)
Int Ret - Yards 2-1 1-0
Punt Ret - Yards 1-1 2-25
Kick Ret - Yards 3-41 6-120
Penalties - Yards 2-25 5-65
Punts - Yards 4-194 4-165
Average 48.5 41.3
Fumbles - Lost 0-0 1-0
Time of Possession 29:40 30:20
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING
Griz: Hilliard 19-116, Green 17-46, Ochs 6- -5).
EWU: Washington 26-82, Meyer 11-22, Witherspoon 2-19, Slind 1-3.
PASSING
Griz: Ochs 16-31-230-1
EWU: Meyer 27-41-320-2
RECEIVING
Griz: Hancock 5-61, Talmage 4-54, Segars 3-49, Hilliard 2-26, Heidelberger
1-38, Walden 1-2.
EWU: Kimble 6-91, Vijil 6-66, McIntyre 5-84, Sanders 3-22, Washington 3-21,
Witherspoon 2-8, Slind 1-17, Cwik 1-11.
***
Griz ride positive outlook
By RIAL CUMMINGS of the Missoulian
http://www.missoulian.com/articles/2004/10/17/sports/sports02. txt
CHENEY, Wash. - The Montana Grizzlies are taking the power of positive
thinking to frontiers Norman Vincent Peale only dreamed of.
Outgained 157-18 in the first quarter? Chill out, man. Have to track down a
loose ball and complete a prayer on third-and-Ritzville? No problem. Need a
game-preserving blocked field goal for the second straight week?
You've come to the right place.
"Whatever it takes, we'll do it," receiver Jon Talmage said outside a
euphoric locker room Saturday after the Griz held off Eastern Washington
31-28 in a showdown matching the Big Sky's nationally-ranked football teams.
"The bull's-eye is always going to be on us. We're always going to get the
other team's best shot. We know that.
"But we find ways to win, and that's the most important thing."
Ask fellow receiver Levander Segars what he was thinking on the Woodward
Field sideline as EWU moved methodically toward the Griz goal line in the
final minute. Was he, just by chance, contemplating the consequences of a
blown 10-point lead in the final 5:45 that would give EWU the inside track
to the conference championship?
Apparently not.
"I was standing next to (tight end) Willie Walden and (running back) JR
Waller," Segars said. "I told 'em, 'They're not going to get a touchdown,
and we're not going to have to kick a field goal. We're going to block it
again.' And Willie said, 'I'll take it.' And that's exactly what happened."
The conference's top scoring teams were locked in a defensive struggle until
late in the third quarter, then detonated for a combined 32 points in the
final 18 minutes.
Montana's offense sputtered for most of the first half, but after
intermission the Griz gave it their best Woody Hayes - they ran the ball
effectively, and they stopped the other guys from doing the same.
Still, UM couldn't have won without a pair of jaw-dropping connections from
quarterback Craig Ochs to Talmage and Segars.
Talmage made like a ballet dancer on a 27-yard catch late in the second
quarter, leaping, twisting and getting one foot in-bounds after adjusting to
a slightly underthrown sideline pattern. It turned a third-and-16 hole into
a first down at the EWU 16, and on the next play Lex Hilliard put Montana on
the board with the first of his three touchdown runs.
Late in the third quarter, facing third-and-8, Ochs tracked down a wayward
shotgun formation snap roughly 15 yards behind the line of scrimmage. He
eluded one Eagle, stepped up into the path of two more defenders and -
despite being crunched - fired a Hail Mary pass down the middle. Segars
alertly broke off his route and came back to grab the ball for a 25-yard
gain to the EWU 19. Four plays later, Hilliard scored to put UM ahead 21-10.
EWU coach Paul Wulff said it was these plays, and others like them, that
crystalized the outcome - right up until the moment linebacker Shane
MacInytre stretched a desperate paw on Sheldon Weddle's 28-yard field-goal
try.
"We were in position a lot of times, defensively and offensively, to make
plays, and we didn't," Wulff said.
Certainly, the Eagles have reason to kick themselves.
Penalties cost them two touchdowns after driving inside the Griz 10-yard
line, and interceptions ended two more promising drives. They couldn't take
advantage of a huge break in the first half, after recovering a botched
squib kick that bounced off a Griz player near midfield. A face-mask penalty
helped set up what turned out to be the winning points, Dan Carpenter's
39-yard field goal.
Montana didn't play perfectly either, but the Griz won the turnover battle,
committed only two penalties (11 less than last week) and, despite
surrendering 446 yards, retained their title as Rulers of the Red Zone.
Eastern became the fourth team to outgain the Griz and lose. The line forms
on the right, guys.
For Montana, the chances of winning or sharing a seventh straight Big Sky
title look a whole lot better now than they did 24 hours ago. Since the
Grizzlies rose to national prominence in 1989, they've lost five times to
EWU, three more than any other current Big Sky member. So this one, on the
road, made a nice catch for the creel.
But there are still plenty of ways to stumble, even with a favorable
schedule that sends UM to Portland State in two Saturdays before returning
home to close out the conference slate against Northern Arizona, Sacramento
State and Montana State.
You don't have to possess the memory of an elephant to recall the last two
years, when losses to the Bobcats cost the Griz outright league titles - and
more favorable playoff pairings.
"It's always nervous time, your heart is beating a mile a minute," said
Hilliard, who powered UM's improving ground game with a career-high 116
yards. "We're closer to where we want to be, but we're not there yet."
Of that, we can be positive.
***
UM blocks another big kick to seal barnburner
Great Falls Tribune
http://www.greatfallstribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20 041017/SPORTS/410170345/1006
CHENEY, Wash. -- For the second consecutive weekend the Montana Grizzlies
blocked a last-minute field goal to preserve a league victory, this time a
31-28 win over Eastern Washington on Saturday.
Montana's Shane MacIntyre was the hero this time, blocking a 28-yard field
goal attempt by Sheldon Weddle with 18 seconds remaining as the 23rd-ranked
Eagles fell to the fifth-ranked Grizzlies 31-28 in a showdown for first
place in the Big Sky Conference Saturday at Woodward Field.
Lex Hilliard rushed for 116 yards and three touchdowns -- both career highs
-- for the Grizzlies (6-1, 3-0 Big Sky). His final touchdown with 9:50
remaining put Montana ahead 28-21.
Dan Carpenter kicked a 39-yard field goal to put the Grizzlies up 31-21 with
5:45 remaining.
"We felt fairly comfortable up 10 there," said UM coach Bobby Hauck. "They
did a great job rallying back."
Eastern Washington (4-3, 3-1 Big Sky) drove 77 yards in just over two
minutes and scored on an 11-yard pass from Erik Meyer to Eric Kimble with
3:44 to play.
The Eagles stopped Montana on its next possession and got the ball back with
2:19 remaining at their own 44. Down three, Eastern drove to the Montana
4-yard line, before Meyer was sacked by Mike Murphy on third-and-goal and
pushed back to the Montana 11.
"We played hard, but we didn't make quite enough plays at the end," said
Eagle head coach Paul Wulff. "We got ourselves in a hole late in the third
quarter and early fourth quarter. We didn't finish and we didn't play our
best game. Montana played well and my hat is off to them. They came in here
to a tough environment and they won the game."
But not until MacIntyre broke through the line to block the kick, boosting
Montana to victory.
"They fought real hard all game long and it just came down to one play,"
MacIntyre said. "I was just in the right place at the right time."
Last weekend, Jonny Varona blocked a field goal with 30 seconds remaining to
preserve Montana's 24-22 victory over Idaho State.
Montana quarterback Craig Ochs threw for 230 yards, including a 2-yard
touchdown pass to Willie Walden with 33 seconds left in the first half that
gave Montana its first lead, 14-10.
Eastern Washington's Meyer completed 27-of-41 passes for 320 yards. Kimble
had 91 yards receiving. Darius Washington rushed for 82 yards and two
touchdowns for the Eagles.
The game was played before an Eastern Washington record crowd of 10,754.
The Eagles last played the Grizzlies in Cheney back in 1996. Since then,
Eastern's home games vs. UM have taken place at spacious Albi Stadium in
Spokane. Two years ago the Eagles knocked off the Grizzlies 30-21 in
Spokane, snapping Montana's NCAA Division I-AA record 24-game winning
streak.
That game attracted a crowd of 17,142. This year's game at Woodward Field
shattered the previous record of 6,879 set on Oct. 17, 1992 versus Idaho. A
crowd of 6,605 were on hand the last time the Grizzlies and Eagles met at
Woodward in 1996.
But unlike the last two years when games were played in November and Eastern
was already eliminated from Big Sky title and I-AA Playoff contention, this
game had many implications. In 2001, when the two teams met in late
September in a matchup of nationally ranked foes, the Eagles lost to the
Grizzlies in two overtimes by a 29-26 score.
In five of the last nine meetings between the two teams, both teams have
entered the game nationally-ranked. Montana now leads the series 21-9-1,
with victories in six of the last seven meetings.
Eastern finished with a 446-387 edge in total offense, but there were some
lopsided quarters. Eastern had a 174-18 advantage in the first quarter when
it took a 10-0 lead, and Montana had a 172-44 advantage in the second
quarter as it took a 14-10 lead at halftime. In the second half, Eastern had
a slight 228-197 advantage.
Montana and Montana State now share the lead in the Big Sky Conference
standings.
***
Montana tops EWU 31-28 to stay perfect in the Sky
By Timothy San Pedro, MontanaGrizzlies.com
http://web.montanagrizzlies.com
Griz linebacker Shane MacIntyre blocked Sheldon Weddle's game-tying 28-yard
field goal attempt with 18 seconds remaining to seal the fifth-ranked
Montana Grizzlies' 31-28 victory over the 23-ranked Eastern Washington
Eagles on Saturday at Woodward Field in Cheney, Wash.
“It was a huge, hard fought game,” MacIntyre said, who led Griz in tackles
with 10. “It came down to one play and I was able to come through clean and
block it. I was in the right place at the right time.”
Eastern Washington, statistically, looked to have the advantage at nearly
every position coming into Saturday's contest.
That combined with rainy conditions, playing on the road, and facing a
potent Eastern Washington offense, left Montana football coach Bobby Hauck
questioning, “Well shoot, I don’t know why we even bothered to show up.”
But the Grizzlies did show up and for the second consecutive week they
blocked a field goal attempt in the final moments to secure victory.
“You can’t count out the Montana Grizzlies,” Hauck said in a postgame
interview with KGVO radio. “Our kids came to play and fought hard.”
Freshman kicker Dan Carpenter, who had missed his last three field goal
attempts dating back to last week, was faced with a 39-yarder after
Jefferson Heidelberger and Jon Talmage were unable to haul in two would-be
touchdown passes. With 5:45 remaining, Carpenter converted what turned out
to be the game-winning field goal.
“Dan did a great job of making (the field goal) when it counted,” Hauck
said.
In the first quarter of play, Eastern Washington looked to continue on their
trend of blowing out their opponents in the first half.
“(Eastern Washington) put everybody away in the first half and jumped out to
10-0 lead,” Hauck said.
Eastern Washington got on the board first with a 28-yard field goal by
Weddle. After forcing the Grizzlies to punt on their first possession, EWU
jumped out to that 10-0 lead on a 2-yard touchdown plunge by running back
Darius Washington.
On the ensuing kickoff, EWU was able to recover an onside kick, but the
Montana defense was able to force Eastern Washington to punt after going
three-and-out.
“That was a huge stop by our defense,” Hauck said. “If they get the ball and
score, all of the sudden it’s a whole new ball game — 17-0 would’ve been a
huge uphill battle.”
The Grizzlies, who managed very little offensive success in the first
quarter, were able to get within field goal range for Carpenter early in the
second quarter, but his 23-yard attempt was blocked.
With 5:25 left in the first half, Griz quarterback Craig Ochs, faced with
third and 16, found Talmage for a 27-yard gain that set up a 16-yard rushing
touchdown for Lex Hilliard.
“We had to be able to pound the rock to beat this team,” Hauck said. “We did
that today.”
Ochs mounted a “hurry-up” offensive attack after Montana was able to get the
ball back with 1:29 remaining in the first half. In the span of 56 seconds,
Ochs completed five passes to four different receivers, the last being a
2-yard touchdown pass to tight end Willie Walden. With the touchdown,
Montana went into the locker room at halftime with a 14-10 lead.
“To take the lead at halftime was big,” Hauck said. “I’m not sure Eastern
Washington knew what to expect at that point.”
The Eagles were able to strike first early in the second half with a 21-yard
field goal by Weddle.
With the one point lead, Montana decided to go to the ground. Montana’s
running back duo of Hilliard and Justin Green took 5:39 off the clock as
they smashed through Eastern Washington’s defense. Hilliard capped the
14-play, 80-yard drive with an 8-yard touchdown run, his second of the game.
“Before the game I told Justin that I need him and he told me he needs me to
win today,” Hilliard said.
The Eagles tied the game at 21 with 10 seconds left in the third quarter
after a 1-yard run by Washington and a successful two-point conversion.
At the start of the fourth quarter Montana put together another time
consuming drive, this time a 12-play possession that took 5:20 off the
clock. The drive was sparked by a Hilliard, who had a 41-yard run and more
importantly a 2-yard touchdown run to finish the drive.
After Montana’s defense took a stand to force the Eagles to another
three-and-out, Ochs threw to the endzone twice, but neither Talmage nor
Heidelberger were able to catch passes at their fingertips. The Griz relied
on a Carpenter field goal from 39 yards out, the eventual game-winner.
“Once again we made it a lot closer than we needed it to be,” Hauck said.
“We had two touchdown passes off the fingertips. We left a couple out
there.”
Eastern Washington quarterback Erik Meyer showed composure with 5:45 left in
the game. He completed five passes, the last an 11-yard touchdown throw to
Eric Kimble to bring them within a field goal.
Montana decided to burn some time off the clock by going to the rushing
attack, but were forced to punt after three plays with 1:25 left.
The Eagles drove to the Montana 11-yard line where the Griz red zone defense
forced Eastern Washington to kick the would-be game tying field goal.
“Once again our red zone offense was solid,” Hauck said.
The 28-yard attempt was blocked by MacIntyre who came through the right side
of the line to snatch the kick from the air, creating an uproar from the
many Montana fans in attendance.
“Today was our best game,” Hauck said. “This validated what we are doing
with our football team.”
The last-second win improved Montana’s record to 6-1 overall and 3-0 in the
Big Sky. Eastern Washington fell to 4-3 overall and 3-1 in league play. The
Griz have a bye next weekend and return to action at Portland State on
October 30.
***
In Another Thriller, Eagles Lose to Montana
Eastern Washington
http://www.ewu.edu/x15188.xml
Fifth-ranked Montana blocks an EWU field goal attempt with 18 seconds left
to defeat the 23rd-ranked Eagles 31-28
Add another thriller to the lore of the Eastern Washington versus Montana
football rivalry.
Montana's Shane MacIntyre blocked a 28-yard field goal attempt by Sheldon
Weddle with 18 seconds remaining as the 23rd-ranked Eagles fell to the
fifth-ranked Grizzlies 31-28 in a showdown for first place in the Big Sky
Conference Saturday (Oct. 16) at Woodward Field in Cheney, Wash. A stadium
record crowd of 10,754 attended the WestCoast Ridpath Hotel Governor's Cup
presented by TicketsWest.
"We played hard, but we didn’t make quite enough plays at the end," said
Eagle head coach Paul Wulff. "We got ourselves in a hole late in the third
quarter and early fourth quarter. We didn’t finish and we didn’t play our
best game. Montana played well and my hat is off to them. They came in here
to a tough environment and they won the game."
The loss snapped Eastern's four-game winning streak and knocked it out of
the Big Sky lead as the Eagles are now 3-1 in the conference and 4-3
overall. Montana and Montana State lead the pack with 3-0 records, with the
Grizzlies 6-1 overall.
The Eagles return to action next week at Weber State while the Wildcats are
at Portland State. Both schools still must play Montana State.
"The league championship is still open," Wulff said. "We’ve already played
four league games while most everybody else has only played three. We’re
ahead of the schedule a little bit there, and we have three more league
games and a non-conference opponent that is a really good team (Cal Poly)."
Eastern rallied in the fourth quarter after Montana had taken a 31-21 lead
with 5:45 to play. Junior quarterback Erik Meyer fueled a seven-play,
77-yard scoring drive in the next two minutes as he tossed an 11-yard
scoring strike to Eric Kimble with 3:44 left.
After a Montana three-and-out, Eastern drove 50 yards to the Montana 6-yard
line where the Eagles had a first-and-goal. But the drive stalled, and
Eastern had to settle for a potential game-tying field goal attempt that was
blocked. A week earlier, Montana blocked a 48-yard field goal attempt with
30 seconds left to hold off Idaho State 24-22.
Meyer completed 27-of-41 passes for 320 yards and one touchdown, and was
intercepted twice. Kimble and Raul Vijil had six catches each, with Kimble
finishing with a team-high 91 yards in receptions. Darius Washington rushed
for 82 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
Montana quarterback Craig Ochs passed for 230 yards and a touchdown, and
Grizzly running back Lex Hilliard finished with 116 yards and three scores.
Linebacker Doug Vincent led the Eagle defense with 16 tackles, and lineman
Garrett Quinn finished with 11. MacIntyre led the Grizzlies with 10 tackles
and also broke up a pass.
Eastern finished with a 446-387 edge in total offense, but there were some
lopsided quarters. Eastern had a 174-18 advantage in the first quarter when
it took a 10-0 lead, and Montana had a 172-44 advantage in the second
quarter as it took a 14-10 lead at halftime. In the second half, Eastern had
a slight 228-197 advantage.
"We did not play our best game," added Wulff. "It shows you that our kids
played real hard and had a great chance to come back and win the game. So
I’m real proud of them for that, but I’m not proud that they didn’t play
their best game."
The Eagles last played the Grizzlies in Cheney back in 1996. Since then,
Eastern's home games versus UM have taken place at spacious Albi Stadium in
Spokane, Wash. Two years ago the Eagles knocked off the Grizzlies 30-21 in
Spokane, snapping Montana's NCAA Division I-AA record 24-game winning
streak.
That game attracted a crowd of 17,142 -- the largest crowd to ever witness
an EWU home game. This year's game at Woodward Field shattered the previous
record of 6,879 set on Oct. 17, 1992 versus Idaho. A crowd of 6,605 were on
hand the last time the Grizzlies and Eagles met at Woodward in 1996.
But unlike the last two years when games were played in November and Eastern
was already eliminated from Big Sky title and I-AA Playoff contention, this
game has many implications. In 2001, when the two teams met in late
September in a match-up of nationally ranked foes, the Eagles lost to the
Grizzlies in two overtimes by a 29-26 score.
In five of the last nine meetings between the two teams, both teams have
entered the game nationally-ranked. Montana now leads the series 21-9-1,
with victories in six of the last seven meetings.
***
Griz deny EWU
Fifth-ranked Montana blocks field-goal attempt with 18 seconds left to win
by 3
Dave Trimmer, Spokesman-Review
http://www.spokesmanreview.com/sports/topstory.asp?ID=32612
The difference between a team that has won or shared eight of the last nine
Big Sky Conference football championships and one hoping to win its first
since 1997 is timing.
Montana continually made clutch plays, the last a blocked field goal by
Shane MacIntyre with 18 seconds to play, allowing the fifth-ranked Grizzlies
to escape Woodward Field on a cold and windy Saturday afternoon with a
scintillating 31-28 victory over No. 23 Eastern Washington that kept 10,754
fans on edge.
The Eagles (4-3, 3-1) also made their share of dramatic plays, especially
after falling behind 31-21 with just 5:45 to play, to have a shot to win or
tie the game in the closing seconds, but it was the Griz (6-1, 3-0) who came
up big one last time.
"We work hard on those things," Grizzly coach Bobby Hauck said. "I think
that's our fifth block of the year, it's not something new. We didn't
all-out rush it because we didn't want to get faked. Shane MacIntyre made a
great play. It seems like it's someone new each week."
It almost seemed after the Eagles offense went into overdrive to get back
into the game they got out of sync because there was too much time remaining
– about 75 seconds – after they made a first down on the UM 6.
"That goes through your mind," Eastern coach Paul Wulff said. "Do you want
to leave them with a minute left on the clock? We wanted to make sure we did
the best we could to manage the clock and try to score."
Erik Meyer, who was heroic down the stretch, tried a quarterback draw from
the 6 that gained 2 yards but he went out-of-bounds and 1:09 remained. One
the next play he was sacked on the 11 by Michael Potts and the Eagles chose
to let the clock run down to 30 seconds before using their last timeout.
Under pressure on third down Meyer had to throw the ball away, setting up a
28-yard field goal attempt by Sheldon Weddle, who earlier connected from 21
and 28 yards.
"We just had block called on my side," MacIntyre, a linebacker who led the
Grizzlies with 10 tackles, said. "Mike Murphy was the D-end going with me
and he drew a double team. They stepped down to him and I sort of came clean
and laid out and got it."
It's the fifth time in the last nine years both teams were ranked and the
fourth time Montana won.
"I'm disappointed for our kids," Wulff said. They played so hard and the
effort was great. … We did not play our best game. To not play our best game
and still come in … and have a chance to win, I couldn't be prouder."
Except now the Eagles, who had a four-game winning streak snapped, no longer
control their own destiny with Montana and Montana State tied atop the
league standings.
"Like I told them, the post game speech was going to be the same if we won
or lost," Wulff said. "We've got to flush this game because we've got to get
ready for Weber State. All our goals are still intact."
EWU led 10-0 after the first quarter with a 174-18 yardage advantage. The
Eagles also had possession after a kickoff drilled a front-line Grizzly and
was recovered by Kyle Long.
"That's where I think it turned for us," Hauck said. "Our defense stopped
them. … That's where our kids showed some resiliency."
The second quarter was all Montana – 172 yards to 33 – and it was 14-10 at
halftime.
The Eagles got their second field goal after a Joey Cwik interception to
start the third quarter, but for the second time the 3-pointer came because
of a holding penalty when they got the ball to the 2.
Montana stretched its lead with an 80-yard drive but Eastern quickly
responded with a 49-yard drive, highlighted by a 21-yard run from Reggie
Witherspoon on a trick play before Darius Washington's second short TD run.
Meyer hit Erik Kimble for the two point conversion to tie the game at 21
with 10 seconds left in the quarter.
Lex Hilliard, a 220-pound sophomore who ran for a career-high 116 yards,
scored his third touchdown 5 minutes into the fourth quarter. The Griz
tacked on a field goal with 5:45 to play.
But then it was Eastern's turn.
Meyer guided the Eagles 77-yards in seven plays, hitting Kimble for an
11-yard touchdown with 3:44 left.
The EWU defense came up with a three-and-out and Meyer, who finished with
320 yards passing, went to work 56 yards from the end zone and 2:19 left.
He got the initial first down by scrambling for 14 yards on third-and-13.
Craig McIntyre had a 17-yard reception, Washington ran for 2 on third-and-1
and McIntyre caught an 11-yard pass to the 6.
That set up the Grizzlies for one last big play.
*** ***
I-AA Review: Week Seven
By David Coulson, I-AA.Org
http://www.i-aa.org/article.asp?articleid=62165
It was midterm week for I-AA football teams on Saturday and the division's
top-two teams passed what were suppose to be difficult tests with flying
colors.
If anyone received a passing grade on Saturday, it was quarterback Chaz
Williams and No. 2 ranked Georgia Southern.
The Eagles stunned their biggest rival Appalachian State in a defacto
Southern Conference championship game, 54-7.
Record-setting quarterback Richie Williams and ASU were expected to put up
the big passing numbers on Saturday, but the No. 12 Mountaineers were out of
sync from the opening moments.
Richie Williams, who had set NCAA marks for consecutive completions (28) and
completion percentage (89.9) last week in a 30-29 victory over then #2
Furman, was just 6-of-17 for 60 yards and one interception.
He had passed for 200 or more yards in eight of his last nine games and had
set school records with 413 yards passing and 440 yards of total offense
against the Paladins.
The Eagles also held the nation's top receiver, DaVon Fowlkes, to four
catches for 27 yards. It was also the first time in seven games that Fowlkes
did not score a touchdown.
Georgia Southern, meanwhile, was fairly well contained on the ground, the
Mountaineer defense limiting the Eagles to 280 yards rushing.
But Chaz Williams was dynamite through the air, hitting 8-of-12 passes for
140 yards and three touchdowns in little more than one half of play. He had
another probable TD strike dropped.
With the offense and defense working in unison, Georgia Southern has the
look of a squad ready to add another championship banner to the six
currently waving from the flag pole at Paulson Stadium.
But GSU coach Mike Sewak dismissed talk that the win over Appalachian was
any bigger than the previous five for the Eagles.
"It's hard to say it's a statement game," said Sewak. "In each game, we've
made a statement."
The Eagles hoped they might move into the top spot of the national polls
with a win, but Southern Illinois held its turf by trouncing No. 4 Western
Kentucky Saturday night in Carbondale, Ill. in a Gateway Conference battle.
Auburn transfer Brandon Jacobs scored three touchdowns and rushed 19 times
for 97 yards, but he was just part of the Saluki story.
Terry Jackson, the transfer from Minnesota, averaged nearly eight yards per
carry, gaining 86 yards on 11 attempts. Arkee Whitlock picked up 61 yards on
12 carries and quarterback Joel Sambursky had a balanced game, running seven
times for 51 yards and completing 13-of-18 passes for 163 yards and two
scores.
WKU rolled up 352 yards of total offense, but the Hilltoppers were hurt by
four turnovers. The score was 31-3 midway through the fourth quarter when
WKU finally managed its only touchdown.
Living Dangerously
For the second week in a row, No. 5 Montana needed a blocked field goal in
the final seconds to hold off an opponent. On Saturday before a raucous,
record crowd in Cheney, Wash., Shane McIntyre's block of Sheldon Weddle's
28-yard field goal with 18 seconds left gave the Grizzlies a 31-28 Big Sky
win over 23rd-ranked Eastern Washington.
EWU finished with a 446-387 advantage in total offense and quarterback Erik
Meyer completed 27-of-41 passes for 320 yards and a TD, but it wasn't
enough.
In this first-place showdown, EWU moved to the Montana six and had first and
goal in the waning seconds. But drive finally stalled and the Eagles had to
settled for a field goal attempt.
The game was played at EWU's Woodward Field and the Eagles drew a crowd of
10,754 fans.
The previous week, the Grizzlies held off Idaho State 24-22 when Alan Saenz
blocked Jaret Johnson's 48-yard field goal attempt with 30 seconds left.
Two other teams playing fast and loose have been No. 3 Delaware and No. 10
Stephen F. Austin.
Defending national champion Delaware had another near-miss Saturday in
Hempstead, N.Y. when it rallied to defeat Hofstra 20-19 in Atlantic 10
action.
The Blue Hens trailed 19-7 heading into the fourth quarter, but Niquan Lee
scored from a yard out and quarterback Sonny Riccio hit Joe Bleymaier for a
six-yard TD toss midway through the fourth period and Delaware held on.
Hofstra lost record-breaking passer Bobby Seck to an knee injury in the
first quarter.
"We have a lot of heart," said Delaware coach K.C. Keeler, "and the bottom
line is we got the job done."
SFA trailed again, 19-14 in the fourth quarter to UC Davis, but Michael
Williams' four-yard TD pass to Matt Bodley finished off a 10-play, 79-yard
drive with six minutes left.
Michael Williams was 13-of-25 for 217 yards and two touchdowns. The
multi-talented quarterback was 10-of-13 down the stretch and passed for 114
yards in the second half.
Tony Tompkins added 250 yards of total offense for the Lumberjacks, scoring
on a touchdown and a two-point conversion.
SFA's defense was scorched for 300 yards of offense in the first half, but
limited the Aggies to just 98 after the break.
Saturday Surprises
It was another wild, wooly day in the A-10, with the Delaware win one of
several big results.
Justin Rascati's 23-yard TD strike to D.D. Boxley with 48 seconds left
lifted James Madison to a 24-20 win at Maine. The Dukes trailed 20-10 before
rallying.
It was the second time in three weeks that Maine had lost a game in the
final minute.
Massachusetts, which had already been eliminated from the postseason
picture, stunned No. 7 New Hampshire 38-21 behind a 43-carry, 192-yard,
three-touchdown performance by Steve Baylark.
UNH freshman quarterback Ricky Santos threw three interceptions, but senior
Mike Granieri (19-of-31 for 170 yards, one TD and one interception) returned
from an opening-game knee injury to pull the Wildcats to within 24-21 with a
35-yard TD pass to David Bell.
But the Minutemen recaptured the momentum on a TD pass from Tim Day
(18-of-33 passing for 293 yards) to Mike Douglas and Baylark's third
touchdown run of the game.
There could be plenty of second-guessers in the New Hampshire camp after
this loss. Santos had established himself as one of the country's top young
passers, but he was platooned with Granieri on Saturday and didn't perform
well.
No. 16 William & Mary struggled at home against a feisty Rhode Island club,
but prevailed when Elijah Brooks plunged into the end zone from the two for
the winning score with 8:09 remaining.
Lang Campbell led the Tribe offense again, hitting 20-of-27 passes for 192
yards and two TDs.
William & Mary is off to its best A-10 start since 1994 at 3-0. The Tribe
has won five games in a row since a tough opening-game loss to North
Carolina.
*** ***
Comeback Cats keep clawing back
By SCOTT MANSCH, Great Falls Tribune
http://www.greatfallstribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20 041017/SPORTS/410170344/1006
BOZEMAN — It's tough to KO these Cats.
Halfback Justin Domineck dove for a game-tying touchdown on the final play
of regulation and dashed 17 yards to score the game-winner in overtime as
Montana State edged Portland State 31-24 here Saturday afternoon in a
memorable Big Sky conference battle.
Quarterback Travis Lulay, apparently knocked unconscious in the first half
by the hard-hitting PSU defense, returned to throw for a career-high 375
yards and a touchdown as the Montana State thrilled a crowd of 12,047 at
Bobcat Stadium.
"He just never ceases to amaze me," said Bobcat offensive coordinator Don
Bailey.
The Bobcats trailed 14-0 in the first quarter and 21-10 in the fourth before
storming back to brighten what was a gloomy day in the Gallatin Valley. It
was the second week in a row MSU rallied from a double-digit deficit to win
and the seventh time in Lulay's 25 career starts that he's engineered a
successful second-half comeback.
"Every game's different, every scenario's different, but he just seems to
come out a winner every single time," said Bailey.
Domineck rushed for 75 yards, but it was a 1-yard dive over right tackle
that was his most significant moment. For it came as the regulation clock
was ticking down to zero on fourth-and-goal with the Bobcats out of timeouts
and needing a touchdown to tie.
"Gotta have it," is what Domineck said he was thinking when his number was
called. "Fortunately the line got a good surge and I was in."
In overtime, where each team gets a chance from the 25-yard line going in,
MSU had the ball first. On second down Domineck busted one off the left
side, ran through an arm tackle and sprinted into the end zone.
Kramer called it a wonderful run and the result of a fine call by Bailey.
"We knew we'd get a certain kind of alignment (from the PSU defense). It was
a great run by a junior tailback who's really starting to find his way,"
Kramer said.
Montana State's defense took it from there, stopping Portland State star
runner Ryan Fuqua for no gain on first down and then limiting Viking
quarterback Joe Wiser to three straight incompletions to seal the deal.
Kramer is a man of many words, and he had a mouthful to describe the latest
in a series of thrilling finishes at Bobcat Stadium.
"That one will rank with one of the best I've ever been involved with,
period," said Kramer, in his fifth season at MSU and 11th overall as a
college head coach. "The pageantry, the inspiration, the absolute fury of
college football in 60 minutes — and then it had to be decided in overtime.
It's really too bad that game couldn't of ended in a tie. Both teams whaled
on each other."
The Bobcats are now 3-0 in Big Sky play, tied with the Montana Grizzlies
atop the league, and 4-2 overall.
Portland State fell to 1-2 and 3-3. The Vikings also blew a two-touchdown
lead against MSU two years ago in Bozeman.
"(The Bobcats) came back well as they always do," Portland State coach Tim
Walsh said. "It's a great win for them and an extremely disappointing and
hopefully not devastating loss for us."
It was the third time in as many years Walsh has seen a Montana State team
led by Lulay, a native Oregonian who rejected a PSU scholarship offer to
sign with the Bobcats, beat his Vikings.
"He's a great player and played like it today," Walsh said. "I give him a
lot of credit for that team's success."
Lulay finished 27-for-56 for 375 yards. He connected nine times with wideout
Rick Gatewood for 104 yards and a touchdown, and hooked up seven times with
Eddie Sullivan for 140 yards.
It was quite a performance from the junior quarterback, especially
considering to couldn't get up late in the first half after taking a lick
from the hard-hitting PSU defense.
"I got knocked pretty silly," Lulay said.
Backup Rick Coppack entered the game and the Bobcats, trailing 14-3 thanks
to a pair of Joe Wiser touchdown passes, limped into halftime.
"It was a little scary to see your quarterback laying on the ground and not
moving," said MSU star linebacker Roger Cooper.
"I was extremely nervous," said Sullivan. "Travis, that's who we rally
around. ... There was a gut feeling that wasn't so good."
But when the second half started, Lulay was back in there. He said he isn't
sure if he ever lost consciousness.
"I don't know if I was 100 percent out of it," Lulay said. "But I was woozy,
quite woozy ... But it wasn't like I was in some other world. I knew where I
was. They did all the tests. ... I still had my balance and my headache went
away. I felt fine."
Blake Wolf, the burly tight end who had his best day as a Bobcat with six
receptions for 87 yards, smiled when asked about Lulay.
"It was a gutsy performance," said Wolf. "I don't know if he had a
concussion or not, or had his bell run and started seeing little Tweety
Birds or what."
When Lulay returned, Domineck said it sent a message to the entire time.
"We thought, 'This kid is gritty and he's tough, and we've got to play just
like him,' " Domineck said.
Said Kramer: "Our medical staff was mightily concerned that he had a
concussion."
But Lulay passed all the tests. So Kramer sent him back out there. Not that
it helped much initially as Wiser's third touchdown pass of the day gave the
Vikings a 21-10 lead after three quarters.
Of course, Lulay was just getting warmed up.
"Travis went out and played like the man he is," Kramer said. "We were real
careful in the second half that he wouldn't get his bell rung again. We ran
no option, we ran no quarterback counters, no quarterback draws."
Which is tough on the MSU game plan.
"There were a couple of instances where their pass rush was getting upfield
and we were thinking 'Quarterback ...' and we thought, guess not, we'd
better try something else," Kramer said.
With PSU's defense often stuffing the run, Lulay threw and threw and threw
some more. His 42-yard TD toss to Rick Gatewood, a thing of beauty where the
QB rolled left away from pressure and lofted a perfect strike as his
receiver was streaking down the sideline, narrowed the gap to 21-17.
"I slipped outside the pocket and Gatewood and I made eye contact," Lulay
said. "He slipped up the sideline and I flipped it up high to give him a
chance to run under it. And he did just that."
Portland State responded with Eriz Azorr's 43-yard field goal with 7:38 left
to play. The Vikings, leading 24-17, had two more fourth-quarter possessions
but couldn't run out the clock. Fuqua, who finished with 108 yards on 34
carries against the stout Bobcat defense, was stopped on 3rd-and-2 from the
Bobcat 41 with 2:15 to play.
Linebacker Mac Mollohan made the hit for no gain, one of the few times Fuqua
failed to gain positive yardage, and Walsh opted to punt.
Said Mollohan: "I was lucky I got a run-through. No one touched me and I was
wide open to make the tackle."
Lulay then started an 82-yard drive tie the game, a methodical march from
the no-huddle that featured 17 straight passes — including a pair of
fourth-down conversions. Lulay hit Sullivan for five to convert 4th-and-4
with 45 seconds left, then hit Gatewood for six on 4th and-5 to earn a
first-and-goal at the eight.
By then out of timeouts, Lulay spiked the ball twice to stop the clock,
sandwiched around a 7-yard completion to Gatewood. And on fourth-and-goal,
Domineck leaped in for the crucial game-tying touchdown as the partisian
Bobcat crowd went nuts.
"We converted third downs and fourth downs and played the game to the (top)
degree," said Kramer. "That was a Big Sky game, the way we're used to
feeling in the Big Sky chase. It ain't over until it's over."
The Bobcats outgained Portland State 471-386. That didn't seem likely early
on when it was all Vikings.
"I don't know what it is about us not clicking in the first half," said
Lulay. "But it really doesn't matter how you get a victory, as long as you
do."
The Bobcats, now winners of three in a row, will try to extend their winning
streak next Saturday when the South Dakota State Jackrabbits visit Bozeman
for a nonconference game.
***
NAU vs. WNM: A win's a win
By ED ODEVEN, Arizona Daily Sun
http://www.azdailysun.com/non_sec/nav_includes/story.cfm?story ID=96294
It was neither polished nor pretty, but a 20-point win is a 20-point win.
After a humiliating loss at Eastern Washington in its last game, the
Northern Arizona football team rebounded with a 34-14 victory over visiting
Western New Mexico Saturday at the Skydome.
"It's always nice to have a win, but I wouldn't say we're in a good mood,"
NAU defensive end Perrigo said. "We are focused on what we have to do and we
can't overlook beating these guys. ... We still have a lot of work ahead of
us."
For both teams, the game was a sloppy affair. One telltale sign: They
combined for 23 penalties.
"There are some things we are just not getting quite right," NAU coach
Jerome Souers said. "We are getting one breakdown here, one breakdown there.
(For example), we can be blocking the play really well on one side of the
ball and miss one (block) on the backside. Those things are catching up to
us."
Nevertheless, the Lumberjacks (3-3 overall), who return to Big Sky
Conference play next Saturday against Portland State, were never seriously
threatened.
The Jacks scored on their first possession of the game when quarterback
Jason Murrietta hit Roger Robinson with a short pass on third-and-11 deep in
Mustang territory. Robinson made the catch and scampered 16 yards into the
end zone.
Murrietta threw four touchdown passes, finishing 20 of 36 passes for 250
yards. Robinson, coming off a 2-yard rushing outing against EWU, racked up
104 yards on 22 carries. Raufeem Jackson was the team's leading receiver
with six catches for 83 yards.
The Jacks' tight ends were a bright spot Saturday. Josh Hamlin, Brian
Buzzard and Aaron Walls combined for eight catches, led by Hamlin's five for
38 yards.
"Josh Hamlin played a great game. He caught the ball well and had some great
runs after the catches, and snapped the ball well (on special teams),"
Souers said. "It was good to see Aaron Walls and Brian Buzzard be
productive, too."
Defensively, the Jacks held WNMU to 21 yards rushing on 25 carries. They
also created opportunities for NAU's offense: The Jacks scored 10 points off
turnovers in the first half.
Jeff Singleton's heads-up interception -- he dove for a tipped pass -- set
up Paul Ernster's 44-yard field goal with 4:48 remaining in the opening
stanza. That made it 10-0. Ernster added a 42-yarder in the second quarter.
Moments later after recovering a fumbled punt return, the Mustangs stumbled
backward after three penalties, including a 15-yard personal foul, and faced
third-and-38 from the NAU 48. They were forced to punt. It was that kind of
night for the visitors.
WNMU (2-5) did not have much success moving the chains in the first half.
The Mustangs did, however, get a big play on special teams with just under
10 minutes to go in the half. Brett Spence dashed 42 yards on a kickoff
return to give his team terrific field position: at the Mustangs 43. Five
plays later, on a botched handoff, WNMU quarterback Tate Gunning fumbled the
ball and Perrigo recovered it at the NAU 32.
Then NAU took a 20-0 lead with 4:04 left in the opening half on Murrietta's
33-yard TD pass to Simirone Wade.
The QB avoided a sack, spun around, stepped up and fired a bullet-quick pass
to his ex-Glendale Ironwood High School teammate in the back of the end
zone.
The Jacks took a 27-0 lead on Brian Buzzard's 2-yard TD grab with 12:16 left
in the third quarter. Philo Sanchez's 53-yard kickoff return opened the half
and sparked the offensive drive.
Hurtis Chinn scored on a 98-yard reception with 11:32 left in the third
quarter, turning a fade into a race against the NAU secondary, to give the
Mustangs their first points of the might. Chinn sprinted another 60 yards
after the catch on what became the second-longest scoring play in Skydome
history.
Hamlin made his first TD grab of the season moments later, scoring on a
12-yard grab. That made it 34-6, Lumberjacks.
The Mustangs trimmed the deficit to 34-14 on Jonathan Schaeffer's 5-yard TD
reception with 9:13 left.
Three Lumberjack starters did not play: linebacker Ian Gunderman
(suspension), Shannon Butler (who injured his right knee in pre-game
warm-ups) and receiver Kory Mahr (shoulder).
Butler's injury was bizarre. A Mustang ran into him during pre-game
workouts. Teams are expected to stay on their half of the field during
warm-ups. That didn't happen in this case, according to Souers.
"It was carelessness and unprofessional," Souers said.
Center Julian Diaz, who returned to California earlier this week for a
family emergency, saw limited action in the second half. Freshman Zac
Nielsen started in his place.
Murrietta said Nielsen played an excellent game in his first start at
center.
"It was a big game for him to step up, just in case no matter what happened,
something could happen to Julian. ... It's good experience for him,"
Murrietta said.
And it was another lopsided setback for WMMU, something that has been a
common occurrence this season. Of the Mustangs' six previous games, two were
decided by nine points (a win and a loss), the other four were by a combined
113 points (three of which were losses).
NAU defeated WNMU 75-0 in their last meeting in 1996.
***
Hornets end scoreless streak in win
They defeat Weber State with substantial help from Tyronne Gross, who honors
his mother.
By Sam Amick, Sacramento Bee
http://www.sacbee.com/content/sports/story/11123663p-12040042c .html
It's not too late to get into a Fantasy Sports League. Sign up here.
If ever there were time for unabashed joy through choreography in the
touchdown, this was it.
The Sharpie-in-the-sock idea was far from fresh. So was the
boxing-with-the-goal-post bit.
Perhaps a rendition of Michael Jackson's "Thriller" would have worked for
Sacramento State's Tyronne Gross, a zombie dance for his team that finally
came back from the dead with a 31-12 victory over Weber State.
But when Gross' 19-yard scoring run in the first quarter broke a 10-quarter
scoreless streak for the Hornets, Gross did nothing of the sort. He simply
stood gleaming, his teammates piling on top of him.
Then, get this: Sac State piled it on the winless Wildcats.
The celebration didn't come until it was over, when some 50 Hornets danced
to their band's melodies as if they'd won the school's first Big Sky
Conference title.
"I just wanted to score," said a relieved Hornets coach Steve Mooshagian.
"We were a four-cylinder car playing in an eight-cylinder league. It was
frustrating for me personally, for my whole offensive staff. This was a real
gutsy performance by everybody."
Ninety-nine points had gone unanswered against Sac State, threatening the
school record of three straight scoreless games.
On the books, the stretch took 171 game minutes to unfold. But that said
nothing of the three weeks of agony in between, for the second-year
Mooshagian and his squad that felt frustration aplenty in last season's 2-9
campaign. Coming off a win over Southern Utah, Sac State had been derailed
by rival UC Davis on Sept. 25 to start the stretch. And despite playing a
squad of seemingly equal woe in the Wildcats, three of Weber State's six
losses had come by a combined eight points, including a 31-29 defeat to UC
Davis.
"We knew they weren't going to come in and lay down because they haven't all
year," Hornets junior linebacker Matt Logue said. "But we really came
together as a team, felt like we finally came together as a team tonight."
The Hornets (2-4, 1-2) made Wildcats quarterback Kyle Bauer miserable, tying
a school Division I-AA record with four interceptions and sacking him four
times. Senior defensive back Ramon Payne had two, and all of Sac State's
picks came within a 17-minute span in the first half.
The Hornets' defense contrasted its break-don't-bend history for nearly four
quarters, allowing less yards (214) than it did in any game last season, no
touchdowns and only four field goals from Weber State kicker Joe Johnson.
Gross, hesitant in weeks past because of nagging hamstring and shoulder
injuries, ran with abandon for 114 yards and two touchdowns. He dedicated
his first score to an improved offensive line and his mother, Anntrell, on
her 42nd birthday, to which Mooshagian quipped, "You got any relatives with
birthdays next week?"
Sac State quarterback Ryan Leadingham completed 14 of 24 passes for 154
yards, but he was sacked four times.
The Hornets had yet to intercept a pass this season, until Payne caught
Bauer's throw with 12 seconds left in the first quarter. Then Logue caught
his first interception and scored the first touchdown of his college career
in the second, intercepting Bauer's screen pass and trotting 14 yards with
the ball for a 14-6 Sac State lead.
Then it was back to Payne, whose second pick segued into a 60-yard scoring
drive that ended in tricky fashion, when Hornets running back Ryan Mole
tossed a 15-yard touchdown pass to wideout Ryan Coogler for a 21-6 edge.
Junior transfer linebacker Jimmy Ellingson also tallied his first
interception as a Hornet, setting up Mitch Lively's 33-yard field goal and
Sac State's 24-6 lead.
The Hornets nearly let Weber State (0-7, 0-4) back in by getting fancy again
in the fourth quarter, when Mole's halfback option pass to Leadingham was
intercepted by James McCowan and returned 58 yards. Johnson converted a
30-yard field goal for the final threat.
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