Griz get revenge; Cats roll at home

GRAND FORKS, N.D. (AP) — Jordan Johnson threw five touchdown passes as Montana erased an early North Dakota lead to defeat the Green and White 55-17 on Saturday night at the Alerus Center.

The No. 11 Griz (2-0) reeled off 33 unanswered points after falling behind 7-0 just minutes after the opening kickoff. Johnson, who completed 15 of 19 passes for 354 yards, threw 3 TDs in the first quarter and two more late in the game.

North Dakota (1-2) scored first on a Joe Mollberg pass to Blair Townsend, but didn't get on the board again until a Zeb Miller field goal 51 seconds before the half. The Bison had torched Montana's secondary last year, Greg Hardin setting a Big Sky single-game receiving record of 333 yards. Hardin was held to 46 yards on five catches Saturday.

Both teams are members of the Big Sky Conference, but this was a non-league contest, as the teams had a home-and-home agreement before UND joined the Big Sky. The teams meet again next season in Grand Forks for a conference game.

Johnson was incredibly efficient, going 15-of-19-0 for the five touchdowns, and he threw for a career-high 354 yards — his first career 300-yard passing game. Henderson had 5 receptions for a career-best 124 yards, along with those 3 TD grabs.

The game was full of big plays by the visiting Grizzlies, as they had five touchdowns of 30 or more yards, and three over 50 — including a 70-yarder, a 52-yarder, and a 51-yarder. Montana's offensive domination was evident by its first — and only — punt of the game, which occurred with 6:02 left in the contest.

The Grizzlies' running attack was also solid, as halfback Jordan Canada rushed 14 times for 104 yards and 2 touchdowns, while fellow junior Travon Van had 10 totes for 72 yards and a score. It was Canada's second straight 100-yard rushing game and the fourth of his career.

UM's defense held UND's potent offense to 336 total yards (281 passing), while the Grizzlies had 609 total yards (376 passing and 233 rushing).

Griz senior linebacker Brock Coyle had a game-high nine tackles, while junior safety Matt Hermanson and senior linebacker Jordan Tripp each had sevenstops. Tripp and sophomore cornerback Nate Harris each had an interception for UM.

The win by Montana avenged a 40-34 loss by UM at UND last season, in a game which UND had 704 total yards (660 passing), and scored nine points in the final two minutes of play.

The Griz had a big-play first half, with touchdown throws of 70, 53, 35, and 22 yards, with three of those TD passes by Johnson. The other TD throw was by sophomore wide receiver Chase Naccarato, which was the 22-yarder to Cam Warren. The other score in the opening half was a 32-yard run by Canada, which gave Montana a 33-10 lead at intermission.

In the first half, Johnson was 9-of-11-0 for 207 yards for 3 touchdowns, while Henderson had 3 grabs for 104 yards and two scores. Canada had 10 totes for 82 yards and a TD in the opening half. The Griz had 361 yards of offense in the first two quarters and UND had 199.

The Griz last won in Grand Forks in 1971. The teams did not play between 1973 and 2010.

Montana returns home to face Oklahoma Panhandle State Saturday in Missoula.

Cats 26, Colorado-Mesa 0

BOZEMAN (AP) — Jake Bleskin threw for 305 yards and two touchdowns in his debut at quarterback for Montana State leading the Bobcats to a 26-0 win over Division II Colorado State-Mesa.

Bleskin, who completed 26 of 35 passes and had no interceptions, is filling in for injured senior Denarius McGhee, who separated his shoulder last week against Southern Methodist on the last play of the game.

"It was good to get my feet wet," Bleskin said. "I thought (CSU-Mesa) played really good. They played some funky coverages.

"It was important for me to know these guys trusted me," Bleskin said of his teammates. "I had 10 studs with me out there and four or five of them are wide receivers."

Junior wide receiver Brian Flotkoetter caught two touchdowns and had five catches for 80 yards for the Bobcats (2-1). Both touchdowns were from 18 yards out. Tanner Bleskin, Jake's brother, caught 10 passes for 96 yards and Jon Ellis had seven catches for 110 yards. The starting wide receivers had 22 catches for 286 yards.

CSU-Mesa (1-1) had little success moving the ball all day. They finished with 164 yards thanks in part to MSU defensive end Brad Daly and outside linebacker Alex Singleton. Daly had four sacks, and Singleton had four tackles for loss and returned an interception for a touchdown.

"I thought I was gonna drop it," Singleton said of his interception, which he bobbled for about five yards before securing it. "They kept running the 10-yard out route and it came right to me."

Many thought that third-ranked MSU would have a more convincing win.

"You'll never hear me complain about a win," MSU head coach Rob Ash said. "The only team that really had a chance to win the game was us."

The No. 3 Bobcats visit S.F. Austin Saturday night.

Note: Havre Daily News sports editor George Ferguson contributed to these stories.