Cat-Griz Report: Griz get dropped by Cal Poly

SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. (AP) — Chris Brown ran for 226 yards and two touchdowns as Cal Poly ground out a 41-21 win over No. 7 Montana Saturday night.

The win was just the third in 18 meetings with the Grizzlies. Montana (5-3, 3-1 Big Sky) now joins Cal Poly (5-3, 4-1) and four other teams with one loss. Idle Montana State is now the lone unbeaten conference team.

The Mustangs got a 5-yard run from Brandon Howe with :48 left in the first half to make it 14-14 and Chris Brown engineered three straight touchdowns in the second half to take control. Brown tossed 5 yards to Kori Garcia to give Cal Poly the lead, then ran 17 yards for a score in the final minute of the third quarter and ran 15 yards for another early in the fourth.

“We played an excellent football team tonight that’s getting better by the week,” said Montana coach Mick Delaney, whose squad saw a three-game win streak come to an end. “Their quarterback is a tremendous athlete and we didn’t hold up well enough. We couldn’t tackle him and we couldn’t move the ball well enough on offense.”

Montana took its first lead at 5:10 in the second quarter on a Johnson 20-yard TD pass to tight end Mitch Saylor. The five-play, 90-yard drive was highlighted by Ryan Burke's 20-yard reception across the middle followed by a trick play in which he threw a 50-yard pass to Missoula native Josh Janssen.

Cal Poly came right back with its second TD drive of the game. Fullback Brandon Howe scored on a 5-yard run with :48 left in the first half.

Montana did most of its offensive damage via the pass in the first half, piling up 246 yards. Johnson was 8 for 12 for 128 yards and two touchdowns.

Cal Poly rushed 66 times for 421 yards while the defense held Montana to 376 total yards.

The Grizzlies return home to host Sacramento State this Saturday. Cal Poly remains at home to host Montana State this Saturday night.

Note: Havre Daily News sports editor George Ferguson contributed to this story.