Snow Day: Griz win, Cats fall

MISSOULA (AP) — Jordan Johnson threw three first half touchdown passes Saturday as No. 11 Montana coasted past San Diego 52-14 in the first round of the FCS playoffs.

Montana (9-4) plays at Big Sky Conference foe Eastern Washington this Saturday.

The Grizzlies dominated San Diego (9-3) from the start, taking a 38-0 halftime lead and limiting the Toreros to one first down before the break.

Johnson threw first-half touchdown passes of 22 and 30 yards to Jamaal Jones and three yards to Jordan Canada. Canada also scored on a 17-yard touchdown run and John Nguyen returned a punt 60 yards for a touchdown.

San Diego finally got on the board with 6:05 to play in the game on a 27-yard halfback pass from Dallas Kessman to Justin Priest.

Priest added a second touchdown for the Toreros on an 11-yard pass from Trey Wheeler with 2:48 left in the fourth quarter.

Canada rushed for 106 yards, his fourth straight 100-yard game. Neither he nor the rest of the Griz’ offensive starters played a single snap in the second half of Saturday’s blowout, which started under sunny skies, but ended with a snow-covered field in darkness.

“Our guys knew San Diego would come in and give it their best shot and they did that and we took them out of the game really early,” Griz coach Mick Delaney said. “Just a tremendous effort by our players. I hardly ever get emotional, but before the game I talked to every senior and it was their last and my last game in Washington-Grizzly Stadium and, man, oh man, what a football game. I’m just so proud of these guys.”

The Grizzlies’ rematch with the Eagles will take place Saturday at 2:30 p.m. M.S.T in Cheney, Washington. The winner will advance to the FCS quarterfinals.

Jackrabbits 47, Bobcats 40

BOZEMAN (AP) — South Dakota State survived an avalanche of points by Montana State Saturday, beating the Bobcats 47-40 in the first round of the FCS playoffs.

The No. 14 Jackrabbits poured it on in a driving snowstorm to win their first-round game for the third straight year. SDSU (9-4) will next play at three-time defending champion and No. 2 seed North Dakota State Dec. 6. The No. 17 Bobcats’ season ended at 8-5.

The temperature at kickoff was 3 degrees with a wind chill of minus-9. It didn't bother either offense, especially not SDSU and running back Zach Zenner. Zenner ran for 252 yards and four touchdowns and caught a 69-yard touchdown pass. His 69-yard TD run with 3:10 to play sealed the win for the Jackrabbits. The Walter Payton Award candidate added scoring runs of 7, 60 and 69 yards.

“Do I have to talk about Zach Zenner? I saw him way too much today,” MSU head coach Rob Ash lamented. “He’s a great player. He just made phenomenal plays. I thought we did a really good job on many of his runs getting him stopped, … but, boy, when he broke free it was like we weren’t even out there.”

SDSU finished with 526 total yards, while the Bobcats had 488. It was the fourth straight game that SDSU had more than 500 total yards.

Montana State, which missed three PATs, rallied late to get within a touchdown with 1:10 left. But the Jackrabbits recovered the onside kick and ran out the clock.

MSU running back Chad Newell ran for 101 yards and five touchdowns. His 12-yard TD run in the third quarter gave Montana State (8-5) its only lead of the game 26-24, and it lasted just three plays before SDSU's quick-strike offense put it back on top. SDSU had four scoring drives on 1:15 or less.

Austin Sumner guided the SDSU offense to its second-highest point total of the season. He was 19-for-28 for 249 yards. In addition to his 69-yard catch-and-run to Zenner, Sumner hit Connor Landberg on a fade pass from 10 yards for a 40-26 lead. It was Landberg's first career touchdown.

With 4:14 left in the fourth quarter, Newell scored on a 6-yard run. But the conversion failed again and the Bobcats trailed 40-32. After Zenner's 69-yard run, the Bobcats came right back to get within a score. Newell scored on a 5-yard run with 1:10 to play and the Mitchell Herbert caught a conversion pass from Dakota Prukop to get within 47-40. Landberg then recovered the onside kick.

The Jackrabbits scored on their first three possessions, getting two Zenner touchdowns and a Justin Syrovatka field goal. Zenner carried the ball 23 times and caught two passes for 72 yards. He broke loose on a 45-yard TD run on SDSU's first possession, one set up by a long kickoff return.

The Bobcats finally got a defensive stop and responded by marching 58 yards in seven plays to score on a Newell 1-yard run. Griebel ran it in for a two-point conversion that made it 17-14 with 2:58 left in half. The Jackrabbits needed just three big plays and 48 seconds to extend their lead. Trevor Wesley took the ensuing kickoff 39 yards. Sumner then hit Jake Wieneke for 16 yards and Zenner bulled his way for 24 yards. Zenner then scored on a 7-yard run for s 24-14 lead. That lasted for 2:01 before Prukop tossed a 1-yard TD pass to Mitchell Herbert. But the PAT was blocked, leaving SDSU up 24-20 with 9 seconds left in the half.

Prukop, who missed the previous two games with a knee injury, was 20-for-37 for 284 yards. Shawn Johnson had four catches for 59 yards and Mitch Griebel had four catches for 51 yards. The Bobcats took their first lead of the game on Newell's 12-yard run with 10:55 left in the third quarter. MSU converted two long third downs on the drive, but it missed a two-point conversion to lead 26-24. SDSU responded with a three-play, 66-yard drive in capped by Zenner's 61-yard touchdown run. The Jackrabbits added another score on Sumner's 10-yard TD pass to Landberg that made it 37-26 with 10:04 left in the game.

SDSU will now head to conference rival North Dakota State for a second-round game this Saturday.

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