Eagles too much for Griz once again

CHENEY, Wash. (AP) — Vernon Adams Jr. threw for two touchdowns, going over 10,000 yards for his career, and ran for another score, and fourth-seeded Eastern Washington turned back Big Sky Conference rival Montana 37-20 in the second round of the FCS playoffs on Saturday.

Quincy Forte added 128 yards rushing and a touchdown.

The Eagles (11-2), who beat the Grizzlies 36-26 four weeks ago, are home against fifth-seeded Illinois State next weekend. The No. 12 Grizzlies’ season ended at 9-5, and with it, Mick Delaney’s coaching career.

“I know they’ve played some one-point games, but I feel like we played them better than most people do,” said Delaney, who came out of retirement to replace Robin Pflugrad as UM’s coach in the spring of 2012. “They didn’t do anything different. We probably, for whatever reason, maybe played a little bit tight today.”

This time it was the defense that came up with the big plays against the Grizzlies (9-5). A blocked punt by Ronnie Hamlin recovered on the 2-yard line set up the opening score and a fumble recovery put the Eagles inside the Montana 10 for Tyler McNannay's field goal for a 30-13 lead with 9:24 to play.

Montana's Travon Vann, who had nine catches for 161 yards, had a 30-yard TD reception with 6:29 to go but Todd Raynes made his second interception of the game and returned it 40 yards for a touchdown with 1:40 left.

Jordan Johnson, who threw for a career-high 447 yards against the Eagles on Nov. 8, finished with 223 passing and another 48 rushing. Montana tried to go up-tempo, and Travon Van had nine catches for 161 yards, including a 30-yard TD with 6:29 left in the game. But the Eagles had Johnson scouted.

Jordan Canada, who scored on a 38-yard TD in the third quarter, was held to 79 yards on 11 carries. The Montana defense did what it could, limiting Adams to just 182 yards and sacking him five times, including three by senior Zack Wagenmann. But in the end, the Griz having to settle for two Daniel Sullivan field goals, and their four turnovers were too much to overcome.

“We just didn’t play very well,” said Johnson, who wrapped up his career with 77 TD passes and 8,612 yards. “When you’re not playing well, it doesn’t matter how fast you’re playing. I think that’s the bottom line. We made a lot of mental errors on offense. You just can’t do that when you’re playing against as good a team as Eastern Washington.”

The Grizzlies will now turn their attention to hiring a new head coach as Delaney retires. Many names have surfaced in recent weeks, but UM AD Kent Haslam hasn't spoke publicly of any. EWU head coach Beau Baldwin confirmed again Saturday night, he's not a candidate for the Griz job. Over the last week, Grizzly Hall of Fame QB Dave Dickinson did the same. Instead, Dickinson will be named the Calgary Stampeders head coach in 2016.

Current names that seem to have some weight around Missoula include, current defensive coordinator Ty Gregorak, former Griz and UNLV head coach Bobby Hauck, Colorado School of Mines head coach Bob Stitt, former Griz' QB and current Washington assistant Brent Pease, former EWU and Washington State head coach Paul Wuff, and former Tulsa coach Bill Blakenship.

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