Cats, Griz falter on the road

CHENEY, Wash. (AP) — Jordan West threw for 410 yards and six touchdowns and Jabari Wilson ran for 188 yards and two scores to lead Eastern Washington to a wild, 55-50 win over Montana State Saturday.

West completed 21 of 24 passes — setting a school record of 313.5 for passing efficiency — with Cooper Kupp hauling in 12 for 201 yards and three touchdowns.

Despite racking up 667 yards, the No. 14 Eagles (1-2) didn't secure the win until Nzuzi Webster intercepted Dakota Prukop near midfield with nine seconds remaining in the nonconference battle between the two Big Sky Conference favorites.

Prukop threw for 353 and four touchdowns, and rushed for 196 yards and a score as No. 9 Montana State (1-1) piled up 718 yards. The Bobcats ran 104 plays, picked up 40 first downs to Eastern Washington's 18 and had the ball for 15 more minutes. But the Eagles averaged 11.7 yards on 57 plays, recovered two onside kicks and stopped a pair of 2-point PAT attempts.

MSU trailed by as many as 17 points in the second half, but Prukop kept coming after a porous Eagle defense. And with 4:37 left, MSU was down by just five. EWU’s Tyler McNannay missed a 27-yard field goal and Montana State got the ball back on its own 20 with 33 seconds left. But Prukop's pass, intended for wideout Brandon Brown, was intercepted by Nzuzi Webster on that last-ditch drive.

“He was great the whole day,” MSU coach Rob Ash said of Prukop. “As the game went along he threw caution to the wind and just said, ‘I’ve got to get some yards here for my team.’ He took some shots. He was courageous. I thought he was nothing short of sensational today.”

The Bobcats will now return home to host nationally ranked Cal Poly in the Big Sky opener for both teams.

Liberty 31, Montana 21

LYNCHBURG, Va. (AP) — Josh Woodrum threw for 260 yards and two touchdowns, Damian King threw a touchdown pass on a trick play, and Liberty defeated Montana 31-21 Saturday night.

Woodrum completed 16 of 30 passes to become the second Liberty quarterback and third in Big South Conference history to surpass 8,000 yards. His 4-yard pass to Desmond Rice opened the scoring and on the next possession he connected with Dante' Shells on a 72-yard scoring play.

On the first play of the fourth quarter, Shells caught a 32-yard scoring pass from King on a wide receiver reverse to put the Flames (2-1) ahead 24-12.

Idaho transfer Chad Chalich, playing in his first game for No. 7 Montana (1-2), threw a 70-yard touchdown pass to Jamaal Jones, who had seven receptions for 168 yards. Chalich also ran for a touchdown. Chalich came on in relief of starter Brady Gustafson, who left the game in the second quarter with an injured leg.

The Griz had struggles on offense for the second straight game, including an INT by Gustafson, a fumble by Joey Counts, a missed field goal and a missed PAT. Chalich was also sacked several times in the second half, while Montana also saw starters Derek Crittendon (DE) and Nate Harris (CB) leave with injuries.

"Our kids grinded back and got us in a situation to take the lead and it was disappointing that every time we got close we just shot ourselves in the foot," Griz coach Bob Stitt said.

Montana must now regroup after losing two straight. The Grizzlies are home Saturday to host Northern Arizona in the Big Sky Conference opener for both teams. UM will honor the 1995 1-AA national championship team during its homecoming game as well.95 1-AA national championship team during its homecoming game as well.

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