On to Fargo: Griz oust Jackrabbits

MISSOULA (AP) — There was no miracle comeback this time. Montana didn't need one, and South Dakota State couldn't pull one off.

Brady Gustafson threw for two first-half touchdowns and the Montana Grizzlies beat comeback-minded South Dakota State 24-17 in a Football Championship Subdivision first-round playoff game Saturday.

Gustafson threw for 202 yards to spark the No. 16 Grizzlies (8-4) to a 24-0 halftime lead in front of 14,575 frigid fans at Washington-Grizzly Stadium. He finished 24 of 39 passing for 295 yards as Montana held off an SDSU squad that controlled most the second half.

Montana heads to four-time national champion North Dakota State for a quarterfinal game next Saturday. The Grizzlies beat NDSU 38-35 in Missoula in August.

A trip to Fargo appeared in doubt after Jackrabbit quarterback Taryn Christion's fourth-down, 30-yard scoring pass cut the deficit to 24-17 with 4:44 left.

The Grizzlies, with John Nguyen pushing his rushing total to 107 yards, then ran out the clock.

"Our O-line just decided they wanted to win the ball game and John did a great job," said Montana coach Bob Stitt, who won his FCS playoff coaching debut. "It was a big drive, a big drive to end the ball game. And you need those. That's the No. 12 team in the country. That's not just another team."

Gustafson had scoring passes of 4 yards to Jamaal Jones and 26 yards to Ellis Henderson as Montana took a 14-0 lead at 10:42 of the second quarter. Jeremy Calhoun added a short scoring run and Daniel Sullivan punched through a field goal for the Grizzlies, who had 293 yards of offense by intermission.

Then South Dakota State (8-4), which memorably lost a 2009 playoff game to the Grizzlies 61-48 after leading 48-21, rallied. Montana went five possessions without a first down. Christion had a 1-yard scoring run to cut the gap to 24-10 at 3:49 of the third quarter.

"I just wanted so badly to be on the other side of a comeback here," joked SDSU coach John Stiegelmeier. "But credit coach Stitt. Their quarterback's a good player. And I'm really proud of our team to come back the way did. We just fell short."

Christion threw for 230 yards and ran for 54 for the Jackrabbits, who fell to 0-8 all-time against the Grizzlies, including 0-2 in the FCS playoffs.

Jake Wieneke shook off a couple drops to catch six passes for 128 yards for South Dakota State.

Ben Roberts had eight catches for a career-best 133 yards and Josh Horner's 80 receiving yards were also a career high for the Grizzlies, who were hurt by 129 yards in penalties.

"They (Griz) are a good team," said SDSU linebacker TJ Lally, who had 14 tackles. "When they did hit a big play we maybe stayed in our feelings a little too much. But I'm so proud of the way we came out the second half and shut them out basically."

"I'm proud of our players," Stitt said. "I'm really excited because I get to work another week and get these seniors to stay around and see their faces tomorrow at the team meeting. The 2015 season is still together and live and kicking."

Montana defensive end Tyrone Holmes had a pair of sacks, boosting his career total to 32.5 to tie him for second in school history.

The Griz won a playoff game for the second straight year, and have now won four in a row this season. However, it will be a tall task for Montana when the Griz invade Fargo Saturday for a 1:30 p.m. rematch with the Bison. After losing the Montana, the Bison rattled off eight wins in their last nine games and captured the MVC title for the sixth straight season.

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