Cats corral Mustangs, Griz pull away from Trailblazers

BOZEMAN — Paced by an opportunistic defense and an offense that controlled the clock, No. 10 Montana State methodically wore down visiting Cal Poly on Homecoming Saturday, 45-7.

After a steady rain most of the night before, the skies cleared and the sun came out by game time as the Bobcats snagged four interceptions, including one returned 39 yards for a touchdown by Callahan O'Reilly in the third quarter. MSU's first pick of the game was by Tyrel Thomas, seeing his first action of the season due to injuries. In front of 19,847 fans, Thomas was in the right place when fellow defensive back Jeffrey Manning Jr. leveled a Cal Poly receiver to pop the ball into the waiting hands of Thomas. At that point, MSU led 7-0 as the first quarter ended. On the first play of the second quarter, Isaiah Ifanse took a handoff 7 yards to make it 14-0 and the 11th-ranked Bobcats were never challenged again.

The Bobcats picked up 266 yards on the ground and 175 through the air. The ground game gave MSU an edge in time of possession 35:19 to 24:41. Eight different Bobcats carried the ball led, by Ifanse's 13 carries for 58 yards.

MSU's third touchdown followed an interception by Manning Jr. A 40-yard pass from Matt McKay to Lance McCutcheon after Manning's pick led to a 1-yard score by Ifanse, this time on a direct snap in wildcat formation.

Moments after the Bobcats forced the Mustangs (1-5 overall, 0-3 Big Sky Conference) to punt for the fourth time in the first half, MSU went back to the wildcat formation, this time with Tommy Mellott taking the direct snap. The freshman from Butte galloped 74 yards to put MSU (5-1, 3-0) ahead 28-0.

A shovel pass from McKay to Ifanse just before halftime that covered 12 yards gave MSU a 35-0 lead at the break. MSU totaled 298 yards in the first half to 131 for Cal Poly.

O'Reilly's pick-six was the only MSU touchdown of the second half. In the fourth quarter Blake Glessner closed out the scoring with a 46-yard field goal. The Bobcats first touchdown came in the opening quarter on a 9-yard pass from McKay to Treyton Pickering, who was McKay's favorite receiver with four catches on the day.

MSU's final interception came in the fourth quarter when Tadan Gilman wrestled the ball away from the Cal Poly receiver stopping a potential Mustang touchdown. Webb led MSU with seven tackles and Ty Okada added six.

The Bobcats continue Big Sky play at Weber State (1-1, 2-3) on Friday before returning home against Idaho State on Oct. 23. Cal Poly has a week off before playing host to Cal-Davis.

Griz 31, Dixie State 14

MISSOULA — The Montana Grizzlies got back on the winning track Saturday afternoon with a convincing 31-14 win at home against the Dixie State Trailblazers. The final non-conference game of the season sends No. 6 Montana into the heart of the league schedule with a 4-1 record and some positive momentum following a big second-half performance.

"Winning is good. It beats the heck out of the other side of the equation. I didn't think we were particularly sharp today, but it was good by our crew coming out of the locker room at halftime and taking the win from Dixie State," head coach Bobby Hauck said. "They came in, they played hard, and credit goes to them, but we were too much for them."

The game began slowly for both sides, but Montana turned it after the halftime break, scoring 28 in the final half-hour of the game and not allowing a Dixie State offensive touchdown until the final drive of the game. Montana's defense again impressed, allowing just 261 total yards and one score. Kris Brown started the game at quarterback for Montana in place of the injured Cam Humphrey and took some time to get comfortable, but once he did the freshman put together a solid performance. In his first career start, Brown threw for 241 yards and a touchdown while adding another two on the ground.

He received a big boost from his backfield. Freshman Xavier Harris eclipsed 100 yards for the second consecutive game, carrying a career-high 29 times for 119 yards. Another freshman, Junior Bergen, handled 14 carries for 44 yards and added his first career touchdown.

The game changed in the third quarter, where Montana outgained Dixie State by 174 yards and scored twice to take a 17-0 lead. They started the fourth quarter hot as well, with 14 more points out of the gates to make it comfortable in the final minutes.

Montana was able to move the ball well but struggled with turnovers and finishing drives, otherwise, the result could have been even more lopsided. The Grizzlies turned it over three times, including a scoop-and-score defensive touchdown for Dixie State. Montana also failed to score three times in the red zone, finishing the game just 5-for-8 inside the 20.

The defense stepped up in the same categories where the offense may have lacked, though. The Grizzly defense - Justin Ford, to be specific - forced two turnovers on the day, and both came in the red zone. They allowed just one score in three red zone trips to the Trailblazers. Ford had his third interception of the season on the first red zone drive, then forced a fumble later in the game to keep Dixie State off the board. The Grizzlies again found success getting to the quarterback, sacking the Trailblazers four times and getting five tackles for loss.

Montana mixed it up through the air, with tight end Cole Grossman leading all receivers with five grabs for 70 yards and his first career touchdown. The Grizzlies found creative ways to get the big tight end the ball, including a shovel pass near the goal line that kept a drive alive.

Samuel Akem and Mitch Roberts each added four catches for 57 and 30 yards, respectively.

The Grizzlies outgained the Trailblazers by nearly 200 yards and had more than double the first downs (27 to 13). Montana's offense was very balanced, with 249 yards through the air and 191 on the ground.

Both teams were shut out in the opening quarter despite long drives from each. The Grizzlies were denied deep in Trailblazer territory on a sack that forced a fumble. They took the ball and drove the length of the field, but Justin Ford jumped a slant route in the end zone for his third interception of the season.

In a slow-moving first half, it was Dixie State that created the next big play with an interception deep in Montana territory. Taking over at the Grizzly 30-yard line, Montana's defense once again stepped up and forced the Trail Blazers backward. A 50-yard field goal came up short. The Grizzlies took over with good field position and made it into the red zone but couldn't find the final play. Instead, Montana knocked home a 27-yard field goal to get the first points on the board with 2:12 remaining in the half.

A quick three-and-out from Dixie State led to a punt with just over a minute left. Back stepped safety Robby Hauck, who caught the punt in his own territory. A quick shake lost the initial man and got Hauck the edge, where he sped for a 34-yard return. The return set Montana up from just outside the red zone.

Once again, Montana's offense couldn't find the end zone as Macias came in to kick a 22-yard field goal to end the half. The Grizzlies instead went for a trick play. Holder Mitch Roberts pitched to Kevin Macias, but the Trailblazers read it well and stopped the kicker short.

A half that saw the two teams combine for just under 300 total yards ended with Montana holding on to a 3-0 lead. It was the first time Montana didn't score a touchdown in the first half against an FCS opponent since 2018 vs. North Dakota. Montana put together another drive into Trailblazer territory coming out of the halftime break, but a 37-yard field goal was missed wide left to keep the game within one possession.

The first touchdown of the game came from freshman Junior Bergen, who took a stretch run outside and found the end zone from six yards out for his first career touchdown. Cole Grossman got in on the offensive action on the next drive, taking a dump pass for a 26-yard gain to set the Grizzlies up deep in Trailblazer territory. Montana then put the ball in the hands of Harris five times before ending the drive the same way they started it. Grossman slipped into the open field and hauled in his first career touchdown reception from Brown to give Montana the 17-0 lead.

Dixie State could sense where the game was headed and rolled the dice, going for it on fourth down inside their own territory. The Grizzlies stopped them short, taking over again and quickly getting into the red zone on a long connection from Brown to Bergen. Montana took a risk of its own on the ensuing drive, converting a fourth down inside the five to start the final quarter with first and goal from the one-yard line. Brown would keep it himself, sneaking over the goal line to put Montana ahead 24-0 two plays later. The Grizzlies dominated the third quarter, outgaining Dixie State 189-15 and scoring 14 points. The Brown touchdown to kick off the final frame came as a result of a drive that came mostly in the third quarter as well.

The Trailblazers drove down the field again only to meet the stingy red zone defense of Montana. Dixie State went for it on fourth and goal from the one-yard line, where Ford blitzed from the edge and sacked the DSU quarterback, forcing a fumble and returning it to give Montana some room to operate. But a big defensive play from the visitors would give Dixie State their first score of the game. Brown was sacked, coughing up the ball for a scoop-and-score. The Trailblazers went for two but were unsuccessful. The defensive score cut the Montana lead to 24-6.

A composed Montana offense took the field on the next drive, moving quickly down the field in seven plays to score on another QB sneak from Brown to make it 31-6 Montana. It was the second rushing touchdown of the day for Brown.

Montana is 4-1 and should move up in the national rankings as three of the top seven teams suffered losses Saturday. The Grizzlies will return home next week against Sacramento State.