Cats ground Eagles; Griz claw Bears on the road

CHENEY, Washington - Isaiah Ifanse continued to make history with his legs and No. 4 Montana State's defense held the most explosive offense in the FCS to 20 points, 17 first downs and 314 total yards in the Bobcats' 23-20 win at No. 5 Eastern Washington Saturday.

Ifanse rambled for 217 yards, his second 200-yard rushing game this season and his third as a Bobcat. His 14th career 100-yard rushing game is fifth in school history. He gained at least 40 yards in each of the first three quarters, then at closing time in the fourth he gashed the Eagles for 75 yards. The sensational junior gained three more yards on the ground than EWU quarterback Eric Barriere, who many consider the Payton Trophy frontrunner, accumulated through the air.

Montana State's defense held the Eagles to 314 yards, the EWU's lowest total of the season by 123 yards, and 20 points, 14 points less than it scored in any previous 2021 game. Eastern led 13-7 with 164 total yards after the first quarter, but scored only seven points with 150 total yards from that point forward.

The Bobcats accumulated yards in the first half, but missed on a pair of scoring opportunities. After the Cats moved inside the Eagles 10, Blake Glessner missed just his fourth field goal of the year from 27 yards. Then with 3:43 to play in the first half, Matthew McKay fired just behind Lance McCutcheon on a fourth-down conversion attempt. On the second play of the ensuing possession, though, Eastern was flagged for a holding penalty in the end zone. That gave the Bobcats a 16-13 lead they took into the intermission.

Ifanse's big first half fueled the MSU offense. The junior rushed 98 yards, pushing him over the 1,000-yard mark for the season. McKay ran for 74 yards in the first half, including a 56-yard touchdown that opened the scoring. He also threw for 164 yards in the first two quarters as well, including a 67-yard touchdown catch by Lance McCutcheon. The catch was brilliant, and he broke three tackles on his way to the end zone.

The Cats produced more of the same to open the second half, marching 38 yards in 6:08 before an interception stalled the drive. MSU's defense forced two straight three-and-outs, and after the Eagles advanced into Bobcat territory at the end of the third quarter Eastern pinned the Bobcats at their own five-yard line. That set the stage for the most dramatic Bobcat drive of the season.

On first down, with 11:43 to play, McKay found Lance McCutcheon in front of the Bobcat bench, and the sensational pitch-and-catch resulted in 52 yards. On the next play, Ifanse tore through Eastern's front seven, applied a savage stiff-arm, and scored on a 43-yard touchdown run. Two plays, 95 yards, one back-breaking touchdown.

Even what appeared to be a disastrous mistake on MSU's next possession couldn't stem the Blue and Gold tide. McKay fumbled near midfield and Eastern recovered at the Bobcat 45. The Eagles capitalized, scoring five plays later to draw within 23-20. But the mistake didn't matter. MSU moved from its own 21 to the 41, then Bryce Leighton punted out of bounds at the Eastern Washington three. Outstanding defensive plays by Callahan O'Reilly, Troy Andersen and Sebastian Valdez forced the Eagles to punt, and MSU never returned the favor.

The win was Montana State's first over Eastern Washington since 2011, and was only the third Bobcat victory ever in Cheney, along with 1990 and 2011. The team's eight wins ties Brent Vigen for the most of any first-year MSU coach, with Herb Agocs in 1958 and Sonny Lubick in 1978.

Montana State is now 8-1 this season, 6-0 in the Big Sky and tied atop the conference with Sacramento State. Eastern Washington falls to 7-2 overall after its second consecutive loss, and 4-2 in the league.

Griz 35, N. Colorado 0

GREELEY, COLORADO - In a season that has been defined by the countless dominant defensive performances from the No. 10 Montana football team, the Grizzlies may have put their best effort forward in Greeley, Colorado, Saturday afternoon in a 35-0 shutout victory over the Northern Colorado Bears.

Montana came out quickly, took an early lead and never looked back. The defense entered the game as a top 10 team nationally in points allowed and improved on that number, shutting out an opponent for the first time since 2011.

For a team that is among the best in the nation, even this stood out.

"Any time you can put a goose egg up on the board, it doesn't matter who that's against, in modern day college football shutting a team out is dang near impossible," head coach Bobby Hauck said following the win. "(The win) starts with our defense."

But, as Hauck also noted, this isn't the first time Montana's defense has shutout an opponent this year. The Grizzlies didn't allow Western Illinois to score an offensive touchdown in a non-conference game, although the Leathernecks did find the end zone on a pick six. This time, it was clean all around for Montana.

The Grizzly defense allowed just 245 yards, with a large chunk of that - over 100 yards - coming in the fourth quarter when the result was all but guaranteed. Montana forced a pair of turnovers, including an early interception for Justin Ford. The pick was his seventh on the season, one coming in each of his previous seven games. He leads the nation in interceptions and is now second in the Montana record books for a single season.

Montana's offense helped out its fair share, scoring early and often to keep the game well out of reach. There was a familiar face under center for the Grizzlies, as Cam Humphrey made his first start since returning from injury. The Grizzly quarterback didn't miss a beat, throwing for 233 yards and three scores. He also ran for 71 yards and another score.

His favorite target was Mitch Roberts, who hauled in seven catches for 74 yards. Cole Grossman had three catches for 49 yards and a touchdown, but it was the play of senior wide receiver Samuel Akem that stood out.

Akem found the end zone twice on just three catches, moving his career total to 27 touchdowns. He now stands alone in second place on Montana's all-time list, just two scores behind Grizzly great Marc Mariani.

The Grizzlies were balanced offensively as well, getting some good production from a stable of young running backs. Junior Bergen led Montana with eight carries for 64 yards, but Isiah Childs added a touchdown while Xavier Harris also saw carries.

The Grizzlies put together a complete offensive performance overall. They outgained the Bears by nearly 150 yards, averaged nearly twice as many yards per play and also held a distinct advantage on third down. Montana converted over 50 percent (8-for-15), while holding UNC to just three first downs in 16 attempts. In the first action of the final month of the season, Hauck likes where his team is at.

Montana received the ball to start the game for the first time this season, but were unable to score on the opening drive. Still, Ford wasted no time in getting his seventh interception in as many games, picking off a pass on Northern Colorado's first drive. It was a right place, right time moment for the cornerback. TraJon Cotton rose up and deflected a pass and Ford perfected the tip drill, closing in late to secure the interception.

The turnover led to the first score of the game for Montana, as Humphrey continued a hot start passing the ball, completing four of five passes on the drive including a 21-yard strike across the middle for a touchdown to Cole Grossman. Humphrey showed no rust, making his first start since returning from injury, starting 9-for-12 for 103 yards on the first two Montana possessions.

The Grizzly defense shut down Northern Colorado's offense, and the Bears then attempted a fake punt deep inside their own territory. There was no fooling Montana's special teams, stopping the fake for an eight yard loss to set up the offense just 30 yards away from the end zone.

Humphrey showed just how tough he is on the next drive, escaping a sack deep in the pocket, scrambling out to his right and diving through a big defensive hit on an incredible 20-yard touchdown to put the Griz up 14-0.

Montana would strike again late in the half on yet another highlight reel play. Humphrey tossed a deep ball outside, trusting his veteran wide receiver Akem to make a play. The senior didn't disappoint, high pointing the ball, shaking off his defender and then dragging multiple Bears into the end zone with him for his 26th career touchdown as a Grizzly. The Grizzlies took the 21-0 lead into halftime after a completely dominant opening half hour. Montana outgained Northern Colorado by 171 yards, forced a turnover and stopped the Bears on fourth down to hold complete control entering the locker rooms.

It was the connection of Humphrey to Akem that started off the scoring in the second half, hooking up from 17-yards out midway through the third quarter. On the first play of Northern Colorado's next drive Alex Gubner forced a fumble that Braxton Hill dove on top of, giving the ball back to Montana deep in UNC territory. Humphrey had a big run to set Montana up at the two-yard line, where Childs dove in for the score.

Now with a comfortable 35-0 lead, Humphrey's day was done as Montana threw just two more passes - one from Kris Brown, one from Robbie Patterson - the rest of the way. The Grizzlies made a couple of big stops and Northern Colorado missed a late field goal to seal the shutout victory.

The Grizzlies look to win one more before the 2021 Brawl of the Wild when they travel to Northern Arizona this Saturday.

Editor's Note: Havre Daily News Sports Editor George Ferguson contributed to these stories.