Griz swat Hornets, Cats roll at home

MISSOULA — Clifton McDowell threw two touchdown passes, Eli Gillman ran for more than 100 yards and a score and Montana rolled past Sacramento State 34-7 Saturday night in a matchup between top-ranked FCS teams.

Montana (8-1, 5-1 Big Sky Conference), ranked third in the coaches poll, put up 547 total yards of offense while winning its fifth straight game. The Grizzlies travel to face.

McDowell was 11-of-21 passing for 218 yards and he added 83 yards on the ground. Gillman carried 16 times for 113 yards that included an 8-yard touchdown run in the first quarter. Keelan White and Aaron Fontes combined for eight catches for 191 yards receiving and two touchdowns.

McDowell and White connected on a 97-yard touchdown pass that stretched the Grizzlies’ lead to 28-7 early in the fourth quarter.

Marcus Fulcher ran for 87 yards and the Hornets’ only touchdown, a 1-yard scoring run midway through the first quarter. Carson Conklin and Kaiden Bennett were a combined 15-of-39 passing for 119 yards for seventh-ranked Sacramento State (6-3, 3-3), which has lost two of its last three games.

Bobby Hauck became the winningest coach in Big Sky history with the win.

Fifth-ranked Montana State also crushed Northern Arizona 45-21 in Bozeman Saturday. The Cats improved to 5-1 in the Big Sky ahead of hosting Eastern Washington in its final home game this Saturday.