Cat-Griz Report: Griz blast Hornets, Bobcats bitten at Weber State

MISSOULA (AP) — At home, the Montana Grizzlies are on a roll, and showing no mercy.

Jeremy Calhoun's three touchdowns kick-started a record runaway for the No. 10 Grizzlies Saturday en route to a 68-7 Big Sky Conference thrashing of Sacramento State inside Washington-Grizzly Stadium.

Calhoun had touchdown runs of 32 and 23 yards in the first quarter as Montana (5-1, 2-1) took command.

And then the offense exploded.

Brady Gustafson threw four touchdown passes in the second quarter, including a 10-yard strike to Calhoun, as the lead grew to 41-0.

By the end of the third quarter Montana had run up 128 straight points, dating to a 67-7 win over Mississippi State. A 78-yard interception return by Justin Strong put Montana up 61-0 at the 2:26 mark.

Sacramento State (1-6, 1-3) could do little to stop the Grizzlies, who marked the first back-to-back 60-point games in program history.

"You'd like to get used to this, and you'd like to go into every game and feel like the week before and score 60," Montana coach Bob Stitt said. "A lot of this is the kids are executing very, very well and the quarterback's finding the weakness in the defense and getting the ball where it needs to go."

Gustafson was 28 of 35 passing for 246 yards, adding scoring strikes to Keenan Curran, Colin Bingham and Josh Horner. The check-down to Bingham covered 26 yards and made it 35-0.

"Well, the quarterback makes the whole thing go," Sacramento State coach Jody Sears said. "He puts the ball where it needs to be. He had some really nice throws.

"At the end of the day our job as coaches is to put our kids in position to make plays. We didn't make enough of them, obviously," he added.

Montana pulled most of its starters after one series in the second half. John Nguyen tore off an 81-yard touchdown run, the longest in school history, on the first play.

Nguyen ran for 116 yards on just seven carries, while Montana piled up 655 yards of offense.

Quincy Jountti got Sacramento State (1-6, 1-3) on the board with a 36-yard scamper with 4:46 left in the game.

Montana answered with a short pass from Chad Chalich that Joey Counts turned into a 60-yard touchdown with 1:31 remaining.

Chalich, who threw for 172 yards in relief of Gustafson, also fed a 4-yard scoring pass to Caleb Lyons in the third quarter.

The Hornets missed chances to score at the end of the first half, when a field goal was blocked by Montana's Caleb Kidder, and in the third quarter, when they turned it over on downs at the Grizzlies' 6-yard line.

"The defensive staff puts together an unbelievable game plan for these guys and then they go out and execute it to a T," said Stitt, whose club came up six sacks and a fumble on special teams. "Offensively, I thought we were pretty sharp."

Calhoun ran for 62 yards. Bingham had five catches for 77 yards for Montana.

The Grizzlies now strike out on the road for the first of two huge games. On Saturday, Montana visits Northern Arizona, followed by a trip to Eastern Washington on Oct. 29.

Weber State 45, Bobcats 27

OGDEN, Utah (AP) — Jadrian Clark threw four touchdown passes in the first half, three in the first quarter, as Weber State coasted to a 45-27 Big Sky Conference win over Montana State Saturday.

The Wildcats built a 42-14 advantage in the first half. Clark found Cameron Livingston with a pair of scoring throws in the opening period sandwiched around a 5-yard strike to Cory Thompson for a 21-0 lead.

Clark was 26 of 34 for 266 yards passing for Weber State (4-2), which improved to 3-0 in conference. Haini Moimoi had 20 carries for 85 yards and two touchdowns, and Tui Satuala pulled in a 33-yard pass from Clark for a second-quarter touchdown.

Chris Murray completed 10 of 18 pass attempts for Montana State (2-5, 0-4) for 199 yards and three touchdowns, but was intercepted twice. He also carried 19 times for 131 yards.

Montana State had four turnovers for the second straight game, as the Bobcats got off to their first 0-4 start in Big Sky play in over a decade.

“As a head coach, I did not have these guys ready to play. We lacked energy from the start, and I accept responsibility for that,” MSU head coach Jeff Choate said. “That was very discouraging in that we weren’t able to be more competitive in that environment.”

If the Bobcats are to start a turnaround in a season in which they will miss the FCS playoffs, the task will be big as they host No. 4 Eastern Washington Saturday afternoon at Bobcat Stadium.

“We’re going to find out who the guys that want to fight are,” Choate said. “That’s what this last four games is about. Finding out who wants to be a part of this thing moving forward.”

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