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Griz roll, Cats lose a heartbreaker ahead of The Brawl

MISSOULA (AP) — Freshman quarterback Gresch Jensen showed no rust and Montana's defense had little mercy in a 44-14 win over Northern Colorado Saturday.

Jensen threw for three touchdowns and ran for another, and the Grizzlies intercepted five passes while closing out their home schedule at Washington-Grizzly Stadium.

Jensen, returning to the lineup after a concussion kept him out of Montana's 17-15 win over Northern Arizona last week, broke a 7-7 tie with a 6-yard pass to Makena Simis at 3:43 of the first quarter.

In the second quarter the Grizzlies (7-3, 5-2 Big Sky Conference) used a Jeremy Calhoun scoring run and a 24-yard touchdown pass to Samori Toure to push the lead to 37-7.

Montana's defense intercepted three passes and forced a fumble and the Grizzlies also blocked a punt in the quarter, setting up three Brandon Purdy field goals. The Grizzlies also turned the ball over on downs at Northern Colorado's 7-yard line.

"We wanted to play quality football today," said Montana coach Bob Stitt, whose club won for the fifth time in six games. "We wanted to go out and start fast and really be physical, but disciplined."

Jensen threw a 56-yard scoring strike to Justin Calhoun to open the third quarter, pushing Montana's lead to 44-7. He completed 17 of 25 passes for 228 yards. He also ran for 30 yards, including a 2-yard scoring run on Montana's first drive.

"I was just really antsy," said Jensen, who made his sixth start. "I just really wanted to get back in there. I didn't sleep very well last night. I just wanted the game to get here and get back out there with my teammates."

Northern Colorado (2-7, 1-6) tied the game at 7-7 on Conor Regan's 26-yard touchdown pass to Alex Wesley midway through the first quarter. But the Bears ended up with seven turnovers and Regan gave way to backup quarterback Keaton Mott late in the second period.

Mott passed for 144 yards and was picked off twice in the fourth quarter.

"We're having a blast playing football right now," Stitt said. "We love coaching them and they love playing, and we're playing at a very high level."

Evan Epperly, Josh Buss, Dareon Nash, Korey Alexander and Ryan McKinley all picked off passes for Montana. Tucker Schye forced one fumble and recovered another.

"That's how we've been the last couple games," Stitt said of his defense. "You just have a lot of confidence in those guys. Once we can kind of see what their game plan is, it's tough on an offense. Man, you've got a chance to win every week with a defense like that."

Northern Colorado also got a touchdown from cornerback Marshaun Cameron, who took an interception of Caleb Hill 21 yards for the score in the fourth quarter Anthony Davis rushed for 102 yards for the Bears.

Alijah Lee led Montana's running attack with 98 yards. Keenan Curran caught four passes for 85 yards.

The win keeps the Grizzlies on the Football Championship Subdivision playoff bubble ahead of next Saturday's showdown at in-state rival Montana State.

"Super Bowl Saturday," Stitt said of the 117th Brawl of the Wild, which MSU won last season. "We've been talking about it a long time. I'm very excited about getting to work tomorrow."

The Grizzlies head to Montana State for the 117th Cat-Griz "Brawl of the Wild" Saturday, a game with playoff ramifications.

Northern Arizona 37, Bobcats 36

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) — Joe Logan ran for 142 yards and two scores and his 2-yard plunge with 4:49 remaining gave Northern Arizona the lead for good in its 37-36 win against Montana State on Saturday night.

Logan's final touchdown put No. 24 Northern Arizona (7-3, 6-1 Big Sky) out front 37-30, but the Bobcats marched 75-yards in 10-plays and scored with 32 seconds left when Chris Murray threw a 21-yard score to Kevin Kassis to reduce the deficit to 37-36.

The Bobcats played for the win but the 2-point conversion failed. The Lumberjacks recovered the on-side kick and downed the ball to end the game.

“We have a coach that believes in our offense enough to go for two, and I like it,” MSU senior LaSane, who ran for a career-high 184 yards said. “We came up short, but I’m going to tell it like it is: The better team didn’t win today.”

Case Cookus threw for 314 yards and a touchdown in his return to action after being ejected last week for targeting in a 17-15 loss at Montana. The Lumberjacks remain in a three-way tie atop the conference with Southern Utah and Weber State.

Murray threw for 155 yards and two scores and ran for 85 yards and two scores for Montana State (4-6, 4-3). Nick LaSane had 184 yards on 19 carries and a touchdown.

MSU, which has now suffered a series of heartbreaking defeats this season, will have one last shot at glory when they host arch rival Montana Saturday at Bobcat Stadium in Bozeman.

“I think we’ll digest this and then talk about the Grizzlies on Monday,” MSU head coach Jeff Choate said after Saturday's loss.

Editor's Note: Starting Tuesday, the Havre Daily News will have daily coverage of the 117th Brawl of the Wild. The 2017 Cat-Griz Game Day Issue will publish in Friday's HDN.

 

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