Grizzlies, Bobcats Move On

Jon Kasper - Big Sky Conference

12/3/2011 7:28:34 PM

 

Montana's Jabin Sambrano scored two touchdowns in the Grizzlies' 41-14 win over Central Arkansas.

Two of the remaining eight teams in the Division I Football Championship are Big Sky Conference squads.
No. 4 seed Montana and Montana State each won second-round games on Saturday, giving the Big Sky two quarterfinal teams for the first time since 2008.
Montana took care of Central Arkansas of the Southland Conference 41-14 in Missoula, while Montana State held on for a 26-25 home win over New Hampshire of the CAA.
New Hampshire had a chance to tie the game with seven seconds left, but Mike MacArthur's extra point missed.
Montana (10-2) will play host to Northern Iowa (10-2) in a quarterfinal game next week. Montana State (10-2) will travel to No. 1 Seed Sam Houston State (12-0). If Montana and Montana State both win next week, the teams will meet in Missoula in a semifinal game on either Dec. 16-17. The dates and times of the quarterfinal games will be announced Sunday by the NCAA.
Sam Houston State survived 34-27 over Stony Brook. Northern Iowa beat Wofford 28-21. In other second-round games, No. 2 seed North Dakota State beat James Madison 26-14, No. 3 seed Georgia Southern ousted Old Dominion 55-48, Maine won at Appalachian State 34-12 and Lehigh edged Towson 40-38.
Georgia Southern will take on Maine in a quarterfinal, while Lehigh will battle North Dakota State.
Montana State 26, New Hampshire 25: Quarterback DeNarius McGhee rushed for 96 yards and two touchdowns, and threw for another as the Bobcats advanced to the quarterfinals for the first time since 2006.
Montana State trailed 10-0 in the first quarter and 19-9 in the second quarter, before mounting a rally. McGhee scored on a 2-yard run late in the second quarter to close the gap to 19-16. He scored on a 37-yard run in the third quarter to put the Bobcats ahead 23-19.
Jason Cunningham tacked on a 26-yard field goal with 9:38 to play as the Bobcats extended the lead to 26-19.
Montana State appeared to have the game locked up when Darius Jones intercepted Kevin Decker at the Bobcats' 5-yard line with 1:16 remaining. New Hampshire ended up getting the ball back and was aided by a bad punt. Decker connected with Justin Mello on a 29-yard score to close within one
Montana State's defense held New Hampshire to 200 passing yards and 48 rushing yards. Junior All-Conference linebacker Jody Owens tallied 11 tackles - 3.5 for loss. Sophomore Brad Daly had 2.5 sacks. The Bobcats sacked Decker six times.
Cody Kirk rushed for 96 yards for Montana State. Tray Robinson caught an 11-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter. Montana State rushed for 232 yards.
box score
Montana 41, Central Arkansas 14: The Grizzlies dominated from the get-go, blowing out the Bears to advance to the quarterfinals for the third time in four years. Central Arkansas committed three early turnovers as UM built a 17-0 first-quarter lead. The Grizzlies led 31-0 at halftime.
Senior wide receiver Jabin Sambrano caught TD passes of 8 and 22 yards in the first half. Running back Jordan Canada scored on runs of 11 and 12 yards, and Peter Nguyen scored on a 2-yard run.
The Grizzly defense forced four turnovers, held Central Arkansas to just 13 first downs and 28 rushing yards. Senior All-American cornerback Trumaine Johnson intercepted Nathan Dick inside the Montana 10-yard line in the first quarter.
Montana held theball for nearly 39 minutes, and put together three scoring drives of more than 10 plays and longer than 70 yards.
Senior kicker Brody McKnight made two field goals, extending his school-record string of made attempts to 16.
Montana improved to 13-0 all-time in home playoff games against teams from the Southland Conference.
The Grizzlies will face Northern Iowa for the first time since the 2001 semifinals, when the Panthers fell 38-0 in Missoula. Montana won its second national championship a week later, topping Furman 13-6.

Big Sky and Missouri Valley Squads Advance to the Quarterfinals

Published on 12-03-2011 10:04 PM

 

Three are seeded, two not; four won and one was toppled by another. This explains why half of the teams that move on to the round of eight in the 2011 Division I Football Championships are from either the Big Sky or Missouri Valley Football Conferences. They vanquished challengers from the Southern Conference, Colonial Athletic Association, and even one of their Western own from the Southland Conference to close in on the NCAA's highest football title.

By Kent Schmidt
CSN West Columnist
College Sporting News

MISSOURI VALLEY FOOTBALL CONFERENCE

Bison Struggle Early, Use a Solid Second Half to Advance over James Madison

D.J. McNorton rushed for 154 yards, including a game clinching 60 yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter, to propel #2 seeded North Dakota State (11-1) over James Madison (8-5) by a score of 26-14 before 17,432 in the Fargodome in their second-round Division I Championships matchup.

Fellow Bison running back Sam Ojuri added 61 yards and two scores.

James Madison had won their opening playoff round game against Eastern Kentucky last week.

Justin Thorpe threw for 182 yards with a touchdown and also caught a touchdown pass to lead the Duke offensive attack.

After a scoreless first quarter, NDSU opened the scoring on the first of Ojuri’s touchdowns from a yard out on a long, 10 play drive at the 9:12 mark of the second period.

Thorpe hit DeAndre' Smith for a 20 yard score in the late in the second quarter to tie the game at 7-7 with just 22 seconds left.

Ryan Jastram kicked a 53 yard field goal to put the Bison up 10-7 at halftime following a botched kickoff that went out of bounds at the JMU 49 yard line. The kick was a career long for Jastram with his prior long coming in last year’s playoff first round game against Robert Morris—a 51 yard boot.

After both teams stalled on their initial second half drives, Ojuri found the end zone for the second time on the day on a 6-yard scoring run after a 10 play, 61 yard drive. Jastram’s extra point attempt, however, was blocked, leaving the margin at 16-7 with 5:13 to go in the third quarter.

After JMU was unable to convert a fourth-down attempt at the NDSU 40, NDSU got the ball back late in the fourth quarter and worked to eat up some clock.

The Dukes' defense held the Bison to a field goal attempt but Jastram hit his second of the day from 44 yards out, and the Bison led 19-7 with 9:31 to play in the game.

In the next drive, Thorpe caught a 35-yard touchdown pass from wide receiver Kerby Long on a trick play to pull the Dukes within 19-14 at the 7:26 mark of the final frame.

McNorton's touchdown run came on the Bison’s next play from scrimmage, after the Dukes botched another kickoff out-of-bounds allowing an NDSU start from their own 40 in what would be the final scoring of the game.

NDSU quarterback Brock Jensen completed 11 of 18 passes for 110 yards and Bison wide receiver Warren Holloway caught seven passes for 78 yards.

Thorpe finished 21 of 38 passing for 182 yards and the one score.

NDSU advances to host Lehigh next week. The Mountain Hawks were 40-38 winners over Towson in their second round playoff matchup.

Bizarre Kickoff Fumble Propels #5 Seed Northern Iowa over Wofford

Fifth seeded Northern Iowa won a tough 28-21 game against Wofford in their second round game. The margin of victory and the Panthers’ final touchdown was on a bizarre play.

The Panthers had just scored to take a 21-14 lead on a David Johnson one yard scoring run at the 14:56 mark of the fourth quarter. Place kicker Tyler Sievertsen’s ensuing kickoff was sent into the end zone that was fielded by the Terriers’ Stephon Shelton but he dropped the ball in what he apparently thought would be ruled for the touchback.

The Panthers’ Phil Wright picked up the ball after he dropped it and it was ruled a fumble recovery for a touchdown.

UNI (10-2) received the game’s opening kickoff and drove 72 yards on six plays to score first. Quarterback Tirrell Rennie found receiver Jarred Herring on a 23 yard scoring pass to give UNI the lead 7-0 with 12:09 left in the first quarter.

Wofford (8-4) responded with a 16-play, 81 yard drive that ended in a three yard touchdown run by Eric Breitenstein to tie the contest at 7-7 with 3:30 left in the first quarter.

Breitenstein later broke loose for a 46-yard touchdown run with 5:45 left in the second quarter that gave the Terriers a 14-7 lead.

Wofford had a chance to increase their lead just before the halftime break but place kicker Christian Reed 35 yard attempt missed wide right to leave the margin at seven at the break.

Wofford began the second half driving into deep UNI territory but Panther linebacker James Conley forced a fumble by Terrier wide receiver Brenton Bersin, and Wilmot Wellington recovered it to end the Wofford threat on this drive.

On the ensuing possession, Rennie drove the Panthers down field and hit Herring once again for a seven-yard touchdown pass to tie the game at 14-14 with 10:21 left in the third quarter.

Wofford would score after a 15-play, 88-yard drive on a three-yard touchdown run by Breitenstein to cut the lead to 28-21 with 2:00 remaining in the game.

UNI's Brett LeMaster recovered the Terriers' onside kick, but Sievertsen missed a 47 yard field goal attempt to give Wofford a last chance to try to tie the score at with 53 second left in the contest.

The UNI defense, however, stopped Wofford from even gaining a first down on the next four plays, with defensive tackle August Hadenfeldt sacking Terrier quarterback Mitch Allen on fourth down to cement the win for the Panthers.

Rennie rushed for 95 yards on 19 carries and was 7-of-12 passing for 67 yards with the two touchdown passes. Herring caught four passes for 54 yards on the night. Junior running back Carlos Anderson gained 52 yards on 11 carries.

Allen had 162 yards rushing to lead Wofford.

Northern Iowa advances to play at #4 seeded Montana next week. The Grizzlies were 41-14 winners over Central Arkansas in their playoff matchup.

BIG SKY CONFERENCE

Montana Blows Out Central Arkansas in the Grizzlies Playoff Opener

Wide Receiver Jabin Sambrano caught two touchdown passes from quarterback Jordan Johnson and running back Jordan Canada scampered in for two more scores to help Montana blow out Central Arkansas 41-14 in front of 22,005 at home.

The 4th playoff seeded Grizzlies (10-2), who led 31-0 at halftime, have now won eight straight games.

Sambrano caught touchdown passes of 8 and 22 yards from Jordan who finished completing 16 of 25 passes for 135 yards.

Canada had TD runs of 11 and 12 yards as the Grizzlies totaled 229 yards rushing.

The Bears (9-4), in the postseason in just their second year of playoff eligibility, had their eight-game winning streak snapped after winning their first ever playoff game last week at Tennessee Tech.

Central Arkansas, which had been +13 in turnover margin on the season, lost three of five fumbles and committed four turnovers in total in this game.

The Grizzlies used three of those Central Arkansas turnovers in the first quarter in building a 17-0 lead.

Montana took advantage of a muffed punt by Central Arkansas to start the scoring on a 31-yard field goal by McKnight with 10:46 left in the first quarter.

They stretched their lead to 10-0 on an 8-yard touchdown pass from Johnson to Sambrano with 6:40 left and Peter Nguyen scored on a 2-yard run with 1:10 left in the period to make it 17-0. His run capped a 10 play, 93-yard march that began when Trumaine Johnson intercepted a Central Arkansas pass at his own 7-yard line.

The Griz piled up 277 total yards in the first half to Central Arkansas' 73.

Central Arkansas' scored on a 44-yard pass from Nathan Dick to Jesse Grandy and an 8-yarder to Al Lasker.

Montana will host #5 Northern Iowa next week in Washington-Grizzly Stadium.

Montana State Wins in a Game of Blocked Kicks & Miscues

It looked like a game eventually won by Montana State 26-25 that would see overtime in front of 11,367 at Bobcat Stadium. New Hampshire (8-4) scored a touchdown when Wildcat quarterback Kevin Decker threw a 29 yard touchdown pass to receiver Justin Mello with six seconds remaining in the fourth quarter to bring UNH within a point of tying Montana State (10-2).

All it would have taken was the extra point to seal the extra frame.

But MSU safety Steven Bethley came off the edge to tip UNH placekicker Mike MacArthur's game-tying extra point attempt with the few seconds remaining and the ball deflected wide off the right upright to give the Bobcats the 26-25 lead and ultimately the victory.

New Hampshire received the opening kickoff and moved the ball well but had to settle for a MacArthur's 36-yard field goal for a 3-0 lead at the 10:10 mark in the first quarter.

Montana State's initial possession ended with an interception from quarterback DeNarius McGee by Rod Walker. The Wildcats advanced into the red zone before coming up short on a 4th-and-2 play and turned the ball over on downs inside the 20 yard line.

The next Bobcats' drive also ended with a McGee's interception, again by Evans. He took the turnover all the back 58 yards for a touchdown to increase the Wildcat lead to 10-0 with 32 seconds remaining in the opening quarter.

MSU got on the scoreboard with 12:43 left in the second on a 41 yard field goal by Jason Cunningham that trimmed the deficit to 10-3.

The Bobcats looked as if they would tie the game after an 11 yard scoring pass from McGee to Tray Robinson with 5:44 left in the half, but New Hampshire's Steven Thames blocked the extra point and was scooped up by Anthony Gorrell, who returned it 86 yards for a two-point conversion to keep UNH in the lead at 12-9.

UNH was forced to punt on the ensuing drive but was aided by a Montana State special teams fumble by Shawn Johnson on the punt return at the MSU 18 yard line.

On the first play of this drive, Decker rolled out to find Mello on a short pass and he did the rest for the 18 yard touchdown that built the Wildcat lead to 19-9 with 3:04 remaining in the second quarter.

The Bobcats ended the first half scoring with just 25 second left, when McGee ran in a two-yard touchdown on a 3rd-and goal play with 25 seconds left to make the halftime score 19-16 in favor of UNH.

Montana State claimed its first lead, 23-19, with 10:52 left in the third quarter when McGee called his own number again—this time from 37 yards out.

The Bobcats increased their lead to 26-19 with 9:38 left in the game when Jason Cunningham hit a 26-yard field goal.

New Hampshire trailed 26-19 with 4:08 remaining in the fourth quarter, but Decker completed all six pass attempts in advancing the ball to the Bobcat 19-yard line. On second down, however, Decker was intercepted by Darius Jones at the MSU five yard line with 1:16 on the clock.

UNH's defense forced a three-and-out and MSU's punt went out of bounds at the Bobcats' 29 yard line with 17 seconds to play.

On the second play after the punt, Decker found Mello and he ran past the defender for the apparent game tying touchdown.

McGhee ended the game throwing 14-of-21 for just 167 yards and three interceptions.

Montana State advances to play at top seeded Sam Houston State in the quarterfinals next week for another FCS West faceoff. SHSU was a 34-27 victor over Stony Brook in its second round game.

Northern Iowa vs. Montana, December 9, 2011, Tailgate #8

IT IS TIME FOR SOME FRIDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL UNDER THE LIGHTS,

MONTANA STYLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Start time for the game is 6:00pm. The tailgate begins at 4:00pm.

The forecast (subject to change) for the second playoff game is:

Mostly Cloudy

Start of Game - 20 degrees

Halftime - 16 degrees

End of Game - 14 degrees

Dress warm, but remember we'll have the tents (with lights) up and heaters going at the tailgate.

The last time we had a Friday night game the menu was pretty simple and it worked. So we are going to continue that tradition this Friday and here is the menu:

Everyone needs to bring a pizza or their favorite oriental takeout.

BYOB!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I SAY AGAIN EVERYONE NEEDS TO BRING SOMETHING! A PIZZA OR THEIR FAVORITE ORIENTAL TAKEOUT WOULD BE PREFERRED, BUT BRING SOMETHING!!!!!!!!

This menu makes everything really easy. So we'll eat pizza and takeout and wash it down with beer.

Please send the this out to everyone you know who comes to the tailgate.

Comment below on this post or email me (mtmotorstables@gmail,com).

Thank you,

Doug

GO GRIZ!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

AND THIS IS WHAT HAPPENED!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (Round 2 FCS Playoffs)

Montana cruises past Central Arkansas

Missoula, MT (Sports Network) - Jordan Canada carried the ball 10 times for 58 yards and two touchdowns, as the Montana Grizzlies demolished the Central Arkansas Bears, 41-14, in the second round of the FCS playoffs.
Peter Nguyen carried the ball 16 times for 79 yards and a score for the Grizzlies (10-2), who are making their 21st appearance in the FCS playoffs.
Jordan Johnson completed 16-of-25 passes for 135 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions for Montana, which will face Northern Iowa next weekend in the quarterfinals.
Nathan Dick connected on 26-of-40 passes for 265 yards, two touchdowns and an interception for the Bears (9-4), who defeated Tennessee Tech in their FCS playoff debut last weekend.
The Grizzlies never looked back after Brody McKnight started the game with a 31-yard field goal.
Central Arkansas fumbled on its second possession of the contest. Jackie Hinton had the ball knocked loose by Josh Harris and Matt Hermanson recovered for Montana. Jabin Sambrano hauled in an eight-yard TD pass to make it 10-0.
Dick was then intercepted by Trumaine Johnson at the Montana nine. The Grizzlies put together a 10-play, 93-yard drive, which Nguyen capped with a two-yard TD run with 1:10 left in the first quarter.
Canada's 11-yard TD run with less than six minutes to play in the half made it 24-0. Sambrano added a 22-yard TD catch before the break to make it a 31-0 game.
Canada's 12-yard rushing TD early in the third quarter made it 38-0. Jesse Grandy got Central Arkansas on the board later in the frame with a 44-yard TD catch.
McKnight's 20-yard field goal early in the fourth gave Montana a 41-7 margin. Al Lasker caught an eight-yard TD pass with two minutes left to account for the final margin.

FRIDAY NIGHT UNDER THE LIGHTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

MISSOULA, MONTANA – The FCS quarterfinal football game between the fifth-ranked University of Montana Grizzlies (10-2) and the second-ranked Northern Iowa Panthers (10-2) will start at 6:0 0 p.m. (Mtn.). on Friday, Dec. 9 in UM’s Washington-Grizzly Stadium and be aired nationally on ESPN2.
The Adams Center Box office will be open and selling football tickets from 1:00-5:00 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 4.  Tickets are $26 each.  Tickets may also be purchased by phone at 406-243-4051/1-888-MONTANA, or via FAX to 406-243-2514, and a $5 fee per order will apply to those who purchase via phone or FAX.
Tickets are also available at GrizTix locations, or fans may go online to <http://www.griztix.com> www.griztix.com<http://www.griztix.com> and chose “FCS Playoffs” link for detailed information and instructions.
The Grizzlies defeated visiting Central Arkansas 41-14 today in a second round playoff game in Missoula, while UNI defeated visiting Wofford this afternoon, 28-2, in another second round playoff game.

Dave Guffey
The University of Montana
Associate A.D., For External and Media Relations
Hoyt Athletic Complex
32 Campus Drive
Missoula, MT  59812
406-243-5402-Office; 370-9435-Cell; 243-6859-Fax
guffeydb@mso.umt.edu<mailto:guffeydb@mso.umt.edu>

UNI-Montana to air in prime time

Missoula, MT (Sports Network) - A year after missing the NCAA Division I football playoffs, the University of Montana's tradition-rich program appears to be returning to prime-time status - literally.
Montana announced early Sunday that its national quarterfinal against Northern Iowa will be played at 8 p.m. ET on Friday, Dec. 9 on ESPN2.
Both teams have 10-2 records and shared their conference titles.
The NCAA will announce game times for the other three quarterfinals on Saturday, Dec. 10. The match-ups are Montana State (10-2) at top-ranked Sam Houston State (12-0), Maine (9-3) at Georgia Southern (10-2) and Lehigh (11-1) at North Dakota State (11-1).

This is what they are saying - Part #13

CSN West: Busy Week in the West Entering Round Two of the Playoffs

Published on 11-30-2011 09:56 PM

When the playoff field was announced a week and a half ago, I was bracing myself for what could be six West teams playing in five games this week. With the Central Arkansas victory last Saturday at Tennessee Tech, that is exactly what I got. The other five ‘West’ teams had byes in the opening round.

By Kent Schmidt
CSN West Columnist
College Sporting News

So this week, I will be covering five games in basically a six to seven hour window this Saturday.

And no, I am not complaining.

What games do we have for the ‘West’ teams this week?

My day will start by covering the Central Arkansas at #4 seed Montana game at 2:00 p.m. Eastern time.

I will then add attention to Stony Brook at #1 seed Sam Houston State and New Hampshire at Montana State an hour later at 3:00 p.m. Eastern time.

One hour later, I will put additional attention on James Madison at #2 seed North Dakota State at 4:00 p.m. Eastern.

And finally, in a game I will attend in person, I will see Wofford at #5 Northern Iowa at 5:00 p.m. Eastern.

Five games in six or seven hour window. I hope I sleep well on Friday!

Have this many 'West' teams been included before?

Yes, but typically they had played each other. There is only one West vs. West game in the round of 16, Montana versus Central Arkansas.

In the past, a Southland team played a Big Sky team and maybe a Missouri Valley team played a Big Sky or Southland squad.

I like the variety this year as we get to see how West teams are against other conferences like the Colonial Athletic Association, the Southern Conference and the Big South Conference at once to get a better understanding of who might field a better league.

How do I see these games coming out?

I have projected earlier that all home teams will win in these games and it just so happens that five of the six West teams play at home this week.

I see five teams from the West still playing as we enter the quarterfinals the following weekend. Having to cover just three games then will probably feel like a breeze in comparison to this week.

But again, I am not complaining. My hope is that as many West teams make it as far as they can.

I truly would like nothing more than having two West teams play for the national title. I can rest in the offseason.

* * *

CSN WEST PLAYOFF GAME PREVIEWS

Central Arkansas (9-3, 6-1 SLC) @ #4 Montana (9-2, 7-1 BSC), 2:00 p.m. Eastern

This is the only matchup of two West teams this week and thus is my top game of the week. The Bears come into this game having won their last eight games, including their first Division I playoff game last week on the road against Tennessee Tech.

Montana comes into this one with after a bye week and has been streaking like the Bears in winning their last seven contests.

The Grizzlies and Bears have never met before.

Montana is 12-0 at Washington-Grizzly Stadium against Southland Conference teams in the playoffs, and has won those games by an average score of 45.25 to 12.25.

Montana last played a Southland team in 2009 in the quarterfinal round with a 51-0 victory.

The Bears have never faced a Big Sky team but they did play Portland State in the 1993 Division II playoffs, prior to Portland State joining the Big Sky. PSU won 45-31.

Montana is a team that likes to run it first—ranking 21st in the country in this statistic. Peter Nguyen is the leading rusher with 689 yards.

But the Grizzlies can throw it a little bit too with quarterback Jordan Johnson, who has thrown for 1,792 yards and 15 scores.

As was seen last week, the Bear offense revolves around the throwing from quarterback Nathan Dick who has thrown for 3,010 yards with 30 touchdowns and just eight interceptions. His top targets are Jesse Grandy (46 catches, 731 yards, 8 TDs) and Dominique Croom (38-518-7).

While I think the two offenses are relatively even, I think the difference in this game will be the defenses. Montana gives up just 321.55 yards per game to rank 22nd in the country. Central Arkansas ranks 98th by giving up 408.0 yards.

I like what I see with the Grizzlies and think they will win rather comfortably this week. I like the Grizzles by two touchdowns.
Montana 31, Central Arkansas 17.

* * *

For the other West team playoff games this week, I will just provide a quick score prediction.

Stony Brook (9-3) at #1 Sam Houston St. (11-0), 3:00p.m. Eastern
Sam Houston State 38, Stony Brook 21

New Hampshire (8-3) at Montana St. (9-2), 3:00p.m. Eastern
Montana State 28, New Hampshire 24

James Madison (8-4) at #2 North Dakota St. (10-1), 4:00p.m. Eastern
North Dakota State 31, James Madison 28

Wofford (8-3) at Northern Iowa (9-2), 5:00p.m. Eastern
Northern Iowa 24, Wofford 21