Jordan Johnson threw three touchdowns and ran for another in Montana's 48-10 quarterfinal win over Northern Iowa.
Box score
Sophomore quarterback Jordan Johnson threw for three touchdowns and ran for another as the Montana Grizzlies beat Northern Iowa 48-10 in a Division I quarterfinal football game on Friday night.
No. 4 seed Montana (11-2) will play in the semifinals for the 11th time in school history. The Grizzlies will play the winner of Saturday's Montana State-Sam Houston State quarterfinal. That game will air live on ESPN at 10 a.m. Mountain. If Montana State wins, the Grizzlies will host the Bobcats in the semifinals. Montana will travel to Sam Houston State if the Bearkats win.
Northern Iowa (10-3) jumped out to a 7-0 lead on a 27-yard pass from Tirrell Rennie to Jarred Herrington. Montana reponded by outscoring the Panthers 48-3 in front of 23,049 fans in a game that was televised on ESPN.
The Grizzlies rolled up 463 yards of offense, including 267 on the ground. The Griz scored five touchdowns in five red zone opportunities, and did not commit a turnover. UM's defense forced five turnovers. Dony Lisowski capped the Grizzlies' scoring with a 35-reception return for a touchdown.
"We beat a pretty good team tonight, that was a lot of fun,'' said Montana second-year coach Robin Pflugrad. "Our guys were very focused. The first couple of series their defense line did an outstanding job. They have a really quick defense front. Our offensive line did a great job adjusting, and I think that was the key. The offense and defense just came to play again.''
Montana started to pull away near the end of the first half. Peter Nugyen scored on a 10-yard run with 4:26 to play to put the Grizzlies ahead 21-10. Tight end Kavario Middleton hauled in a 5-yard score with 30 seconds left in the half.
UM scored on its first possession of the third quarter, as Sam Gratton caught an 8-yard pass from Johnson. Gratton also hauled in a 25-yarder from Johnson early in the fourth quarter to make the score 41-10.
Johnson completed 13-of-20 passes for 196 yards, and rushed for a team-high 86 yards. Nguyen had 57 yards and a touchdown.
Big Sky defensive MVP Caleb McSurdy had 10 tackles including two for loss. All-American cornerback Trumaine Johnson had six tackles and his second interception in as many weeks.
Northern Iowa QB Tirrell Rennie completed 9-of-19 passes for 93 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions. Rinnie had 51 rushing yards. Montana sacked Northern Iowa's quarterbacks five times.
The Grizzlies are 7-3 all-time in the semifinals, including a 6-1 record at home. Montana's semifinal appearances came in 1989, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2004, 2006, 2008 and 2009.
Montana is now 5-0 against Northern Iowa, including 3-0 in the playoffs. Montana beat Northern Iowa 38-0 in a 2001 semifinal game en route to its second national championship.
Sophomore quarterback Jordan Johnson threw for three touchdowns and ran for another as the Montana Grizzlies beat Northern Iowa 48-10 in a Division I quarterfinal football game on Friday night.
No. 4 seed Montana (11-2) will play in the semifinals for the 11th time in school history. The Grizzlies will play the winner of Saturday's Montana State-Sam Houston State quarterfinal. That game will air live on ESPN at 10 a.m. Mountain. If Montana State wins, the Grizzlies will host the Bobcats in the semifinals. Montana will travel to Sam Houston State if the Bearkats win.
Northern Iowa (10-3) jumped out to a 7-0 lead on a 27-yard pass from Tirrell Rennie to Jarred Herrington. Montana reponded by outscoring the Panthers 48-3 in front of 23,049 fans in a game that was televised on ESPN.
The Grizzlies rolled up 463 yards of offense, including 267 on the ground. The Griz scored five touchdowns in five red zone opportunities, and did not commit a turnover. UM's defense forced five turnovers. Dony Lisowski capped the Grizzlies' scoring with a 35-reception return for a touchdown.
"We beat a pretty good team tonight, that was a lot of fun,'' said Montana second-year coach Robin Pflugrad. "Our guys were very focused. The first couple of series their defense line did an outstanding job. They have a really quick defense front. Our offensive line did a great job adjusting, and I think that was the key. The offense and defense just came to play again.''
Montana started to pull away near the end of the first half. Peter Nugyen scored on a 10-yard run with 4:26 to play to put the Grizzlies ahead 21-10. Tight end Kavario Middleton hauled in a 5-yard score with 30 seconds left in the half.
UM scored on its first possession of the third quarter, as Sam Gratton caught an 8-yard pass from Johnson. Gratton also hauled in a 25-yarder from Johnson early in the fourth quarter to make the score 41-10.
Johnson completed 13-of-20 passes for 196 yards, and rushed for a team-high 86 yards. Nguyen had 57 yards and a touchdown.
Big Sky defensive MVP Caleb McSurdy had 10 tackles including two for loss. All-American cornerback Trumaine Johnson had six tackles and his second interception in as many weeks.
Northern Iowa QB Tirrell Rennie completed 9-of-19 passes for 93 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions. Rinnie had 51 rushing yards. Montana sacked Northern Iowa's quarterbacks five times.
The Grizzlies are 7-3 all-time in the semifinals, including a 6-1 record at home. Montana's semifinal appearances came in 1989, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2004, 2006, 2008 and 2009.
Montana is now 5-0 against Northern Iowa, including 3-0 in the playoffs. Montana beat Northern Iowa 38-0 in a 2001 semifinal game en route to its second national championship.
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