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Dec. 14—BOZEMAN — Facing a quality opponent for the second time, and one that he knew would “throw the kitchen sink at us,” Montana State coach Brent Vigen went back to basics.
Senior quarterback Tommy Mellott rushed for 131 yards and threw for 174, while Adam Jones added 95 yards on the ground to lead the No. 1 Bobcats to a 52-19 FCS Quarterfinals win over No. 8 Idaho Friday night.
The win in front of a packed Bobcat Stadium crowd advanced the Cats to the FCS Semifinals for the fourth time in the past five seasons, while ending Idaho’s first 10-win campaign since 1993.
The Bobcats struck first, Mellott marching his team 75 yards in nine plays and hit Rylan Schlepp on a 3-yard touchdown pass.
After Montana State held Idaho on downs, Vandals defensive back Isaih King picked off a Mellott pass, and Idaho quarterback Jack Layne hit Jordan Dwyer with a 55-yard touchdown pass on the next snap.
The teams then traded field goals, with Myles Sansted connecting from 46 yards for the Bobcats and Cameron Pope connecting from 32 yards for Idaho to tie the score 10-10.
At that point the Vandals, who lost 38-7 on this same turf on Oct. 12, seemed to have momentum. But on the ensuing kickoff Owen Forsman dribbled an onside attempt just three yards, and MSU took over at the Idaho 38.
Eight plays later, Mellott scampered 8 yards for a touchdown and the Bobcats led 17-10 with 3:47 remaining in the first half.
It was the beginning of an avalanche. On Idaho’s next possession Layne hit Mark Hamper on a tunnel screen that MSU covered well, and Hamper lost the ball in a collision with one of his linemen. Brody Grebe recovered for the Bobcats at the Vandal 28-yard line.
Soon, Jones scored the first of his four touchdowns with 1:15 remaining in the half to push the lead to 24-10.
After an Idaho punt and a 15-yard return by Taco Dowler, Mellott…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/mellott-jones-lead-cats-fcs-140100790.html
Author : Daily Inter Lake, Kalispell, Mont.
Publish date : 2024-12-14 14:01:00
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