MISSOULA — Get ready for Brawl II.

Michael Wortham caught two touchdown passes and ran for another score, Keali’i Ah Yat threw for 303 yards and three TDs and Montana swamped South Dakota 52-20 in an FCS quarterfinal game Saturday. 

The No. 3-seeded Grizzlies’ second straight 50-point outing gave them a chance to avenge their lone loss this season, a 31-28 setback to Montana State in the 124th Brawl of the Wild on Nov. 22. 

The 12-2 Cats, who beat Stephen F. Austin 44-28 Friday night, host the 13-1 Grizzlies at 2 p.m. semifinal. It will air on ESPN. 

Wortham was a marvel, at one point throwing a cross-field later to Eli Gillman to convert a third-and-20 Saturday. By the he’d moved past Marc Mariani for single-season all-purpose yards: He has 2,295. 

“It feels good to see the things we practice work in the games,” Wortham said. “We’ve got to keep it rolling; our job’s not finished, and we’ve got the boys next week.” 

For the most part the Grizzlies were in command Saturday in front of 22,725 fans at Washington-Grizzly Stadium. Wortham had 11 catches for 201 yards, with TDs covering 53 and 51 yards. Any hope the Coyotes had probably disappeared when Drew Deck tore off a Griz playoff-record 93-yard punt return in the third quarter. 

But Montana had momentum throughout, taking the opening kickoff and driving 65 yards, the first 31 coming on a Wildcat run by Wortham. Deck — the Glacier product had his first two-touchdown day at UM — capped it with a 1-yard touchdown catch. 

It became 10-0 after Jareb Ramos jarred the pass loose from LJ Phillips, Jr., on the USD star’s third carry and Kenzel Lawler recovered for the Griz. Montana cashed that in for a 24-yard Jo Silver field goal. 

A 13-play, 77-yard drive ended with a Gillman 1-yard TD run early in the second quarter, before Wortham split USD’s coverage and caught a 53-yard score that put UM up 24-0 with 5:30 left in the first half. 

South Dakota closed to 24-8 just before halftime, Phillips breaking loose on a fourth-and-1 for a 23-yard score. The Coyotes (10-5) had the ball to start the second half but went nowhere; they punted and Deck was able to exploit a gap in the coverage, make a cut near midfield and outrace two pursuers for UM’s first special teams TD of the season. 

“It was an adjustment at halftime of getting them a little different return than we gave them the first half, and kind of caught them,” Montana coach Bobby Hauck said. “It was well-blocked and obviously Drew did a great job. You can’t block everybody and he did a good job of getting it to the end zone.” 

It was 31-7, and Wortham’s second defense-splitting TD made it 38-7 with 14:53 left in the game. 

South Dakota — with Phillips in concussion protocol after two second-half carries — rallied, first getting a 69-yard, thought-he-was-down catch and run from Jack Martens, then a 91-yard drive that Aiden Bouman topped with a 20-yard pass to Tysen Boze. 

With their lead cut to 38-22 and 8:42 left in the game, the Grizzlies tacked on two late TDs: An 11-yard run by Wortham and a 20-yard run by backup running back Hashim Jones.  

Bouman threw for 231 yards, completing 15 of 32 passes against Montana’s blitzing defense. His last attempt was intercepted by Peton Wing ahead of Jones’ TD. 

“I thought the second half we did a better job of understanding what they were doing up front,” Bouman said. “But it just wasn’t enough to get it done today.” 

“Too many explosive plays,” first-year USD coach Travis Johansen said. “And I thought getting it to a two-score game with 8 minutes left, we could have got a stop, and I thought we might get an opportunity to make a one-score game late.  

“Didn’t get it done but I’m really proud of our football team.” 

Hauck is proud as well. He mentioned more than once in November the possibility of playing the Bobcats twice. The No. 2 and 3 seeds meet for the 125th time Saturday. 

“We’re going to enjoy this one, certainly,” Hauck said. “It’s a good win for us. And you know, we’ll be excited to play (MSU), I guarantee that.” 

    Grizzlies wide receiver Drew Deck (2) catches a 1-yard touchdown reception in the first quarter against South Dakota in the quarterfinals of the FCS playoffs at Washington-Grizzly Stadium on Saturday, Dec. 13. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
 Casey Kreider   

    Grizzlies linebacker Caleb Otlewski (45) stops a run by South Dakota running back Carson Fletcher (33) in the third quarter of the quarterfinals of the FCS playoffs at Washington-Grizzly Stadium on Saturday, Dec. 13. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
 Casey Kreider   

    Grizzlies running back Hashim Jones (28) looks for running room in the first quarter against South Dakota in the quarterfinals of the FCS playoffs at Washington-Grizzly Stadium on Saturday, Dec. 13. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
 Casey Kreider   

    Grizzlies wide receiver Michael Wortham (6) scores a touchdown on an 11-yard run in the fourth quarter against South Dakota in the quarterfinals of the FCS playoffs at Washington-Grizzly Stadium on Saturday, Dec. 13. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
 Casey Kreider   

    Grizzlies wide receiver Drew Deck (2) celebrates with Blake Bohannon (4) after a 1-yard touchdown reception in the first quarter against South Dakota in the quarterfinals of the FCS playoffs at Washington-Grizzly Stadium on Saturday, Dec. 13. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
 Casey Kreider   

    Grizzlies defensive lineman Hayden Schwartz (97) celebrates after a stop in the second quarter against South Dakota in the quarterfinals of the FCS playoffs at Washington-Grizzly Stadium on Saturday, Dec. 13. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
 Casey Kreider