Back-to-back Cats
FRITZ NEIGHBOR | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 1 hour, 30 minutes AGO
Montana State celebrates as fans rush the field after a 48-23 win over Montana in the semifinal round of the FCS playoffs at Bobcat Stadium on Saturday, Dec. 20. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Casey Kreider
Montana State running back Adam Jones (23) scores a touchdown on a 54-yard run in the second quarter against Montana in the semifinal round of the FCS playoffs at Bobcat Stadium on Saturday, Dec. 20. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Casey Kreider
Grizzlies running back Eli Gillman (10) scores a touchdown on a 17-yard run in the second quarter against Montana State in the semifinals of the FCS playoffs at Bobcat Stadium on Saturday, Dec. 20. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Casey Kreider
Bobcats tight end Rocky Lencioni (89) scores a touchdown on a 2-yard reception in the third quarter of the semifinal round of the FCS playoffs at Bobcat Stadium on Saturday, Dec. 20. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Casey Kreider
Grizzlies running back Malae Fonoti (7) fights for extra yardage against Montana State defensive back Colter Petre (24) on a reception in the second quarter in the semifinal round of the FCS playoffs at Bobcat Stadium on Saturday, Dec. 20. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Casey Kreider
Bobcat fans celebrate on the field after Montana State's 48-23 win over Montana in the semifinal round of the FCS playoffs at Bobcat Stadium on Saturday, Dec. 20. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Casey Kreider
Montana State running back Adam Jones (23) scores a touchdown on a 7-yard run in the first quarter against Montana in the semifinal round of the FCS playoffs at Bobcat Stadium on Saturday, Dec. 20. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Casey Kreider
Montana State Justin Lamson (8) throws in the first quarter against Montana in the semifinal round of the FCS playoffs at Bobcat Stadium on Saturday, Dec. 20. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Casey Kreider
Montana quarterback Keali'i Ah Yat (8) scores a touchdown on a 5-yard run in the second quarter against Montana State in the semifinal round of the FCS playoffs at Bobcat Stadium on Saturday, Dec. 20. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Casey Kreider
Bobcats wide receiver Taco Dowler (14) is tackled by Grizzlies cornerback Kenzel Lawler (8) on a run in the second half of the FCS playoffs semifinals at Bobcat Stadium on Saturday, Dec. 20. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Casey Kreider
Grizzlies wide receiver Michael Wortham (6) escapes a tackle attempt by Bobcats defensive back Carson Williams (8) on a reception in the second half of the semifinal round of the FCS playoffs at Bobcat Stadium on Saturday, Dec. 20. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Casey Kreider
Montana State fans cheer on the Bobcats as they face Montana in the semifinal round of the FCS playoffs at Bobcat Stadium on Saturday, Dec. 20. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Casey Kreider
Montana tight end Jake Olson (87) celebrates after a 1-yard touchdown reception in the third quarter against Montana State in the semifinal round of the FCS playoffs at Bobcat Stadium on Saturday, Dec. 20. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Casey Kreider
Montana State quarterback Justin Lamson (8) picks up yardage on a run in the second half against Montana in the semifinal round of the FCS playoffs at Bobcat Stadium on Saturday, Dec. 20. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
Casey Kreider
BOZEMAN — Montana State made history Saturday, winning the Super Brawl with a superb finish that pushed the Bobcats into another FCS title game.
Justin Lamson ran for two touchdowns and threw for two more for the Bobcats, who improved to 13-2 with the 48-23 win over in-state rival Montana.
The junior transfer from Stanford led the hosts to a 20-3 lead early in the second quarter, then threw two touchdown passes — the second a back-breaking 87-yarder to Taco Dowler — in quick succession after Montana took 23-20 lead in the third.
Next the Bobcats will head to Nashville to play Illinois State on Jan. 5; the Cardinals, who upset top-seeded North Dakota two weeks ago, beat Villanova 30-14 in Saturday’s other semifinal.
“I think this team has continued to be a forward-thinking outfit and continues to believe,” MSU coach Brent Vigen, whose club is making its second straight trip to the championship and third in five seasons, said. “The offense drove it down and took the lead back. That piece is a microcosm of what we’ve been about all season.”
MSU won the first “Brawl of the Wild” 31-28 in Missoula on Nov. 22, and pundits and fans wondered about beating a good opponent twice. The Griz scored 20 straight points to create some tension in front of a record 25,436 fans at Bobcat Stadium. Then the Cats scored the last 26.
“We wanted them,” said MSU linebacker, who capped his team’s closing flourish with a 40-yard pick-6. “It’s never been done in 125 years.”
In the 1910s the rivals played twice a year and UM managed three sweeps. Now MSU has one, and it feels good.
“We just grinded,” said Grebe, a freshman backup on last year’s team that fell to NDSU in the final in Frisco, Texas. “We had a chip on our shoulder. We lost two in a row off the start and then we went to work. I just love where this team is right now.”
It was all MSU early, with the Bobcats forcing two UM punts and using twin 17-yard punt returns from Dowler to set up drives of 60 and 55 yards. Lamson’s 4-yard run capped the first one, and Adam Jones scored from 7 yards out ended the second.
Montana found some footing with a drive to first-and-goal, but settled for a Jo Silver field goal. Then Jones took a handoff around the right side for a 54-yard run to make it 20-3 at 11:25 of the second quarter.
“In terms of us, we got off to kind of an atrocious start,” Montana coach Bobby Hauck said. “Things were not going our way. I thought our guys handled it really well, composed, which our team is. Our guys did a great job of finding their way back and taking the lead.”
Eli Gillman started finding room between the guards and his 17-yard touchdown run cut the gap to 20-9 at 7:02 of the second quarter. Then Griz linebacker Peyton Wing popped the ball loose from MSU’s Jabez Woods and TJ Rausch recovered for the Griz at MSU’s 40.
That set up Keali’i Ah Yat’s 5-yard TD run with 12 seconds left in the half.
The Cats took a 20-16 lead into halftime, and then punted on their first possession of the third quarter, Michael Wortham had catches of 17 and 34 yards on UM’s ensuing 70-yard drive, which ended with a 1-yard TD pass to Jake Olson.
In response MSU methodically drove 75 yards, helped by roughing the passer penalty. Bobcat tight end Rocky Lencioni took a shovel pass 2 yards for the go-ahead score.
Things were still in doubt when MSU, after forcing a punt, faced a third-and-20 from its own 13-yard line. That’s when Lamson dodged the pass rush and found Dowler on the post near midfield. The senior broke away from two tacklers, then cut back at the 20 to complete the long TD.
“If that’s not the best play in the history of our program, I don’t know,” Vigen said. “It certainly was the biggest play today. The guys just kept going after that.”
The Grizzlies, who lost receiver Brooks Davis and tight end Evan Schafer on their second drive, then corner Kyon Loud (injury) and safety Micah Harper (targeting penalty) later on, were done.
On the other side the Bobcats lost safety Caden Dowler to an arm injury on his second series. His status for Nashville is in doubt.
The Bobcats improved the 3-0 in semifinal games under Vigen and 4-0 all-time. They’ve won 8 of 11 from the Grizzlies and will likely be favored in Tennessee.
“The fact we have three of these now is a pretty sweet deal,” Vigen said. “And again, we’re not done.”
Montana State running back Adam Jones (23) scores a touchdown on a 54-yard run in the second quarter against Montana in the semifinal round of the FCS playoffs at Bobcat Stadium on Saturday, Dec. 20. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)Casey Kreider
Grizzlies running back Eli Gillman (10) scores a touchdown on a 17-yard run in the second quarter against Montana State in the semifinals of the FCS playoffs at Bobcat Stadium on Saturday, Dec. 20. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)Casey Kreider
Bobcats tight end Rocky Lencioni (89) scores a touchdown on a 2-yard reception in the third quarter of the semifinal round of the FCS playoffs at Bobcat Stadium on Saturday, Dec. 20. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)Casey Kreider
Grizzlies running back Malae Fonoti (7) fights for extra yardage against Montana State defensive back Colter Petre (24) on a reception in the second quarter in the semifinal round of the FCS playoffs at Bobcat Stadium on Saturday, Dec. 20. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)Casey Kreider
Bobcat fans celebrate on the field after Montana State's 48-23 win over Montana in the semifinal round of the FCS playoffs at Bobcat Stadium on Saturday, Dec. 20. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)Casey Kreider
Montana State running back Adam Jones (23) scores a touchdown on a 7-yard run in the first quarter against Montana in the semifinal round of the FCS playoffs at Bobcat Stadium on Saturday, Dec. 20. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)Casey Kreider
Montana State Justin Lamson (8) throws in the first quarter against Montana in the semifinal round of the FCS playoffs at Bobcat Stadium on Saturday, Dec. 20. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)Casey Kreider
Montana quarterback Keali'i Ah Yat (8) scores a touchdown on a 5-yard run in the second quarter against Montana State in the semifinal round of the FCS playoffs at Bobcat Stadium on Saturday, Dec. 20. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)Casey Kreider
Bobcats wide receiver Taco Dowler (14) is tackled by Grizzlies cornerback Kenzel Lawler (8) on a run in the second half of the FCS playoffs semifinals at Bobcat Stadium on Saturday, Dec. 20. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)Casey Kreider
Grizzlies wide receiver Michael Wortham (6) escapes a tackle attempt by Bobcats defensive back Carson Williams (8) on a reception in the second half of the semifinal round of the FCS playoffs at Bobcat Stadium on Saturday, Dec. 20. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)Casey Kreider
Montana State fans cheer on the Bobcats as they face Montana in the semifinal round of the FCS playoffs at Bobcat Stadium on Saturday, Dec. 20. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)Casey Kreider
Montana tight end Jake Olson (87) celebrates after a 1-yard touchdown reception in the third quarter against Montana State in the semifinal round of the FCS playoffs at Bobcat Stadium on Saturday, Dec. 20. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)Casey Kreider
Montana State quarterback Justin Lamson (8) picks up yardage on a run in the second half against Montana in the semifinal round of the FCS playoffs at Bobcat Stadium on Saturday, Dec. 20. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)Casey Kreider
ARTICLES BY FRITZ NEIGHBOR
Back-to-back Cats
BOZEMAN — Montana State made history Saturday, winning the Super Brawl with a superb finish that pushed the Bobcats into another FCS title game.
Dowler twins flip starring roles again
BOZEMAN — For three years the casual Big Sky Conference football fan knew about Taco Dowler, the Billings West star turned Montana State speedster.
Super Brawl Capsule
MSU is 3-0 at home in the semifinals and hasn’t lost at home to a Big Sky opponent in Brent Vigen’s tenure (22-0)