Woods' kick return score jump-starts Bobcats
Daily Inter Lake | Daily Inter-Lake | UPDATED 1 month AGO
BOZEMAN — Justin Lamson threw for two touchdowns and ran for another, and Jabez Woods had a 100-yard kickoff return as top-ranked Montana State drubbed Butler 51-24 in a non-league football game Saturday.
Lamson was 15 of 20 passing and had scoring passes of 28 yards to Dane Steel and 20 yards to Taco Dowler. The latter capped a run of 34 straight points that began when Woods, after Butler had hit a field goal, took the ensuing kickoff to the barn.
That broke a 3-3 tie with 11 seconds left in the first quarter, and the defending national champion Bobcats (2-0) of the Big Sky Conference were on their way.
Adam Jones and Lamson had 1-yard touchdown runs in the second quarter, and Steel’s TD came with 22 seconds left in the first half. That made it 30-3.
Dowler’s touchdown capped a four-play, 75-yard drive to open the third quarter.
The Pioneer League Bulldogs (1-1) got a pair of third-quarter touchdowns to close to 33-17, but MSU answered with two of its own: a 2-yard run by Jared White and a 35-yard scoring strike from Pat Duchien to Woods.
Duchien was 5 of 7 passing for 93 yards. Jones ran for 77 on 13 carries. Dowler had five catches for 97 yards.
Montana State’s defense held Butler to 83 yards rushing and 273 overall. Bulldog quarterback Gabe Passini was 14 of 19 passing for 140 yards, with one touchdown. Desmin Jackson and Jarrin Alley added 1-yard scoring runs for Butler.
The Bobcats are on the road to face Nevada and former coach Jeff Choate Saturday. Kickoff is 8:30 p.m. Mountain.