Sacramento State 21, Montana 52

1234T
CSUS (3-7)077721
MONT (8-2)281014052

Final

2:05 PM ET, November 13, 2004
Washington-Grizzly Stadium
MISSOULA, MT

Montana 52, Sacramento State 21

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Team Stat Comparison
 
1st Downs1633
Total Yards319565
Passing128421
Rushing191144
Penalties10-1029-101
3rd Down Conversions4-147-12
4th Down Conversions1-21-2
Turnovers51
Possession27:5632:04
Individual Leaders
Sacramento State Passing
 C/ATTYDSTDINT
Leadingh...12/2612823
Brown0/1001
Montana Passing
 C/ATTYDSTDINT
Ochs26/3130030
Disney3/59100
Sacramento State Rushing
 CARYDSTDLG
Mole23176135
Leadingham919025
Montana Rushing
 CARYDSTDLG
Green1666315
Waller948010
Green143306
Sacramento State Receiving
 RECYDSTDLG
Amey8106123
Mole2504
Fleurinord110010
Perry1717
Montana Receiving
 RECYDSTDLG
Hancock758016
Talmage585338
Heidelbe...567022
Segars427012
Scoring Summary
FIRST QUARTERCSUSMONT
TD12:25JUSTIN GREEN 1 YD RUN (DAN CARPENTER KICK)
Drive info: 7 plays, 43 yards.
07
TD9:44JUSTIN GREEN 2 YD RUN (DAN CARPENTER KICK)
Drive info: 6 plays, 51 yards.
014
TD7:27CRAIG OCHS 30 YD PASS FROM JEFFERSON HEIDELBERGER (DAN CARPENTER KICK)
Drive info: 1 plays, 30 yards.
021
TD1:49JUSTIN GREEN 1 YD RUN (DAN CARPENTER KICK)
Drive info: 10 plays, 55 yards.
028
SECOND QUARTERCSUSMONT
TD12:15RYAN MOLE 2 YD RUN (MITCH LIVELY KICK)
Drive info: 11 plays, 84 yards.
728
TD11:54JON TALMAGE 19 YD PASS FROM CRAIG OCHS (DAN CARPENTER KICK)
Drive info: 2 plays, 49 yards.
735
FG6:24DAN CARPENTER 36 YD FG
Drive info: 9 plays, 55 yards.
738
THIRD QUARTERCSUSMONT
TD9:45JON TALMAGE 13 YD PASS FROM CRAIG OCHS (PAUL CAHILL KICK)
Drive info: 10 plays, 73 yards.
745
TD6:38JON TALMAGE 38 YD PASS FROM CRAIG OCHS (PAUL CAHILL KICK)
Drive info: 4 plays, 53 yards.
752
TD5:27PHILLIP PERRY 7 YD PASS FROM RYAN LEADINGHAM (MITCH LIVELY KICK)
Drive info: 4 plays, 84 yards.
1452
FOURTH QUARTERCSUSMONT
TD9:18FRED AMEY 11 YD PASS FROM RYAN LEADINGHAM (MITCH LIVELY KICK)
Drive info: 7 plays, 65 yards.
2152

MISSOULA, Mont. (AP) -- For the second consecutive weekend, the Montana football team jumped out to an early lead, but this time they did a better job of holding off a rally in a 52-21 victory over Sacramento State.

Justin Green rushed for three first-quarter touchdowns and Jon Talmage caught three scoring passes for the Grizzlies (8-2, 5-1 Big Sky), ranked ninth in NCAA Division I-AA.

UM coach Bobby Hauck said most people associated with the I-AA playoffs believed that beating Sacramento State would put the Grizzlies back into the playoffs for the 12th consecutive season.

If Montana beats Montana State next weekend, they share the league title with the Eagles and earn the Big Sky's automatic playoff berth because the Grizzlies beat Eastern Washington. If Montana State wins, Eastern Washington will win the league crown.

Craig Ochs completed 26 of 31 passes for 300 yards and three touchdowns.

"Ochs made throws I think I could have caught at 45 years old," said Sac State coach Steve Mooshagian. "Give Craig credit, he threaded the needle. Those were NFL throws. A quarterback who can make those kind of throws can play at the next level, because those are the kind of throws you have to make on third downs ... 26 of 31 -- that's accuracy man."

But Ochs wasn't limited to throwing the football.

On Montana's third possession, Ochs lateralled to Jefferson Heidelberger, who passed back to his quarterback on a 30-yard scoring play.

"Coach Hauck pressures us to play our best ball in November," Ochs said. "From the Portland State game (a 35-32 loss) to this week, we've really taken some steps forward. I'm as healthy as I've been since I've been in the state of Montana," the Colorado transfer said.

Matt Lebsock intercepted Ryan Leadingham on Sacramento State's first play from scrimmage following a 1-yard TD run by Green.

"You can't start out with turnovers and penalties and get behind 28-0 to a team like that," Mooshagian said. "In the second, third and fourth quarters we were competitive, but the damage was done. They took advantage of every one of our miscues."

Montana scored on its first six possessions, before missing a field goal just before halftime. The Grizzlies then scored on their first two possessions of the second half in beating Sac State (3-7, 2-5) for a 10th straight year.

Ochs's third TD to Talmage was a 38-yard pass with 6:38 left in the third quarter that gave the Grizzlies a 52-7 lead.

"We talked at halftime about coming out and putting points up and finishing them off, and we did," Hauck said. "We thought at that point the game was out of reach. We played darn near every guy who suited up."

Leadingham passed for 128 yards and two touchdowns for Sac State, but was intercepted three times and sacked four times. Leadingham had a 7-yard TD pass to Phillip Perry with 5:27 left in the third and an 11-yard TD pass to Fred Amey with 9:18 remaining.

Ryan Mole rushed for 176 yards and a 2-yard TD run early in the second quarter that pulled the Hornets within 28-7.

Amey caught eight passes for 108 yards and set a Big Sky record with 3,906 receiving yards in his career. The old mark was 3,847 set by Kasey Dunn of Idaho from 1988-91.

"Records are nice to look at," Amey said. "But right now records don't mean much. I'm more concerned with us not winning games."

Montana's Dan Carpenter kicked a 36-yard field goal in the second quarter and five extra points.

Green rushed for 66 yards, Talmage caught five passes for 85 yards and Montana forced five Hornet turnovers. Torrey Thomas, Shane MacIntyre and Tuff Harris also had interceptions for the Grizzlies.

College Football Scores

Other Scores:

Saturday, November 13th
Eastern Washington 51 Final
Montana State 44 OT
Sacramento State 21 Final
Montana 52
Portland State 34 Final
Weber State 15
Northern Arizona 17 Final
Idaho State 24