Football Roundup - Nov. 9
Third-ranked Eastern Washington took over sole possession of first place of the Big Sky football standings with an impressive 54-29 win over No. 4 Montana State to highlight Saturday’s action.
Sophomore quarterback Vernon Adams completed 16-of-18 passes for 300 yards and four touchdowns, and also rushed for 76 yards and a score as the Eagles moved to 6-0 in conference and 8-2 overall.
Both teams entered the game 5-0 in conference, and it was the first top-five matchups between Big Sky teams since 1994. Montana State dropped to 5-1, 7-3.
In other conference games, Southern Utah moved to 7-3 overall with a 27-21 road win over Weber State. North Dakota rallied for a 24-21 win over Northern Colorado. Portland State won its third straight games, downing Idaho State 38-31. Cal Poly improved to 4-2 in league with a 42-7 win over Sacramento State.
Montana hiked its record to 8-2 with a 31-27 come-from-behind non-conference road win over South Dakota.
Eastern Washington 54, Montana State 29: Eastern Washington won the 500
th game in program history.
EWU led 26-21 at the half, but broke the game open in the third quarter with a 16-yard Quincy Forte TD run, and a 68-yard TD reception by Shaquille Hill.
Adams and Hill hooked up for a 76-yard scoring strike in the fourth quarter to make the game 47-29. Hill caught four passes for a career-high 172 yards and three touchdowns. Forte had 123 yards on 15 carries, and also scored on a 25-yard run.
Adams now has 39 touchdown passes this season, a school single-season record. He is just three shy of the Big Sky single-season record.
MSU senior QB DeNarius McGhee completed 31-of-37 passes for 330 yards with a touchdown. Cody Kirk rushed for 100 yards and two touchdowns.
North Dakota 24, Northern Colorado 21: All-American Greg Hardin caught an 11-yard TD pass with 2:51 to play as North Dakota rallied from a 21-6 second-half deficit.
Bartles completed 31 of 47 passes for 344 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions. He connected with Kenny Golladay late in the third quarter to cut Northern Colorado’s lead to 21-16.
Jameer Jackson had 11 catches for 89 yards, while Hardin and Golladay each had 95 receiving yards.
Northern Colorado’s Seth Lobato completed 18-of-33 passes for 289 yards and two touchdowns. He also rushed for a touchdown.
Southern Utah 27, Weber State 21: Southern Utah amassed just 259 yards of total offense, but was able to grind out a win over the Wildcats.
Mike Sharp, starting his second career game at QB, rushed for 81 yards and a touchdown. Aaron Cantu came off the bench to throw for 117 yards and a score. Southern Utah fell behind 7-0 on a 31-yard touchdown pass from Austin Chipoletti to Cam Livingston, but the Thunderbirds responded with 24 straight points.
Colton Cook kicked field goals of 23 and 36 yards in the win. Zak Browning tallied 16 tackles to lead the Southern Utah defense, which forced a pair of turnovers.
Chipoletti threw for 263 yards and two touchdowns to Livingston.
Montana 31, South Dakota 27: Ellis Henderson returned a kick 98 yards for a touchdown with 1:236 to play as the Grizzlies rallied for a non-conference win over South Dakota.
Montana safety Matt Hermanson tied the game at 24-24 with 6:33 to play when he returned a fumble 35 yards for a touchdown. Buck Buchanan Award candidate Jordan Tripp forced the fumble.
South Dakota’s Miles Bergner gave the Coyotes a 27-24 lead with 1:48 to play on a 38-yard field goal. Ellis took the following kickoff 98 yards for he touchdown.
UM QB Jordan Johnson completed 17-of-33 passes for 337 yards with two touchdowns and three interceptions. Johnson entered the game with just one interception.
Henderson finished with four catches for 188 yards and two touchdowns. He caught a 71-yard touchdown in the second quarter to give UM a 17-14 lead.
Portland State 38, Idaho State 31: DJ Adams rushed for 201 yards and a pair of touchdowns as Portland State earned the win.
Portland State had 395 yards and five touchdowns on the ground. QB Collin Ramirez rushed for a career-high 117 yards and two touchdowns.
Justin Arias threw for 315 yards and four touchdowns for the Bengals. Luke Austin hauled in three TD catches.
Cal Poly 42, Sacramento State 7: Cal Poly rushed for 424 yards and also had four passing touchdowns in the win over Sacramento State.
Quarterback Chris Brown completed just six passes for 66 yards, but four of his completions were for scores. Cole Stanford had two TD catches. Kristaan Ivory rushed for 118 yards, and fullback
Akaninyene Umoh rushed for a career-high 129 yards and a touchdown.
Cal Poly's defense had another strong effort, holding the Hornets to just 258 total yards. The Mustangs intercepted two passes.