Griz Go To Wire, Lose To Mcneese

I-AA playoffs

McNeese State was playing for a field goal, but got a game-winning touchdown instead.

Blake Prejean threw a 32-yard touchdown pass to Donnie Ashley with 27 seconds remaining to rally McNeese to a 19-14 victory Saturday night over Montana in the first round of the NCAA Division I-AA playoffs at Lake Charles, La.

The victory sends McNeese (12-1) to Western Illinois (11-1) for the second round. Western Illinois eliminated Jackson State 31-24 earlier Saturday.

The loss ended Montana’s season at 8-4.

“I don’t know how to explain this one,” said McNeese coach Bobby Keasler. “It’s definitely one of the most exciting wins in my 28 years of coaching. We beat one of the best I-AA teams in the nation.

Saturday night’s game was a virtual replay of a 1994 I-AA playoff game in which Montana beat McNeese 30-28 in the closing moments.

Montana had seized a 14-13 lead after marching 73 yards in just four plays, capping the drive with a 33-yard touchdown pass from Brian Ah Yat to Justin Olsen. It was the only time the Grizzlies would lead all evening.

“We did everything we had to do to win the game,” said Montana coach Mick Dennehy. “They fought valiantly, but they fell a little short.”

After the kickoff, McNeese took possession on its own 20 and used just six plays to get to the Montana 32, where Prejean threw to Ashley for the game-winning touchdown.

“The two-minute offense is what we work on every week. We were playing for a field goal,” Keasler said.

McNeese built a 10-0 lead on a 43-yard field goal by Shonz LaFrenz midway through the first period and on a 1-yard touchdown run by William Davis to cap an 80-yard drive midway through the second quarter.

The Grizzlies drove 99 yards, capped by a 17-yard pass from Ah Yat to Jeremy Watkins to pull within 10-7 with 3:55 left in the first half.

Ah Yat provided Montana’s offensive punch, completing 34 of 47 passes for 310 yards while being intercepted twice.

Montana 0 7 0 7 - 14

McNeese St. 3 7 3 6 - 19

MSU-FG LaFrenz 43, 9:13 MSU-Davis 1 run (LaFrenz kick), 9:42 UM-Watkins 17 pass from Ah Yat (Heppner kick), 3:55 MSU-FG LaFrenz 29, 8:06 UM-Olsen 33 pass from Ah Yat (Heppner kick), 1:30 MSU-Ashley 32 pass from Prejean (kick failed), 0:27 A-13,681 Mon McN First downs 17 19 Rushes-yards 13-(-18) 36-74 Passing 310 200 Comp-Att-Int 34-47-2 18-32-3 Return Yards 6 24 Punts-Avg. 8-34.1 4-40.5 Fumbles-Lost 1-0 1-0 Penalties-Yards 15-170 10-85 Time of Possession 28:44 31:16 RUSHING-Montana, Gales 4-10, Sanders 5-6, Ah Yat 4-(minus 34). McNeese St., Davis 22-51, Ashley 3-14, Bynum 3-10, Prejean 8-(minus 1).

PASSING-Montana, Ah Yat 34-47-2 310. McNeese St., Prejean 18-32-3 200.

RECEIVING-Montana, Walker 9-58, Pacheco 6-110, Olsen 5-65, Watkins 5-44, Paffhausen 5-28, Sandes 2-(minus 1), Farris 1-7, Gales 1-(minus 1). McNeese St., Morris 6-64, Ashley 5-45, Perkins 4-80, Davis 2-6, Fontenot 1-5.

Villanova 49, Colgate 28

Chris Boden scored a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns and threw two others to lead the Wildcats (12-0) over the Red Raiders (7-5) at Villanova, Pa.

Villanova’s Bryan Westbrook ran for 104 yards and scored three touchdowns. He scored on a 4-yard run in a 22-point fourth quarter as Villanova overcame a 28-27 deficit at the end of the third quarter.

Villanova, ranked No. 1 in Division I-AA, will host Youngstown State in a quarterfinal on Saturday.

W. Illinois 31, Jackson State 24

At Macomb, Ill., Aaron Stecker ran 15 yards for the winning touchdown with 37 seconds left as the Leathernecks (11-1) defeated the Tigers (9-3).

The Leathernecks, ranked second, trailed 24-14 after Jackson State’s Ronnie Webb caught a 6-yard scoring pass from Grailyn Pratt with 11:13 remaining.

Stecker had an 8-yard touchdown run with 9:24 left and Keith Jones tied the game with 2:18 remaining on a 26-yard field goal.

Stecker, a transfer from Wisconsin, finished with 244 yards on 37 carries as Western won a playoff game for the first time in four tries.

Jackson State is 0-12 in playoff games.

Delaware 24, Hofstra 14

At Newark, Del., Jamie Belle returned a blocked punt for a touchdown, and the Blue Hens scored another TD after the Flying Dutchmen’s punter mishandled a snap.

Hofstra (9-3) outgained Delaware (11-1) 361 yards to 225, but numerous problems in the kicking game hurt the Flying Dutchmen.

Delaware plays Georgia Southern in the next round.

Youngstown St. 28, Hampton 13

At Youngstown, Ohio, Demond Tidwell threw two touchdown passes as Youngstown State defeated Hampton.

The Penguins (10-2) scored the game’s first four touchdowns and took advantage of six turnovers by the Pirates (10-2).

Tidwell threw touchdown passes to Adrian Brown and Renauld Ray in the second quarter. Brown gave Youngstown a 21-0 lead with a 1-yard touchdown run late in the second quarter.

Tidwell was 12 of 18 for 123 yards.

Ga. Southern 52, Florida A&M 37

At Statesboro, Ga., sophomore quarterback Greg Hill ran for four touchdowns, including three in the first quarter, as the Eagles (10-2) built a 35-7 first-quarter lead, then outlasted the Rattlers (9-3).

Hill’s first score came on a 49-yard run 42 seconds into the game, and his third was followed by an end-zone fumble recovery by James Dickerson on the ensuing kickoff.

Florida A&M quarterback Oteman Sampson kept the Rattlers in the game by tying a I-AA playoff record with 539 yards, 469 passing and 70 rushing.

Sampson completed a personal-best 37 of 63 passes for four touchdowns, including a 29-yard scoring toss to Jacquay Nunnally, who caught 13 for 196 yards. Sampson pulled FAMU within eight points, 45-37, on a 1-yard keeper with 7:42 left, but GSU answered with a 26-yard TD run by Hill.