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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Vikings upset 4th-ranked Grizzlies

Associated Press

Joe Wiser passed for two touchdowns and ran for another to lead Portland State to a 35-32 upset win over Montana on Saturday in Portland.

Ryan Fuqua added a late touchdown to give the Vikings (4-4, 2-3 Big Sky) a needed insurance score with 4 minutes, 23 seconds left.

Trailing 35-24, the Grizzlies needed two minutes to close to within a field goal. Quarterback Craig Ochs capped a scoring drive with a 6-yard run and connected with Jon Talmage for the two-point conversion.

But the Vikings picked up two first downs and ran out the clock.

Montana (6-2, 3-1) entered the game ranked No. 4 in Division I-AA, but it didn’t look like a top team in the early going. The Grizzlies fumbled twice and punter Tyson Johnson booted two balls for a combined eight yards.

Despite the breaks, Portland State could only manage a 21-14 halftime lead.

The Grizzlies marched into Vikings territory on their first possession of the second half, but they had to settle for Dan Carpenter’s 42-yard field goal.

Wiser’s 17-yard naked bootleg made it 28-17, but the Grizzlies answered with a 10-yard touchdown pass from Ochs to Talmage.

Ochs threw for 280 yards and two touchdowns. He was intercepted once.

Joe Rubin led the Vikings with 76 yards rushing and Fuqua added 73 yards on 12 carries. Wiser was 17 for 26 for 195 yards.

Weber St. 26, Idaho State 14

At Pocatello, Idaho, Ian Pizarro threw for one touchdown and ran for another to lead the Wildcats (1-8, 1-5) past the Bengals (2-6, 1-4).

The Wildcats have won 16 of the last 18 meetings with their border rival.

Idaho State trailed almost the entire game. Pizarro started the scoring with a 25-yard pass to Chris McConnell and Nick Chournos added a 5-yard touchdown run with 6:43 remaining in the first quarter.

Mark Hetherington got Idaho State within 20-14 with a 12-yard pass to Sale’ Key with 13:53 remaining in the game, but that was all the scoring for the Bengals.

Pizarro got outside the Idaho State rush and broke down the sideline for 51 yards to the Bengals’ 4-yard line. Two plays later he scored on a 2-yard run to seal the win.

Chournos ran for 94 yards and Joe Johnson kicked field goals of 39 and 34 yards for the Wildcats.

Montana St. 60, N. Arizona 14

Travis Lulay completed 21 of 32 passes for 366 yards and three touchdowns, leading the Bobcats (6-2, 4-0) to a rout of the Lumberjacks (4-4, 3-2) in Flagstaff, Ariz.

Justin Domineck had 90 yards and two scores in 24 carries for the Bobcats, who registered their eighth consecutive conference win dating to a 21-17 win over Northern Arizona a year ago. Montana State is the only team with a perfect Big Sky record.

The Bobcats had to rally for two TDs in the final 2:19 to win last year’s game with Northern Arizona, but they took the suspense out of this one quickly, racing to a 53-0 halftime lead.

Montana State registered its only points of the second half on Jimmy Beal’s 9-yard run with 4:52 to play.

The Bobcats scored on all eight of their possessions in the first half.