FCS Playoffs: Griz Fall to Weber State, Cats Soar to Semi-Finals

In the quarterfinals of the FCS Playoffs, both Treasure State teams were in action, however only one came home victorious. Friday night, the Montana State Bobcats defeated the Austin Peay Governors 24-10 at Bobcat Stadium to advance in the 2019 FCS Playoffs. The Grizzlies, however, were less fortunate as they were taken down 17-10 on the road at Weber State. Montana State Bobcats 24, Austin Peay Governors 10: At a packed Bobcat Stadium in Bozeman, the Bobcats started out the game with a statement: Isaiah Ifanse rumbling down the field for a 60-yard opening drive touchdown. After that, though, the first half was filled with penalties and stalled drives from both teams. Tristan Bailey would add 3 more points after knocking down a 45-yard field goal near the end of the first quarter. Austin Peay tacked on their first and only points of the first half thanks to their kicker Log Birchfield who put it through from 38 yards away. The second half was a different story as the Cats scored twice in the third period of play, once from a Tucker Rovig 5-yard pass in the corner of the end zone to Kevin Kassis and then again as Ifanse lofted a 2-yard halfback pass to lineman Jason Scrempos to make it a 24-3 ballgame. The Governors would score a touchdown early in the fourth quarter thanks to a 76-yard bomb from QB JaVaughn Craig to DeAngelo Wilson. Throughout the game, though, Montana State dominated the line of scrimmage, rushing for 279 yards offensively, while holding Austin Peay to exactly zero yards defensively. Along with four sacks, the MSU defense forced two fumbles and two interceptions from Craig to go along with 10.0 tackles for loss. The game’s climactic moment came late in the fourth quarter when Bobcat lineman Derek Marks forced a Craig fumble that was later recovered and returned inside the 10-yard line by fellow defensive end Bryce Sterk. With the quarterfinal win under their belt, the Bobcats return to the FCS semi-finals for the first time since 1984 when they won their first and only D-I football championship. Montana State will await their next opponent as North Dakota State and Illinois State will play on Saturday to decide who will play the Cats next Saturday afternoon. Weber State Wildcats 17, Montana Grizzlies 10: They say that it’s impossible to beat the same team twice and Friday night’s clash between Big Sky foes Weber State and Montana proved the proverb true. Despite taking down the Wildcats in a convincing 35-16 win at home in a game that featured 394 yards of total Montana offense, the Grizzles could only muster one offensive touchdown and just 274 yards on 75 plays against Weber State’s defense. At a very wet and cold Stewart Stadium in Ogden, Utah, the game started out as a defensive slug fest through a majority of the first half with the Grizzlies finally striking first via a Colin Bingham 1-yard touchdown catch from QB Dalton Sneed halfway through the second quarter. Weber State would respond by scoring 17 unanswered points: a 41-yard Trey Tuttle field goal in the second quarter, a Josh Davis 11-yard touchdown catch in the third quarter and then a timely punt block touchdown from Ja’Kobe Harris in the fourth. Montana would drive late in the fourth and allow Brandon Purdy to kick a 27-yard field goal to make it a 17-10 game. But after forcing a three-and-out from Weber, Dalton Sneed threw his fifth interception of the night, sealing a win for Weber State and sending the Grizzlies home early. While Sneed and his five turnovers did not help Montana offensively, the Grizzlies allowed six sacks and only rushed for 17 yards on 27 carries (0.6 yards per carry). The Maroon and Silver’s defense though stepped up to the plate on Friday night, holding Weber State to just 113 total yards on 53 plays (1.9 yards per play) and forcing nine punts. Montana finishes the year at 10-4, while 11-3 Weber State will battle #2 seed James Madison in the semi-finals next Saturday.