Griz steamroll into quarterfinals

Northwestern State came into the I-AA playoffs with the best rushing defense in the nation.

The Purple Swarm were allowing just 78 yards per game, but Lex Hilliard had more than that by halftime, en route to 171 yards rushing and four touchdowns in Montana’s 56-7 victory over the Demons on Saturday in Missoula.

“They’re the No. 1 rushing defense in the nation, and I didn’t picture us running the ball that good against them,” said Hilliard, whose four TDs tied a school record.

“I didn’t anticipate we’d play that poorly on both sides of the football,” said Northwestern State coach Scott Stoker, whose team has lost playoff games at Montana in three of the past four years.

Craig Ochs completed 19 of 30 passes for 234 yards and three more touchdowns as No. 7 Montana (10-2) advanced to the quarterfinals against New Hampshire (10-2), a 27-21 victor over Georgia Southern.

Montana dominated the first half, allowing Northwestern State just two first downs and 29 yards in total offense and never allowing the No. 15 Demons (8-4) to cross midfield. The Demons had a negative nine yards in offense in the second quarter.

“I think we just came out with a lot of emotion,” Montana defensive tackle Alan Saenz said. “We were having so much fun. We went three-and-out, three-and-out. The whole team was just gelling. It was so loud in the stadium.”

Hilliard rushed for 111 yards and touchdowns of 24 and 61 yards in the first half.

Both scoring runs came after it looked like he was caught up around the line of scrimmage, before breaking free and running untouched into the end zone.

“I just had to be patient,” Hilliard said, “let the O-line do their job. That’s something I have a problem with sometimes is being patient. I just want to go, go, go, go. I listened to my coach today.”

Levander Segars caught touchdown passes of 11 and 9 yards to give Montana a 28-0 halftime lead.

“Offensively, we really wanted to get a lead in the game,” and force Northwestern State to throw the ball, Ochs said.

Hilliard scored two more TDs early in the third quarter, on runs of 30 and 2 yards to put Montana up 42-0. He rushed for a 28-yard gain before the 2-yard score with 11:18 remaining.

“We missed a lot of tackles, everything just progressed from there,” Northwestern linebacker Paul Mefford said. “We missed assignments.”

Northwestern State scored on its next drive on a 10-yard pass from Davon Vinson to Clayton Broyles with 8:24 left in the third. It was the first time the Demons crossed into Montana territory.

The Grizzlies answered two plays later with a 51-yard pass from Ochs to Tate Hancock to make it 49-7.

Vinson, who passed for 102 yards, was intercepted on the next two drives by Jimmy Wilson and Kevin Edwards. Edwards’ pick led to Montana’s final score, a 51-yard TD run by JR Waller with 48 seconds left the third.

“I just never really anticipated us playing this poorly,” Stoker said. “It was a very good football team that made us play poorly, obviously. I didn’t think they were that much better than us.”

The 56 points are the most allowed by Northwestern State since it became a I-AA school in 1977. Montana had 543 yards in total offense against the Demons, which also led I-AA in total defense, allowing its opponents just 250 yards per game this season.

Northwestern also struggled with penalties, losing 122 yards on 13 penalties.

Sam Houston State wins

Former Texas A&M quarterback Dustin Long threw for 323 yards and four touchdowns, leading Sam Houston State to a 54-24 win over Western Kentucky (9-3) in an NCAA Division I-AA first round playoff game in Huntsville, Texas.

Robert Garmon added three touchdowns from short range for the Southland Conference Co-Champion Bearkats (10-2).

Sam Houston advances to the quarterfinals to play Eastern Washington (9-3), a 35-31 winner over Southern Illinois.

Elsewhere

Furman 49, Jacksonville State 7: Ingle Martin threw four touchdowns to lead the Paladins (10-2) past the Gamecocks (9-2) in Greenville, S.C. … James Madison 14, Lehigh 13: Raymond Hines rushed for 193 yards and a 1-yard touchdown as the Dukes (10-2) edged the Engineers (9-3) in Bethlehem, Pa. James Madison takes on Furman in the quarterfinals… William & Mary 42, Hampton 35: Dominique Thompson caught two touchdown passes and returned a kickoff 92 yards in the fourth quarter as the Dukes (10-2) held off the Pirates (10-2) in Williamsburg, Va. … Delaware 28, Lafayette 14: Sonny Riccio ran for two touchdowns and passed for 148 yards to lead the Blue Hens (9-3) past the Leopards (8-4) in Newark, Del. Delaware faces William & Mary in the quarterfinals.