Big Sky roundup: Josh Davis runs Weber State over Southern Utah 31-18

Josh Davis ran for 225 yards and two touchdowns and Weber State kept pace in the Big Sky Conference race with a 31-18 victory over Southern Utah on Saturday night in Cedar City, Utah.

Weber State is tied with UC Davis and Eastern Washington atop the conference standings. The Wildcats didn’t play UC Davis and beat Eastern Washington 14-6 on Oct. 13. Weber State concludes its regular season next Saturday at Idaho State.

Davis, a freshman from Sandy, Utah, broke loose for a 44-yard touchdown run early in the second quarter and bullied in from the 2 midway through the third that stretched the Wildcats’ lead to 28-12.

Austin Ewing tossed a 1-yard TD pass to Landen Measom to pull Southern Utah to 28-18 late in the third quarter. The Thunderbirds crossed into Wildcats territory on their last three drives but each time turned the ball over on downs. Jay Green Jr. had 68 yards rushing and an 8-yard touchdown run in the first quarter for Southern Utah.

Montana State 35, Northern Colorado 7: Troy Andersen ran for 104 yards and three touchdowns and threw for another score to lead the Bobcats past the Bears in Bozeman.

The Bobcats scored five unanswered touchdowns to offset a good start by the Bears. Montana State forced three first-half turnovers to take control of the game.

Northern Colorado opened the game with a 77-yard drive aided by two penalties against MSU. The Bobcats were called for a defensive delay of game to give UNC one first down, then were hit with an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. Dontay Warren finished off the drive with an 8-yard run.

The Bobcats responded with three straight touchdowns before the half closed out. Andersen scored on a fourth-down run from the 3-yard line and then found running back Logan Jones for an 18-yard touchdown. Andersen tacked on a 4-yard TD run with 1:43 to play in the first half.

North Dakota 17, Portland State 10: Lenny Nelson IV picked off a tipped Davis Alexander pass and returned it 58 yards for what proved to be the winning touchdown early in the fourth quarter of the Fighting Hawks’ comeback victory over the Vikings in Grand Forks, North Dakota.

Facing an unrelenting pass rush from the Fighting Hawks, Alexander got Portland State in field goal range with 4:42 left in the first half and Cody Williams converted from 25-yards out. Alexander then stretched to break the plane of the goal on a 4-yard run with 3:49 left in the third quarter to put Portland State up 10-7.

Alexander had the Vikings in North Dakota territory and was looking to complete a short pass when the ball was tipped at the line and Nelson scooped it out of the air and ran, untouched, for the score.

Alexander was 13-of-29 passing for 139 yards and carried 21 times for 70 yards. Nate Ketteringham got North Dakota on the board in the first quarter, sneaking in from a yard out to cap an eight-play, 50-yard drive. He finished 8 of 16 for 100 yards passing.

Cal Poly 37, Idaho State 14: Joe Protheroe had 41 carries for a career-best 260 yards and a score and the Cal Poly defense forced four turnovers to help the Mustangs beat the Bengals in San Luis Obispo, California.

Protheroe has a single-season school record 1,627 yards rushing this season, breaking James Noble’s mark of 1,578, and moved into second on program’s career list with 4,088 yards, 117 shy of Craig Young’s record. Protheroe also set a school record with eight consecutive games with at least 100 yards rushing.

Protheroe capped an eight-play, 80-yard drive with a 1-yard scoring run that gave Cal Poly the lead for good just before halftime. Then, on the opening possession of the second half, he had run of 3, 5 and 4 that all converted third downs before Khaleel Jenkins hit J.J. Koski for a 36-yard touchdown that made it 20-7.

Northern Arizona at Sacramento State, ppd.: Sacramento State’s home game against Northern Arizona was postponed because of poor air quality from area wildfires.

A rescheduled date and possible venue change has not been determined. Northern Arizona hosts North Dakota next Saturday while Sacramento State travels to UC Davis.