Big Sky roundup: Logan Jones’ late touchdown run lifts Montana State over Montana 29-25

Senior running back Logan Jones’ 13-yard touchdown run with 2 minutes, 19 seconds left pushed Montana State into the lead, and a goal-line stand with less than 10 seconds left sealed the Bobcats’ 29-25 victory against Montana in the 118th “Brawl of the Wild” game Saturday in Missoula.

Jones’ touchdown came a few moments after Montana State forced a fumble by Grizzlies quarterback Dalton Sneed and MSU’s Grant Collins recovered.

The Grizzlies, who’d squandered a 22-7 halftime lead, then drove to the MSU 1-yard line only to see the Bobcats’ Tucker Yates force a fumble by the Montana’s Adam Eastwood. The Bobcats’ Derek Marks recovered, clinching the outcome.

It was the third straight loss in the intrastate rivalry for the Grizzlies, who were holding slim hopes of their first playoff berth since 2015. Montana State will learn Sunday if it has earned a berth in the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs.

Sneed, a junior, threw for 354 yards and two touchdowns, including a 37-yard strike to Samuel Akem that made it 22-0 in favor of Montana at 8:15 of the second quarter.

Montana State rallied behind sophomore quarterback Troy Andersen, who ran for 107 yards and three touchdowns. He capped a 72-yard drive to close the first half with a 3-yard scoring run and added two 1-yard touchdown runs in the fourth quarter.

The second score in the final quarter came just after Montana’s Tim Semenza hit a 34-yard field goal for a 25-15 Montana lead.

The Grizzlies scored on the first drive of the game, with Sneed flipping a 1-yard fly sweep pass to Gabe Sulser for the TD. The lead grew to 14-0 when Eastwood’s 1-yard run capped a 58-yard drive with 13:30 left in the first half.

Keenan Curran had eight catches for 111 yards for the Grizzlies and Akem had six receptions for 147 yards.

Weber State 26, Idaho State 13: Josh Davis rushed for 128 yards and a touchdown as the Wildcats topped the host Bengals in Pocatello to claim a share of the Big Sky title and the conference’s automatic berth to the FCS playoffs.

Weber State built a 16-0 halftime lead on a 21-yard field goal by Trey Tuttle, Davis’ 2-yard run and Rathen Ricedorff’s 4-yard score. The Bengals cut it to 16-6 on Tanner Gueller’s 48-yard pass to his brother Tanner, who finished with 124 yards receiving, but Rashid Shaheed took the ensuing kickoff 79 yards for a score.

Gueller added a 28-yard pass to Ty Flanagan to make it 23-13 before Keilan Benjamin’s interception stopped an Idaho State drive that had reached the Wildcats’ 2-yard line late in the third quarter. Davis went over 100 yards rushing for the seventh time this season.

UC Davis 56, Sacramento State 13: Jake Maier threw for 478 yards and four touchdowns as the Aggies claimed a share of their first Big Sky title with a victory over the Hornets in a game moved to Reno, Nevada, because of poor air quality caused by California wildfires.

Maier completed 37 of 46 passes with Keelan Doss making a career-high 16 catches for 205 yards.

Maier’s 478 yards rank third all time at UC Davis for a single game. Doss recorded his third career 200-yard game. The team’s 691 yards of total offense were six short of the school record set against Mesa State in 2000.

Ulonzo Gilliam rushed for 138 yards and Jared Harrell had 120 yards receiving and a 77-yard score for UC Davis in the first half, which ended with the Aggies leading 35-10.

Northern Arizona 31, North Dakota 16: Maurice Davison returned an interception 51 yards for a touchdown late in the third quarter and the Lumberjacks turned back the visiting Fighting Hawks in Flagstaff, Arizona.

Cal Poly 38, Southern Utah 24: Khaleel Jenkins passed for five touchdowns and Joe Protheroe set the Cal Poly career rushing record as the host Mustangs closed the season with a win over the Thunderbirds in San Luis Obispo, California.