Jeremy Calhoun ran for 124 yards and two touchdowns, Justin Strong had three interceptions and a touchdown and Montana defeated Portland State 45-33 on Saturday at Hillsboro Stadium.
Calhoun scored on the opening drive, after a Strong interception on the first play of the game, and late in the second quarter, both on 2-yard runs, and the Grizzlies (3-2, 1-1 Big Sky Conference) led 27-14 at the half.
Gresch Jensen threw for 284 yards, including a 60-yard catch-and-run TD by Keenan Curran in the third quarter.
The Vikings (0-4, 0-1) closed within 37-27 on an 87-yard kickoff return by Kahlil Dawson after a Montana field goal, which was set up by Strong’s second interception, in the first minute of the fourth quarter. Strong iced the game with a 64-yard interception return with 3:15 to play. Strong had 116 return yards on his three picks.
Josh Kraght, who ran for 132 yards and a touchdown, hit Trent Riley for a late 25-yard touchdown but Connor Strahm picked off the conversion attempt and went 98 yards for the final two Montana points. Kraght passed for 249 yards.
The game was moved from the Vikings’ home field at Providence Park because of a conflict with a women’s pro soccer game.
AT EASTERN WASHINGTON 52, SACRAMENTO STATE 31 — Gage Gubrud threw two touchdown passes and had a third receiving, all in the first quarter, and Eastern Washington went on to defeat Sacramento State at Roos Field.
Gubrud finished with 447 yards, a week after throwing for a school record 549, on 35-of-50 passing and five touchdowns, each to different receivers. Antoine Custer had five catches for 115 yards and ran for another 81 yards, scoring a touchdown rushing and receiving.
Gubrud hit Talolo Limu-Jones from 6 yards to open the scoring and Custer turned a screen pass into a 33-yard touchdown. In between, Gubrud took a pass back from Sam McPherson and went 43 yards to score. The Eagles (3-2, 2-0 Big Sky) had 263 yards in the first quarter and finished with 637.
Sacramento State (2-3, 1-1) scored the next 17 points but EWU went 76 yards in a minute, capped by Gubrud’s third TD pass, a 4-yarder to Zach Eagle that made it 28-17 at the half.
Kevin Thompson threw for 253 yards and Jaelin Ratliff had seven catches for 142 yards for the Hornets. Thompson ran for 121 yards and three touchdowns on 15 carries.
