Montana holds off Idaho State 28-20

Updated Oct. 1, 2022 6:59 p.m. ET

Associated Press

POCATELLO, Idaho (AP) — Lucas Johnson threw for a touchdown and ran for another and Montana added a touchdown off a trick play to turn back Idaho State 28-20 on Saturday, the Grizzlies 14-straight win in the series.

Leading 21-6 in the third quarter, Lucas threw a backwards pass to receiver Mitch Roberts who threw the ball into the end zone where a well-covered Cole Grossman came down with the ball for a 28-yard touchdown.

Montana, ranked second in the FCS coaches poll, got the room it needed for its highly ranked defense with a pair of scores just before halftime.

An interception by Charles Ike, who led the way with 12 tackles, set the Grizzlies (5-0, 2-0 Big Sky Conference) up at the ISU 30. Four plays later Marcus Knight bulled in from the 2 for a 14-6 lead 2:52 before halftime.

After a quick three-and-out, Montana went 86 yards in 10 plays with Johnson finding a wide-open Keelan White for a 24-yard score.

The Griz defense, allowing just 214 yards and 9 points a game, allowed the Bengals (0-5, 0-2) to score twice in the fourth quarter with 185 yards as Montana's offense stalled out.

Sagan Gronauer hit Christian Fredrickson for a 26-yard with five minutes to go and score on a 1-yard sneak with less than a minute to play.

Knight ran for 109 yards for Montana. Gronauer was 23 of 44 for 260 yards passing for Idaho State.

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