Montana
Cal Poly Upsets No. 1 Montana, 35-33
9/11/2010 12:00:00 AM | Football
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. – Sophomore quarterback Doug Shumway replaced starter Tony Smith in the third quarter and threw a pair of touchdown passes as Cal Poly upset No. 1 Montana 35-33 in a non-conference football game matching future Big Sky Conference rivals Saturday night before 8,027 in Alex G. Spanos Stadium.
Montana (1-1) rallied from a 35-20 deficit with a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns and got the ball back twice in the final three minutes of the game.
Junior defensive end Kyle Murphy (above) stopped the first Grizzly drive when he sacked quarterback Justin Roper for an eight-yard loss, forced him to fumble and recovered the ball at the Montana 35.
After a Cal Poly (2-0) punt, senior linebacker Marty Mohamed dashed Montana's final drive with his first career interception at the Montana 39 with four seconds left in the game.
Shumway completed each of his three pass attempts, including an 83-yard connection with junior slotback David Mahr for a touchdown with 1:44 to play in the third quarter, giving Cal Poly the lead for good at 21-20.
Shumway also hit senior wide receiver Dominique Johnson with a 25-yard scoring pass with 10:40 to play in the game for a 35-20 Mustang advantage.
Cal Poly amassed 162 rushing yards and held Montana to just 49 yards on the ground. The Grizzlies used two quarterbacks who combined for 416 yards and three touchdowns.
Montana finished with a 465-340 advantage in total offense. First downs were even at 19 apiece. The Grizzlies turned the ball over four times, including three interceptions. Cal Poly lost two fumbles.
Smith and Mahr each rushed for 40 yards to lead Cal Poly's ground game. Smith completed six of 12 passes for 50 yards before he was replaced by Shumway late in the third quarter. Shumway was 3-for-3 for 128 yards.
Mahr and Johnson each caught three passes for Cal Poly.
Montana's Chase Reynolds, who collected 1,502 yards in 15 games a year ago as Montana finished second in the nation for the second straight year, rushed for 32 yards on 10 carries Saturday night.
Starter Andrew Selle completed 13 of 23 passes for 187 yards and one score while Roper connected on 18 of 26 passes for 229 yards and two more scores. The pair of Griz signal callers were sacked a combined three times.
Jabin Sambrano and Sam Gratton each caught eight passes for Montana, both surpassing the century mark in receiving yards -- Sambrano 158 and Gratton 124.
Mohamed produced a career-high 15 tackles to lead Cal Poly defensively. Freshman linebacker Johnny Millard added 11 stops, including one sack. Murphy and Kevin Hess notched the other Mustang sacks while cornerback Asa Jackson and safety Scottie Cordier logged interceptions along with Mohamed.
Montana's Mike McCord recorded 14 tackles and Caleb McSurdy added 11. Tyler Hobbs had the lone Montana sack.
Each team produced two touchdowns in a first half that ended in a 14-14 tie.
Smith ran 26 yards for a 7-0 Mustang lead and Sambrano answered with a 72-yard touchdown catch from Selle to tie the game at 7-7.
Reynolds ran two yards to give Montana a 14-7 lead with 3:01 left in the first quarter and junior fullback Jake Romanelli knotted the score at 14-14 with a five-yard run early in the second period.
A pair of Brody McKnight field goals in the third quarter gave Montana a 20-14 lead before Cal Poly went on a 21-0 scoring spree for its 35-20 advantage.
Mahr's 83-yard touchdown catch, Cordier's 45-yard interception return – his seventh career theft – and Johnson's 25-yard scoring reception gave the Mustangs their 15-point cushion and Cal Poly held on for only its second win in 15 meetings against Montana.
Reynolds caught a five-yard touchdown pass from Roper with 8:13 to play and Roper also hit Gratton with a 19-yard scoring pass with 5:34 to go, pulling Montana to within two points.
But Roper threw too high to Sambrano in the back of the end zone on the two-point conversion pass.
The first win in the series was in the first round of the 2005 NCAA Football Championship Subdivision playoffs at Missoula, Mont., snapping a 10-game Griz winning streak against the Mustangs. The win also was Cal Poly's first against Montana in five San Luis Obispo meetings.
Cal Poly plays its next five games on the road, starting Sept. 18 at Texas State. The Mustangs also visit McNeese State, Fresno State, Old Dominion and Southern Utah before returning to Alex G. Spanos Stadium on Oct. 23 against North Dakota.
