Montana
Despite Statistical Advantages, Cal Poly Falls to Nos. 17/18 Montana
9/29/2018 12:00:00 AM | Football
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. – Cal Poly produced a pair of 100-yard rushers and compiled advantages of 512-468 in total offense, 32-18 in first downs and over 16 minutes in time of possession.
Montana, however, won the battle on the scoreboard as the No. 17/18 Grizzlies outscored the Mustangs 48-28 in a Big Sky Conference football game Saturday afternoon inside Alex G. Spanos Stadium.
Senior fullback Joe Protheroe earned his 17th career 100-yard game – third in a row – with 139 yards on 35 carries, scoring three touchdowns in a game for the second time in three weeks.
Sophomore slot back Drew Hernandez (pictured at left) exploded for 135 yards on just 14 trips, averaging 9.6 yards per carry, giving Cal Poly two 100-yard rushers in a game for the first time since the Northern Iowa contest early in the 2017 season and for the 22nd time in the last eight campaigns.
Montana took advantage of two costly Cal Poly turnovers, both lost fumbles, and stopped the Mustangs three times on fourth-and-short to claim the victory.
The Grizzlies (4-1, 2-0 Big Sky) jumped to a 31-7 lead in the opening 30 minutes of play and Cal Poly could pull no closer than 17 points down the stretch, falling to 1-4 and 0-2 for the year.
Montana quarterback Dalton Sneed completed 23 of 32 passes for 285 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Grizzlies offensively. Adam Eastwood ran for 132 yards on 16 carries and a pair of touchdowns.
Mustang signal caller Khaleel Jenkins connected on seven of nine passes for 82 yards and his favorite target was J.J. Koski (pictured at right) with four catches for 58 yards.
Tim Semenza opened the game with a 34-yard field goal and Montana added four touchdowns, including an 80-yard fumble recovery and run by Josh Buss and a six-yard pass from Sneed to Gabe Sulser after a Mustang fumble on a punt return.
Sneed also hit Samuel Akem with a 54-yard scoring pass and with Matt Rensvold on an eight-yarder to close out the first half with a 31-7 advantage.
Cal Poly's only score of the first half was a seven-yard run by Protheroe with 10:04 left in the second quarter. He added scoring runs of two and four yards in the second half and Jenkins plunged one yard for the other Mustang touchdown.
Linebacker Dante Olson earned 24 tackles, four shy of the Big Sky record, and notched 12 solo and 12 assisted stops. Robby Hauck, son of Griz head coach Bobby Hauck, added 17 tackles, while Gavin Robertson and Josh Sandry each had 10.
Junior free safety Carter Nichols garnered his second career interception and led Cal Poly's defense in tackles with seven.
Cal Poly resumes Big Sky play next Saturday at Sacramento State.
Mustang Notes
Cal Poly had won three straight against Montana; the Grizzlies now lead the series 16-5 ... Hernandez, a graduate of De La Salle High School, had carried the ball three times for 12 yards in his Mustang career prior to Saturday's contest ... four of Cal Poly's first five opponents this season have been ranked in the top 25, including No. 1 North Dakota State, No. 5 Eastern Washington and No. 6 Weber State ... nine of Cal Poly's 11 opponents this season were ranked in the preseason polls or ranked in the top 25 ... according to USA Today's Jeff Sagarin, entering this weekend's slate of games, Cal Poly had the 17th-toughest schedule among the 124 FCS schools ... Protheroe moved past the 3,000-yard mark in career rushing; he now has 3,121 yards, No. 5 all-time on the Mustang career rushing chart, and needs 210 yards to surpass No. 4 Louis Jackson ... three Mustang fumbles have been returned for touchdowns this season; Cal Poly has fumbled 16 times in five games, losing nine ... Cal Poly's next opponent, Sacramento State (2-2, 0-1 Big Sky) had a bye Saturday after a 41-34 loss at Montana on Sept. 22.
Photos of Joe Protheroe at top and J.J. Koski at bottom right courtesy of Owen Main | www.fansmanship.com
Photo of Drew Hernandez (above, left) courtesy of Matt Brown | Matt Brown Photography
