Montana Closes in on Berth

Kris Heppner kicked a 37-yard field goal with no time left Saturday to lift Montana to a 27-25 victory over Montana State at Bozeman, Mont., keeping alive the Grizzlies’ hopes for a berth in the NCAA Division I-AA playoffs.

Montana State, which lost to Montana for the 12th consecutive time, took a 25-24 lead on a three-yard run by Eric Kinnaman with 22 seconds to play but could not convert a two-point conversion attempt.

Brian Ah Yat hit Justin Olsen on a 46-yard pass play with eight seconds left to set up Heppner’s kick.

Montana, ranked 11th in Division I-AA, took a 21-7 halftime lead when Ah Yat hit Raul Pacheco in the corner of the end zone on a 40-yard pass with no time left on the clock. The Bobcats were penalized for having 12 men on the field with one second left, giving Ah Yat a chance to throw to the end zone.

The Grizzlies fumbled the second-half kickoff and Kinnaman scored on a 14-yard run seven plays later, but the kick failed and Montana led, 21-13.

Heppner’s 37-yard field goal gave the Grizzlies a 24-13 lead with 1:19 left in the third quarter.

Rob Compson of Montana State hit Neal Smith on a four-yard touchdown pass, but the kick failed and Montana led, 24-19, with 11:17 left in the game.

Ah Yat completed 29 of 45 passes for 335 yards and two touchdowns.

Kinnaman rushed 28 times for 113 yards and Compson completed 17 of 29 passes for 197 yards and two touchdowns.

Weber State 26, Idaho State 7--Steve Buck passed for two touchdowns and ran for another, enabling the Wildcats to finish with a winning record at Ogden, Utah.

Buck, who passed for 243 yards and rushed for 70, had touchdown pass plays of 35 yards to Jason English and 67 yards to Taurus McGee, and scored on a one-yard scoring run--all in the first half.

Scott Shields added field goals of 21 and 27 yards as Weber State built a 26-0 halftime lead.

Idaho State scored on Mike Morita’s two-yard run with two seconds left in the game.

Cal Poly SLO 45, Cal State Sacramento 0--Antonio Warren rushed for 111 yards in 17 carries and three touchdowns for the Mustangs at San Luis Obispo.

Cal Poly finished with its best record since 1991, also 10-1, and is expected to be invited to the Division I-AA playoffs.

Warren scored on runs of 17, 14 and 12 yards while surpassing 100 yards for the 12th time.

Alli Abrew completed eight of 14 passes for 163 yards, including a 73-yard touchdown pass play to Kamil Loud, who caught four passes for 106 yards.

Charles Roberts rushed for 88 yards in 15 carries and Jason Solis picked up 82 yards in 13 carries for the Hornets.

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Standings

Conference

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School W L W E. Washington 7 1 10 Montana 6 2 8 Montana State 5 3 6 No. Arizona 4 4 6 Weber State 4 4 6 CS Northridge 4 4 6 Portland State 3 5 4 Idaho State 2 6 3 CS Sacramento 1 8 1

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Overall

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School L PF PA E. Washington 1 389 189 Montana 3 354 187 Montana State 5 227 207 No. Arizona 5 302 261 Weber State 5 257 251 CS Northridge 6 370 316 Portland State 212 294 Idaho State 188 356 CS Sacramento 188 408

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Saturday

Northridge 21, Northern Arizona 13

Montana 27, Montana State 25

Weber State 26, Idaho State 7

Cal Poly SLO 45, CS Sacramento 0 (nonconference)