MISSOULA – Marc Mariani’s kickoff-return touchdown started it all for Montana.
Mariani also scored the go-ahead touchdown, on a 2-yard touchdown pass from Andrew Selle with 1:08 to play Saturday to cap a 27-point second-half comeback and give top-seeded Montana a 61-48 victory over South Dakota State in the first round of the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs.
Montana (12-0), champion of the Big Sky Conference, advances to a second-round game next week against Stephen F. Austin.
Mariani scored three touchdowns for the Grizzlies, who scored the game’s final 40 points. Mariani caught 12 passes for 171 yards and two of the scores.
The other one may have been the biggest, a 98-yard kickoff return with 5:25 to play in the third quarter, which cut the Jackrabbits’ lead to 48-27 and was followed by five more Montana touchdowns.
“I have got to give the 10 guys in front of me a lot of credit,” Mariani said. “That thing just opened wide and all I had to do was put on the jets.”
After Mariani’s score with 1:08 left broke a 48-48 tie, Severin Campbell returned an interception 32 yards for a touchdown with 45 seconds to play to ice the win for the Grizzlies.
“That’s the biggest thing I’ve ever been part of,” Montana coach Bobby Hauck said. “It was just unbelievable.”
Hauck was also quick to praise Mariani, a senior who became the Montana career record holder for touchdown receptions with 27.
“He’s pretty slippery. When he gets the ball you just kind of hold your breath,” Hauck said. “Without Marc today, we probably don’t win the game.”
In the first half, it was a different story for the Grizzlies as South Dakota State (8-4) dominated, building a 34-14 lead on three touchdown passes from Thomas O’Brien to Colin Cochart.
When Corey Jeske recovered a blocked punt in the Montana end zone with 11:15 to play in the third quarter to make it 41-14, things looked good for the Jackrabbits of the Missouri Valley Conference.
Montana committed four turnovers in the first half.
“We pretty much did everything wrong we could in the first half,” Mariani said. “But I knew we weren’t going to quit.”
Kyle Minett rushed for 137 yards and two touchdowns for the Jackrabbits. Montana’s Chase Reynolds ran for three touchdowns and Selle threw for 309 yards.
“I didn’t think it was going to be a basketball game in terms of score,” said South Dakota State coach John Stiegelmeier. “But we made big plays and they made big plays when they had to.”