MISSOULA – When things got tough Saturday, Montana running back Chase Reynolds stepped it up and carried the Grizzlies to a 27-17 victory over North Dakota.
No one on the Montana sidelines was surprised by Reynolds’ record-setting day, which left the senior running back with the all-time school record for rushing touchdowns in a career.
“Chase Reynolds earned every single yard he got today,” said Montana coach Robin Pflugrad. “He was hit hard a number of times. But that’s the type of person Chase is. Anytime we’ve had adversity, he answers.”
Reynolds ran the ball 27 times for 173 yards and three touchdowns to help Montana (7-3) keep the Grizzlies’ playoff hopes alive.
Reynolds’ third touchdown run of the day, a 2-yard scamper in the fourth quarter, was the 51st of his career, breaking the all-time Montana career rushing touchdown record held previously by Lex Hilliard, who is now playing for the Miami Dolphins.
North Dakota (3-7) coach Chris Mussman was also impressed with Reynolds.
“He’s a tough kid,” Mussman said. “I like watching him play. He’s one of those kids you want on your team.”
After a defensive first quarter, the Grizzlies opened the scoring with three seconds left in the first quarter on a 58-yard pass from Justin Roper to Antwon Moutra.
Reynolds’ first touchdown of the game, a 12-yard run, gave Montana a 13-0 lead midway through the second quarter.
After Montana missed the extra point, North Dakota’s Dominique Hawkins ran the ensuing kickoff back 99 yards to the Grizzly 1-yard line.
That set up a 1-yard plunge by Mitch Sutton to cut the lead to 13-7 with about 12 minutes left in the half.
An interception by nose tackle Ty Boyle gave the Fighting Sioux the ball on the Montana 7-yard line with 40 seconds to play in the half. But North Dakota had to settle for a 29-yard field goal by Zeb Miller as time expired to narrow the margin to 13-10.
In the second half, North Dakota took the lead 17-13 on a 50-yard run by Sutton with about 11 minutes to play.
But Montana answered back on its next series, taking only three plays to regain the lead, 20-17, on a 14-yard Reynolds run.
“We came out in the second half and took the lead,” Mussman said. “But then we gave it right back up. It’s frustrating because we had the opportunity to beat a very good, established football team.”
The fourth quarter saw both teams struggle offensively before Reynolds closed out the scoring and sealed the victory with his third touchdown late in the game.
Reynolds was quick to credit his teammates for the big day.
“I think our offense played well and our offensive line stepped it up quite a bit,” Reynolds said.
Montana’s defense held North Dakota to only 209 yards of total offense. Sioux quarterback Marcus Hendrickson completed only six of 23 passing attempts for 29 yards. Sutton lead the North Dakota running attack with 76 yards on 12 carries.
For Montana, Roper completed 14 of 22 attempts for 231 yards. Moutra pulled down three catches for 100 yards. Linebacker Jordan Tripp led the defense with 13 tackles, while safety Erik Stoll and linebacker Caleb McSurdy added 12 tackles each.
Montana closes out its regular season next week with a home match against cross-state rival Montana State.