MISSOULA – Jabin Sambrano was looking for a big start to Saturday’s game against Cal Poly. And boy did he get one.
Sambrano took the opening kickoff 96 yards for a touchdown to help Montana defeat Cal Poly 37-23.
“On that kickoff return, I just said a little prayer, asked the Lord to open up this hole, and he did,” Sambrano said.
Sambrano and Dan Moore scored two touchdowns each to carry the Grizzlies (1-1) to a win in their home opener.
Montana, which trailed 17-14 at the half, took the lead, 29-23, late in the third quarter on a 4-yard touchdown pass from Jordan Johnson to Kavario Middleton.
Moore sealed the victory with a 1-yard leap into the end zone with 8:30 to play in the game. He earlier scored on a 4-yard run.
“During halftime, all of our coaches felt that maybe we were just trying too hard,” said Montana coach Robin Pflugrad. “We were coming off of a big opponent (Tennessee) last week and we wanted to prove we could do some things. In the second half I felt like we did.”
The Mustangs (0-2) scored first-half touchdowns on a 4-yard run by Jake Romanelli and a 1-yard run by Andre Broadus. James Langford added three field goals for Cal Poly.
“We went into the game knowing we had to play well on special teams and they score on the opening kickoff,” said Cal Poly coach Tim Walsh. “We went into the game knowing we had to take care of the ball and we didn’t.
“I think we played hard, but we made too many mistakes. And they also did some good things.”
Sambrano scored Montana’s other touchdown on a 58-yard pass from Johnson midway through the third quarter. Sambrano finished with five catches for 70 yards
While he started off slow, Johnson was sharp in the second half and finished with 240 yards on 25 of 39 passing.
“I felt like we were kind of tight at the beginning of the game,” Johnson said. “Once we loosened up and started trusting each other, we were able to play our game.”
Romanelli led the Mustangs with 98 yards rushing on 20 carries, while Broadus added 90 yards on 20 carries.