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Football

Montana’s Season Ends in Quarterfinals at James Madison

No. 6 Montana falls to No. 3 James Madison 28-6, hampered by missing players

By 406mtsports.com
The Grizzlies enter Washington Grizzly-Stadium ahead of a game against the Southern Utah Thunderbirds in Washington-Grizzly stadium in Missoula on on Oct. 30, 2021. Photo by John Sieber/UM Athletics

HARRISONBURG, Va. — When James Madison’s Latrele Palmer ripped off a 46-yard run in the third quarter Friday to add to the team total, it marked the most rushing yards Montana had allowed in a game this season.

Montana’s run defense, which had been so stout all season, surrendered a handful of lengthy runs while its pass defense was getting gashed on slant passes on Friday at Bridgeforth Stadium. The Griz offense, on the other hand, was hampered by the early exits of quarterback Cam Humphrey and wide receiver Samuel Akem.

The result was the sixth-seeded Grizzlies’ season coming to an end with a 28-6 loss to James Madison in the quarterfinals of the FCS playoffs in front of an announced crowd of 14,690. They ended the season with a 10-3 record, their second consecutive 10-win season, both of which ended in the quarterfinals.

“They went out and kind of took the game,” Montana coach Bobby Hauck said of JMU. “Credit goes to them for playing a great football game and really holding us in check and making some plays against us.”

UM was already missing two starters before the game with the absence of senior defensive end Joe Babros and senior cornerback Omar Hicks Onu. JMU’s offense matched the physicality of UM’s defense, pushing piles for yards after contact and rushing for 192 yards, the most the Griz gave up this season after previously allowing a high of 154 to Sacramento State.

The Griz came into the game with the No. 3 rushing defense in the country, holding teams to 75.3 yards per game on the ground. Their 4.9 yards per rush allowed is the highest average they’ve given up in a game this season.

Like the Griz, the Dukes have been missing their All-American running back most of the year. They got a big performance from 6-foot, 220-pound Palmer, who ran for 104 yards by halftime, the most UM had allowed to a single player in a game this season.

Palmer finished with 167 yards and one touchdown on 19 carries, topping the 103 yards the Griz allowed to Eastern Washington running back Dennis Merritt. He broke off runs of 46 and 50 yards after UM had given up only one run over 30 yards coming into the game.

“Giving up the big play has not been our Achilles’ heel this year,” Hauck said. “We gave up three big plays in this game, and that was probably really the difference in the game. So, good job by them making them. They made plays and we didn’t.”

Montana’s defense did force two turnovers, but the Griz converted those into just three points, while UM’s offense turned the ball over twice. James Madison quarterback Cole Johnson completed 17 of 24 passes for 295 yards and two touchdowns, upping his season total to 39 touchdowns and two interceptions.

The Griz trailed JMU, 14-3, at the half, marking their largest halftime deficit this season and their largest since 17 points against Montana State on Nov. 23, 2019. They came into the contest 3-1 when trailing at the intermission, but they couldn’t flip the script this time as JMU outscored them, 14-3, in the second half.

Montana struggled to move the ball following the loss of Akem and Humphrey, finishing with 302 total yards and 3.8 yards per play compared to JMU’s 7.7 per play. They ran for 159 yards but needed 46 carries to do that, an average of 3.5 yards per rush.

“We really kind of just took it upon the offensive line and just told each other we got to be able to run the ball efficiently and get some yards,” senior right tackle Dylan Cook said. “We did towards the end, but just not good enough.”

Akem left during the first drive and remained on the sideline with his left arm in a sling. Humphrey exited on the third drive when he took a shot near his head on a head-first dive.

Even if the Griz had them, there’s no guarantee they could’ve kept pace with JMU’s offense, although the Griz did hold the Dukes 13 points below their season average. JMU hadn’t given up more than 28 points in a game this season and was holding teams to 15.8 per game, while UM was averaging 31.6 points per game with a healthy dose of scoring from the defense and special teams.

“The attrition through the season was really evident tonight,” Hauck said. “We just didn’t have enough left in the tank to go get this win. It was a difficult situation. I thought our guys played their asses off and competed and played hard to the very end, as they always do. Unfortunately, we didn’t get the win.”

The Griz offense had 116 yards through three drives when Humphrey exited but stalled hard on their 10 drives after that. They managed just 186 yards the rest of the game, going to quarterback Kris Brown the remainder of the first half as he finished 1-of-5 passing for 11 yards and ran once for minus-9 yards.

Robbie Patterson took over in the second half and provided a spark on his way to 7-of-17 passing for 44 yards while running 10 times for 55 yards. His two best drives ended with fourth-quarter interceptions, both when the Griz were down 28-6.

“We ended up talking it over at halftime and decided Robbie gave us the best chance to score points and gave us the best chance to win,” Hauck said. “I thought he did an admirable job competing in there.”

UM’s offense had started strong, converting two third downs on its first drive, matching its total from last week when it went 2 for 12. However, a drop by Mitch Roberts on their third third-down of the drive resulted in the Griz punting from the JMU 36-yard line. They had four third-down conversions the rest of the game.

On the next drive, JMU flashed its speed when wide receiver Devin Ravenel scored an 82-yard touchdown by blazing past UM’s defense after catching the ball at JMU’s 30-yard line. It was the longest play allowed by UM this season.

That put the Griz in a 7-0 deficit, but they answered with a career-long 51-yard field goal by senior kicker Kevin Macias. Down 7-3, they were looking to take the lead and drove to JMU’s 47-yard line when Humphrey got injured. They went for it on fourth-and-1 with Brown handing off to running back Xavier Harris, who was stuffed for no gain.

The Griz defense rose up as Jace Lewis forced a fumble that Pat O’Connell recovered the ball the next drive. However, Montana picked up just one first down before punting.

JMU then showed its power running game by pushing the pile on its second touchdown drive, which required just four plays. Palmer ran for a 50-yard touchdown by breaking tackle attempts by safeties Gavin Robertson and Robby Hauck to record his first score since the season opener.

“I thought that Madison played well up front,” Hauck said. “That’s where it starts. They played well up front. They’ve got a good offensive line. They did a good job.”

In the third quarter, JMU showed its ability to put together a long drive, capping the 11-play, 72-yard drive with a 3-yard touchdown pass from Johnson to Kris Thornton. The drive included Justin Ford being called for a pass interference, allowing JMU to keep the ball after its receiver lost a fumble.

Macias added a 38-yard field goal in the fourth quarter. He finished the season 23 of 27 and making 19 consecutive attempts, giving him the most makes in a season by a Grizzly since Dan Carpenter had 24 in 2006.

JMU tacked on a 9-yard touchdown run by Lorenzo Bryant to put UM in a 28-6 deficit with 11:24 to play. Patterson was then picked off in the end zone by Wayne Davis. Jordan Swann got Patterson with an interception on a pass into the red zone.