Humphrey, defense power Griz past WIU
MISSOULA — The Leathernecks got shook.
Montana quarterback Cam Humphrey threw for a career-best five touchdowns and the defense was again impenetrable in the No. 4 Grizzlies’ 42-7 thumping of Western Illinois Saturday.
Humphrey didn’t have a perfect night — one of his two interceptions was returned by Michael Lawson for Western Illinois’ lone touchdown — but he was plenty sharp, giving oxygen to 25,238 screaming fans at Washington-Grizzly Stadium.
“I told the guys, ‘’You did it; they’re back. Everybody’s into it, everybody’s on board, having fun.’“ said Grizzlies coach Bobby Hauck, who picked up coaching win No. 100 at his alma mater. “Western Illinois has a really dynamic offense, and that is not the way it played out tonight in our stadium.
“I told the guys, ‘Just wait and see, it’s going to be different than what you’re accustomed to.’ It’s the greatest atmosphere in college football, at the base of the mountain and alongside the river.”
The 2-0 Grizzlies shook off the absences of injured running backs Marcus Knight, Xavier Harris and Nick Ostmo to rush for 196 yards on 33 carries against a solid Missouri Valley team. Isaiah Childs shook off a first-half fumble and rumbled for 76 yards and a touchdown; freshman Junior Bergen ran for 71 yards on 13 carries.
Meanwhile Humphrey completed 20 of 27 passes for 252 yards, with scoring strikes of 12 yards to Sammy Akem, 18 yards to Mitch Roberts, 1 yard to Erik Barker and 39 and 28 yards to Malik Flowers — Flowers’ first two career receiving TDs.
Flowers also had a 33-yard catch to set up Childs’ lone touchdown, covering 7 yards at 3:16 of the first quarter.
The lead grew to 14-0 when Humphrey capped a 96-yard drive with his dart to Akem in the corner. Then Montana lost some momentum when the senior quarterback, under pressure, threw a deep ball directly to Lawson, who made a dynamic return. Lawson shook off Bergen’s tackle at the 5-yard line to cut the gap to 14-7.
What happened after was pretty special: An 8-play, 68-yard march that started with a 20-yard run by Bergen and included a big hit on Humphrey at the end of an 8-yard run.
He popped right up and three plays later, as the clock ticked down to :01, rolled right and found Mitch Roberts for the touchdown.
The Griz took a 21-7 lead into halftime.
“Point of emphasis over however long I’ve been here, and especially at fall camp, is to be able to bounce back when things go wrong,” Humphrey said. “This game of football, things happen all the time and you can’t plan for it. I just went out there and operated.”
Flowers’ first TD came on the opening drive of the second half, and Montana looked ready to go up 35-7, only to see Lawson pick off another pass in the flat, at the WIU 5-yard line.
One play later, though, Glacier High product Patrick O’Connell came in for a strip-sack, with the Grizzlies’ Marcus Welnel recovering the fumble.
“I’m walking to the sideline ready to be (ticked) at myself and the next thing I know we’ve got the ball again,” Humphrey said.
“We focus on getting stops, especially after a sudden change,” said O’Connell, who had three of UM’s six sacks. “That’s a huge deal for us, that we put emphasis on.
“With us facing the North end zone, the fans were electric. The effort just amps up there, not that it’s lacking any other time. There’s just something special about facing that north end zone, and we were able to get that done and get the ball back for our offense.”
On fourth-and-goal, Barker had his first career catch and TD and Montana led by four touchdowns at 6:27 of the third quarter. Flowers’ final TD came early in the fourth quarter.
Montana’s rushing total included 38 yards on six carries by Glacier’s Drew Turner. He had a 28-yard burst. The Grizzlies, wary of a letdown after beating Pac-12 power Washington last week, set the tempo from late in the first half on.
“We heard a lot this week about Washington not having their top three receivers,” Hauck said. “No one seemed to realize we played our fourth, fifth and sixth running backs. It doesn't matter who’s in the game, I think everybody’s playing hard and playing well.
“Junior Bergen was a true freshman wide receiver about 10 days ago. He did a nice job. I’m proud of him.”
The Griz have a bye next week, then bring Cal Poly in on Sept. 25 for Homecoming.