Chambers, Mellott carry Cats over Cal Poly
BOZEMAN — Montana State is getting back to its full complement of quarterbacks.
Senior Sean Chambers ran for three touchdowns, including another long burst, and junior Tommy Mellott threw for two scores in limited action as Montana State swamped Cal Poly Saturday, 59-19.
Ty McCullough put the Bobcats (5-1 overall, 3-0 in the Big Sky Conference) up 7-0 early with a 65-yard punt return. MSU never trailed, though Cal Poly (2-5, 0-4 in league) got a 16-yard touchdown pass from Sam Huard to Giancarlo Woods at 9:42 of the first quarter.
The Mustangs then missed the PAT kick, leaving the score 7-6, and the rest of the afternoon belonged to the Cats, who extended their school-record home win streak to 24 games.
Chambers’ 8-yard scoring run made it 14-6 midway through the first, and his 64-yard burst put the home team up 21-6 — still with 5:20 left in the period.
Mellott, sidelined for a month with a leg injury, then got in on the action with a 12-yard touchdown pass to Derek Snell and with 12:49 left in the first half, and the rout was on.
Jared White, who ran for 93 yards on 14 carries, scored on a 17-yard pass from Mellott, capping a clock drive to end the first half. Cal Poly had drawn to 31-13 on Sam Huard’s 41-yard touchdown pass to Evan Burkhart at 2:31 of the second quarter; the Bobcats promptly marched 87 yards in six plays.
Mellott was 7 of 9 passing for 92 yards and ran for another 31 yards. Chambers picked up 91 yards on just four carries and threw for 151 yards.
By the end MSU had picked up 335 rushing yards on 35 attempts. That included a 49-yard scoring run from Adam Jones, a true freshman out of Missoula Sentinel, with 7:28 left in the game.
Huard, the Washington transfer making his first appearance in three weeks, threw for 233 yards and three touchdowns for the Mustangs.
It was the 18th straight sellout at Bobcat Stadium, which drew 21,997 fans Saturday. The Bobcats, ranked No. 2 in the FCS, next head to No. 4 Sacramento State Saturday. The Hornets won 21-13 at Northern Colorado Saturday.
Cal Poly 6 7 6 0 - 19
Montana St. 21 17 7 14 - 59
First Quarter
MSU—McCullouch 65 punt return (Hall kick), 12:32
CP—Woods 16 pass from Huard (kick failed), 9:42
MSU—Chambers 8 run (Hall kick), 7:27
MSU—Chambers 64 run (Hall kick), 5:20
Second Quarter
MSU—Snell 12 pass from Mellott (Hall kick), 12:49
MSU—Hall 44 FG, 9:42
CP—Burkhart 41 pass from Huard (Serna kick), 2:31
MSU—White 17 pass from Mellott (Hall kick), :28
Third Quarter
CP—Fairly-Diyem 23 pass from Hard (kick failed), 6:34
MSU—Chambers 9 run (Hall kick), 3:21
Fourth Quarter
MSU—Elliott 10 run (Hall kick), 11:26
MSU—Jones 49 run (Hall kick), 7:28
CP MSU
First downs 15 25
Total Net Yards 306 578
Rushes-yards 24-73 35-335
Passing 233 243
Punt Returns 0-0 5-37
Kickoff Returns 2-36 3-38
Interceptions Ret. 0-0 0-0
Comp-Att-Int 21-39-0 14-24-0
Sacked-Yards Lost 2-12 1-1
Punts 10-35.8 4-49.0
Fumbles-Lost 0-0 3-0
Penalties-Yards 6-49 5-55
Time of Possession 31:12 28:48
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING—Cal Poly, Biggins 10-54, Holyfield 7-25, Fletcher 3-5, Huard 5-minus 10. MSU, White 14-93, Chambers 4-91, Jones 3-52, Elliott 7-37, Mellott 3-31, Coon 1-28, Reed 1-17, Snell 1-3, McCullouch 1-minus 17.
PASSING—Cal Poly, Huard 19-36-0-225. MSU, Chambers 7-15-0-151, Mellott 7-9-0-92.
RECEIVING—Cal Poly, Burkhart 6-86, Woods 5-58, Allen 3-15, Rapolla 2-10, Fairly-Diyem 1-23, Booher 1-19, Fletcher 1-10, Holyfield 1-9, Shumpert 1-3. MSU, McCullouch 4-119, Snell 3-55, Thomas Jr. 2-23, Garrigan 2-20, White 1-17, Williams 1-12, Johnson 1-minus 3.
MISSED FIELD GOALS—Cal Poly, 37.