Jackrabbits dominate Griz 35-18
BROOKINGS, S.D. — The rematch went about the same way.
South Dakota State quarterback Mark Gronowski threw two touchdown passes, ran for two more scores and the defending national champion Jackrabbits dominated in a 35-18 win over Montana in an FCS second-round playoff game Saturday.
A crowd of 10,378 at windy Dykhouse Stadium saw the Grizzlies (9-5) jump out to a 3-0 lead, thanks to a fumble forced by Hank Nuce on SDSU’s first possession. Ronald Jackson, Jr., recovered and UM cashed that in for a Ty Morrison field goal.
It was 8:01 of the first quarter, and it was almost all Jackrabbits (10-2) after that. They’ll play host to Incarnate Word, a 13-6 winner over Villanova Saturday, in the quarterfinals.
In a rematch of the 2023 FCS title game, won by 23-3 by SDSU, the most telling statistic was third down conversions: Montana was 1 of 4 the first half and SDSU was 4 of 5 (and finished 7 of 12).
The Jackrabbits converted twice on third down while answering Morrison’s field goal with a 57-yard scoring drive. Gronowski’s 21-yard strike to Kevin Brenner set up his first TD run, from a yard out.
Early in the second quarter Gronowski was stopped short on a third-and-9 scramble; but before you say, “Junior Bergen punt return,” Griz linebacker Riley Wilson was flagged for offsides. Gronowski then completed passes of 38 and 34 yards to Griffin Wilde. The latter went for a touchdown and a 14-3 SDSU lead.
The Jackrabbits gained possession with 3:40 left in the first half, and:
On third-and-6 got a 44-yard run by Angel Johnson down to UM’s 27;
On third-and-18 Gronowski hit a wide-open Wilde for 24 yards and a touchdown. It was 21-3 with 57 seconds left.
“They did a nice job going and taking the win today,” UM coach Bobby Hauck said. “I thought they played really hard throughout the game. I thought they were well prepared, and on that same token, I thought we were too. I thought our guys played really hard. I'm appreciative of our guy’s efforts.
“They just had too much for us. There were a couple plays that got away and we didn't get off the field on third down in the first half. I thought our guys played hard but didn't quite get there today, which is kind of the story of our season.”
Keali’i Ah Yat took every snap at quarterback for the Grizzlies. He threw for 231 yards — 147 in the fourth quarter, with touchdowns covering 44 yards to Sawyer Racanelli and 9 yards to Keelan White.
The freshman was also intercepted twice: once near the goal line when Montana was down 14-3, and then by standout SDSU linebacker Adam Bock. Bock’s 40-yard pick-6 made it 35-3 with 13:35 left in the game.
Ah Yat led the Griz in rushing with 25 yards, gaining 27 on one scramble ahead of his first interception. Xavier Harris was next with 21 yards on one end-round; Eli Gillman was held to 12 yards on 10 carries. Nick Ostmo was out, apparently injured.
White had five catches for 68 yards and Racanelli caught three balls for 66.
Junior Bergen had two catches for 17 yards and had one kickoff return for 25.
Glacier product Drew Deck got one punt return for no yardage; he was targeted once as a receiver. Nuce, another Wolfpack alum, had seven tackles to go with his forced fumble. Safety Ryder Meyer had a game-high 10 stops for the Griz.
Bock had eight stops for SDSU. Gronowski, the reigning Walter Payton Award winner, was 12 of 16 passing for 151 yards — 114 of those yards went to Wilde, on seven catches.
Amar Johnson ran 16 times for 103 yards and Angel Johnson had 13 carries for 91 yards.