Mellott parts red sea, Cats put away Eastern

CHENEY, Wash. — Eastern Washington’s rally was over in 14 seconds.

Tommy Mellott answered a game-tying touchdown run by Eastern Washington’s Tuna Altahir with a 76-yard scoring burst on Montana State’s next snap, and the No. 2 Bobcats downed the Eagles 42-28 at the red turf of Roos Field on Saturday. 

Mellott, the senior quarterback out of Butte, broke a 28-28 deadlock with his run, crossing the goal line at 1:07 of the third quarter. He added a 61-yard touchdown pass to Ty McCullouch, a final dagger with 3:15 left in the game. 

The Bobcats improved to 9-0 overall and 5-0 in the Big Sky Conference with the win, which didn’t come easy. The Eagles (2-7, 1-4 in the Big Sky) never led but made up a 28-14 deficit with two Altahir TDs in the third quarter. The first one came at 9:01, capping a 75-yard drive to open the second half. 

Scottre Humphery had two short scoring runs for MSU, the first making it 7-0 and the second putting his team up 28-14 with 1:55 left in the first half. 

He ran for 110 yards on 21 carries, while Mellott picked up 125 yards on just six attempts. Mellot was also 13 of 20 for 181 yards and two touchdowns, including a 19-yard strike to Taco Dowler that made it 14-0 at 7:06 of the first quarter. 

That was the Cats’ second TD in the span of 15 seconds; after Humphrey scored his first TD, Max Murphy forced a fumble from Eastern kick returner Michael Wortham that Carson Williams recovered. 

Wortham, who also plays quarterback, scored EWU’s second TD on a 75-yard fake reverse. The Eagles, with starting quarterback Kekoa Visperas sidelined, saw Jared Taylor start at QB and throw for 144 yards and two touchdowns. His 4-yard pass to Efton Chism III cut MSU’s lead to 14-7 in the first quarter; his 3-yard strike to Altahir brought Eastern to 28-21. 

Taylor also ran 25 times for 61 yards. Altahir had 74 yards on 12 carries. Chism, the top FCS receiver in several categories, had nine catches for 78 yards. 

Adam Jones ran 10 times for 61 yards for the Bobcats, including a 20-yard scoring run. Julius Davis saw his first action of 2024 for MSU, carrying five times for 21 yards. MSU had 316 rushing yards, while Eastern piled up 225. 

The Cats return home to face Sacramento State on Saturday at 1 p.m.