MISSOULA -- The Weber State Wildcats defeated the Montana Grizzlies 17-10 on Friday evening at Stewart Stadium in Ogden, Utah, to advance to the FCS semifinals.
Ja'Kobe Harris blocked a punt and fell on it in the end zone to give the Wildcats the back-breaking blow in the fourth quarter with 9:41 to play. Weber State picked off UM quarterback Dalton Sneed five times in the victory as the Wildcats went on to win despite only racking up 113 yards total on offense.
Josh Davis' touchdown on Weber State's first drive of the third quarter gave the Wildcats the lead for good at 10-7.
TURNING POINT: The Wildcats had a couple of close calls on blocked punts but Harris finally broke through when he blocked UM punter Adam Wilson. The ball trickled into the end zone and Harris fell on it to swing momentum over to the Wildcats as they took a 10-point lead in the final quarter.
STAT OF THE GAME: Five. The Wildcats' five interceptions - along with six sacks - made up for Weber State's lack of offensive output. Weber State only had 113 total yards and eight first downs compared to Montana's 274 yards and 17 first downs.
GAME BALLS: Harris, George Tarlas, Adam Rodriguez, Samori Toure and Dante Olson. Harris' blocked punt was the play of the game while Tarlas had two of Weber State's five interceptions including the final one to seal the win for the Wildcats. Rodriguez also had four of Weber State's six sacks. Toure finished with eight catches for 85 yards in the game. He reset Montana single-season records in both categories with 87 catches and 1,495. Olson, who had 14 tackles and a blocked field goal in the game, broke the Big Sky Conference single-season record in total tackles with 179 this year and also broke Montana's school record in career tackles as he finished with 397 in his Grizzly career.
WHAT'S NEXT: Weber State (11-3) travels to take on James Madison in the semifinals next weekend. Montana's season ends at 10-4.
