When Troy State defensive lineman Pratt Lyons intercepted a Brian Ah Yat pass and returned it 16 yards for a first-quarter touchdown, it looked like the defending national champion Grizzlies had met their match.
"I never expected him to just jump right up and catch that," said Ah Yat. "I was shocked when it happened. After that I thought it was going to be a long day."It was. For Troy State.
"We got it handed to us today by a first-class, big-time program," said Troy State coach Larry Blakeney.
Montana scored 70 straight points in beating Troy State 70-7 Saturday in an NCAA Division I-AA semifinal game.
Top seeded Montana (14-0) meets second seed Marshall (14-0) next Saturday in a rematch of last year's title game, which Montana won 22-20.
Ah Yat passed for 295 yards and four touchdowns and backup Darren Rowell added another 159 yards and two more scores for the Big Sky Conference champions.
Troy State (12-2), the Southland Football League champions, led 7-0 just six minutes into the game.
Marshall 31, N. Iowa 14
At Huntington, W.Va., Erik Thomas and Doug Chapman combined for 296 rushing yards, leading Marshall to a victory over Northern Iowa in the NCAA Division I-AA semifinals.
The game was decided on the ground, where Marshall outgained Northern Iowa 316-59.