Youngstown St. 30, Montana 27MISSOULA, Mont. -- Youngstown State quarterback Jeff Ryan had 369 yards in total offense and three touchdowns Saturday as the Penguins held on for a 30-27 victory over Montana in the first round of the NCAA Division I-AA playoffs.
Kris Heppner, who kicked two second-quarter field goals, slipped and missed a 34-yard field goal attempt with 12 seconds remaining, ending the season for Montana (9-3).
Youngstown State led eighth seeded Montana 13-6 at halftime and the Penguins took a 16-6 lead with 8:50 left in the third quarter on Mark Griffith's third field goal, this one from 40 yards.
Yohance Humphery, who had 134 yards in total offense, pulled Montana within 16-13 on a 1-yard run with 5:51 left in the third.
Ryan hit Elliott Giles on an 82-yard scoring pass to give YSU a 23-13 lead less than two minutes later.
Former BYU quarterback Drew Miller, who threw for 420 yards for Montana, hit Jimmy Farris on a 2-yard pass, to pull the Grizz within 23-20 with 3:11 left in the third.
Montana took its only lead, 27-23, on a 1-yard run by Humphery with 8:59 left in the fourth quarter. But YSU answered with an 18-yard quarterback draw by Ryan with 5:39 remaining.
Montana marched down the field in the final five minutes, advancing to a first-and-goal from the 9-yard line. But Miller was sacked by Dwyte Smiley for a loss of 7 yards with just under a minute to go. Two plays later the Grizz had to settle for a field goal attempt.
GA. SOUTHERN 72, N. ARIZONA 29: At Statesboro, Ga., Greg Hill ran for four touchdowns and threw for two more as second-seeded Georgia Southern routed No. 15 seed Northern Arizona.
After a 7-7 deadlock at the end of the first quarter, Georgia Southern (10-2) exploded for 23 unanswered points to take a 30-14 halftime lead.
Ex-BYU running back Ronney Jenkins, who finished with 62 yards rushing and 119 receiving, scored a touchdown for NAU (8-4).