Montana makes big plays, beats Liberty 34-14

MISSOULA, Mont. (AP) -- Montana came up with some big plays on special teams and offense Saturday afternoon in its 34-14 win over Liberty. But it was the defense that drew the most praise from Coach Mick Delaney.

''Anytime you go out and stop a team from being able to run the ball, you should do well,'' Delaney said. ''I'm really proud of our defense, especially in the first half. They were just tenacious and got some key turnovers.''

Peter Nguyen ran a punt back 90 yards for a touchdown as Montana improved to 2-1 on the season. Liberty, of the Big South Conference, fell to 0-3.

''I'm a little disappointed,'' said Liberty coach Turner Gill. ''I thought we would be able to run the ball a little better.''

The Montana defense held the Flames to 21 yards rushing and harassed quarterback Josh Woodrum all afternoon -- sacking him five times.

After a slow opening 10 minutes, Nguyen brought the crowd to its feet with an electrifying jaunt down the left side of the field to give Montana a 7-0 lead.

''I had a lot of space and time to think,'' Nguyen said. ''And there was great blocking. The whole punt return team was really excited to get one.''

The Grizzlies tacked on another 17 points before halftime on a 32-yard run by Dan Moore, a 6-yard run by Trent McKinney and a 42-yard field goal by Chris Lider.

The Flames cut the Montana lead to 24-7 early in the third quarter on a 14-yard pass from Woodrum to Pat Kelly.

Montana answered back with 12:20 to play in the fourth quarter when McKinney hooked up with Greg Hardy on a 2-yard touchdown pass to go back up 31-7.

Originally posted here:
Montana makes big plays, beats Liberty 34-14