Sophomore Kendall Riley rushed for a game-high 86 yards and two touchdowns.

With the victory, Montana – 10-0 overall and 5-0 in Big Sky Conference play -- tied Pennsylvania for the most consecutive wins at the I-AA level with 24. The Hornets fell to 3-7 overall, 2-4 in the Big Sky.

The Hornets, trailing 14-0 late into the second quarter, scored with just seven seconds left in the half on a 1-yard dive over the pile by Garrett White. White, who was shaken up on the play, finished the day with 81 rushing yards.

Sacramento State opened the second half with back-to-back touchdowns from sophomore Kendall Riley. The Sacramento native evened the score with a 1-yard run with 9:45 remaining. Riley then rambled a career-long 37 yards down the left side to give the Hornets a 21-14 lead at the 7:41 mark.

Montana used a 13-play, 72-yard drive that took 5:35 seconds to tie the game, 21-21, in the final moments of the third quarter. The score came on a 5-yard pass from Edwards to Rory Zikmund.

Sacramento State took its final lead of the game midway through the fourth quarter when Bret LeVier connected on a 43-yard field goal. The kick was the second-longest for LeVier this season trailing only his 50-yard effort at Northern Arizona.

Montana responded on the following drive with a 13-yard pass from Edwards to Tate Hancock. During the drive, it appeared the Hornets had stopped the Griz on third down but Edwards was able to elude three would-be tacklers and find Hancock who danced for additional yardage to give UM a first down.

The final points of the game came with 52 seconds left on a 34-yard field goal from Chris Snyder. Sacramento State attempted one final drive but Ryan Leadingham’s fourth-down pass fell incomplete to end the game.

As a team, Sacramento State amassed 415 yards of total offense against a Montana defense which entered the game as the top-rated unit in the Big Sky. The Hornets also rushed for 171 yards — the most by a Big Sky opponent against the Griz this season. The 171 yards comes just one week after UM held Northern Arizona to minus-18 rushing yards.

Individually, Riley tallied 86. Derard Barton also received five carries for 24 yards. Leadingham ended the day 20-of-39 for 203 yards and no interceptions. The sophomore, however, had his consecutive games with a touchdown streak snapped at 12 games. Fred Amey led the receiving unit with a game-high eight catches for 94 yards.

JR Waller led the Griz rushing attack with 15 carries for 33 yards. Hancock was the team’s leading receiver with six catches for 78 yards.

Sacramento State returns home for its final two games of the season. The Hornets will close out Big Sky play against Weber State on Saturday, Nov. 16, at 6:05 p.m. The team will end the year against Humboldt State on Nov. 23 at 1:05 p.m.

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