BOZEMAN — Montana State wore camouflage-style jerseys Saturday in honor of Military Appreciation Day at Bobcat Stadium.
The No. 3-ranked Cats were certainly ready for battle.
MSU dominated in a 66-14 victory over Weber State on Saturday to run its winning streak to eight games. Justin Lamson threw for two touchdowns and ran for two others, Julius Davis scored twice and the defense, led by an opportunistic effort by safety Caden Dowler, was in shut-down mode all day.
WATCH THE HIGHLIGHTS:
Lamson threw touchdown passes to tight end Rocky Lencioni and Ryan King — the first of King’s career — and Davis scored on runs of 52 and 1 yards. Adam Jones also found the end zone on a 2-yard rush.
In the fourth quarter, backup QB Patrick Duchien threw his first career touchdown pass, a deflected ball that was caught by QB-turned-receiver Jordan Reed from 25 yards. Chance Wilson also scored a late TD for the Cats.
MSU’s defense forced four turnovers and held Weber State’s offense to 216 total yards and eight first downs through the first three quarters.
The 66 points are the most the Bobcats have scored at home since Nov. 14, 1998, when they beat Idaho State 66-35.
THE 'OTHER' DOWLER: MSU receiver Taco Dowler is a top player and a fan favorite, but twin brother Caden Dowler provides his own big impact at safety. He did it again Saturday with both a forced fumble and an interception in the second quarter.
Dowler's forced fumble was recovered by linebacker Neil Daily and produced a 2-yard touchdown rush by Adam Jones, and his interception of Kingston Tisdell — accompanied by a 54-yard return to the 20 — set up a short TD pass from Lamson to Lencioni. Montana State was without standout DT Paul Brott due to injury, and Weber State’s low rushing output (when it mattered) perhaps reflected that. But Dowler’s effort helped mitigate that loss.
A LITTLE MORE SPECIAL: The Bobcats have had their struggles on special teams at times this season, but Saturday showed more promise.
Weber State scored its first points on a 4-yard run by Spencer Ferguson late in the second quarter, but MSU’s Jabez Woods answered that with a 77-yard kickoff return to Weber State’s 23. Three plays later, kicker Myles Sansted booted a season-long 48-yard field goal as time expired before halftime as the Bobcats took a 31-7 advantage. Later, Taco Dowler had a 34-yard punt return.
STARTING POSITION: Aside from Caden Dowler’s two defensive plays and the big returns, the Bobcats also got an interception from Takhari Carr late in the third quarter that he returned 25 yards to to the Weber State 25.
With the takeaways and return yards, the Bobcats consistently began drives in their own territory and had touchdown drives of 20, 37 and 25 yards.
WHAT’S NEXT: With Saturday’s win, Montana State improved to 8-2 overall and 6-0 in the league and maintained its first-place tie atop the Big Sky standings with rival Montana.
Next week the Bobcats return to the national spotlight when they host FCS playoff contender UC Davis. The game is scheduled to kick off at 8:15 p.m. and will be broadcast on ESPN2. MSU will wear special helmet decals to honor Native American heritage.
