MOREHEAD, Ky. -- Morehead State football found the going tough at No. 8 Montana Saturday as the Eagles were overpowered by the Grizzlies 59-2 at Washington-Grizsly Stadium.
MSU (1-2) did have a bright spot with defensive back
Richard Sweeney III. He collected his first career Eagle interception and returned a blocked PAT 85 yards for a two-point defensive conversion in the third quarter for the Eagles' points. The PAT was blocked by defensive lineman
Gabe Whittington.
The Eagles had a hard time containing Montana's defensive unit, which had five sacks and eight tackles for loss. Those amounted to a negative-14 yards rushing for the visiting Eagles, which was a program mark for fewest rushing yards in a game.
The Grizzlies scored eight touchdowns on their 13 drives and added a field goal. MSU also forced a missed field goal at the end of the first half.
MSU finished with only 45 total yards to the Grizzlies' 576. Malae Fonoti came on in the second half and led all players with 175 rushing yards and a touchdown for UM.
Safety
Matthew McClelland, MSU's leading tackler entering the day, had a double-digit effort with 11 tackles. He was joined by defensive back
Mateo Reyes, who had a career-high 11 stops.
While quarterback
Connor Genal did throw an interception, Sweeney's pickoff offset the Eagles' turnover margin. MSU did not cough up a fumble, so the nation's (FCS level) leading turnover margin (+6) stayed intact.
Next weekend, MSU remains closer to home as the Eagles will make the short trek to face Eastern Kentucky on Saturday at 6 p.m. ET.
