Iddins, Cunningham Lift Bobcats
9/12/2009 5:50:25 PM | Football
BOZEMAN – Mark Iddins threw two touchdown passes and Jason Cunningham added three field goals as Montana State hung on for a 23-20 win over Dixie State on Saturday.
After falling behind 14-13 early in the third quarter, the Bobcats (1-1) took the lead for good when Iddins hit Kyle Begger over the middle with 2:41 to go in the quarter. The big tight end made a nice move at the 10-yard line and ran untouched into the end zone to complete a 32-yard play.
Cunningham's 35-yard field goal into a stiff wind with 5:50 left in the fourth quarter put the game out of reach at 23-14. A late touchdown pass from Dixie State quarterback Judd Thompson to Kyser Christensen made the final score respectable.
Iddins finished the game with 305 yards passing. The senior completed 24 of 40 passes, but did toss two interceptions. Mark Desin and Julius Lloyd each caught four passes. Desin's 61 yards led MSU receivers.
The Bobcats wore down the Division II Red Storm (1-2) in the fourth quarter as Aaron Mason ran for 70 of his game-high 112 yards in the final stanza. Mason carried the ball 17 times while backup C.J. Palmer added 47 yards on 14 carries. MSU finished with 465 yards in total offense to 458 for Dixie State.
Dixie State's Thompson kept the game close by throwing for 417 yards on 28 of 55 passes. However, MSU's Clay Bignell and Michael Rider each had two interceptions to stop several scoring opportunities for DSC.
Nash Fowler finished with 144 yards receiving for DSC and Christensen hauled in 136 more as the duo combined for 16 receptions.
The Bobcats led 7-0 after the first quarter. The score came on an 18-yard pass from Iddins to Everett Gilbert. Cunningham hit a 44-yard field goal to open the scoring in the second quarter before Thompson hit Fowler for a 49-yard touchdown. Cunningham nailed a 25-yard field goal to make it 13-7 at halftime.
Besides his two interceptions, Bignell also had a hand in on seven tackles, joining Dane Fletcher, Dan Ogden and Anthony Cosme-Peko for team honors. And one of Rider's interceptions came on a pass that was tipped by the ever-present Bignell, a sophomore from Helena.
Keaunhea Bankhead led the Red Storm with 13 tackles.
MSU has a week off before traveling to Northern Colorado on September 26 to open Big Sky Conference action. DSC travels to Western Oregon this week before returning home on September 26 to face Humboldt State.
