Top-ranked and top-seeded Montana wasn't going out like that Saturday. Not in the first round. Not on its own turf. Not without putting up a fight.

Montana's offense awoke from a first-half slumber and the UM defense delivered the death blow as the top-ranked Grizzlies rallied from a 13-point deficit to down Northwestern State of Louisiana 28-19 in a Division I-AA first-round playoff game in front of 17,289 fans at Washington-Grizzly Stadium.

Junior quarterback Brandon Neill replaced an ineffective John Edwards in the second quarter and guided the Grizzlies on back-to-back scoring drives to open the second half as UM surged back from a 13-0 deficit to take a 14-13 lead.

The Grizzlies, winners of 11 straight and 15 in a row at home, never relinquished the lead, but didn't start thinking about next week's quarterfinals until senior linebacker Matt Steinau stripped the ball from Northwestern State receiver Freddie Harrison. The ball squirted forward and defensive end Ciche Pitcher recovered the ball in the end zone to put the Griz ahead 28-19 with 2:23 left to play.

The official was a fraction of a second away from blowing the play dead, as Harrison was wrapped up by Johnnie Peeples Jr.

"It was pretty close," said Steinau, who had nine tackles. "It could have gone either way. (Johnnie) studded him up and his legs were still churning. I don't know if he could have gotten any more yardage or not."

"I was just kind of in the right place at the right time," said Pitcher, who had four sacks and two forced fumbles to go along with the touchdown. "I was able to fall on it. It was a pretty easy play for me."

Senior running back Yohance Humphery rushed for 120 yards and scored a pair of second-half touchdowns. The first, a 12-yard run, got the Griz on the board. The second, a 44-yarder on a screen pass, put UM ahead 21-13. The screen came from Edwards, who returned after Neill tweaked an already-injured knee after celebrating a Griz touchdown.

"We made a nice comeback," said senior wide receiver T.J. Oelkers, who caught an 11-yard TD to give the Griz a 14-13 lead with 6:20 left in the third quarter. "I think we all went into halftime and looked at each other and said, 'We're not going out today. This is not how we wanted to be remembered.' "

"I didn't hear it all, but Etu (Molden) gave one of the greatest halftime speeches ever," said Montana coach Joe Glenn. "Etu stood up and talked to the offense and made a passionate plea not to check in our equipment on Monday."

On Monday, Montana will be preparing for the Dec. 8 quarterfinal game against Sam Houston State, like Northwestern State a member of the Southland Football League. The Bearkats downed Northern Arizona 34-31 on a field goal as time expired Saturday.

Northwestern State quarterback Craig Nall threw for 339 yards and a touchdown and also scored on a 1-yard run near the end of the first half. Senior receiver Nathan Black hauled in a school-record 13 passes for a school-record 222 yards. His first catch went for a 73-yard touchdown just 59 seconds into the game.

"It really wasn't planned that way," Nall said. "I was just expecting Nathan to run a little curl route. He got by the guy and he just outran him to the end zone."

Thoughts of a quarterfinal game for UM seemed far-fetched at halftime. Montana's offense managed just 137 yards of total offense and failed to score twice inside of Northwestern State's 20-yard line.

Edwards didn't complete a pass in the first quarter and hit on just 3-of-7 for 19 yards before being replaced by Neill with 5:34 left in the second quarter. Edwards, who suffered rib injuries last month, said he took a shot to the ribs on the opening play of the game and never found his rhythm.

"John wasn't getting it done," Glenn said. "I told John, it's like a basketball tournament. When a guy's not shooting it very well, let's get someone in there to shoot a little better."

"I just didn't have all my ducks in a row at the time. I got pulled and I wasn't getting it done," Edwards said. "Brandon came in an did a nice job of getting the team back rolling and getting everybody fired up."

Neill and the UM offense took advantage of great field position to open the second half. After freshman Jefferson Heidelberger returned the opening kickoff 38 yards to the Demons' 45-yard line, Neill hit three straight passes. Faced with a fourth-and-1, Glenn opted to go for a first down or TD. The decision paid off, as Humphery ran around the left side for a 12-yard score.

"We had missed a couple of kicks and I thought at that point it would devastate our team to miss another kick," Glenn said. "It's just a gut feeling you have to make a call and put a little pressure on the (offensive coordinator.) The kids have to execute. It was a good call by Billy (Cockhill) and good execution by our blockers."

Montana's defense, which held Northwestern State to just 20 yards and two first downs in the third quarter, stopped the Demons on three plays on the ensuing drive.

Freshman punt returner Levander Segars ignited the Griz with a sensational 37-yard runback that gave UM the ball at NSU's 39-yard line. Five plays later, Neill hit Oelkers at the 1-yard line. Oelkers stretched across the goal line to put UM ahead. It was Neill's last play.

"I was jumping around after the score," said Neill, who completed 7-of-10 passes for 85 yards. "I just got a little too much into the celebration aspect of it. I came down and just kind of tweaked my knee. I had to go over and readjust the (knee) brace on the sideline. It's a little sore now, a little stiff. It should be OK."

After Montana's third consecutive TD, Northwestern State cut the deficit to 21-19 when freshman running back Clint Roy broke loose for a 35-yard touchdown run with 8:38 to go. Roy pointed at the end zone as he crossed the goal line and was flagged 15 yards for taunting. NSU went for a 2-point conversion from the UM 18-yard line. Nall's pass to Harrison fell incomplete near the goal line.

"The explanation was he pointed to the end zone," said NSU coach Steve Roberts. "I can't comment on whether it was justified or not."

Reporter Jon Kasper can be reached at 523-5247 or by e-mail at jkasper@missoulian.com.

Game details

Crowd: 17,289.

Conditions: Temperature of 35. Cloudy. Occasional light snow showers. Winds out of the southwest at 15-17 mph.

Time of game: 3 hours, 20 minutes.

Records: Montana, winners of 11 straight, moved to 12-1. Northwestern State finished its season 8-4.

Next Saturday: Top-ranked Montana will play host to Sam Houston State, which beat Northern Arizona 34-31 in a first-round game on Saturday. Kickoff is at 12:05 p.m.

Saturday's stars

For Montana, RB Yohance Humphery rushed for 120 yards, scoring on a 12-yard run and a 44-yard pass. WR T.J. Oelkers caught five passes for 57 yards and caught an 11-yard TD pass. Punt returner Levander Segars had 99 yards worth of returns with a long of 37. DE Ciche Pitcher had nine tackles, four sacks, forced two fumbles and recovered a fumble for a touchdown. LB Matt Steinau had nine tackles and a forced fumble. SS Vince Huntsberger had 11 tackles and two pass deflections. CB Calvin Coleman had eight tackles, three pass breakups and blocked an extra point.

NCAA I-AA Playoff Results
First Round

Montana(1) 28, Northwestern State 19
Sam Houston State 34, Northern Arizona 31
Maine 14, McNeese State 10
Northern Iowa 49, Eastern Illinois(4) 43
Georgia Southern(2) 60, Florida A&M 35
Appalachian State 40, William & Mary 27
Lehigh 27, Hofstra 24 OT
Furman(3) 24, Western Kentucky 20

Quarterfinal matchups
Saturday, December 8

Sam Houston State at Montana(1)
Maine at Northern Iowa
Appalachian State at Georgia Southern(2)
Lehigh at Furman(3)