Matadors Kick Bad Habit

It might have been remembered as another one that got away against Montana State.

Fortunately for Cal State Northridge, it will go down as the one that sailed wide right by only a few feet.

Northridge, on the verge of a second consecutive fourth-quarter collapse against the Bobcats, held on for a 24-21 victory Saturday afternoon before 10,007 when Carson Souter missed a 48-yard field-goal attempt with six seconds to play.

The ending preserved a crucial Big Sky Conference victory for the Matadors (4-3, 3-2 in conference play), who have won three of their last four games and remain in contention for the conference title with three games to play.

It also saved them the embarrassment of squandering a 24-0 third-quarter lead and suffering a second come-from-ahead loss to Montana State in as many seasons.

Last season, the Bobcats scored 16 consecutive fourth-quarter points in a 32-26 victory over Northridge at North Campus Stadium. Northridge quarterback Marcus Brady contributed to that collapse by having three passes intercepted in the fourth quarter.

“To win a Big Sky Conference game on the road, I’m the happiest guy in the stadium,” interim Coach Jeff Kearin of Northridge said. “I was thinking about last year on that final drive. It’s a mystique Montana State has that they brought with them, at our place and here.”

This time, Brady, completing several third-down passes, was nearly flawless in leading Northridge to its first victory in four games against the Bobcats. He completed 30 of 47 passes for 340 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions.

Brady had the Matadors in front from the beginning, throwing an eight-yard touchdown pass to Drew Amerson on the opening drive.

Later, Brady’s seven-yard scoring pass to Terrence Jones gave Northridge a 24-0 lead with 6:18 to play in the third quarter.

But the momentum then made a sudden turn.

Montana State (3-4, 1-3) drove 80 yards in 11 plays to pull within 24-6 on a one-yard run by quarterback Kasey Harte.

Early in the fourth quarter, the Bobcats capped a 66-yard drive with a two-yard touchdown run by Eric Kinnaman that cut the margin to 24-13.

“I think it was more that we caught some bad breaks in the second half and they were the home team,” cornerback Chazz Moore of Northridge said. “Any time you play before the home fans, that’s motivation.”

Northridge answered the Bobcats’ second score with a lengthy drive that included three third-down completions by Brady. But Northridge came away empty when Derek Brown, who kicked three field goals to extend the Matadors’ lead to 16-0, had his 44-yard field goal attempt blocked.

Painful memories surfaced for the Matadors when Harte threw a two-yard touchdown pass and followed with a two-point conversion pass to trim Northridge’s lead to 24-21 with 32 seconds to play.

It got worse. Duncan McLean recovered an ensuing on-side kick for Montana State at the Matadors’ 48, and the Bobcats drove to the 31.

Souter, who kicked a 54-yard field goal in 1997 for College of the Siskiyous, didn’t miss by much. At least one Northridge player appeared to move before the ball was snapped, but no penalty was called.

“There were a lot of frustrated guys in our locker room,” said Montana State Coach Cliff Hysell.