Justin Lamson absolutely lit up Cal Poly on Saturday, racking up an absurd five first-half touchdowns to power No. 3 Montana State to a ridiculous 61-7 victory. This wasn’t just a win, it was a statement.
Montana State’s First-Half Onslaught Was Relentless
From the jump, Montana State was in total control. Carter Dahlke returned the opening kickoff 98 yards for a touchdown, setting the tone for what was coming. Then Lamson took over. The guy threw three touchdown passes and ran for two more, all before halftime. He carved up the Cal Poly defense with a 44-yard strike to Dahlke, a 2-yard score to Luvens Valcin, and another 5-yarder to Dane Steel. On the ground, he punched it in from 1 yard out and broke free for a 20-yard rushing touchdown. Lamson was surgical, completing 15 of 19 passes for 177 yards in that first half alone. The Bobcats were literally perfect on offense in the first two quarters, scoring touchdowns on all six of their full possessions and piling up 336 yards. The scoreboard at halftime, 48-7, tells you everything you need to know about that domination.
Cal Poly Had No Answers, Even for the Backups
Lamson didn’t even need to play in the second half, that’s how lopsided this one was. Backup quarterback Patrick Duchien stepped in and kept the foot on the gas, going 8 of 10 for 56 yards and tossing a 26-yard touchdown pass to Jordan Reed late in the third quarter. Before that, Colson Coon added a 9-yard touchdown run, just twisting the knife. Cal Poly’s only score came in the final minute of the first half, a 28-yard pass from backup Bo Kelly to Tayvion McCoy. That was pretty much it for them. Starter Anthony Grigsby Jr. had a rough outing, going 1-for-8 with two interceptions, and Kelly didn’t fare much better, completing 14 of 26 passes for 128 yards but also throwing an interception. Montana State’s total offense exploded for 518 yards compared to Cal Poly’s 258, and Carter Dahlke finished with a monster 201 all-purpose yards, including 6 catches for 103 yards.
Montana State now sits at 8-1 overall and 5-1 in the Big Sky, looking like a real contender. They’ll take that momentum on the road next Saturday when they head to Idaho State. Cal Poly, falling to 4-6 overall and 3-4 in conference play, needs to regroup fast as they host Northern Arizona next Saturday. It’s clear one team is peaking, and the other has a lot of questions to answer.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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