The junior from Aumsville, Ore., took a licking and kept on ticking, passing for a career-high 375 yards as MSU forged a tie with rival Montana for the Big Sky lead. It marked the second straight week that the Cats rallied from a double-digit deficit, and the seventh time in Lulay's 25 career starts that he's sparked a victorious second-half comeback.
"I was woozy, quite woozy," Lulay told the Great Falls Tribune after being hit and forced to the sidelines late in the first half. "But it wasn't like I was in some other world. I knew where I was."
MSU coach Mike Kramer said the team's medical staff was concerned about a concussion at halftime, but Lulay was tested and cleared to return. To give him some protection, the Bobcats didn't run any option plays, or quarterback counters or draws after intermission. Limited to a net 96 yards rushing, MSU turned to the air, where Lulay completed 27 of 56 with one touchdown and one interception.
Lulay rallied MSU from a 17-0 deficit two weeks ago in a 20-17 victory over Weber State, and is now 3-0 against PSU, the school he spurned as a small-town star at Regis High School to sign with the Cats.
"He's a great player and played like it," said PSU coach Tim Walsh. "I give him a lot of credit for that team's success."
If you want to know how Big Sky championships are won (or lost), last Saturday was a revealing lesson.
The offensive units for Montana and Portland State both had clinching chances in the final 2fi minutes - and failed. Griz quarterback Craig Ochs couldn't connect with receiver Jefferson Heidelberger behind the Eastern Washington secondary, while PSU's Ryan Fuqua was stuffed for no gain on a third-and-short run in MSU territory.
The difference is what happened after each team punted the ball away.
At Cheney, Wash., Montana preserved its 31-28 margin, and a share of the conference lead, when EWU drove to the Griz 4 but came up empty. Ends Michael Potts and Mike Murphy slammed the door on consecutive plays, and then linebacker Shane MacIntyre blocked a tying field-goal attempt to turn back the hottest team in the conference.
At Bozeman, Montana State drove 82 yards in 18 plays in the final 1:55 to tie the score on Justin Domineck's 1-yard plunge as time expired. Domineck then scored on a 17-yard run in overtime, capping a comeback from deficits of 14-0 and 21-10.
Linebacker Mac Mollohan, a former Kalispell standout, had the key stop on Fuqua.
"No one touched me and I was wide open to make the tackle," Mollohan said.
The Bobcats' latest unlikely hero is senior receiver Eddie Sullivan, who had seven catches for a career-high 140 yards. Sullivan, buried in the depth chart when the season began, had a 62-yard reception to set up one TD against PSU, and had four key catches on the tying drive.
The first 17 plays of the no-huddle march were passes. Lulay twice kept the Bobcats going with fourth-down completions, and displayed poised clock management at the end, when the Bobcats had no timeouts. A 6-yard pass to Rick Gatewood - on fourth-and-5 - gave MSU a first down at the PSU 8. Lulay spiked the ball twice to stop the clock, sandwiched around a 7-yard completion to Gatewood. On fourth-and-goal, Domineck leaped over the right side and into the end zone, followed by E.J. Cochrane's conversion kick to bring on overtime.
"We converted third downs and fourth downs, and played the game to the (top) degree," Kramer said. "That was a Big Sky game, the way we're used to feeling in the Big Sky chase. It ain't over until it's over."
"That one will rank with one of the best I've ever been involved with, period," Kramer added.
The Sacramento State Hornets, who hadn't nabbed an interception all season, had four in a 31-12 victory over winless Weber State. Ramon Payne had two thefts, and Matt Logue returned another for a score.
Tyronne Gross ran for two TDs behind an offensive line bolstered by the return of center Dustin Nicolodi from a broken leg suffered during preseason practice. Gross' 19-yard TD run in the first quarter snapped a string of 10 scoreless quarters for the Hornets, who were shut out the previous two weeks by Northern Arizona and Portland State.
"I just wanted to score," Sac State coach Steve Mooshagian told the Sacramento Bee. "We were a four-cylinder car playing in an eight-cylinder league."
It was a tough loss for Weber (0-7), which is off to the second worst start in school history. Weber coach Jerry Graybeal went through gall bladder surgery early last week, but was back at practice a day later.
"They took my gall bladder out, they didn't take my heart out," Graybeal said. "I'm going to work every bit as hard as I always do, even harder."
Quick kicks: MSU's offense has scored just two first-half touchdowns in six games. The Bobcats have led only once in the first 30 minutes. "We've just got to relax earlier and get in a rhythm," Lulay said. ... PSU receiver Ryan Brown, returning from a knee injury, had four catches for 45 yards against the Cats. ... NAU linebacker Ian Gunderman, arrested on a DUI charge, has been suspended indefinitely by Lumberjacks coach Jerome Souers. Gunderman, a team captain and the squad's third-leading tackler, was replaced by redshirt freshman Niko Saipale in Saturday's 34-14 non-conference win over Western New Mexico. ... In a bizarre incident, NAU defensive back Shannon Butler suffered an injured knee during pregame warmups. A WNM player ran into Butler. ... Weber sophomore receiver Mike Mathis broke two bones in his left arm against Sacramento State and is out for the season. Weber star Nick Chournos, listed as questionable because of bruised ribs, wore a flak jacket and rushed for 97 yards on 24 carries.
Reporter Rial Cummings can be reached at 523-5255 or rcummings@missoulian.com.
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