The No. 1 Sam Houston State Bearkats answered the Montana State Bobcats' field goal with a touchdown for the 7-3 lead late in the first quarter. The Bearkats almost lost the ball on the drive when Richard Sincere had the ball stripped from his possession. It was recovered by a teammate, allowing the drive to continue. Sincere then countered that mistake with a 52-yard run along the left sideline to Montana State's 12-yard line.

After a couple of ineffective runs, quarterback Brian Bell found receiver Grant Merritt for the 11-yard touchdown pass. Merritt caught the pass as he exited the end zone; however, he was able to keep get one foot down and have possession of the ball before he went out of the field of play. Montana State's Rob Ash made sure the play was reviewed, and that confirmed that Merritt had a foot in bounds with possession of the ball, keeping the touchdown on the board.

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