Swogger passes Grizzlies into next round

Pierre Rembert rushed for 122 yards, leading Illinois St. over Eastern Illinois.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
MISSOULA, Mont. -- Josh Swogger passed for 259 yards and four touchdowns Saturday to lead second-ranked Montana to a 31-6 NCAA Division I-AA first round playoff victory over McNeese State.
Swogger is from Ursuline High School.
The Grizzlies (11-1), who won their 11th consecutive game, are at home next Saturday against No. 10 Southern Illinois.
Blake Bercegeay kicked first-half field goals of 42 and 38 yards for No. 22 McNeese State (7-5).
Swogger's touchdown passes were a 50-yarder to Dan Beaudin, a 14-yarder to Eric Allen and third-quarter scoring passes of 8 and 11 yards to Craig Chambers.
Swogger completed 18 of 26 passes while Thomas Brooks-Fletcher had 13 carries for 113 yards, including a 48-yard run that set up the first Swogger-to-Chambers touchdown pass.
S. Illinois 36, Tenn.-Martin 30
CARBONDALE, Ill. -- Arkee Whitlock rushed for 207 yards and four touchdowns as Southern Illinois beat Tennessee-Martin.
Whitlock carried the ball 28 times and accounted for nearly all of Southern Illinois' rushing yardage. The Salukis (9-3) rolled up 350 yards of total offense, with 221 yards coming on the ground.
Tennessee-Martin (9-3) jumped out to an early 14-0 lead in the first quarter after Donald Chapman scored on a one-yard run and Jack Greenwood returned an interception 51 yards for another touchdown.
Chapman finished with 108 yards on 31 carries.
Illinois St. 24, E. Illinois 13
CHARLESTON, Ill. -- Pierre Rembert rushed for 122 yards and the game-winning touchdown, leading Illinois State over Eastern Illinois.
The Redbirds (9-3) had 339 total yards of offense while holding the Panthers (8-5) to just 138 total yards, but still needed Rembert's touchdown with two minutes remaining to take a 17-13 lead.
On Eastern Illinois' next possession, Jesse Caesar picked off a Cole Stinson pass and ran it back 45 yards for a touchdown to end the scoring with one minute left.
Three of the game's four touchdowns were scored on interception returns, including two by Illinois State.
Massachusetts 35, Lafayette 14
AMHERST, Mass. -- Liam Coen passed for three touchdowns -- including his team's last three scores -- to lift Massachusetts.
The win for Atlantic 10 Conference champion UMass (11-1) was its 10th straight. Lafayette (6-6) was the automatic qualifier from the Patriot League.
Coen completed touchdown passes of 33 yards to Mike Omar in the second quarter, 7 yards to Ian Jorgensen in the third and 18 yards to Brandon London in the fourth.
New Hampshire 41, Hampton 38
HAMPTON, Va. -- Chad Kackert caught a 25-yard TD pass from quarterback Ricky Santos with 4:40 left to give New Hampshire the victory.
The Wildcats (9-3) will play Massachusetts in the second round.
Hampton (10-2) had fought back from a 34-21 halftime deficit, scoring two third quarter touchdowns and adding a field goal in the fourth for a 38-34 lead with 8:59 remaining.
Appalachian St. 45,Coastal Carolina 28
BOONE, N.C. -- Armanti Edwards passed for three touchdowns and ran for two more to lead Appalachian State.
Edwards ran for 172 yards, setting a school record for rushing by a quarterback, and Kevin Richardson added 156 yards on the ground as the Mountaineers (11-1) set a school playoff record with 560 yards total offense.
Edwards threw for three scores in the first half, the longest a 36-yard toss to T.J. Courman with 15 seconds left before the break to give Appalachian State a 31-0 lead.
Appalachian State will host Montana State in the quarterfinals.
Montana St. 31, Furman 13
BOZEMAN, Mont. -- Jack Rolovich passed for 272 yards and two touchdowns and ran for a third score as Montana State upset Furman.
No. 15 Montana State (8-4) had some key defensive plays in the second quarter in advancing to next Saturday's quarterfinals at top-ranked Appalachian State.
Copyright 2006 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.