BOZEMAN, Mont. (AP) -- Shawn Johnson ran for 92 yards and a touchdown and had a 100-yard kickoff return for a score to lead Montana State to a 36-7 win over Northern Arizona in a matchup of two ranked FCS teams on Saturday.
Johnson's 27-yard touchdown run and three field goals by Rory Perez put Montana State (4-2, 2-0 Big Sky) up 16-0 at halftime. The Bobcats then got a 9-yard TD run by quarterback DeNarius McGhee and a 12-yard TD run by Cody Kirk to build a 29-0 lead.
Kirk ran for 156 yards on 27 carries for Montana State.
"I tell Shawn before every game that I'm thunder and you're lightning," Kirk said. "I'll pound on them, you take it to the house and that's just what we did today."
The Bobcats ran for 276 yards on 56 carries in sun-splashed Bobcat Stadium, with Kirk, Johnson, and McGhee getting all the carries.
"They're really fast on defense, so we just ran right at them," offensive tackle Quinn Catalano said.
NAU's only score came on a 37-yard interception return by Austin Hasquet, but Johnson returned the ensuing kickoff for a touchdown.
Montana State's defense didn't allow any scoring and held NAU (3-2, 1-1) to 232 total yards.
“Montana State had a good plan and they were able to execute it very well,” said NAU coach Jerome Souers. “It’s tough to play here, and we knew that going in. We learned some things today that we need to correct as we move forward.”
NAU running back Zach Bauman, who went over 4,000 career yards last week, was held to just 26 yards on nine carries.
"Defensively, I felt we made a statement," Montana State cornerback Deonte Flowers said. "When a great running back comes in and we shut him out, that's great for our defense."
Souers said the raucous crowd of 21,027 caused his squad problems.
"It's difficult with the crowd noise," he said. "Difficult to maintain a rhythm, and that makes it tough on the run game when you can't hear the snap count."
Montana State wide receiver Tanner Bleskin caught four passes, breaking the school record for career receptions with 170 on his last catch of the day. The quarterback on the record-breaking play was his brother, Jake.
McGhee was injured early in the fourth quarter and didn't return. He finished 7 of 18 for just 72 yards and an interception. It was his first interception of the season. He ran for 36 yards on eight carries.
NAU quarterback Kyren Poe was 24 of 44 for 168 yards. Sophomore Alex Holmes was the Lumberjacks' leading receiver, finishing with 70 yards on nine catches.
NAU had just 64 rushing yards on 20 carries.
"One game doesn’t define a season,” said Bauman. “We had a great week of practice leading up to today. We just have to get back to work on Monday.”
