The Billings Gazette from Billings, Montana • 8

College football Section o) O) Colstrip, Lewistown meet for State A titleSB No.1 Florida State finishes 11-0 with 30-23 win over No. 3 FloridaSB Hie Billings Gazette THE SOURCE Sunday, November 21, 1999 XjLL NAIA PLAYOFFS "ton' Rocky nabs first postseason win Rocky Mountain College wide receiver Mitch Hanson (20) breaks away from Dickinson State defenders Jared Reindel(48) and Leif Jacobsen on Saturday in Dickinson, N.D., during the opening round of the NAIA playoffs. Rocky won 38-22. h-4 A A school history, and it's only the Bears' second win in Dickinson since 1927. "I'm just happy for our kids and I'm happy for our fans that we lived to see another day and we get to go on," said Rocky coach Jeff Lewis.

"It was a tremendous football game." In winning its ninth straight game, Rocky, 9-2, earned a return trip to North Dakota next Saturday to face the University of Mary in Bismarck in the quarterfinal round. Mary, 10-1, beat Huron, S.D., 34-3 on Saturday. The No. 4-ranked Marauders' only loss this season was a 29-28 last-second setback at Rocky on Sept. 18.

"We got the nod over them the last time, but as we proved today the first time doesn't really matter," said Lewis. "It's a whole new ballgame." Rocky, which lost at Dickinson 42-34 on Sept. 11, looked like it had Saturday's game wrapped up when (More on Rocky, Page 9B) Bears edge Dickinson State 38-32 in first-round playoff thriller By BILL BIGHAUS Of The Gazette Staff DICKINSON, N.D. Rocky Mountain College has absorbed some poundings here over the years, but even history doesn't know how to stop David Short and the Bears. The senior quarterback threw for 395 yards and four touchdowns as No.

10-ranked Rocky outlasted No. 8 Dickinson State 38-32 Saturday at Whitney Stadium in a thrilling first-round game of the NAIA football playoffs. Short's rainbow passes and Toby Winters' leaping catches helped Rocky construct a 24-7 cushion in the first half, but the Bears had to sweat out a wild second half before claiming the pot of gold. This is Rocky's first postseason football victory in MEN'S BASKETBALL: Gonzaga at Montana, 3:05 p.m. ,1 WOMEN'S BASKETBALL Idaho at Montana State, 2:05 p.m.

BOWLING: Double Nickel Seniors at Heights Lanes, 8 a.m. and 10 a.m. shifts. What a rush Associated Press taDainian of 'TCU broke the NCAA Division "A rushing NBA NOTEBOOK Tecord with 406 yards against JllTEP on Saturday. II 1 N7N 1 1 A Associated Press Phoenix Suns' Luc Longley tries to block Los Angeles Lakers' Shaquille O'Neal during a game earlier this season.

Scoring is soaring, but attendance is way down How the top 25 teams in Hie Associated Press' college football poll fared this week: No. 1 Florida State (11-0) beat No. 3 Florida 30-23. Next: vs. TBA.

No. 2 Virginia Tech (10-0) beat Temple 62-7. Next: vs. No. 25 Boston College, Saturday.

No. 3 Florida (9-2) lost to No. 1 Florida State 30-23. Next: vs. TBA in SEC championship, Dec.

4. No. 4 Nebraska (9-1) did not play. Next: at Colorado, Friday. No.

5 Wisconsin (9-2) did not play. Next: vs. Pac-1 0 champion in Rose Bowl, Jan. 1 No. 6 Texas (9-2) did not play.

Next: at No. 24 Texas Friday. No. 7 Tennessee (8-2) beat Kentucky 56-21 Next: vs. Vanderbilt, Saturday.

No. 8 Alabama (8-2) at Auburn. Next: vs. TBA. No.

9 Kansas State (10-1) beat Missouri 66-0. Next: vs. TBA. No. 10 Michigan (9-2) beat Ohio State 24-17.

Next: vs. TBA. No. 11 Marshall (10-0) vs. Ohio.

Next: vs. Western Michigan in Mid-American championship, Dec. 3. No. 12 Mississippi State (8-1 at No.

22 Arkansas. Next: vs. No. 16 Mississippi, Saturday. No.

13 Penn State (9-3) tost to No. 1 5 Michigan State 35-28. Next: vs. TBA. No.

14 Georgia Tech (7-3) lost to Wake Forest 26-23. Next: vs. No. 21 Georgia, Saturday. No.

1 5 Michigan State (9-2) No. 1 3 Penn State 35-28. Nextvs.TBA. No. 16 Mississippi (7-2) lost 5o No.

21 Georgia 20-17. Next: at Uo. 12 Mississippi State, Thursday. No. 17 Minnesota (8-3) beat Iowa 25-21.

Next: vs. TBA. No. 18 Southern Mississippi Jj(8-3) beat Louisville 30-27. Next: -vs.

TBA. No. 19 Brigham Young (8-3) lost to Utah 20-17. Next: vs. TBA.

No. 19 Purdue (7-4) beat 'Indiana 30-24. Next: vs. TBA. No.

21 Georgia (6-3) beat No. 1 8 Mississippi 20-1 7. Next: at 't No. 14 Georgia Tech, Saturday. No.

22 Arkansas (6-3) vs. No. 12 Mississippi State. Next: at LSU, Saturday. No.

23 East Carolina (9-2) beat North Carolina State 23-6. Next vs. TBA. No. 24 Texas (7-3) did i not play.

Next: vs. No. 6 Texas, Friday. No. 25 Boston College (8-2) beat Notre Dame 31 -29.

Next: at No. 2 Virginia Tech, Friday. -j Vi ti ,1 a. i i I '-II i i 1 il i ii i I 1 Gazette photoDAVID GRUBBS Baker's Mike Klang (40) turns up-field after catching a fourth-quarter pass against Huntley Project in the Class championship football game Saturday. Klang's 40-yard gain set up the clinching touchdown for the top-ranked Spartans, who won 24-7.

By BART HUBBUCH The Dallas Morning News There has been plenty to like about the NBA this season. Scoring is way up. League-wide parity has never been more obvious. Several young stars are slowly but surely emerging to fill the void created by Michael Jordan's retirement. Too bad no one or at least the average sports fan seems to care.

No, it's not your imagination. Almost three weeks into the regular season, those really are rows and rows of empty seats at Reunion Arena and in the background on nightly NBA highlight reels. That might be nothing new in Dallas, where the Mavericks have struggled to draw fans throughout the decade, but the attendance woes are a big deal in the league offices (More on NBA, Page9B) Spartans finish unbeaten season with 24-7 win over Huntley Project By FRITZ NEIGHBOR Of The Gazette Staff BAKER It was a lot tougher this time for the Baker Spartans, who survived a rough first half to win their rematch with Huntley Project 24-7 Saturday, and claim a second State football title for their school. Senior tailback Jace Schillinger rushed for 114 yards and two touchdowns on Baker's soggy, sun-drenched field, helping the top-ranked Spartans (12-0) earned a bookend crown to match the one from 1986. But this was the first quarter.

Project responded with a six-play, 66-yard drive, capped by Brandon Ewen's 10-yard run at the 6:17 mark. That drive took all of 129 seconds, and Jim Evans' extra-point kick put Project up 7-6 marking the first and only time Baker trailed all season. "We knew we had to match them physically," said Huntley Project coach Jim Stanton, who got strong running from Austin Harrison (88 yards), Ewen (56), Andy Reynolds and Gavin Lennan. "And maybe a little bit more. Their trademark is to get on you quick.

That first half we just tried to keep it close, then have a chance at the end." Even so, the Spartans didn't trail for long. Mike Klang returned the ensuing kickoff 58 (More on Baker, Page 9B) a team effort as in special teams, and team defense. The Spartans needed a little bit of everything against a Project team that bore little resemblance to the squad Baker dismantled 42-0 five weeks ago. "They had an excellent game plan, I tell you what," said Schillinger, a 185-pounder who had just two yards rushing at halftime. "They played their hearts out.

And so did we." For Baker, that was especially so in the second half. In the first, the Red Devils came out and, aside from their opening drive, ran the ball almost at will out of its wing-T offense. Of course, after that first drive, it was already 6-0, Baker: The Spartans' Ryan Wade fielded a punt at his own 25-yard line, flew up the right sideline behind a wall of blockers and burst into the open at the Project 40. He completed his 75-yard touchdown return at 8:26 of BIG SKY SHOWDOWN -topic: team will Ken Griffey Jr. 2 be playing for next season? (Sriz mmaiiall Tails, 49-3 La Today's question: Which four NFL teams lost in their only Super Bowl appearance? Please log on to www.billingsgazette.com to enter your responses and see results.

Bobcat Stadium. UM has won 14 straight against MSU, dating back to 1985. The 46-point margin was the second-largest in the 99-game series that dates back to 1897. Along the way, UM became the first I-AA school to have a rusher, and passer for a single season. The seventh-ranked Grizzlies finished 9-2 for the regular season and 7-1 in the Big Sky.

Montana will advance to the national playoffs for the seventh consecutive year. MSU, which closed out a disappointing season with its sixth straight loss, finished 3-8 overall and 1-7 in the league. It was Cliff Hyscll's final game as the Bobcats' head coach. He announced his retirement last Sunday. MSU officials hope to have a replacement hired by mid-December.

"I was thinking, what a way to ride off into (More on Griz, Page 9B) UM clinches Big Sky title with 14th straight win over MSU By JOE KUSEK Of The Gazette Staff BOZEM AN The University of Montana had a few simple objectives Saturday afternoon. Extend the win streak to 14 against the instate rival. Clinch the Big Sky Conference title and earn the league's automatic berth in the national I-AA playoffs. Let a pair of players chase individual glory that all could share. Done, done, done and done.

The Grizzlies methodically dismantled Montana State, 49-3, at a windy and cold i INSIDE Scoreboard 28 Prep basketball 38 Area sports 48 1 -J football SB 6B 78 NFL picks Qazatt phctoBOB ZELLAR Montana's Yohance Humphrey (21) gets away from Montana State's Damon McNeal (26), Cody Schrader (1 and Nick Morasko (97) during their game Saturday in Bozeman. Montana defeated Montana State, 49-3. NBANHL roundups ft i a a.