SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Cardell Williams threw for a career-high 332 yards and a touchdown with 206 going to Ernest Campbell but No. 4 Montana was able to pull away from Sacramento State for a 49-35 victory on Friday night at Hornet Stadium.
 
The win kept the Grizzlies undefeated at 8-0 overall and 4-0 in Big Sky games. The Hornets dropped to 4-4 overall and 2-2 in league games.
 
Williams completed his first 13 pass attempts of the game and finished the game 25-of-32. He set career records for completions, attempts and yards, topping his previous yardage total of 252 set earlier this season against Central Arkansas.
 
Campbell was his favorite target, catching nine passes on the way to becoming just the fifth 200-yard receiver in school single-game history. His total ranks fourth in the Hornet record book and was the most since DeAndre Carter set the Sacramento State record with 273 yards against Southern Utah in 2014. Campbell, a redshirt freshman, had his total aided by a touchdown catch of 63 yards and another reception of 48 yards during the game. He now has five TD grabs of at least 50 yards this season which is the most in a season in program history.
 
Sacramento State scored the game's first points with a 13-play drive which took nearly seven minutes off the clock. The Hornets ran the ball on nine plays including a 3-yard touchdown run from Rodney Hammond, Jr. While the ground game was effective, it was a 6-yard completion from Cardell Williams to Jordan Williams on 4^th-and-4 at the Montana 24 to keep the drive alive.
 
Montana had an immediate answer to tie the game on a 24-yard pass from Keakli'I Ah Yat to Brooks Davis. The Hornets looked to have gotten off the field during the drive after a third-down incompletion but were ruled to have lined up in the neutral zone allowing the Griz to convert their second try on third down.
 
Sacramento Stated moved back ahead, 14-7, early in the second quarter when Williams connected with a wide-open Campbell for a 63-yard touchdown.
 
Just over two minutes later, Michael Wortham grabbed a short pass and burst into the open field for a 64-yard TD reception of his own to knot the game, 14-14, with 12:46 left in the half.
 
Momentum in the game swung both directions in a couple of big plays in the next series. Sacramento State appeared to move back ahead with a 99-yard kickoff return from Hammond only to have a late flag hit field negating the score. The Hornets then attempted a fake punt where Jaxon Fresques threw to punter Cal McGough who was tripped up short of the line to gain giving Montana possession in the Hornet half of the field. Four plays later, Wortham took a direct snap and scored on a 27-yard run to give the Griz their first lead of the game, 21-14, with 7:24 left in the second quarter.
 
Hammond tied the game with his second touchdown of the game, scoring from 6-yards out. The TD was set up by a 48-yard pass from Williams to Campbell over the middle of field where the sprinter was brought down by a shoelace tackle just inside the 5-yard line.
 
Montana took a 28-21 lead into halftime following a 13-yard TD run from Eli Gillman. The drive was setup after the Griz recovered a muffed punt at the Hornet 21 with 1:43 left in the half.
 
Montana was able to double their advantage when Ah Yat scrambled on 3^rd-and-goal from the 11-yard line and threw across the field to tight end Evan Shafer who was able to bring in the pass just beyond the goal line on the opening drive of the third quarter.
 
Both teams scored a pair of touchdowns in the fourth quarter. The Griz started the barrage with a 15-yard run from Wortham. Sacramento State answered with a Cardell Williams run of 17 yards. Malae Fonoti responded for Montana with a 4-yard score and Williams capped the night with a run of 18 yards.
 
Montana was led by Wortham who had 89 rushing yards and two TDs, caught five passes for 80 yards and a TD and also picked up 69 yards on kick returns. Ah Yat completed 16-of-24 passes for 196 yards and three scores. Defensively, the Griz had 10 TFls and six sacks, including three from Peyton Wing and two from Diezel Wilkinson.
 
Sacramento State will next play at Eastern Washington on Saturday, Nov. 1, at 1 p.m.