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BOZEMAN, Mont. (AP) -- Michael Beach returned an interception 51 yards for a touchdown with 4:40 remaining to lift Montana State to a 24-18 victory over Weber State Saturday.
Montana State (6-3, 5-1 Big Sky), ranked 24th in NCAA Division I-AA, rallied to win its fifth straight game.
Weber State (2-6, 1-4) took an 18-10 lead on a 10-yard touchdown run by Trevyn Smith with 13:25 remaining.
The Bobcats, who struggled in the third quarter, answered less than three minutes later with a 24-yard pass from Jack Rolovich to Deon Toliver. The two-point conversion pass failed.
Both teams' next drives were fruitless. Weber State was successful on a fake punt on fourth down, but the play was called back on a penalty. Montana State missed a field goal after a bad snap.
On Weber's next drive, Beach intercepted Ian Pizarro and returned the ball 51 yards for the game-winning score. Rolovich ran in for the two-point conversion.
Rolovich, in his third start, completed 12-of-24 passes for 156 yards and two touchdowns, the first a 19-yard pass to Donell Wheaton with 9:21 left in the first quarter.
Jeff Hastings kicked a 29-yard field goal to give MSU a 10-0 lead with 10:45 left in the half.
Weber State got within 10-6 on a 30-yard TD pass from Pizarro to Marky Filipe with 1:01 left in the half. A high snap caused the conversion to fail.
Weber State opened the second half with three straight scores, a 32-yard field goal by Conor Foley, a safety after the Wildcats blocked an MSU punt into the end zone, and Smith's touchdown early in the fourth quarter.
Pizarro completed 20-of-39 passes for 230 yards and was sacked five times. Filipe had six catches for 99 yards and Smith had 22 carries for 65 yards.
(Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) APTV-10-28-06 1815MDT
