MISSOULA, Mont.—Montana quarterback Lucas Johnson passed for 195 yards, ran for 75 and accounted for three touchdowns in leading the No. 2/3 Grizzlies to a 24-7 win against South Dakota Saturday at Washington-Grizzly Stadium.
 
Johnson led touchdown drives on two of Montana's first three possession to stake the home team to a 13-0 lead. That proved plenty for a Griz defense that kept South Dakota out of the end zone until midway through the fourth quarter. Montana held South Dakota to 90 yards rushing, 119 passing and applied consistent pressure to signal caller Carson Camp.
 
South Dakota, to its credit, settled down defensively after the early strikes and made plenty of plays to try to jump start its offense. Cornerback Myles Harden recovered a fumble inside the red zone to keep points off the board in the second quarter. He also intercepted Johnson early in the fourth. The Coyotes got 14 tackles from Stephen Hillis who stuffed Johnson on a 4^th-and-1 run near midfield with 7:18 to go.
 
It was that third turnover that sprung the offense. Held to one first down in the second half to that point, tight end JJ Galbreath leaped and made a terrific catch on a Camp pass that went for 31 yards on the first play of the ensuing drive. Running back Travis Theis' 25-yard, tackle-breaking touchdown run up the middle followed and the Coyotes were on the board.
 
South Dakota forced a three-and-out and USD started again from its 37 with five minutes to go. The Coyotes drove to Montana's 41, but a false start turned a 4^th-and-2 into a 4^th-and-7 and Montana's defense held. The final points of the game came when Camp was sacked in the end zone for a safety with less than a minute to play.
 
South Dakota racked up 88 yards in penalties and totaled 12 first downs. Theis ran 20 times for a game-high 88 yards and Shomari Lawrence carried six times for 28. Camp completed 12-of-24 passes. He connected five times for 58 yards with Wesley Eliodor in the first half, but Eliodor was injured late in the half and didn't return. Carter Bell was targeted six times but couldn't connect with Camp on a reception.
 
Montana, the preseason favorite to win the Big Sky, totaled 362 yards of offense. More than 200 of that came on its first four drives. The Griz also punched first in the second half, getting a 28-yard field goal from Nico Ramos and then a 12-yard touchdown grab from Junior Bergen to extend a 13-0 halftime lead to 22-0.
 
South Dakota returns to campus and will host Cal Poly in its home opener at 1 p.m. Saturday inside the DakotaDome.