Layne’s 3 TD passes help Idaho beat Lehigh 34-13 in FCS playoffs

MOSCOW, Idaho (AP) — Jack Layne was 16-of-22 passing for 318 yards and three touchdowns and Zach Johnson returned an interception 76 yards for a score on Saturday night to help No. 8 seed Idaho beat Lehigh 34-13 in the second round of the FCS playoffs.

Idaho (10-3) plays No. 1 seed and Big Sky Conference-rival Montana State — which beat the Vandals 38-7 in Bozeman, Montana, on Oct. 12 — in the quarterfinals.

Layne hit Jordan Dwyer with a 5-yard touchdown pass that capped a 14-play, 80-yard drive that took nearly seven minutes off the clock and opened the scoring with 6:05 left in the first quarter. The pair also connected for a 67-yard TD early in the second quarter. Mark Hamper caught a 42-yard scoring pass from Layne to make it 19-3 with 1:33 left until halftime.

The Vandals defeated Lehigh 77-14 at home on Nov. 13, 1993, in the only other meeting between the programs.

Nick Garrido kicked field goals of 35 and 39 yards in the first half for the Mountain Hawks and Dante Perri’s 1-yard TD run capped the scoring in the closing seconds.

Idaho recorded double-digit wins in a season for the third time in program history. The Vandals won 11 games in 1988 and 1993 and advanced to the national semifinals in each.

Lehigh (9-4) had a seven-win improvement from its two-win total last season, the first under coach Kevin Cahill.