Montana
8-3 , 5-2
Portland State
2-8 , 2-5
Griz ride big second half to win over Portland State
11/16/2024 7:56:00 PM | Football
The full moon was on Friday, but the weirdness carried over to Saturday in Missoula as the Montana Grizzlies overcame a first half shut-out and a second-half power outage at Washington-Grizzly Stadium to come away with a 28-17 win over Portland State.
In a scrappy matchup charged with senior day emotions and family feuds on both sidelines, Montana came alive for 21 points in the third quarter with a balanced attack on offense led by Logan Fife at quarterback. The defense stepped-up too, taking a season-high five turnovers to help the Griz improve to 8-3 on the season and 5-2 in conference play.
Montana's eighth win of the year all but guarantee's UM a place in the postseason as well, punching the Grizzlies' ticket to the playoffs for an FCS record 28th time. Portland State, meanwhile, falls to 2-8 (2-5 BSC) as the Vikings work though the most difficult schedule in FCS football.
The Griz re-ignited its run game that was held quiet over the last two games for 199 rushing yards, 134 of which came from Eli Gillman, who crossed the century mark for the first time since September. Fife, who entered the game for the injured Keali'i Ah Yat, accounting for all four Grizzly touchdowns with 197 yards and three scores through the air and another on the ground.
Led by Frenchtown's Jace Klucewich with two, the defense clamped down when it mattered most in the red zone, as UM picked-off three passes as Portland State was driving to try and erase UM's third quarter lead.
The Grizzlies iced the game late in the fourth as dusk settled in Missoula after the power outage forced the lights out in the stadium and time to be kept by the officials, just when time management mattered most.
"It was wild. It was just a crazy game. I thought our guys managed to bleed the clock at the end of it with just the referee's hand signals, but the power outage was hard on everybody, and I thought our guys handled it well. The clock is such a factor in that point in the game and it wasn't working. So, it was just wild," said head coach Bobby Hauck.
"It was an interesting game. The first half was really good by our defense, but we couldn't sustain anything on offense. Couldn't get it going. We had eight first downs at halftime but not many consecutive ones, and certain things hurt us to shut us out, but it was nice to get 28 in the second half."
The Griz started slowly on offense in the first half as the Vikings chewed up the clock for nearly 10 more minutes of possession and their defense allowed the Griz to get off just 28 plays. Montana's defense held firm, however, and allowed just three points from the visitors on the first drive followed by a pair of punts and a pair of turnovers to give PSU a 3-0 lead at the break.
Fife and Montana flipped the script in the second half, however, getting the passing game going with 21 points on over 160 yards through the air in the third quarter alone, and added another score on a 35-yard bomb from Fife to Aaron Fontes to put the game away in the fourth. Fife finished the day going 9-for 14 passing for 197 yards and touchdown passes to Fontes, Sawyer Racanelli, and Erik Barker.
"I thought a couple things (were different in the second half). One, we were better on first down. They blitzed, not every down but a high percentage and we started handling their pressure, we started getting our protections targeted, guys were staying square, and we started hitting some passes. We knew with that structure they were going to put more pressure on their corners than the corners could bear, and we just had to get to it," said Hauck.
"(Fife) He did a good job coming off the bench. He had expected to play, and he came in and looked like he had prepared to do that, so that's a credit to him. I was pleased for him to be able to do that, and then guys started making plays. Guys were hanging onto the ball and there was a lot of good targeting in protection as well as in the run game."
The Grizzly defense also neutralized dynamic Viking quarterback Dante Chachere, one of the overall leading rushers in the Big Sky, to just six total yards on the ground. Montana made him pay in the passing game as well, limiting him to 139 yards in the air and forcing him into throwing two of UM's three interceptions.
"The takeaways were big. He (Chachere) is such a good runner, it creates some space on the back end. That's just the nature of it. He fits it in there and the windows aren't as big he struggles a little bit and that's certainly what happened," said Hauck.
The Vikings got the ball to start the game, driving into field goal range and converting a 40-yard field goal to cap off an 11-play opening drive.
After a Grizzly three-and-out, Portland State went down the field again and made it into the red zone. On 1st-and-goal, they tried to run a trick-play HB pass, and the ball was intercepted in the end zone by Jace Klucewich for his third pick of the season.
Montana then drove the length of the field, but returned the favor with an interception on the Portland State six to give it back to the Vikings early in the second quarter.
The Grizzlies struggled through the first half offensively,
The offense found some life on the first drive of the second half. Back-to-back first down runs from Fife and Gillman moved the Griz into Portland State territory. Fife then completed a 12-yard pass to Sawyer Racanelli and then a pass interference penalty on PSU set the Griz up just outside the red zone.
Fife hit Fontes across the middle, and the receiver was pulled down just before crossing the goal line. On the next play, Fife kept it up the middle for a score, his fifth rushing score of the season.
The Vikings struck right back, rushing five straight times on a 54-yard scoring drive that made it 10-7 with 10:35 to play in the third quarter.
The lead didn't last long for the visitors. On the first play of the next Grizzly drive, a Fife pass was tipped and appeared to be intercepted. The video review showed the ball hit the ground, and Montana took advantage of their second chance.
Fife hit Racanelli on a slant on the very next play, and the receiver dashed 81 yards for his first touchdown of the season. It's the longest reception of the season for the Grizzlies.
Sawyer Racanelli TO. THE. HOUSE! 🏠
— Montana Griz Football (@MontanaGrizFB) November 16, 2024
81 yards to the crib for @soysoy_11 👏#GoGriz pic.twitter.com/5ZjwhmJRmb
Portland State hit on a big pass on the next drive, going 56 yards through the air to get it to the Montana 5-yard line. They tried three straight runs, and on all three plays Klucewich read it right for a tackle to keep them out of the end zone.
On fourth down, the Vikings were able to punch it in up the middle, retaking the lead at 17-14 with 6:34 in the third.
The offense remained red-hot for the Grizzlies on the next drive as the teams traded punches. Fife continued to work the quick passing game, hitting Fontes for 15 yards and then Racanelli for eight more.
Gillman then bruised the defense for 23 yards on three carries to advance it to the PSU 22-yard line. Fife hit Ostmo on a screen pass down to the 11, and then found a wide-open Erik Barker peeling out for Montana's third touchdown of the quarter. It's the third touchdown for Barker on the season.
Back on 🔝@fife_logan ➡️ @ErikBarker88 = TOUCHDOWN.#GoGriz pic.twitter.com/T3fTSoZZQq
— Montana Griz Football (@MontanaGrizFB) November 16, 2024
The Grizzlies needed to change the rhythm of the game and disrupt the Vikings' offense, and they did just that on the next drive. A bad snap was initially recovered by Dante Chachere, but Andrews Lehrmann brought him down and knocked the ball loose again. Hayden Harris emerged from the pile with it, and Montana took over on the PSU 30.
Two plays later, Fife hit Fontes over the top of the defense for a 35-yard score to extend the Griz lead to 28-17.
💰 What a dime from @fife_logan to @aaronfontess! 🔥#GoGriz pic.twitter.com/jvdrVT8owm
— Montana Griz Football (@MontanaGrizFB) November 16, 2024
The quarterback improved to 9-for-11 passing with 197 yards and three scores after the pass. His quarterback rating at the time was 322.3, and he also had a rushing touchdown while leading Montana to four straight scoring drives.
Portland State got the ball with over 14 minutes to play in the game, and kept it for nearly eight minutes as they put together a methodical drive. They made it inside the Grizzly 10-yard line, but were backed up on a false start penalty.
The next play saw Chachere throw a pick in the end zone. Klucewich read his eyes, jumped a potential touchdown pass, and snagged his second interception of the game. He brought it out from the end zone and returned it all the way to the 40-yard line.
ANOTHER PICK FOR KLUCE! 👏
— Montana Griz Football (@MontanaGrizFB) November 16, 2024
That's his 4th of the year - the most in the Big Sky! #GoGriz pic.twitter.com/WcZjacHphC
As Montana had the ball on offense, the power went out in the stadium, and after a brief delay they returned to action but were forced to punt.
The defense held strong on the next Portland State drive. Chachere took a deep shot, and once again the Griz were able to take it away as Tyson Rostad picked off his first career pass.
Gillman broke a big run to the outside, and it allowed Montana to take a knee in the red zone and send the Grizzly fans home happy.
"They were persistent with the heavy box stuff and they weren't going to get out of it, so we ended up hurting them on the outside. But we were also persistent with our run game. We just said 'hey, we've got to be satisfied with three, four, five-yard gains and maybe we crack a big one," and that's what happened in the second half," said Hauck.
The win gave Montana's seniors one last regular-season victory inside Washington-Grizzly Stadium. 20 of the 26 seniors on the roster were here for their entire careers, and were key members of UM's 2023 championship season. As a group, they finish their last home game with a 41-13 record.
"I think it's great that we do take the time to introduce them before the game and recognize their contributions," said Hauck.
"In an era of college football where a lot of guys don't stay for their whole career, but a lot of these guys did, and some joined us mid-career. So that's the reason I have to keep my sunglasses on while we introduce them, I hate the fact that they're almost out the door. They're good dudes and I enjoy being around them every day."
Montana now turns the page to focus on the 123rd Brawl of the Wild game against Montana State next Saturday in Bozeman.
Team Stats
PSU 3, UM 0
PSU - Uribe,Mathias 40 yd field goal 11 plays, 61 yards, TOP 05:24
PSU 3, UM 7
UM - Fife,Logan 1 yd run (Morrison,Ty kick), 5 plays, 72 yards, TOP 01:54
PSU 10, UM 7
PSU - Craig,Quincy 13 yd run (Uribe,Mathias kick), 5 plays, 54 yards, TOP 02:20
PSU 10, UM 14
UM - Racanelli,Sawyer 81 yd pass from Fife,Logan (Morrison,Ty kick) 2 plays, 81 yards, TOP 00:18
PSU 17, UM 14
PSU - Thompson,Delon 3 yd run (Uribe,Mathias kick), 6 plays, 61 yards, TOP 03:29
PSU 17, UM 21
UM - Barker,Erik 11 yd pass from Fife,Logan (Morrison,Ty kick) 11 plays, 70 yards, TOP 03:55
PSU 17, UM 28
UM - Fontes,Aaron 35 yd pass from Fife,Logan (Morrison,Ty kick) 1 plays, 30 yards, TOP 00:27
