Griz fall to Jackrabbits in postseason rematch

Saturday, December 7

Brookings, S.D.

Noon (MT)

Montana

9-5 , 5-3

South Dakota State

11-2 , 7-1

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Montana

South Dakota St.

12/7/2024 5:02:00 PM | Football

Box Score Photo Gallery

By: Montana Sports Information

The Montana Grizzlies 2024 season came to a close in the second round of the FCS playoffs on Saturday, as the Griz fell to defending national champion South Dakota State 35-18 in Brookings.

Montana put up more points than any Jackrabbit opponent of the last 11 weeks but wasn't able to capitalize on crucial scoring opportunities to overcome a balanced 400-yard day from the SDSU offense, led by the defending Walter Payton Award winner Mark Gronowski.

Montana's offense was led by freshman quarterback Keali'i Ah Yat, who finished the day 19-32 passing for 231 yards but also had two interceptions, one of which came in the red zone early in the game and the other a pick-six.

Against a stout SDSU defense that entered the game holding opponents to just 12 points per game, UM's ground game couldn't help balance out the Grizzly attack with just 75 total yards, and the team's leading rusher of the past two years Eli Gillman held to just 12 yards.

Montana closes the book on the 2024 season at 9-5 overall and 5-3 in conference play, having advanced to the postseason a record 28^th time, while making at least a second-round appearance in each of the past five seasons. In that storied playoff history, UM now falls to 39-26 all-time and remains at just 2-14 in true road games played in the postseason.

"They did a nice job going and taking the win today. I thought they played really hard throughout the game. I thought they were well prepared, and on that same token, I thought we were too. I thought our guys played really hard. I'm appreciative of our guy's efforts," said head coach Bobby Hauck.

"They just had too much for us. There were a couple plays that got away and we didn't get off the field on third down in the first half. I thought our guys played hard but didn't quite get there today, which is kind of the story of our season."

Montana took an early 3-0 lead in the game thanks to a 35-yard field goal from Ty Morrison and capped the first quarter down by just four point a 3-7. But a pair of untimely offsides penalties opened the floodgates for the Jackrabbits, leading to 14 more points in the second quarter and a 21-3 halftime lead.

Montana had opportunities in the third quarter and held SDSU scoreless in the period, but a pick six from All-American linebacker Adam Bock with 13:30 left in the fourth quarter on the heels of a long Jackrabbit scoring drive shut the door on a Grizzly comeback opportunity.

Montana would throw a pair of touchdown passes later in the fourth, with Ah Yat connecting with Sawyer Racanelli and Keelan White to put 15 more points on the board, but it was too little, too late as the Jackrabbits advanced to the quarterfinal round.

After going three-and out on the games first possession, the Grizzly defense put the offense back on the field on the ensuing Jackrabbit possession with the first turnover of the game. Henry Nuce punched the ball out of handoff from Gronowski to Angel Johnson and Riley Wilson was Johnny on the spot with the recovery, putting UM back in business in Jackrabbit territory.

On a gutsy call from coordinator Brent Pease, Ah Yat found Junior Bergen on an out route for a gain of 15 on fourth and six to put the Griz into the SDSU red zone, and Montana would eventually get on the board when Morrison connected on a 35-yard field goal to put the Griz up 3-0 early on.

The Jackrabbits would waste no time marching down the field, however, scoring on a nine-play drive that was highlighted on a reverse pass back to Gronowski down to the one-yard line to make it 7-3.

Another Montana drive was stalled after that, and SDSU again wasted little time asserting itself on the next drive, with Gronowski finding Griffin Wilde for a gain of 38. One play later Gronowski went back to the well and found Wilde again on a post route for a 34-yard touchdown and just like that the Jacks built a 14-3 lead.

Montana's defense had SDSU bottled up on the drive, with Gronowski facing a 3^rd and nine that was stopped short, but a pair of offsides penalties on Riley Wilson and Ryan Tirrell in consecutive order pinned the Jacks ears back for the quick strike score.

The Griz started next possession deep in their own territory early in the second quarter and the offense would put together its best drive in the game so far. Ah Yat found White for a gain down the right sideline for a gain of 23 that got the ground out from their own five-yard line. Three plays later Ah Yat used his legs to pick up a crucial third down conversion on a 27-yard gain past midfield.

Xavier Harris then got a handoff on a reverse and brought the Griz into the SDSU red zone and Montana was motoring. The momentum was halted at the goal line, however, when Ah Yat went across the middle for Cole Grossman and was intercepted by Tucker Large to stop the momentum.

A missed SDSU field goal on the next drive would put Montana's offense back on the field but a three-and out brought Morrison and the punt team back on with three minutes to go in the half.

South Dakota Sate went back to work, putting together a methodical seven play, 75 yards drive over 2:43, capped by a pass from Gronowski to Wilde again for his second touchdown catch of the day.

That score put the home team up 21-3 with less than a minute to play in the first half. The Griz were limited to just 46 yards rushing on 15 carries in the opening half, with SDSU doubling-up UM in total offense 264-122.

"Every time we tried to steal some momentum, they stopped us. Especially in the first half, we were up three nothing and they we didn't get off the field. It was a good job by them. We just didn't win on third down. I think that's probably the real story that especially the first half.

On the first drive of the second half, Hayden Harris picked up his 10^th sack of the year to halt a Jackrabbit drive, who started with possession after winning the opening coin toss and deferring. It would be another stalled drive, however, as Morrison came on for his fourth punt of the game at that time.

Later in the quarter SDSU added to their score with a textbook drive that went 12 plays and 73 yards and chewed up over seven minutes on the clock and took the game into the fourth quarter, capped by a one-yard dive from Gronowski.

Montana went to the bench to look for an offensive spark on the next drive. Malae Fonoti got the drive going with two runs for nine yards, and the first down was converted on the next play by Ah Yat with his legs. The Griz then went back across midfield on a reverse from speedster freshman Lekeldrick Bridges for a gain of five.

Montana then got their first touchdown of the day when Ah Yat hit Racanelli streaking down the left sideline and got a fingertip grab in the endzone for a 44-yard strike that made it a 35-10 ballgame with less than 10 minutes to play.

Keelan White finished his senior year with 628 yards thanks to a team-high 68 yards on five catches with one touchdown against the Jackrabbits, hauling in a 9-yard pass from Ah Yat with four seconds left on the clock to make it 35-18 final score.