Griz rally, win a thriller over Idaho State

Saturday, October 4

Pocatello, Idaho

6 PM

Montana

5-0 , 2-0

Idaho State

2-4 , 1-1

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Montana

Idaho St.

10/5/2025 12:52:00 AM | Football

Box Score

By: Montana Sports Information

Idaho State's Holt Arena has been home to some wild Grizzly wins over the years, but Saturday night's 46-38 Montana victory was one for the books.

Trailing the Bengals by as many as 13 in the third quarter, the Grizzlies scored 24 of the last 31 points and shut out Idaho State's high-flying offense in the fourth quarter to earn a gutsy Big Sky Conference win in Pocatello to move to 5-0 on the season and 2-0 in league play.

In a shoot-out with over 1,000 yards of combined offense and over 150 plays from scrimmage, Grizzly sophomore Keali'i Ah Yat outdueled ISU star QB Jordan Cooke with 350 passing yards and a TD on 23 of 40 completions.

Eil Gillman persisted for 48 hard-earned yards rushing with a touchdown on the ground and another through the air along with 33 more receiving for two TDs on the day.

But the straw that stirred Montana's drink was Michael Wortham. The dynamic, do-everything senior receiver indeed did a bit of everything for the Griz, and did it well when the team needed him most.

Wortham totaled 247 all-purpose while throwing for a touchdown and rushing for two more, including the game winner. He had 41 on the ground, 124 receiving, and another 82 on kickoff returns.

Brooks Davis also racked-up over 100 yards receiving with 104 on 6 catches.

Montana struck first with Michael Wortham stepping in a quarterback, taking a shotgun snap, and taking off around left tackle. ISU defender Davion Ross closed in, but the shifty Grizzly put in a stutter step and left Ross in the dust on his way to the endzone for a 21-yard touchdown run that put UM up 7-0.

The shootout was on as soon as ISU's offense took the field, with the Bengals breaking off chunk plays of their own to march down the field for a nine-play, 88 yards touchdown drive, capped by an eight-yard rush from Daison Brooks to make it 7-7.

Montana got back in Bengal territory early in the very next drive when Ah Yat connected with Jordan Dever for a 44-yard gain along the left sideline to put the Griz in the red zone for the second time in two drives.

Four plays later Ah Yat found Wortham in the endzone for what looked to be a second-straight touchdown for the senior, but an offensive pass interference penalty on freshman Brooks Davis negated the play. The Griz would settle for a 37-yard field goal from Ty Morrison to take a 10-7 lead.

With Montana's defense putting increased pressure on QB Jordan Cooke and bottling up the Bengal's run game, ISU would also have to settle for a field goal on the next drive when Trajan Sinatra connected from 42 yards out to tie the game 10-10

It was a fast and furious first quarter, with both Ah Yat and Cooke passing for over 100 yards in the opening period and 20 points score between the two teams.

Idaho State's passing game went back to work early in the second, with Cooke completing three of his six pass attempts for more than 15 yards each to march the Bengals back into UM territory. Carson Sudberry then put the Bengals on top for the first time in the afternoon, capping the nine play, 72-yard drive with a three-yard rush around right end to put the home team up 17-10.

But Montana immediately returned to ISU territory on the next drive and picked up a pair of key fourth down conversions to keep the chains moving. After starting the game six for six passing, Ah Yat snapped an 0-5 cold streak with a flip-pass to Evan Shafer for a gain of 6 to set up 3^rd and four. Wortham was stuffed on a third down carry, but Gillman picked up a huge fourth down conversion with a burst around left end to save the Grizzly drive.

Cool, calm, and collected, Ah Yat converted another fourth down for Montana with a quick pass to Wortham who scampered for 10 yards into the ISU red zone.

Mr. all-purpose Mike Wortham showed why he's perhaps the most versatile player in the country, hauling in a lateral from Ah Yat and passing for a 16-yard Grizzly touchdown to a wide-open Josh Gale to make it a 16-17 ISU lead. Brooks Davis put UM on top on the two point conversion, taking a direct snap off left tackle for a pair of points that put the Griz up 18-17.

But again, Cooke and the Bengals went back to work with the passing attack. Aided by a pass interference call on Prince Ford, ISU went 75 yards in just five plays to score again on a 30-yard Julian Mason catch in the endzone.

A pair of punts from both teams later and the Griz had the ball with a minute to play and all three timeouts, but a negative return from Drew Deck pinned UM deep in its own territory.

Despite a promising drive, Montana would head to the locker room without any more points, however, with Morrison's 40-yard field goal sailing wide left, however, and the Griz trailed 18-24 in a wild first half that saw both teams rack up nearly 600 yards of combined offense and 30 combined first downs.

The second half started with more points for the home team, as another pass interreference penalty – the fourth of the day for the Griz – kept the chains moving for ISU. Cooke then went back to his favorite target in Shulikov for a big 35-yard gain that brought the Bengals back into the red zone. Brooks then capped the seven play, 75-yard drive with a three yard burst that put ISU up 31-18.

Montana wasn't done, however, with Ah Yat and Wortham again leading UM down the field for another scoring drive for the Griz.

The Montana signal caller put UM back in the redzone with a gutsy 54 yard completion to his favorite target of the day, stepping up in the pocket and evading pressure to uncork his longest pass of the day at that point in the game. Three plays later Ah Yat connected with Gillman for his first touchdown pass of the day and it was a one score game, 25-31.

The Griz put more points on the board on their next drive after forcing a Bengal punt. Ah Yat connected with Davis for a 36 yard gain to put UM back in the red zone and Morrison slotted a 35-yard field goal to cap a six play, 45-yard drive and make it a 28-31 ballgame halfway through the third quarter.

Montana's defense then continued to increast the pressure on Cooke, forcing Another 3 and out for UM's defense and the Griz offense back to work

DeAnte Gentry hauls in his first pick of his career on a deep ball from Cooke, but Ah Yat throws it right back three plays later with his first pick in three games. ISU would capilalize on the turnover with a 33-yard pass from Cooke to Tsion Nunnally to extend the ISU lead to 10 at 38-28.

Eli Gillman punches right back for Montana with his longest run of the day of 33 yards into the red zone for ISU. After the quarter break, he powered it in from five yards out and it was again a one score game at 35-38 with a period left to play.

Montana's defense then continued to hold when Elijawah Tolbert stuffed a fourth and one to take over on down with 10:45 to play.

A pair of punts later, Montana pulled a rabbit out of a hat and ran the Grizzly Special, a reverse from Gillman to Wortham, who then found Ah Yat streaking downfield for big gain that se the Griz up in the red zone with just over three minutes to play.

Soon after, it was Wortham again, taking a snap at quarterback and powering in from 11 yards out for the go-ahead touchdown that put the Grizzlies in front for good, 42-38.

The Swift Effect: With the win over Idaho State on Saturday and international pop superstar Taylor Swift releasing her new album "Life of a Showgirl" on Friday, Montana improved to 9-2 overall and 4-0 all-time against Idaho State the week Swift has released a new album over the years.