Griz hold on to beat Eagles, remain undefeated

Saturday, November 8

Missoula, Mont.

1 PM

Montana

10-0 , 6-0

Eastern Washington

4-6 , 3-3

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Eastern Wash.

Montana

Photo by: Tommy Martino/University of Montana

11/8/2025 7:33:00 PM | Football

Box Score Photo Gallery

By: Montana Sports Information

Any time Montana and Eastern Washington square off, the one thing you can bank on is it won't be a boring game.

The 51^st meeting between the two old foes was no different on Saturday, as the No. 2 Griz survived a second-half lull to beat the Eagles 29-24 and stay undefeated at 10-0 on the season and 6-0 in Big Sky play.

Led by a sparkling Keali'i Ah Yat who completed 14 of his first 15 passes early, Montana dominated the start of the game, scoring early and often to take a 22-0 lead halfway through the second quarter and it looked like the rout was on.

But Eastern Washington would not go quietly as the Eagles abandoned their run game and scrappy freshman QB Jake Shakel racked up over 400 yards passing as EWU scored three of the last four touchdowns and a field goal to set up a nailbiter of a finish.

Having just recovered an onside kick with a minute to play, Eastern was knocking on the door of an upset with the ball on the Grizzly five-yard line, trailing by five points, with five seconds to play.

But a muffed spike from Shakel to stop the clock on third down would allow time to expire and the Griz to avoid the letdown as UM won its fourth-straight against EWU and improved to 32-18-1 in the all-time series.

Montana's defensive front had its most productive game all season, harassing Shakel to the tune of eight sacks on the day – the most of any team in the Big Sky to date. The unit was led by senior end Kellen Detrick of Havre who totaled three sacks and Jareb Ramos who added two more as UM combined for 12 TFLs and a pair of interceptions (one by a defensive end). EWU, meanwhile, was held to just 28 total yards in the run game.

The Grizzly offense, on the other hand went stagnant, putting up just 117 yards in the second half after posting 174 in the first quarter alone while going just 1-10 on third down. The bright spot was a 25-yard touchdown run from Eli Gillman early in the third quarter that proved to be the difference.

"That about as wild as it gets. Everything from giving up the onside kick at the end, and I can tell you we weren't good enough on third down on either side of the ball. We had a hard time making plays on the ball. We didn't run it effectively enough, but in the second half I thought our defense was tremendous stopping them and not letting them in the end zone," said head coach Bobby Hauck.

"But good teams find ways to win when they might not be at their best. I asked how many guys in the locker room have ever been 10-0, and no hands went up. There's going to be some close calls. It's rare to just dominate everybody."

With the win, Hauck is now tied with Jerome Souers for the most Big Sky Conference victories in league history with 85. He needs just one more to become the conference's overall wins leader and the winningest coach in league games.

Montana put touchdowns on the board on its first three possessions of the game to take a 22-0 lead early in the second quarter before EWU found its offensive footing to add a pair of TDs before half. The Griz then scored first in the second half on a 25-yard touchdown run from Gillman, who crossed 1,000 yards on the season with 83 on the day.

Ah Yat finished the game with 250 yards on 22 of 30 passing with no interceptions for the third time in four games. He's now passed for 2,784 yards this season and has thrown 17 touchdowns to just three INTs in the last eight games. He also rushed for a score to account for three total TDs for the second-straight game.

Michael Wortham capped the day with 162 all-purpose yards, paced by a team-high 81 yards receiving. He opened the scoring against his old team with a 12-yard reception in the endzone from Ah Yat to go up 7-0 and cap a five-play drive that started with good field possession thanks to a 60 yards punt return by Drew Deck.

After a missed 39-yard field goal attempt from Eagle kicker Soren McKee wide left, Montana got back on the board quickly again on the next drive.

Sophomore receiver Korbin Hendrix had perhaps the highlight of the season at Washington-Grizzly Stadium and certainly a SportsCenter Top 10 candidate when he stretched out in the endzone and pulled in a one-handed fingertip grab to put UM up 14-0.

The Griz extended the lead to 22-0 on their next drive when Ah Yat ran it in from three yards out, and Brooks Davis put the cherry on top with a sprint to the right corner for a two point conversion.

The Eagles then got the offense rolling with two scores in the final eight minutes of the second quarter to narrow the margin before halftime 22-14.

Montana got on the scoreboard again early in the second half by turning defense into offense. Kenzel Lawler, who had been beat in coverage on an earlier score, got redemption by hauling in a contested Shakel pass deep down the right hash.

The Griz offense wasted no time taking advantage of the turnover, with Ah Yat finding Deck for a 39-yard gain that put the Griz deep into Eagle territory. Gillman powered his way to the endzone on the next play, mowing over defenders for a 25-yard touchdown run to put UM up 29-14 early in the third period.

Eastern added two more scores with a 24-yard field goal from McKee and an eight-yard pass from Shakel to Cole Pruett to close the gap to 29-24, but the upset was not on the cards as the muffed fumble led to the Grizzly win.

Montana now returns to the road to face Portland State (1-9, 1-5 BSC) in the Rose City on Nov. 15 as football returns to Providence Park in downtown Portland. The UM Alumni Association will host a pregame tailgate open to all Griz fans on the stadium's rooftop event space. Tickets are available at GrizAlum.org.