GREELEY, Colo. – It wasn’t always pretty or energetic, but No. 9 Montana did what it had to do on Saturday in a 24-0 shutout over style over Northern Colorado at sun-drenched Nottingham Field.

UM’s defense intercepted three passes and quarterback Keali’i Ah Yat was effective in his first action in three weeks as the Grizzlies won their second consecutive outing.

Tommy Martino / Montana Athletics

After a bye, the Griz improved to 6-2 overall and 3-1 in the Big Sky and kept pace near the top of the conference race.

“Shutting people out in modern college football is kind of a monumental achievement, and I was really happy that we were able to do that,” head coach Bobby Hauck said. “I think our guys kind of embraced that in the fourth quarter.

“We played a lot of guys who hadn’t played much the last couple of drives and they took it upon themselves to close it out and I was happy about that.”

Logan Fife got the start at QB for Montana, but Ah Yat got the lion’s share of the meaningful snaps. Ah Yat finished with 149 yards and two passing TDs, defeating UNC counterpart Kia’i Keone; both played high school football at Kapalama High School in Honolulu.

Neither team’s first possession produced any points. But after a personal foul on linebacker Riley Wilson gave UNC a first down on the second drive, a Keone pass at the line of scrimmage was tipped by Ryan Tirrell and intercepted by Montana’s Jace Klucewich.

That produced an Eli Gillman-dominated drive, which the sophomore capped off with a four-yard touchdown run to give the Griz a 7-0 lead.

Trailing behind, UNC was looking for the tying points on the road in the second quarter. But an errant throw by Keone ended up in the hands of his intended receiver and into the arms of Montana’s Caleb Otlewski at the UM 3-yard line.

The Grizzlies eventually took a 14-0 lead on a short TD pass from Ah Yat to Ian Finch with less than a minute left in the first half.

Montana immediately extended its lead in the third quarter when a 76-yard kickoff by Xavier Harris put the Griz at the UNC 24, and Ty Morrison made a 47-yard field goal to make the score 17-0.

Later in the third, after an interception by Jaxon Lee, Ah Yat and Gillman connected for a 9-yard scoring pass, giving the Griz a 24-0 lead. That meant a limit of 16 plays and 87 yards.

Montana stopped the Bears on fourth down in the red zone early in the fourth quarter to secure the shutout.

Turning point: After UM’s defense forced a punt in the later stages of the second quarter, Ah Yat placed a beautiful throw into the hands of Harris for a 35-yard gain down the right sideline.

Nick Ostmo followed with a 22-yard run inside the 5, and then Ah Yat rolled out and found Finch for a 2-yard touchdown toss as the Grizzlies took an all-important two-possession lead at 14-0 with 31 to go seconds to go. break.

Statistics of the game: Montana’s defense entered Saturday with just two interceptions through the first seven games, but picked off three passes on the day. Otlewski’s interception at UM’s 3 was especially important because it prevented the Bears from potentially tying the game.

Grizzly play balls: QB Keali’i Ah Yat (foul). Ah Yat suffered an injury against Western Carolina on September 21 and saw limited playing time against Weber State two weeks later, but this was his most important action in the Big Sky game. He produced two passing touchdowns and no turnovers.

DE Hayden Harris (Defense). Everyone on UM’s defense stepped up, but Harris once again led the team in tackles for loss (two solo) and helped the Griz throw their first shutout of the year.

KR Xavier Harris (special teams). Any time you can break a big one in the kicking game it helps your cause. Harris did that to open the third quarter with a 76-yard return that allowed the Grizzlies to build their lead.

What’s next: The Grizzlies continue their road tour next Saturday when they take on Cal Poly at Mustang Memorial Field. Montana has the all-time series lead at 18-5 and has won three in a row.

Kickoff is at 3:00 PM (mountain time) and the match will be broadcast by Scripps Sports.

Northern Colorado (1-7, 1-3) will also be on the road next week, taking on another Big Sky contender, UC Davis.