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5 things you may have missed in UND’s 27-24 win over Montana – Grand Forks Herald
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5 things you may have missed in UND’s 27-24 win over Montana – Grand Forks Herald

GRAND FORKS — UND came back from a 24-7 halftime deficit to defeat No. 4 Montana 27-24 on Saturday night at the Alerus Center.

Here are five things you may have missed during the game.

1. Montana star not playing

Montana wide receiver/returner Junior Bergen did not play against the Fighting Hawks.

The All-American, who did not play in Montana’s Week 1 win over Missouri State, suited up and made the trip.

Bergen warmed up on the field before the match, but did not take any further action.

2. UND tries to use Belquist

UND’s passing game struggled to get off the ground against Montana, especially when attempting to get All-American wide receiver Bo Belquist involved.

Belquist was targeted 10 times, with four catches for 33 yards and a long of 17 yards.

All of Belquist’s 33 yards came in the first half.

Nate DeMontagnac came up with the decisive plays for UND in the final portion of the passing game.

UND took a third-and-11 on the drive that ended with Elrichs’ game-winning kick when Simon Romfo connected with the Canadian wide receiver on a 14-yard slant pass.

3. UND finishes with six sacks

Griz quarterback Keali’i Ah Yat was able to escape UND’s defensive pressure in the early stages of the game against Montana.

His ability to evade a cornerback charge from Antonio Bluiett led to a 37-yard touchdown pass from Ah Yat to Xavier Harris to open the scoring in the first quarter.

But UND’s defensive pressure eventually reached Ah Yat and backup quarterback Logan Fife.

Ah Yat was fired five times.

Craig Orlando, Josh Navratil and Wyatt Pedigo each had two sacks.

4. UND uses the Quincy push

For the first time in his two games as offensive coordinator, Isaac Fruechte called on tight end Quincy Vaughn to solve a short-yardage situation.

After Fruechte failed to use Vaughn on third-and-1 early in the fourth quarter, a play in which Gaven Ziebarth picked up 3 yards, Fruechte went to Vaughn, a former quarterback, in the next situation.

With the score tied at 24-24, UND had to call a fourth-and-1 from the Griz 44-yard line.

Vaughn entered the game and easily gained the needed distance with a dive through the middle.

UND’s home crowd made the difference in the second half.

The announced attendance was 11,595, the highest for a home game since 2017 against Missouri State.

The game kicked off at 6 p.m., the first Saturday night game against UND in 10 years.

Tom Miller

Miller has covered sports at the Grand Forks Herald since 2004 and was named the state’s top sports writer in 2019 and 2022.

His primary duty is football at UND, but he also reports on various UND sports and local prep.

You can reach him at (701) 780-1121, [email protected] or on Twitter at @tommillergf.