MISSOULA — Western Carolina quarterback Cole Gonzalez ran around celebrating after his 61-yard touchdown pass to De’Andre Tamarez gave the 24th-ranked Catamounts a 13-point lead over 9th-ranked Montana late in the second quarter Saturday.

PHOTOS: MONTANA FIGHTS BACK, BEATS WESTERN CAROLINA, FINISHES NON-LEAGUE GAME

It was part of a huge statistical day for Gonzalez and pass-happy WCU. But statistics don’t win football games, and the Grizzlies recovered from a sluggish start for a 46-35 victory at Washington-Grizzly Stadium to close out non-conference play.

Montana’s Keali’i Ah Yat set a school record for quarterbacks by scoring four touchdowns, and Eli Gillman ran for 175 yards and a touchdown, leading Montana to rally from a 17-point first-half deficit.

Ah Yat’s diving 6-yard TD run in the third quarter gave UM the lead for the first time, 28-27. Trevin Gradney then intercepted a tipped screen pass from Gonzalez to set up Ah Yat’s fourth touchdown rush, a 1-yarder.

The Grizzlies led 38-27 early in the fourth period after a Ty Morrison field goal, but WCU didn’t give up. A 3-yard TD pass from Gonzalez to AJ Colombo, followed by a run by Gonzalez for a two-point conversion, brought the Catamounts within three, 38-35, with 8:22 left.

But a 13-yard pass from Logan Fife to Junior Bergen in the red zone on fourth-and-4 kept a late Montana possession alive, leading to a go-ahead touchdown run by Nick Ostmo, a 12-yard sprint with 1:44 left.

Montana won despite 340 passing yards from Gonzalez and 229 receiving yards from its favorite target, Tamarez. The Griz rushed for 349 yards and outgained the Catamounts 552 to 477 in total offense.

It was Montana’s 10th straight home win over a ranked team since 2018. The Griz open Big Sky play next week hoping to defend their outright conference title from last season.

Turning point: Despite their slow start, the Grizzlies managed to go into halftime up one score, which was crucial.

After Gonzalez hit Tamarez for that 61-yard TD with 1:47 left in the second quarter, the Grizzlies got a huge boost from a late hit by WCU’s Jordy Lowery and a subsequent unsportsmanlike conduct call by Catamounts coach Kerwin Bell, giving UM 25 free yards and allowing Ah Yat to make a 9-yard touchdown run with 53 seconds left before halftime.

This allowed Montana to take the lead in the second half and leave with a win.

Statistics of the game: Ah Yat’s four touchdown runs are a record for a Montana quarterback in a single game and he now has six rushing TDs in this red-shirted freshman season.

Ah Yat is now just three shy of tying the total number of rushing touchdowns his father, former Montana QB Brian Ah Yat, scored from 1995-98. Brian Ah Yat scored four rushing touchdowns in 1998, two in 1997 and three in 1996.

Grizzly game balls: QB Keali’i Ah Yat (offense). Ah Yat didn’t flinch when Montana trailed the entire first half, and made his biggest impact as a runner. Ah Yat finished with 57 rushing yards on 11 attempts, an average of 5.2 per rush, and of course scored 24 points of his own.

LB Ryan Tirrell (defense). It was a challenge for UM’s defense to match up against WCU’s passing game, especially with their under and intermediate routes. But Tirrell led the Grizzlies’ linebacking corps with 10 tackles and a key breakup on a Catamount possession in the first half.

What’s next?: After a noncompetitive four-game schedule, Montana (3-1) opens Big Sky Conference play next week visiting a familiar rival: Eastern Washington.

The Grizzlies are atop the all-time series at 30-18-1, but have not won a game on foreign soil against the Eagles since 2008. They also have never won on “The Inferno,” EWU’s signature red turf field that was installed for the 2010 season.

However, the Griz have won their last two games (both in Missoula), including a 63-7 drubbing in 2022. Overall, the Eagles have won eight of their last 13. By rule, Montana will be without linebacker Riley Wilson for the first half next week; Wilson was disqualified for targeting in the second half against Western Carolina on Saturday.