MISSOULA, Mont. — END: UM 29 – MISSOURI STATE 24

A night of ups and downs for the Montana Grizzlies ended with the Griz singing along with Montana in triumphant fashion. The game itself had no shortage of drama and developing storylines. Here’s how it went down Saturday in their home opener against Missouri State.

After talking about giving both quarterbacks, Keali’i Ah Yat and Logan Fife, playing time, Hauck proved to be a man of his word. The Griz got the ball first and trotted Ah Yat out to start the game. Ah Yat covered and dunked his way upfield and the Griz crossed into Missouri State territory thanks to a facemask penalty. However, the drive stalled at MSU’s 40-yard line and on 4th and 2, Montana elected to punt.

Three plays later, the Griz defense got the job done, forcing MSU to punt deep in their own territory. Drew Deck, filling in for electric return man Junior Bergen who had been a scratch from the start, couldn’t cleanly catch the punt, which ended up in a muffin. The Bears rallied at midfield, and four minutes later, the Bears drove the ball in from 7 yards out for the game’s opening score.

It didn’t take long for the Grizzlies to respond. Four plays later, last year’s Jerry Rice award winner Eli Gillman broke loose for a 37-yard touchdown. Freshman Griz kicker Ty Morrison eventually nailed the extra point from the post as MSU held on to its 7-6 lead.

The teams traded field goals on the next two drives, making the score 10-9 with about seven minutes left in the first half.

Up until that point, Montana’s defense had missed a number of tackles, but they were able to adjust and stay in shape when the Bears entered the red zone.

With about four minutes left in the first half, Bears quarterback Jacob Clark was once again slowly marching his unit down the field when he made his first big mistake of the game by throwing an interception to Griz defensive back Ryder Meyer at the Montana 26-yard line.

Both teams were stuck on their previous drives, with the Griz getting the ball back with 1:40 left. Hauck said after the game that this was the moment he wanted to call Fife’s number to lead the offense, but they had run so few plays at that point that he went back to Ah Yat. The decision paid off, as Ah Yat saved his best drive of the day for the final two minutes of the first half. On the MSU goal line, however, Montana motioned Ah Yat out of the play for a direct snap to Ostmo that was stopped, and the Griz settled for three as the half expired and headed into the locker room with a 12-10 lead.

MSU received the ball to start the half, where Hayden Harris, having one of his best days as a Griz, sacked Clark to make it 3rd and 19. However, on third and long, Montana committed to the blitz while the Bears successfully converted thanks to a well-timed screen call. One play later, Jayden Becks broke loose for a 32-yard touchdown as the Bears took back the lead 17-12.

Ah Yat’s name was mentioned again, but a sack fumble picked up by the Griz cost the team 18 yards and the drive.

Montana forced a three and out and it was Logan Fife’s time. Fife converted a 3rd and 9 to Xavier Harris, but a few plays later, an unsportsmanlike penalty on Harris would stall the drive.

Hayden Harris picked up Clark again for his second sack of the day, ruining the Bears’ next drive.

Montana got the ball back and faced a 4th and 1 situation at the MSU 34 yard line. Fife found Xavier Harris who got free for a 34 yard touchdown in the final minute of the third to regain the lead 19-17.

The next drive took the Bears to the Montana 42, where they faced a 4th and 7. Clark’s pass was blocked by the newest member of the #37 club, Trevin Gradney, as the Griz came down the field.

After the drive, Fife found Fontes, who had a number of drops in the first half. Fontes took the short pass 33 yards up the field to the MSU 25-yard line. One pass interference on the Bears and a 4-yard rushing score by Eli Gillman later, and Montana had its first two-possession lead of the game, going up 26-17 with 9:36 left.

Montana didn’t get out of this one without a little drama, though. The Bears managed to complete a five-minute drive capped off by a seven-yard reverse end, making it a two-point game with four and a change left on the clock.

The Bears kicker kicked the ball out of bounds, putting the Griz in a great position to start the next drive. Montana used Eli Gillman to run the ball and drain more than three minutes, along with Missouri State’s three timeouts.

Griz Kicker Ty Morrison made a 38-yarder to give the Griz a five-point lead. He made a perfect kick and took the win on his first missed extra point.

“This was Ty’s first game here and he had never kicked in the stadium before. I was worried about our field goal kicks, but after he missed the first PAT, he was obviously awful,” Hauck said after the game.

Missouri State’s last chance to win the game was quickly snuffed out by Hayden Harris, who brought his sack total to 2.5 on the day. Griz transfer pass rushers Andres Lehrmann and Vai Kaho finished the job by reaching Clark to seal the victory for the Montana Grizzlies, 29-24.