MISSOULA — Entrenched in a considerable first-half hole against old rival Weber State, No. 8-ranked Montana had to dig its way out if it to avoid a Big Sky Conference setback.
But in a wild, back-and-forth game that had to be decided in overtime, the Grizzlies came up short.
Weber State quarterback Richie Munoz threw six touchdown passes and the Wildcats defense forced a turnover in OT to beat Montana 55-48 in front of 25,888 fans Saturday at Washington-Grizzly Stadium.
PHOTOS: NO. 8 MONTANA STUNNED BY WEBER STATE IN OVERTIME
Weber State scored first in OT on a pass from Munoz to Damon Bankston. It held up after official review — Bankston stepped out of bounds but re-established himself in bounds before catching the ball.
That put the Wildcats ahead in overtime, and then Montana’s Logan Fife was strip-sacked by Garrett Beck, who recovered the ball to end the game.
Montana fell to 4-2 overall and is now 1-1 in Big Sky play. Weber State improved to 3-3 overall and to 2-0 in the league.
On the heels of a great performance last week at Eastern Washington, Fife got his second straight start at quarterback. Fife and the Griz wasted no time finding the end zone, as Gillman scored on a 37-yard run on the first possession of the game for a 7-0 lead.
An intense game got especially chippy on Weber State’s first possession, and Griz linebacker Riley Wilson incurred a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. That eventually led to a 35-yard catch-and-run for a touchdown by Jayleen Record on a quick pass from Richie Munoz to tie the game.
The Wildcats took a 14-7 lead after a 61-yard run by Davion Godley and a short TD pass from Munoz to Noah Bennee with 5:14 left in the first.
Montana kicker Ty Morrison hit a 44-yard field goal to close that gap, but Weber State’s Noah Kjar returned the ensuing kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown, putting the Wildcats ahead 21-10 early in the second quarter.
Weber State struck again on its next possession when Munoz dropped a beautiful pass on a go route into the arms of Jacob Sharp for a 50-yard touchdown. That silenced the crowd and gave the Wildcats a 28-10 lead with 7:28 left before halftime.
The Grizzlies had an answer, as Fife guided the offense down the field in less than three minutes and eventually capped it with a 2-yard TD run of his own. The half ended with UM down 28-17.
A key moment occurred early in the third quarter when the Griz defense stopped the Wildcats on fourth down to get the ball back. That led to a 68-yard touchdown pass from Fife to Gillman down the left sideline to bring the Griz within 28-23 after a two-point try failed.
After Montana’s Nick Ostmo had the ball ripped away and it was recovered by Weber State, Kyle Thompson hit a 29-yard field goal for a 31-23 lead with 3:00 left in the third. But Montana answered with a 3-yard TD run by Gillman — his third score of the day — to get within 31-30.
UM’s defense then forced another three-and-out after a Wilson sack, and that allowed the Grizzlies to finally get the lead back on a 48-yard field goal by Morrison with 10 minutes left. But it didn’t last long, as Munoz dropped another long TD pass to Record to put the Wildcats ahead again 38-33 with 8:34 to go.
The blow-by-blow second half continued as Montana answered with a 70-yard drive capped by a 4-yard Gillman TD run. Junior Bergen then found Jake Olson with a two-point conversion pass, giving the Grizzlies a 41-38 lead.
That led to Munoz hitting Sharp on a slant pass on third down that Sharp took 71 yards for another Wildcats touchdown. Weber State again took the lead, this time a 45-41 edge with 4:37 on the clock.
A TD catch by Keelan White gave the Grizzlies the lead again with 59 seconds left, but Weber tied it on a 44-yard field goal by Thompson as time expired to force OT.
Turning point: In a back-and-forth affair, the OT coin toss did the Wildcats a big favor. Weber State won the toss and scored on its first possession, which set the stage for Munoz’s pass to the left to Bankston in the end zone.
It also paved the way for Beck’s massive defensive play, as he stripped Fife of the ball and recovered it on his own to preserve the upset.
Stat of the game: For the second straight week Montana’s defense gave up a boatload of yards and points. Munoz finished with 364 passing yards on just 19 completions with six touchdown throws. The Wildcats had 541 yards of total offense and eight possessions that produced points.
Grizzly game balls: WR Keelan White (Offense). White was Fife’s favorite target, catching 11 passe for 163 yards and a touchdown. White was targeted 15 times and had a 73% reception rate.
PK Ty Morrison (Special teams). Morrison was good on field goals from 44 and 48 yards, the second of which gave the Grizzlies their first lead since the opening possession of the game.
What’s next: Montana continues Big Sky Conference play at home again next week when it hosts Northern Arizona. Kickoff is scheduled for 2 p.m.
The Grizzlies own the all-time series against NAU 37-15-0 and are looking for a measure of payback after the Lumberjacks beat UM 28-14 last year in Flagstaff, Ariz. NAU is led by first-year coach Brian Wright, a former Montana State offensive coordinator.
