Interceptions were Northern Colorado’s undoing Saturday afternoon against nationally ranked Montana.
Bears quarterback Kia’i Keone threw three interceptions, including two in Montana’s red zone, and the Grizzlies defeated UNC 24-0 at Nottingham Field in Greeley.
The win was No. 9 Montana’s third straight over UNC and third consecutive shutout of the Bears. Montana defeated UNC 40-0 last year in Missoula and 35-0 in 2021 in Greeley
The Grizzlies have won 17 of 19 games in the series with the Bears dating to 1976 and 12 of 13 since November 2006.
Montana improves to 3-1 in the Big Sky Conference and 6-2 overall. UNC drops to 1-3 in the conference and 1-7 overall.
The Grizzlies came into the game as one of the highest-scoring offenses in Football Championship Subdivision of Division, averaging 41.29 points. Montana missed a field goal early, UNC’s defense played well overall, but the Bears just couldn’t generate enough offense.
“I think that’s a simplistic way of looking at it,” UNC coach Ed Lamb said after the game. “To be ready to a win a defensive battle like that, we got to play better defense. Montana played shutdown defense. We didn’t play shutdown defense.”
Lamb said while the Bears passing game has improved — the game was Keone’s third start after some shuffling of quarterbacks earlier with injuries — the running game has to get better.
The Bears managed only 65 yards on the ground. UNC had 218 total yards to 395 for Montana (198 rushing, 197 passing). Nick Ostmo led Montana with 107 yards on 13 carries — for an outstanding average of 8.2 yards per rush.
The game was the first in two weeks for UNC, which had a week off following its Oct. 12 win over nationally ranked Weber State in Ogden, Utah, to snap the program’s 18-game losing streak.
The Bears were without at least three key starters and performers. Offensive lineman Aidan Moe was out with a leg injury, and defensive lineman Marcus Howard and defensive back Noah Mangham also didn’t play. Moe, a redshirt sophomore from Parker, was on the sidelines with crutches and a leg brace.
Keone’s third interception came late in the third quarter. The Grizzlies then put together a 16-play, 87-yard drive over nearly 9 minutes. Grizzlies’ quarterback Keali’i Ah Yat connected with running back Eli Gillman in the right flat for a 10-yard touchdown and a 24-0 lead with 1:38 left in the quarter.
Keone threw a pick in both the first and second quarters, and both came off tipped passes.
Keone’s second interception was a drive killer with 8:50 left in the second quarter. The Bears trailed only 7-0 at that point, and they set up for a first down at the Montana 13-yard line.
Big plays put UNC in position for the game-tying score.
Keone connected with linebacker Tama Tuitele for 23 yards to get into Montana territory. Two plays later, Keone lofted a little dump pass over the line of scrimmage to running back David Afari for 29 yards.
Afari took it all the way to the 13, fumbled the ball but was bailed out with receiver Jordan Riles in place to recover.
Running back Caden Meis lost four yards on the first-down rush attempt. Keone threw two incompletions, and Caleb Otlewski picked off Keone’s third-down pass attempt at the 3-yard line — ending the 11-play, 66-yard drive over 5 minutes long.
Lamb said the ball was overthrown on the interceptions, and Montana’s defense did a good job in disrupting the Bears in coverage.
“I think Kia’i, he was trying to throw a catchable pass down the field and take shots,” Lamb said. “And that’s part of the game. It’s a part of the aggression, the risk-reward that we need to be prepared to take. But we have to win those. And we didn’t win those, and Montana did, but that certainly was a big difference in the game, the interceptions.”
Two weeks ago, in the win at Weber State, UNC was the beneficiary of six fumbles by the Wildcats and the Bears recovered four.
Montana coach Bobby Hauck said the Grizzlies’ offense didn’t change at all once it got the ball back after the interceptions.
“I think every defense in America is trying to take the ball away,” the coach said. “We did it three times today with three interceptions. That’s how UNC beat Weber, they took the ball away from them. It’s a big deal in the game, and it was a big deal today.”
Gillman also scored on a 4-yard run in the first quarter, and he finished with 89 yards from scrimmage (39 rushing and 50 receiving). Ah Yat was 14 of 22 for 149 yards and two touchdowns. Ah Yat connected with receiver Ian Finch on a 2-yard pass with 31 seconds to play in the second quarter, giving the Grizzlies a 14-0 lead. Finch’s catch was his first career reception.
Montana 24, Northern Colorado 0
UM — 7- 7 – 10 – 0 — 24
UNC — 0 – 0 – 0 – 0 — 0
Scoring Summary
1st Q, 2:49 — UM – Eli Gillman 4 run (Jo Silver kick), 7-0. 8 plays, 54 yards, 3:59 time of possession.
2nd Q, 0:31 — UM, Ian Finch 2 pass from Keali’i (Silver kick), 14-0, 8 plays, 83 yards, 4:39.
3rd Q, 12:41 — Ty Morrison 47 FG, 17-0, 4 plays, -5 yards, 2:09.
3rd Q, 1:38 — Gillman 9 pass from Ah Yat (Silver kick), 24-0, 16 plays, 87 yards, 8:57.
Originally Published: October 26, 2024 at 6:19 p.m.
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Publish date : 2024-10-26 14:41:00
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