OGDEN, Utah — The Montana Grizzlies ended a long drought at Stewart Stadium by picking up a 38-17 Big Sky Conference road win Saturday afternoon over the Weber State Wildcats.
The Grizzlies kept their unbeaten season going and won in Ogden for the first time since 2012. Weber State had won the three previous meetings overall with the Griz, but Montana’s offense, led by quarterback Keali’i Ah Yat, proved unstoppable, particularly in the first half.
Ah Yat completed 15 of 27 passes for 296 yards and two touchdowns before giving way to Jake Jensen in the fourth quarter. Ah Yat’s scoring plays went to Blake Bohannon and Evan Shafer.
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Running back Eli Gillman cracked the 100-yard barrier again. Gillman carried 12 times for 122 yards, an average of 10.2 yards per carry, and was one of three Griz to score a rushing touchdown. Ah Yat and Brooks Davis also scored on the ground.
The Grizzlies scored on their first four possessions, all touchdowns, before Ty Morrison missed wide right on a 30-yard field goal with just under two minutes left in the first half.
Morrison redeemed himself with a 33 yarder to end the first half and lift the Griz to a 31-10 lead at the break.
Montana forced two turnovers, with Micah Harper recovering a Weber State fumble on the first play of the game and Kade Boyd grabbing a third-quarter interception. The Griz lead the Big Sky in interceptions.
Weber State’s Jayleen Record continued to be a thorn in the Griz’ side. Record caught two touchdown passes last season in the Wildcats’ 55-48 win and he caught two more scoring passes on Saturday but couldn't keep Weber State from dropping to 3-6 overall and 1-4 in the league.
THE GAME TURNED WHEN … : The Grizzlies defense had a Jekyll-and-Hyde showing on Weber State’s first two possessions, but once Montana cleaned up its act, all was good.
After Montana forced (Diezel Washington) and recovered (Micah Harper) a fumble on the opening play that led to a Griz touchdown three plays later just one minute, 12 seconds into the game, Montana allowed a Weber State field goal on the Wildcats’ next possession aided by four defensive penalties on the drive.
Three of the penalties were offsides and the fourth a pass interference. Montana even committed three fouls on one play, which led to the acceptance of the PI penalty.
But the Griz played more disciplined after that, which allowed Ah-Yat and Co. to take over. By game's end, the Grizzlies had 10 penalties for 85 yards.
GILLMAN 3K: Gillman became the fifth running back in program history to rush for more than 3,000 career yards, joining legends Jordan Canada, Lex Hilliard, Chase Reynolds and Yohance Humphrey to surpass the milestone.
Humphrey (1998-2001) tops the Griz list with 4,070 career rushing yards, followed by Reynolds (4,067), Hilliard (4,018), Canada (3,435) and now Gillman (3,149).
Gillman began the season No. 7 on the all-time Grizzlies’ rushing list and now has 1,012 yards on 154 carries this season. Humphrey also holds the Griz single-season rushing record with 1,658 yards in 2001.
As a sophomore in 2024, Gillman rushed for 1,104 yards on 167 carries, a top-10 season in Griz history.
GO-GO BOHANNON: Kennesaw State transfer Blake Bohannon had his best game as a Griz since joining the program for this season. Bohannon scored his first career Montana touchdown when Ah Yat hit him perfectly in stride on the left hash after Bohannon split the defense and was wide open. The play covered 62 yards and put Montana up 14-3.
Bohannon caught three balls for 131 yards, an average of 43.7 yards per reception. The 6-foot-1, 195-pound senior entered the game with 217 receiving yards on 17 catches.
WHAT’S NEXT: Montana returns to Washington-Grizzly Stadium next week to take on Eastern Washington in a series that continues to be highly entertaining. The Griz are 9-0 overall and 5-0 in the Big Sky and have won the last three meetings with the Eagles. The game will kick off at 1 p.m.
Each of the previous 12 times these teams have met, the winning team has scored at least 34 points. That includes last season when the Griz eked out a 52-49 victory over the Eagles in Cheney, Washington.
