Griz down stubborn Sacred Heart 43-21
(Montana Sports Information) Fueled by an explosive first half of offense, the Montana Grizzlies improved to 7-0 on the season for just the seventh time in program history with a decisive 43-21 win over Sacred Heart (5-3) on a sunny Saturday afternoon in Missoula.
The Griz won the first half 29-7 and overcame a third quarter lull with two quick fourth quarter scores to pull away from the up-for-it Pioneers with 484 yards of total offense and a season high four sacks for the defense.
Quarterback Keali'i Ah Yat completed a personal best 82 percent of his passes (27-33) to rack up 349 yards and another career high five touchdowns over the air to post a 220.7 passer rating.
He was lethal from the game's opening drive with 300 of those yards and three passing scores coming in the first half alone. All told he was responsible for six scores and 368 yards of total offense on the game, adding a rushing touchdown to his haul and 19 net yards.
Ah Yat connected with a season-high 11 receivers in the game, but none more prolific that Michael Wortham who hauled in a career high 132 yards through the air with two explosive touchdowns, both from 40-plus yards out. Of UM's 349 passing yards, 198 came after the catch with the Griz totaling eight explosive pass plays of 15-plus yards.
Ah Yat spread the wealth in the endzone as well, finding four different receivers for scores including a 49-yard strike in the fourth quarter to newcomer Korbin Hendrix – his first career touchdown.
The win is now Montana's 30th-straight in nonconference play inside Washington-Grizzly Stadium, a streak that dates to 2015. It's also the 17th-straight win over a team from east of the Mississippi River in Missoula, with UM holding 43-7 advantage inside the stadium over eastern squads.
Apart from a third quarter where UM managed just 61 yards of offense and was shut out of the scoreboard, it was a complete performance for fourth-ranked Montana, who remains at the top of the Big Sky standings at 3-0 in league play and 7-0 overall.
"It was such an up-and-down game. We talked about how good the offense was - almost 500 yards - but then we got shut out in the third quarter. That wasn't good. We've got to come out of the locker room and go get after them. But we were good early. It looked like it was going to be really easy, and it never is until you're off that field," said head coach Bobby Hauck.
"But I'm proud of our team getting to 7-0. We had one game this week, and we won it by 22."