Griz dominate ground in rout of Morehead State
(Montana Sports Information) Montana Grizzly football returned to its winning ways on Saturday, dominating the Morehead State Eagles 59-2 in Missoula to improve to 2-1 on the year.
The game was never in doubt with the Griz scoring 39 first-half points and not allowing an offensive score all day. The Griz ran for 410 yards while holding the Eagles to just 45 total yards on the day.
The defense had 24 different tacklers and gave up just four first downs, while Montana had 35 – the second-most in program history. Of those first downs, 25 came on the ground, tied for the most in UM history dating back to 1974 at Idaho.
The 410 yards on the ground are also the most since running for 412 in 2022 in a blowout win over Cal Poly. It’s just the third time since 1991 that the Grizzlies have rushed for over 400 yards in a game.
The domination came in all three phases of the game, which is something you can always expect from a Bobby Hauck coached team.
“It’s comfortable and comforting,” Hauck said of his team’s performance. “You feel good about it when you don’t have a deficiency in one of the three phases in any game. You’re going to have a good chance to win when those things are going on and I’m certainly pleased with how that went, especially when we just gave it away last week. It was really good to come out and have a dominating win.”
True freshman Malae Fonoti led the way after taking over down the stretch, running it 24 times for 176 yards and a touchdown. Eli Gillman only played in the first half and still finished with 106 yards and two touchdowns on 13.3 yards per carry.
It’s the first time Montana had two 100-yard rushers in the same game since Travon Van and Jordan Canada did it in 2013, and Fonoti’s 176 yards is one of the top 25 rushing totals in Grizzly history – in his first game of college football.
Nick Ostmo added 76 yards and Stevie Rocker Jr. had 58 yards as four Grizzly running backs ended up with more total yards than the entire Morehead State team.
Ostmo scored his 22nd career touchdown, tying his running backs coach Justin Green for eighth in program history. He also reached the 2,000 yard mark on the ground for his career to become just the eighth Grizzly of all-time to reach the mark.
“Malae, our true freshman, we discussed this morning whether or not, if we had a chance to play him, that we would and we decided to get him some carries,” Hauck said. “Obviously, he was terrific. Ostmo had a big day for him from a personal standpoint. I’m excited for all of them, and any time those guys are having a day like that obviously the big boys up front did a great job.”
Morehead State was held to -14 rushing yards on the day and went just 1-for-12 on third down. They did not pick up a single first down in the entire second half as the Grizzly defense was dominant.
Montana totaled 576 yards on offense behind the rushing attack, going 5-for-12 on third down while picking up four conversions on fourth down as well. They averaged 6.9 yards per play while holding the Eagles to just 1.0 yards per play. It’s the most total yards since going for 695 in the win over Cal Poly two years ago.
Keali’I Ah Yat started the game at quarterback and went 9-for-11 for 79 yards, a touchdown, and an interception. He found Keelan White, who had five catches for 40 yards, for the only score through the air on the day. Logan Fife also saw time, going 9-for-16 for 87 yards.
“I think they made progress today. I still think they are a work in progress,” Hauck said of his quarterbacks. “They need to continue to learn how to read and get rid of the ball and do some of those things that are so common with young quarterbacks. I think they did a nice job. They are doing the little things right managing the game. I’m enthused about them, and I think we should all be excited that it’s going to get better and better with them.”
The Grizzlies also got Kaden Huot into the game for his debut, as Montana went deep into the roster on both sides of the ball.
Vai Kaho led the team with seven tackles and no other player had more than four. The Grizzlies had five sacks and eight tackles for loss as the defensive line won the battle all day long, regardless of who was on the field.
“I’m excited about it for a lot of reasons. We played well in the second half, we got to play a lot of guys in the second half, it was great for attitude, experience, and development,” Hauck said. “A lot of those guys are scout team guys that played in the fourth quarter and they held up and we will get a great scout look from them this week, so we’ll have a great practice because they will be energized and juiced up about being college football players.”
Game Day Photos