MISSOULA — A sluggish start gave way to a weird and wild second half Saturday at Washington-Grizzly Stadium. In the end, No. 10-ranked Montana overcame Portland State — and a campus-wide power outage — for a 28-17 victory on senior day.
The teams combined for five punts and three turnovers in the first half, and the Vikings went into halftime with a 3-0 lead. The Grizzlies had just 120 total yards and six penalties in the first half.
But things opened up significantly for both teams in the second half.
On the opening possession of the third quarter, quarterback Logan Fife — in for the injured Keali’i Ah Yat — led the Grizzlies down the field, capping the drive with a 1-yard touchdown rush to give Montana the lead at 7-3.
After the touchdown, Fife was called for a unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, which drew the ire of coach Bobby Hauck. Fife and Hauck had a heated exchange but later hugged and buried the hatchet.
The penalty, though, was enforced on the kickoff and ultimately gave the Vikings favorable field position that led to a 13-yard touchdown run by Quincy Craig and a 10-7 PSU lead.
Montana then nearly turned the ball over twice but got the explosive play they were looking for — an 81-yard catch and run by Sawyer Racanelli on a quick pass from Fife to put the Grizzlies back in front 14-10.
But the Vikings answered with a 56-yard pass from Dante Chachere to Tanner Beaman, which eventually produced a 3-yard TD run by Delon Thompson on fourth down for a 17-14 PSU advantage.
The lead changed hands again with 2:30 left in the third quarter when Fife found a wide-open Erik Barker for an 11-yard touchdown pass. That gave Montana the lead at 21-17.
Montana finally got some separation in the fourth quarter after Hayden Harris recovered a fumble from Chachere that set up a perfectly placed 35-yard touchdown throw from Fife to Aaron Fontes for a 28-17 advantage.
The Vikings had an opportunity to get it back to a one-score game, but Jace Klucewich picked off his second pass of the game with 6:48 remaining.
That’s when the power went out, forcing a short delay. The game concluded with the officials keeping time on the field.
Clearly, the second half was far more interesting than the first.
The Vikings put together an 11-play, 61-yard drive on the game’s first possession, capping it with a 40-yard field goal by Mathias Uribe to take a 3-0 lead.
After a personal-foul facemask penalty on Riley Wilson, PSU had first and goal at the 5. The Vikings tried a trick play but it blew up in their face, as a pass by Craig was intercepted in the end zone by Klucewich.
The Griz, though, gave the ball back to the Vikings when a pressured Ah Yat floated a pass toward the sideline that was tipped and picked off by Michael Hurst at the 5-yard line to stop a promising second-quarter drive.
Later in the quarter, Griz safety Ryder Meyer was disqualified for targeting late in the second quarter after he hit a sliding Chachere. But that possession ended when Henry Nuce forced a fumble that was recovered by Jaxon Lee.
Turning point: As the teams went back and forth in the second half, Montana got a big turnover when Anders Lehrmann forced the fumble from Chachere that was recovered by teammate Harris.
Two plays later Fife and Fontes hooked up on their 35-yard touchdown and the Grizzlies had an 11-point lead that held up for the remainder of the game.
Stat of the game: The Grizzlies’ defense continues to wreak havoc by creating turnovers, and won the takeaway battle with five more against PSU. Klucewich’s two interceptions proved crucial.
Grizzly game balls: QB Logan Fife (Offense). Fife and Hauck had their sideline spat but all was well, and the QB ignited the Grizzlies in the second half by accounting for four total touchdowns.
S Jace Klucewich (Defense). Klucewich intercepted two passes, both in the end zone on throws that could have gone for touchdowns. Klucewich’s effort helped UM’s secondary make key plays without the services of Meyer.
What’s next: It’s now time for the game we wait all year — Montana vs. Montana State. The Grizzlies will enter next Saturday’s game in Bozeman with an 8-3 record and a 5-2 mark in the Big Sky.
The home team has dominated the rivalry in the past four outings, but the Griz will look to win for the first time in Bozeman since 2015.
The game is scheduled for a 12 p.m. kickoff and will be broadcast statewide by Scripps Sports.
