Montana Grizzlies at North Dakota Fighting Hawks
· NCAA - Football
North Dakota's defense stymies Montana in 2nd half for 27-24 win
North Dakota (1-1) scored on all four of its drives after trailing 24-7 at halftime and held the Grizzlies (1-1), ranked fourth in the FCS coaches poll, to 34 yards on their four possessions.
Montana had three three-and-out possessions, netting no yards and on their last possession picked up 32 yards on quarterback Keali'i Ah Yat's fourth-down keeper. That play put the Grizzlies at the UND 30 but an incompletion, a sack by Wyatt Pedigo and Kason Kelley snuffing a screen pass behind the line of scrimmage forced UM into a 54-yard field goal attempt. Ty Morrison's kick was wide right with 39 seconds left.
Gaven Ziebarth scored on a 2-yard run to cap North Dakota's 80-yard drive to open the second half. Then the Fighting Hawks went 58 yards on four plays with Simon Romfo scoring on a 19-yard run.
Elrichs tied it with a 19-yard field goal at 11:12 of the fourth quarter and his 40-yarder produced the winning points with 2:16 to play. Those two scoring drives took 30 plays and 15-minutes, 55-seconds.
Montana scored on three-straight drives in the first quarter to take a 24-7 lead. The Grizzlies were balanced with 136 yards passing — with Ah Yat throwing a 37-yard touchdown pass to Xavier Harris — and 135 yards rushing, including touchdown runs of 63 yards by Eli Gillman and 18 yards by wide receiver Aaron Fontes on an end-around.
Romfo threw for 97 yards and ran for 57 for North Dakota, which had 204 of its 340 yards in the second half. Ziebarth had 88 yards on 22 carries.
Ah Yat was 20 of 28 for 135 yards passing for Montana, which finished with 305 yards.
How To Watch
How can I watch Montana Grizzlies vs. North Dakota Fighting Hawks?
- TV Channel: Grizzlies at Fighting Hawks 2021 College Football, week 2, is broadcasted on ESPN+.
- Online streaming: Sign up for Fubo.
Scoring Summary
 |
TD | 1st Period 11:08 | Xavier Harris 37 Yd pass from Keali'i Ah Yat (Ty Morrison Kick) |
|
TD | 1st Period 6:28 | Eli Gillman 63 Yd Run (Ty Morrison Kick) |
 |
TD | 1st Period 4:15 | Isaiah Smith 30 Yd Run (C.J. Elrichs Kick) |
|
TD | 1st Period 1:08 | Aaron Fontes 18 Yd Run (Ty Morrison Kick) |
|
FG | 2nd Period 0:00 | Ty Morrison 30 Yd Field Goal |
|
TD | 3rd Period 9:28 | Gaven Ziebarth 2 Yd Run (C.J. Elrichs Kick) |
|
TD | 3rd Period 6:32 | Simon Romfo 19 Yd Run (C.J. Elrichs Kick) |
|
FG | 4th Period 11:12 | C.J. Elrichs 19 Yd Field Goal |
|
FG | 4th Period 2:16 | C.J. Elrichs 40 Yd Field Goal |
Statistics
 MONT |
 UND |
|
|---|---|---|
| 16 | 1st Downs | 25 |
| 4-13 | 3rd down efficiency | 6-13 |
| 1-2 | 4th down efficiency | 1-2 |
| 305 | Total Yards | 340 |
| 145 | Passing | 97 |
| 21/31 | Comp/Att | 11/24 |
| 4.7 | Yards per pass | 4.0 |
| 160 | Rushing | 243 |
| 29 | Rushing Attempts | 49 |
| 5.5 | Yards per rush | 5.0 |
| 6-56 | Penalties | 5-41 |
| 0 | Turnovers | 1 |
| 0 | Fumbles lost | 0 |
| 0 | Interceptions thrown | 1 |
| 22:46 | Possession | 37:14 |
Game Information
Location: Grand Forks, ND
Attendance: 11,595 · Capacity:
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