Griz want to forget nightmare in Portland

Halloween came a day early for the Montana Grizzlies. A nightmarish first half Saturday against Portland State for the offense and special teams had the Griz defense on the field in bad situations too many times to not create a deficit.

"We made a lot of mistakes in the first half and put ourselves in the hole," UM coach Bobby Hauck said Tuesday.

That Montana was down only a touchdown at the half was a testament to how well the defense played in the opening 30 minutes.

"The defense did a great job in the first half," Hauck said. "As always, our guys played hard for four quarters. It just wasn't enough with the mistakes in the kicking game, then the turnovers on offense."

Montana fumbled on its first possession, giving the Vikings the ball at the Griz 30. The defense held and PSU missed a field goal.

UM got the ball back, but a 3-yard punt gave Portland State the ball at the Griz 32. Again the defense stopped PSU and again PSU missed field goal.

Another fumble turned the ball over at the Griz 27, and finally Portland State scored a touchdown.

And that was just the first quarter. Later in the second, another bad punt, this time for 5 yards, set PSU up at the 35 and led to another touchdown.

By halftime, the Vikings had had four possessions start inside the Montana 35-yard line but only scored on two of them.

Now the Griz have to put the loss behind them and focus on the upcoming game with Northern Arizona.

"The big deal for us is to look forward to NAU and not back at Portland State," Hauck said. "We got beat by a good, veteran team on the road, and that is behind us."

. FIRST QUARTER FAILURES: In eight games this season, Montana has scored a total of 31 points in the opening quarter while opponents have tallied 39.

. HILLIARD HELPS OUT: Former Flathead star Lex Hilliard returned to the valley during Montana's bye week to help coach up some little guy football.

Hilliard joined coach Jeff Sherrill to tutor the Little Bills, comprised of 7-, 8- and 9-year-olds.

(Coincidentally, the "big" Bills in Buffalo are home to another ex-Flathead and former Griz Dylan McFarland.)

"Our guys spend a lot of time out in the community," Hauck said. "The most I've been around in any of the programs I've worked in, and they do a great job especially with young kids."

The community activism also helps lay the foundation for any potential future Griz.

"I know that there are a lot of young kids that want to grow up to be Montana Grizzlies, so it can't hurt," Hauck said.