Griz survive against Weber

Rally from 10-0 deficit, suffer plethora of wounds

MISSOULA - The Grizzlies finally played in an exciting game.

The top-ranked University of Montana football team had to rally Saturday from a 10-0 second-quarter deficit in Washington-Grizzly Stadium to beat Weber State 18-10.

Senior kicker Dan Carpenter of Helena nailed four field goals - two of them from 40 yards or beyond - and junior running back Greg Coleman, who replaced an injured Lex Hilliard, rushed for 44 yards and a touchdown in the second half to help lead the Grizzlies to their 15th straight homecoming victory.

It was the Big Sky Conference opener for the Griz, who are now 4-0 on the season.

"Conference wins are hard to get, so it was a great win for us," UM coach Bobby Hauck said. "I'm proud of our team, coming back from 10 down. It was what we knew it would be. There were no surprises. They came in and played hard, like they do against us every year. They consider it their rivalry game and they played like it."

Hilliard, the Flathead High School legend who is within reach of UM's career rushing record, left the game with about 10 minutes, 20 seconds left in the third quarter after his fourth straight carry with no gain. He had seven carries of 1 yard or less and finished with 11 totes for 30 yards. The Grizzlies called no running plays in the first quarter and seven of Hilliard's carries came on one long drive in the second quarter. All Hauck would say about the injury was, "I hope we get him back sometime this season."

The game was so physical that the Griz had offensive linemen Colin Dow, Cody Balogh and Dan Carter sprawling on the turf in pain at various points, along with receiver Marc Mariani, cornerback Chris Clark and Hilliard. All of them, except Hilliard, returned to the game. Weber, on the other hand, lost its defensive stud - tackle Derek Johnson - for the year.

"It was definitely a battle out there," UM linebacker Kyle Ryan of Great Falls said. "It was exactly what we thought it would be. They are a physical team and we're a physical team. You could see that by the number of injuries and kids hobbling off the field."

TRAILING 10-3 AT the half, the Griz scored on their first four possessions of the second half to put the game at its final margin with 6:35 left in the game. The teams exchanged three-and-outs after that. Then the Wildcats put together a final drive that got as close as seven yards from potentially tying the game.

That's when the winless Wildcats imploded.

With the aid of two quarterback scrambles, a shotgun draw, a screen pass and a defensive pass interference penalty, the Wildcats had the ball on the Grizzlies' 7-yard line with about 3 minutes left in the game. But then they committed four penalties totaling 45 yards. On the third down-and-long, All-American defensive end Kroy Biermann got an 11-yard sack and the Wildcats found themselves in a fourth-and-51 situation.

"I liked how hard we played as a football team," Weber coach Ron McBride said. "I didn't like the way we played mentally at times. We won the physical part of the game. Montana won the mental part of the game."

A Hail Mary attempt with 1:27 left in the game was batted down around the Grizzlies' 20-yard line.

McBride said his running back may have cost the Wildcats the game early in the fourth quarter by dancing around behind the line of scrimmage instead of hitting the hole on a third-and-1 play from UM's 39-yard line. Sophomore running back Trevyn Smith tried to bounce an inside run outside, but was tackled from behind by UM redshirt freshman cornerback Jeremy Pate.

"I had already said that if we didn't get that first down there we were going for it on fourth down," McBride said. "We had our jumbo formation and the back danced around instead of hitting the hole. We took a 2-yard loss so I decided to punt. Then they got a drive back out of that deal. That was the key play in the football game."

On the Grizzlies' ensuing possession, they marched 73 yards in 17 plays and chewed up 5:46 of game time before Carpenter made a 24-yard field goal - his last one of the game. On that drive, Coleman had 10 carries for 30 yards.

"That was a real important drive," Coleman said. "We had to come out and make a point. In the huddle, you could see it in everybody's eyes. (The drive) is all credited to the offensive line. (Weber) started to wear down in the fourth quarter. They had a good scheme and played hard. It wasn't like they gave in like every other team we've played. It was a tough game."

THE GRIZZLIES out-gained the Wildcats, 311-242. The teams combined for 24 penalties totaling 240 yards.

A big part of the game was special teams, where UM held a ton of respect for WSU kick returner Bryant Eteuati. The Griz held him to a 25-yard average on six returns and, on the flip side, averaged 36.7 yards per return.

"I was excited that we were the best kickoff return team in the game," Hauck said. "That was a big point of emphasis for us."

Mariani, a sophomore from Havre, returned the second half's opening kickoff 62 yards to the WSU 25-yard line. Hilliard couldn't gain any yards on two carries and the Griz had to settle for a 40-yard field goal to cut their deficit to 10-6.

BERGQUIST, A TWO-TIME Big Sky player of the week already this season, completed 17 of 30 passes for 186 yards. He also rushed for 54 yards, but two sacks lowered the total. Bergquist and Coleman each led the team in rushing with just 39 yards. Helena's Mike Ferriter was Bergquist's favorite receiver, catching five passes for 43 yards. It was the second straight game Ferriter led the team in catches and receiving yards.

Junior Colt Anderson of Butte led the defense with 10 tackles. Biermann finished with eight tackles and two sacks. Loren Utterback also had eight tackles, including a tackle for a loss and a sack.

THE GRIZZLIES are back at home next week against Eastern Washington.