Griz shut out UNC Bears again, 24-0

GREELEY, Colo. — Keali’i Ah Yat threw for 149 yards and two touchdowns, and the Montana Grizzlies pitched their third straight shutout at Northern Colorado, beating the Bears 24-0 Saturday.

Ah Yat, getting his first action since he got one series against Weber State on Oct. 5, completed 14 of 22 passes while taking a majority of the snaps from junior Logan Fife.  

Fife was 6 of 8 passing for 48 yards. 

Nick Ostmo ran 13 times for 107 yards and Eli Gillman added 39 yards on 12 carries for the Grizzlies (6-2 overall, 3-1 in the Big Sky Conference). Gillman’s 4-yard scoring run at 2:49 of the first quarter gave his team all the points it needed. 

Ah Yat’s first touchdown pass capped an 83-yard clock drive to end the first half; Ian Finch, a Missoula Hellgate product, caught the 2-yard scoring strike with 31 seconds left. It was Finch’s first career college reception. 

Ah Yat’s second TD went to Gillman, on a check-down pass that covered nine yards and capped an 87-yard drive at 1:38 of the third quarter. That made it 24-0. Gillman had four catches for 50 yards. 

Ty Morrison also hit a 47-yard field goal early in the third quarter. Jo Silver missed a 47-yard field goal attempt in the first quarter for the Griz; a late touchdown run was negated by a penalty and the game ended with UM having the ball at UNC’s 1-yard line. 

The rest of the game was about defense: The Bears managed just 218 yards of offense (the Griz, 395). Quarterback Kia’i Koene was 15 of 31 passing for 153 yards, but was intercepted three times — by Jaxon Lee, Caleb Otlewski and Jace Klucewich.  

Otlewski’s pick came at UM’s 3-yard line at 8:50 of the second quarter. 

Hayden Harris padded his Big Sky-best sack total with 2.5 Saturday; Trevin Gradney also had a sack. Ryder Meyer had a team-high eight tackles.  

The Bears fell to 1-7, 1-3. Northern Colorado lost to Montana 35-0 in 2021 and lost 40-0 to the Griz in Missoula last season. 

Montana stays on the road this Saturday with a game at Cal Poly.