Montana
Offense struggles as No. 7 Montana drops 30-14 game to fourth-ranked UC Davis
MISSOULA — Montana’s offense, which has been one of the best in the country this season, couldn’t get untracked Saturday, as the seventh-ranked Grizzlies sputtered to a 30-14 loss to No. 4 UC Davis inside Washington-Grizzly Stadium.
It was just the Aggies’ second-ever win over the Grizzlies, who entered the game holding a 9-1 all-time advantage in the head-to-head series.
PHOTOS: NO. 7 MONTANA LOSES NIGHT GAME TO NO. 4 UC DAVIS
Montana’s offensive struggles wouldn’t have been expected — based on the body of work this season nor the early goings of Saturday’s game, as things couldn’t have started much better for Montana. The Griz held Davis to 15 yards on the game’s opening possession and then marched right down the field on a seven-play, 72-yard drive capped by a 23-yard Junior Bergen touchdown reception from quarterback Logan Fife. Fife was surgical on the drive, completing 4 of 4 passes for 55 yards and scrambling for another 13 yards.
But the Griz offense stalled the rest of the first half and the Aggies started to gain some footing. Davis answered UM’s touchdown with its own TD — a 2-yard flip to Trent Tompkins to tie the game at 7-7. That would be the score going to the second quarter, as the teams traded three-and-outs over the next five drives.
Davis took a 10-7 lead in the second quarter on a 42-yard field goal by Hunter Ridley after the Griz defense — and the Washington-Grizzly Stadium crowd — kept the Aggies out of the end zone. Davis had driven to the UM 13-yard line, but two false starts, a delay of a game and a negative play pushed the Aggies back to the 30. They gained 5 yards on third-and-27 to set up Ridley’s field goal.
GRIZ POSTGAME: BOBBY HAUCK, PLAYERS BREAK DOWN LOSS TO UC DAVIS
The Griz offense found some momentum on the next drive with Fife and running back Eli Gillman partnering to get Montana deep into Davis territory. But facing third-and-10 from the Aggies’ 11-yard line, Fife was intercepted in the end zone by Davis defensive back Rex Connors to keep the score 10-7.
The Davis offense didn’t do anything with the possession, punting after three plays and giving Montana another scoring opportunity before halftime. The Griz, though, turned the ball over on downs at the Aggies’ 42-yard line.
This time, Davis took advantage, quickly gaining 34 yards to get into field goal range. Ridley was good from 41 yards, and Davis entered the half with a 13-7 lead.
After both teams traded punts to start the second half, Keali’i Ah Yat — who again split time with Fife at QB — helped give the lead back to Montana midway through the third quarter. The redshirt freshman first ran for 12 yards to start the drive and then, on a designed quarterback draw from the Davis 18-yard line, powered through one Aggies defender and dragged another from the 6-yard line to inside the 1. Three plays later, Ah Yat helicoptered into the end zone on a 2-yard scramble. The point-after attempt gave Montana a 14-13 lead with 6:51 to play in the third quarter.
James Dobson / For MTN Sports
But, just as they did after Montana’s first touchdown, the Aggies had an answer. They drove 75 yards in eight plays — highlighted by running back Lan Larison catching a screen pass and hurdling a Griz defender on a 15-yard gain — with QB Miles Hastings finding Ian Simpson for a walk-in 22-yard touchdown. Davis took a 20-14 lead to the fourth quarter.
The Aggies made it a two-score game early in the fourth on a Hastings-to-Larison TD pass. The seven-play, 60-yard drive included a fourth-down conversion when the Griz had too many defenders on the field and a trick play where receiver C.J. Hutton completed a 29-yard pass to Simpson.
On the first play of Montana’s ensuing drive, Ah Yat was intercepted by Davis linebacker Porter Connors, setting up Ridley’s third field goal of the game.
Montana had three more offensive possessions the rest of the game, with those drives ending in a punt and twice on turnovers on downs. The Griz totaled only 286 yards of offense — 209 through the air and 77 on the ground. Ah Yat led the team with 29 yards on seven carries. He was 7-of-18 passing for 62 yards, while Fife completed 13 of 23 passes for 147 yards.
Hastings completed 28 of 38 passes for 227 yards and three touchdowns for the Aggies, who got 97 rushing yards and 48 receiving yards from Larison.
Turning point: In the first minute of the fourth quarter, Davis lined up to go for it on fourth-and-2 from the UM 41-yard line. The Aggies got a first down by virtue of Montana having too many players on the field, and three plays later Larison was in the end zone to make it a two-possession game.
Stat of the game: Montana had just 286 yards of offense, 170 yards lower than its season average. The Griz entered the game ranked third in the FCS in scoring offense (39.4 points per game) and eighth in total offense (456 yards per game).
Grizzly game balls: WR Junior Bergen (Offense). Bergen didn’t have many opportunities in the return game, but he was Montana’s most consistent player on offense. He finished with six catches for 92 yards and the game’s first touchdown.
S Ryder Meyer (Defense). Meyer finished with a game-high 17 tackles, including eight solo and one tackle for loss. Fellow safety Jaxon Lee was in on 13 tackles.
What’s next: Montana (7-3 overall, 4-2 Big Sky) is back inside Washington-Grizzly Stadium for its final home game of the regular season next week against Portland State (2-7, 2-4). Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. next Saturday, and the game will be broadcast on the MTN channel across Montana.
UC Davis (9-1, 6-0), which has now won nine consecutive games, has another big game next week in what will be the de facto Big Sky Conference championship game. The Aggies host second-ranked Montana State (10-0, 6-0) at 6 p.m. Mountain time next Saturday. The game will be broadcast on CBS affiliates across Montana.
MISSOULA — Four out of five members of Montana’s Public Service Commission were in a federal courtroom in Missoula Thursday morning, as the PSC’s former president challenges the disciplinary action taken against him earlier this year. Now, newly released documents are shedding more light on to what led up to this point.
(Watch the video for a closer look at the case.)
New documents shed light Montana PSC dispute
Commissioner Brad Molnar has sued President Jeff Welborn, Vice President Jennifer Fielder and Commissioner Annie Bukacek – the three PSC members who voted in May to require him to work remotely, after an investigation into complaints about his workplace conduct. Molnar has claimed he is being unfairly punished for constitutionally protected speech, and he asked Senior U.S District Judge Donald Molloy to allow him to return to the PSC offices.
Matthew Monforton, Molnar’s attorney, told the judge that barring Molnar from the building was limiting his ability to do his job.
“He has not been officially kicked out of office, but his voice has clearly been diminished,” said Monforton.
But Natasha Jones, an attorney representing the other three commissioners, said the findings were about behavior, not just speech, and that the PSC’s action was a reasonable response.
“These are serious concerns about a pattern of conduct that has made employees quit,” she said.
Jonathon Ambarian
On Tuesday, Molloy ordered the release of redacted versions of two full investigative reports into Molnar’s conduct – more than 100 pages of documents. Monforton had moved for the full reports to be made public, and Molloy ruled attorneys for the other PSC members hadn’t shown a compelling reason to keep the documents under seal as long as the names of people involved in the investigation were obscured.
While the names remained redacted in the investigation reports, the attorneys for Welborn, Fielder and Bukacek also filed additional documents – including a public declaration from Bukacek and from former PSC executive director Alana Lake, providing information about their allegations against Molnar.
The two reports, from an outside investigator, cover Molnar’s alleged actions over two periods: the first from February to August 2025, and the second from August to October 2025. The investigation began after the first formal complaint, filed by Bukacek in May 2025 – though the reports say employees had been bringing up concerns about Molnar’s behavior informally for several months prior.
Bukacek’s complaint claimed Molnar had repeatedly made what she called “sexualized and demeaning comments.” The examples she cited included saying the PSC should replace “Taco Tuesdays” with “Topless Tuesdays,” reminiscing about watching girls in bikinis as a teenager, and commenting about the beauty of women in areas of China who didn’t get “old and wrinkly.”
In her declaration, Bukacek also claimed Molnar had “maliciously disseminated false information” about her and “engaged in behavior that was dismissive, derisive and otherwise abusive.”
“My primary concern now is not for my safety nor my feelings, but for the rest of the staff who may not have the temperament to speak up or may feel too intimidated to speak up given concerns over job security,” Bukacek said in her declaration.
MTN News
The investigators determined Molnar had violated the PSC’s code of conduct by making comments of a sexual nature, and that it appeared his behavior had continued for some time after he was warned about it. They also found he had behaved unprofessionally and in a belittling manner toward Bukacek, though they said Bukacek herself had at times used “language that could be considered inappropriate” in emails to staff or other commissioners. Bukacek told MTN she “readily self corrected” any behaviors that were brought to her attention.
The investigation also found a violation in connection with a complaint from a PSC staff member, who said he “felt bullied” by Molnar when the commissioner sent an email complaining about his team not being “people with competence.”
However, much of the first report and the entire second report was focused on conduct after the initial complaints, when Molnar was accused of retaliating against people who participated in the investigation. Lake said in her declaration that she saw “an immediate and significant change in his behavior toward staff involved in the process.” She claimed he said he would use an attorney and private investigator to go after people who filed complaints, and she accused him of publicly criticizing her in interviews and removing her job responsibilities because of her handling of the investigation.
Lake said Molnar’s actions led to “declining morale within the agency,” undermined staff members’ ability to do their jobs and damaged her reputation. She said that led her to resign as executive director.
“I believe no employee should be forced to choose between reporting misconduct and protecting their career, reputation, or personal well-being,” she said in her declaration.
Lake has since become Helena city manager.
Jonathon Ambarian
The report said there was evidence to show Molnar had retaliated, including by “making disparaging statements about investigation participants” including Lake, by sending an email warning he could file complaints of his own against people involved, and by taking other actions investigators said could dissuade employees from reporting behavior in the future.
Monforton said during Thursday’s hearing that the initial comments Bukacek complained about were jokes Molnar had admitted were inappropriate, that he regretted saying them, and that he hasn’t made any similar comments in about a year. But he argued the vast majority of the findings against Molnar were about retaliation – and that those were primarily based on speech that the other commissioners don’t have the right to interfere with.
Monforton said it’s unreasonable to punish Molnar for what he said in the July news conference where he announced he was under investigation, in interviews with the media or in commission meetings. He said Molnar’s conduct doesn’t rise to the level of actual retaliation.
“This is an elected official, engaging in speech in his forum,” Monforton said.
He said Molnar may have made harsh comments toward staff, but that he had the right to raise objections about the way the agency does business.
Jonathon Ambarian
Monforton also argued the retaliation claims no longer justify keeping Molnar out of the office, since Welborn, Fielder and Bukacek voted to remove him as president in October and he no longer has the authority he’s accused of misusing. He said there haven’t been further complaints about his behavior since that time.
“We’re not asking for the moon and stars, we’re asking for the status quo as it existed for the last seven months,” he said.
Jones said there is enough evidence to show Molnar would have been punished regardless of whether any protected speech was excluded.
“This is not about a couple of jokes,” she said.
Jones said Molnar made maliciously false statements about people like Lake, and that type of statement isn’t covered by free speech protections.
She also said Molnar’s exclusion from the PSC offices is temporary, and that the PSC will reconsider whether to let him return if he apologizes for his actions, accepts the agency’s code of conduct and undergoes training.
Molloy indicated he saw indications that there was “acrimony” on both sides of the situation, and said he was skeptical it would be resolved easily.
“It would be nice if instead of juvenile behavior, there was professional behavior,” he said.
However, the judge said there was an avenue for Molnar to pursue if he wanted to reach a resolution.
Molloy took no immediate action Thursday. He told the parties he would rule as quickly as he could.
Carrie Gilbertson has been executive director of Cancer Support Community Montana for just under two months, stepping into the role in April with more than 15 years of nonprofit experience and a lifetime of Montana roots.
The organization provides psychosocial and mental health support to anyone affected by cancer — not just those with a diagnosis, but also family members and others walking alongside them.
WATCH: Meet the new leader of Cancer Support Community Montana 🎗️
Cancer Support Community Montana names new executive director
“This mission of providing psycho-social supports and mental health supports for anyone impacted by cancer, not just that person who has the diagnosis, but also family members, anyone who is walking alongside someone as they experience that often scary diagnosis, that’s just something that’s important to me,” Gilbertson said.
Gilbertson’s role extends beyond the Bozeman office. Cancer Support Community Montana’s Missoula location is already up and running, and a Helena location is expected to be operating soon. Each presents its own set of challenges.
“Each hospital is different. They might have different resources. Their social workers might be connecting to things in a different way. So understanding what those hospitals need, what different participants need in each community, is going to be different just because the communities are different, resources are different,” Gilbertson said.
The Bozeman office has been operating for more than 20 years, providing a foundation that supports the organization’s broader statewide efforts.
“I think this is a crew that looks at what does this community need what do our participants need what are some of the changing landscapes in cancer care what things are the gaps that we see that we can maybe just jump right in and you know let’s see if we can provide that for people so that’s something I really love about this crew that I work with and just this mission that there is some flexibility in being able to adjust and adapt as we learn more,” Gilbertson said.
Those adaptations show up in unexpected ways. The organization converts its parking lot into a pickleball court every Friday morning.
“I didn’t know there was a pickleball court. I pulled in actually with my daughter pulled in and she was is that pickleball court and I was like oh, it kind of looks like it is so yeah that’s fun, every Friday morning we clear out the parking lot and put up the net and I haven’t played yet I’ve been watching just to kind of see how that game works but they take it pretty seriously,” Gilbertson said.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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