No. 4 Montana sees lead slip away in 27-24 loss at No. 23 North Dakota

GRAND FORKS, N.D. — All the momentum Montana had built had wilted away, and a tale of two halves resulted in an agonizing loss for the No. 4-ranked Grizzlies.

North Dakota erased a 17-point second half deficit to knock off Montana 27-24 in a matchup of top-25 FCS teams at the Alerus Center. The 23rd-ranked Fighting Hawks dominated the second half thanks to a persistent ground attack, second-half TDs by quarterback Simon Romfo and Gaven Ziebarth, and a pair of fourth-quarter field goals by C.J. Elrichs.

Elrichs’ 40-yard kick with 2:16 remaining put UND ahead 27-24, and a final possession by the Grizzlies resulted in a missed 55-yard field goal try by Ty Morrison.

Montana led 24-7 at halftime. Three consecutive touchdown drives by the Griz in the first half accounted for a sizeable advantage.

Xavier Harris, one of the heroes of last week’s win versus Missouri State, had a 37-yard touchdown catch and Eli Gillman broke free for a 63-yard scoring run. Finally, Aaron Fontes took an end-around 18 yards to the end zone as UM went up 21-7.

A 30-yard field goal by Morrison before the end of the first half extended the Grizzlies’ lead to 17 points.

But things changed drastically in the second half as UND’s defense forced three consecutive three-and-outs and the Fighting Hawks’ offense asserted itself on the ground. Ziebarth’s 2-yard TD run in the third cut into UND’s deficit to make it 24-14. Romfo then burst up the middle for a 19-yard scoring run (after bobbling the snap) to make it 24-21 later in the third.

The Grizzlies’ failure to move the chains on subsequent possessions allowed for Elrichs’ two fourth-quarter field goals, both of which were critical. On the winning drive, UND converted a fourth-and-1 and third-and-11 plays to keep the possession alive.

“They did a good job, but that wasn’t good enough by us,” head coach Bobby Hauck stated in a UM press release. “We had the game in hand, in control, I thought we were in the right frame of mind coming out of halftime and they got a big stop and then we just didn’t execute and get some first downs.”

“It was a wild game, good job by North Dakota coming back and getting us,” Hauck said. “But you know, I really think the enemy is us and that starts with me, certainly. We can’t go through them like that in the first half and then come out and not be able to get a first down in the second half, that’s ridiculous.”

Turning point: Both of the aforementioned conversion plays by North Dakota were significant. First, facing fourth-and-1, 240-pounder Quincy Vaughn dove over the line near midfield — with a little push from his teammates — to move the chains. Later, Romfo beat a Griz blitz with a pass to Nate Demontagnac for 12 yards on third-and-11.

That all led to Elrichs’ final attempt, which provided UND with the winning points with 2:16 remaining.

Stat of the game: Several numbers didn’t fall Montana’s way, especially in the second half. The Grizzlies managed to convert just one first down in the final 30 minutes, and that came on a 32-yard scramble by QB Keali’I Ah Yat on UM’s final drive. Otherwise the Grizzlies were sacked six times and were outgained on the ground 243 to 160.

Grizzly game balls: S Chrishawn Gordon (Defense). For a unit that was on the field way too much in the second half, Gordon stood out. He made seven total tackles (six solo) with 1.5 tackles for loss and a pass breakup.

What’s next: Montana, now 1-1, returns home next Saturday to play its third non-league game of the schedule against Morehead State of the Pioneer Football League.

Morehead State is located in Morehead, Ky. It will be the first ever meeting between the Grizzlies and the Eagles. The game is scheduled to kick off at 1 p.m. at Washington-Grizzly Stadium.