No. 4 Montana loses lead in 27-24 loss at No. 23 North Dakota

GRAND FORKS, N.D. — All of Montana’s momentum evaporated, and a tale of two halves ended with an agonizing loss for the fourth-ranked Grizzlies.

North Dakota overcame a 17-point second-half deficit to defeat Montana 27-24 in a matchup of the top 25 FCS teams at the Alerus Center. The 23rd-ranked Fighting Hawks dominated the second half thanks to a tenacious ground attack, second-half touchdowns by quarterback Simon Romfo and Gaven Ziebarth and two fourth-quarter field goals by CJ Elrichs.

Elrichs’ 40-yard kick with 2:16 left gave UND a 27-24 lead, and a final Grizzlies possession ended with a missed 55-yard field goal attempt by Ty Morrison.

Montana led 24-7 at halftime. Three consecutive touchdowns by the Griz in the first half gave them a sizable lead.

Xavier Harris, one of the heroes of last week’s win over Missouri State, caught a 37-yard touchdown and Eli Gillman broke free and ran 63 yards for the touchdown. Finally, Aaron Fontes ran 18 yards into the end zone on an end-around and UM took a 21-7 lead.

A 30-yard field goal by Morrison before the end of the first half increased 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 prevailed on the ground. Ziebarth’s 2-yard touchdown run in the third quarter cut UND’s deficit to 24-14. Romfo then burst up the middle and scored a 19-yard touchdown run (after botching the snap) to make it 24-21 later in the third quarter.

The Grizzlies’ failure to move the chains on subsequent possessions allowed Elrichs to make two fourth-quarter field goals, both of which were decisive. On the game-winning drive, UND converted a fourth-and-11 and a third-and-12 to keep the possession alive.

“They did a good job, but it wasn’t good enough from us,” head coach Bobby Hauck said in a UM press release. “We had the game under control, we had control, I thought we were in the right frame of mind after halftime and they made a big stop and then we just didn’t execute and get some first downs.”

“It was a wild game, good effort by North Dakota to come back and beat us,” Hauck said. “But you know, I really believe we are the enemy and that starts with me for sure. We can’t outplay them like that in the first half and then not get a first down in the second half, that’s ridiculous.”

Turning point: Both of North Dakota’s aforementioned conversion plays were significant. First, 240-pound player Quincy Vaughn leapt over the line near the halfway line on a fourth-and-1 — with a little nudge from his teammates — to move the chains. Later, Romfo beat a Griz blitz with a pass to Nate Demontagnac for 12 yards on a third-and-11 attempt.

All this led to Elrich’s final attempt, which gave UND the winning points with 2:16 minutes left.

Statistics of the game: Some numbers didn’t work in Montana’s favor, especially in the second half. The Grizzlies managed just one first down in the final 30 minutes, a 32-yard run by QB Keali’I Ah Yat on UM’s final drive. Otherwise, the Grizzlies were sacked six times and led 243 to 160.

Grizzly Play Balls: S Chrisshawn Gordon (Defense). In a unit that was on the field far too much in the second half, Gordon stood out, making seven total tackles (six solo) with 1.5 tackles for loss and one pass breakup.

What happens next?: Montana, currently 1-1, returns home next Saturday to play its third nonleague game against Morehead State of the Pioneer Football League.

Morehead State is located in Morehead, Kentucky. This will be the first meeting between the Grizzlies and the Eagles. The game is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. at Washington Grizzly Stadium.