GRAND FORKS – The UND football program brought out its legends Saturday night in the 2024 home opener against No. 4 Montana.
Veteran Minnesota Vikings guard Jim Kleinsasser flipped the coin, while Canadian Football League Hall of Fame member Weston Dressler was honored during a first-half timeout.
In the second half against the Griz, UND’s current squad delivered a performance worthy of the decorated guests.
UND scored 20 unanswered points in the second half, and CJ Elrichs’ 40-yard field goal with 2 minutes, 16 seconds left gave the No. 23 Fighting Hawks a 27-24 victory over No. 4 Montana.
UND set a national record with 38 consecutive home wins.
“Great win for our guys and our program,” UND coach Bubba Schweigert said. “I was really proud of our guys. We didn’t play well in the first half. We came out and responded. Our offensive line took control of the game.”
UND trailed 24-7 at halftime and Simon Romfo, making his first start for Grand Forks, completed just 5 of 14 passes for 54 yards and one interception.
The Griz had 286 yards of offense at halftime and freshman quarterback Keali’i Ah Yat had 151 passing yards on 17 of 22 passes.
“We just stuck together as a team,” said UND nose guard Craig Orlando, who recorded two quarterback sacks. “We were slow to get into the game in the first half. In the second half, we knew we had to do something big.”
Eric Hylden/Grand Forks Herald
UND’s comeback began quickly in the second half.
The Hawks opened with a scoring drive, initiated by a 17-yard run by Simon Romfo and a defensive pass interference in the end zone. Gaven Ziebarth capped the drive with a 2-yard run to cut the lead to 24-14.
After a quick three-and-out thanks to a third down by corner Devin Hembry, UND scored for a second time in the quarter in just five plays. On the scoring play, Romfo dropped the snap, picked it up in the backfield and buried it for a 19-yard touchdown run, carrying a defender the final few yards into the end zone. Romfo’s touchdown run cut the Griz lead to 24-21.
The Griz countered with another three-and-out thanks to a sack by Josh Navratil on third down.
UND went on another long drive, a classic in two weeks of the season. On the 17th play of the drive, Schweigert decided to kick a short field goal on fourth down from the 2 to tie the game at 24-24.
Once again, UND’s defense managed to collect three possessions. This time, UND linebacker Dylan Boecker broke the line of scrimmage on third down and forced an incomplete pass.
UND then used up more than seven minutes of the clock as an inexperienced offensive line went to work again.
On fourth and third attempts from the 24-yard line, Elrichs, who missed a kick last week at Iowa State, converted the 40-yard throw and took the lead.
“I knew there was a really good opportunity for a field goal,” Elrichs said. “Great snap by David. Great hold by Simon. The line blocked great. It was a really cool moment.”
However, the Griz had enough time to react. Montana started its drive at its own 29.
On fourth-and-1 from the Griz 39, Ah Yat broke the line for a 31-yard sprint, putting pressure on the UND defense.
After an incomplete pass on the first attempt, UND linebacker Wyatt Pedigo sacked Ah Yat. On the third attempt, UND broke up a screen pass.
On fourth-and-17, Montana missed a 54-yard field goal attempt with 39 seconds left.
“Great effort by (Schweigert) and what a great win for their program,” Montana coach Bobby Hauck said. “Obviously not a very good effort by us. We can’t do what we did in the second half and hope to hold a big lead or even win. That starts with me. I’ve got to do a better job of figuring out how to get a first down.”
