Special teams and defense carry the Montana Grizzlies past Cal Poly

Special teams and defense helped the No. 8 Grizzlies overcome offensive woes and post a 35-7 win over the overmatched Cal Poly Mustangs on Saturday at Mustang Memorial Field in Spanos Stadium.

They improved their record to 7-2 overall and 4-1 in the Big Sky Conference as they have now put together their second three-game winning streak of the season and return home for a huge showdown against UC Davis next week.

Montana only defeated Cal Poly 336-297, but its defense forced three turnovers for the second straight game and converted those turnovers into 14 points. The Griz intercepted two passes, recovered a fumble and caused three turnovers on downs.

Bergen's 84-yard punt return touchdown gave the Griz a 21-0 lead and came after safety Tyson Rostad was ejected for recovering a fumble that Rostad forced and recovered. The score gave Bergen the Big Sky record of six punt return touchdowns, breaking the tie with Montana State's Corey Smith.

On the ensuing drive, Montana linebacker Garrett Hustedt intercepted a pass and returned the ball 29 yards to the 17-yard line. Three plays later, running back Eli Gillman burst into the end zone for a 3-yard touchdown run for a 28-0 lead with 0:13 left in the third quarter.

On Cal Poly's next drive, cornerback Chrisshawn Gordon made a diving interception on his return at the Mustangs' 48-yard line after missing the game last week. UM converted that into a touchdown and took a 35-0 lead with 11:01 to play. Lineman Lucas Freitas recovered a fumble for the score.

Montana had clung to a 14-0 halftime lead after huddling to force two turnovers on downs Cal Poly had in UM territory. One came for the Mustangs at the 27-yard line and one at the 34-yard line.

Montana totaled 11 tackles for loss this season, surpassing the 10 it had in the season opener against Missouri State. The Griz also had four sacks against a Cal Poly offense that had allowed just six sacks in its first seven games.

UM linebacker Riley Wilson and defensive end Hank Nuce each tallied two tackles for a loss and a sack. Wilson and Ryder Meyer combined on a fourth-down tackle. Meyer added another tackle for a fourth-down stop.

The Grizzlies' two interceptions came against starting QB Jaden Jones, who completed 13 of 28 passes for 147 yards.

Montana QB Logan Fife, who started the game, completed 12 of 16 passes for 137 yards, a touchdown and an interception, with his first pick of the season coming on his 157th pass attempt. Keali'i Ah Yat, who rotated throughout the game, completed 9 of 14 passes for 131 yards and a touchdown.

Montana's running game was punctuated by 32 carries for 68 yards. It had lost starting left tackle Cannon Panfiloff to an injury late in the second quarter. The Griz held off Cal Poly's rush attack for 63 yards on 38 carries.

After Fife's interception on the game's first possession, Ah Yat led the Griz with an 11-play, 75-yard touchdown drive, capped with a 24-yard touchdown pass to Xavier Harris one play down UM led 7-0, moved back 15 yards and received a tripping penalty. The Griz converted two third downs on the drive, including a one-handed catch by Sawyer Racanelli, and went 3 of 3.

The Griz were unable to convert a Giancarlo Woods fumble forced by Jaxon Lee and recovered by Trevin Gradney into a score, but they converted a turnover on downs into a score on Cal Poly's next drive. Keelan White made an impressive one-handed catch while being hit short of the end zone for a 21-yard touchdown from Fife on a third-and-5, taking a 14-0 lead with 5:29 left in the half. Eight plays, 73-yard drive.

After UM used a scoring drive to take a 35-0 lead, Cal Poly scored on a 14-yard TD pass to Jake Woods with 6:11 left in the game. The Griz added a 1-yard TD run by Stevie Rocker Jr. with 1:02 left.