MISSOULA — Eastern Washington made things interesting Saturday at Washington-Grizzly Stadium, but No. 2 Montana held on for a wild 29-24 win.
Redshirt-freshman quarterback Jake Schakel gave the Eagles a spark, but he fumbled while trying to spike the ball with time running out and the Eagles at the Montana 5-yard line driving for the potential go-ahead touchdown. Eastern Washington recovered the loose ball, but time ran out on their upset bid.
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Eastern Washington got in position to threaten the Grizzlies with a frantic comeback. Trailing 29-14 in the third quarter, Schakel led Eastern to a field goal and then threw a touchdown pass to Cole Pruett with 1:01 remaining in the game. The Eagles recovered the ensuing onside kick and got deep into Montana territory before Schakel's costly fumble.
To begin the game, the Grizzlies started fast and then held on to pull out the victory, UM's fourth straight win over its regional rival.
Quarterback Keali'i Ah Yat continued his stellar play, passing for two touchdowns in the first quarter and rushing for one in the second to help Montana build a 22-0 lead. Ah Yat started the game completing his first 14 passes for 159 yards and two TDs. His first incompletion didn't come until the 6:24 mark of the second quarter.
Eastern found a rhythm behind Schakel in the second quarter. He threw a touchdown to Kevin Allen III and then Allen ran in another score to bring the Eagles within 22-14 at halftime. They had a chance to trim the deficit further in the third quarter, but Schakel was intercepted by Kenzel Lawler on a jump ball.
Lawler's pick led to a 25-yard touchdown run by Eli Gillman, which proved to be the difference for Montana to get the victory and improve to 10-0 on the season (6-0 Big Sky).
Photos: No. 2 Montana escapes with win over Eastern Washington
HENDRIX HIGHLIGHT: Korbin Hendrix made perhaps the catch of the year in the Big Sky Conference on his 29-yard touchdown in the first quarter. The 6-foot-3 speedster got behind his defender, but Ah Yat slightly overthrew the pass. Hendrix laid out for a ridiculous one-handed, full-body extension catch.
Hendrix, a redshirt-sophomore transfer from Arizona State, entered the game with just four catches for 69 yards and a TD on the season. He added four catches for 43 yards and the TD on Saturday.
QUICK START: Montana had to rally from halftime deficits to beat North Dakota, Idaho State and Cal Poly earlier in the season. Since the 28-9 win over Cal Poly, though, the Grizzlies have led at halftime in each of their four wins (Sacred Heart, Sacramento State, Weber State and now Eastern Washington).
Against Eastern Washington, UM jumped out to a 14-0 lead after the first quarter and a 22-14 halftime advantage. The Griz got big plays in all three phases — Drew Deck had a 60-yard punt return, Kellen Detrick wreaked havoc in the Eagles' backfield, and Gillman and Michael Wortham hit chunk plays on offense.
DEFENSIVE DOMINANCE: Montana's defense leads the Big Sky in interceptions, and the Griz had two more Saturday. Lawler's INT directly led to points, and defensive lineman Hayden Schwartz caught an interception that thwarted an Eastern Washington drive in the red zone. Schwartz got his pick off a pass that Clay Oven deflected on a blitz after the Eagles had gotten down to the UM 9-yard line.
Montana also had eight sacks in the game — three from Detrick, two from Jareb Ramos and one each from Oven, Caleb Otlewski and Matai Mata'afa.
UP NEXT: Montana takes its 10-0 record on the road to Portland, Ore. The Grizzlies will play Portland State at Providence Park on Saturday, Nov. 15. Kickoff is scheduled for 3 p.m. Mountain Time, and the game will be broadcast by Scripps Sports.
The Vikings last played a game in the downtown stadium on Oct. 13, 2018. Montana has won the past four games in the series with Portland State, including last year's 28-17 game in Missoula.
