The Montana Grizzlies made a statement on Saturday afternoon. A blowout victory over Eastern Washington that hardly anyone saw coming sets up a loaded rivalry showdown next week.
Brady Gustafson made his much-anticipated return. The Grizzlies defense notched six sacks and forced seven turnovers. Jamaal Jones and Tyrone Holmes climb the record books. And Jeremy Calhoun continued his standout rookie season by scoring three touchdowns as No. 22 Montana blasted No. 10 Eastern Washington 57-16 in front of 25,213 on Saturday afternoon in Missoula.
“It was a statement win against a very good football team. I don’t know how exactly we did that against a team like them, but we needed it,” Montana first-year head coach Bob Stitt said during the post-game press conference. “We know we have a good football team and we’re finally getting healthy. Great effort defensively, special teams were very good, and offensively we went out and finally clicked.”
UM quarterback Brady Gustafson rears back in the pocket vs. EUW, returning from injury for his third start of the season/by Evan Frost
The win boosts Montana to 6-4, meaning if the Grizzlies can win next week in Bozeman over rival Montana State next week, UM will head to the playoffs for the 21st time since 1993. With Southern Utah’s 24-23 loss at Portland State, the race for the Big Sky Conference title remains alive. UM, PSU, Northern Arizona and Eastern Washington are all 5-2 in Big Sky, a game behind the 6-1 Thunderbirds.
SUU hosts Northern Arizona on Saturday. Eastern Washington hosts Portland State. A Southern Utah win would eliminate the Lumberjacks and give the Thunderbirds their first-ever Big Sky crown. An NAU win coupled with Eastern Washington and Montana wins would create a four-way tie atop the standings with UM holding the tie breaker over EWU and NAU thanks to earlier victories. An NAU win over SUU and a PSU win over EWU coupled with a Montana Cat-Griz win would give Portland State the tiebreaker due to wins over Montana and Southern Utah.
The over Eastern Washington in Montana’s first since 2011. The Eagles entered the game after beating the Grizzlies four consecutive times, including twice last season. EWU ended Montana’s season with a 37-20 win in the second round of the FCS playoffs last fall.
“I just know that we wanted to go out with a bang,” said Jones, a senior captain wide receiver who caught a 45-yard touchdown during the onslaught. “I know I haven’t beaten these guys since I’ve been here. Nobody on this team has won, and that definitely added some fuel to the fire.”
Gustafson, Montana’s 6-foot-7 junior quarterback, won the starting job out of the off-season only to suffer a leg injury in September. He missed Montana’s first six conference games. On Saturday, Gustafson returned to help navigate the offense. He completed 20-of-34 passes for 266 yards and the 45-yard TD bomb to Jones that gave UM a 43-9 lead with 8:25 left in the third quarter. Gustafson connected with Jones six times for a season-high 156 yards to move into second place all-time in Montana history in career receiving yards. He now has 2,764 yards. Jones passed Matt Wells and is now 255 yards behind Marc Mariani for the school record.
UM wide receiver Jamaal Jones gets ups up field after a catch vs. EWU/by Evan Frost
“It feels good, especially because this is only my third year (he transferred from Washington before the 2013 season), and having gotten that much production, and not being here a total of four years feels good,” said Jones after his last regular season game at Washington-Grizzly Stadium. “It makes me feel like I, one, made the right choice, and two, that I made the most of my time being here.”
Montana put consistent pressure on EWU’s collection of quarterbacks. Eastern Washington head coach Beau Baldwin elected to start redshirt freshman Reilly Hennessey in favor of junior Jordan West, who entered the game as the FCS’ leading passer. On EWU’s first possession, Hennessey fumbled the snap and it was recovered by UM senior captain Derek Crittenden. Montana recovered and converted, marching 70 yards capped by the first of three Calhoun touchdowns.
Hennessey’s second drive ended in a field goal but Montana answered with another 71-yard drive capped by Calhoun’s second touchdown. West took a single snap at the end of the first quarter, finding junior All-America receiver Cooper Kupp for a 22-yard gain but Baldwin went with Hennessey again to start the second frame. He was sacked on fourth down and two yards to go by Crittenden and Holmes. John Nguyen, who became the first Montana tailback to rush for more than 100 yards by finishing with 105 yards rushing, ripped off a 43-yard run, Gustafson hit Jones for a 37-yard gain and Calhoun scored his third touchdown of the afternoon to put Montana up 20-3 before the game was even 20 minutes old.
Hennessey again returned on the next possession and again found himself under duress. On third down from the EWU 40, Montana ran a safety blitz with 6-foot-4, 220-pound hammer Yamen Sanders. The Arizona transfer put perhaps the hit of the season on Hennessey, forcing a fumble that senior linebacker Herbert Gamboa returned 33 yards for a touchdown to give Montana a 27-3 lead with 10 minutes to play in the first half. The hit also knocked Hennessey out of the game.
UM defensive end Tyrone Holmes rushes EWU quarterback Reily Hennessey off the edge/ by Evan Frost
Sanders’ sack was one of six by the Griz defense. Holmes continued his dominant senior season. He finished with three sacks to boost his Big Sky and FCS-leading total to 14 this season. Holmes now has 30.5 sacks in his Montana career, fourth all-time behind Zack Wagenmann (37.5), Tim Bush (32.5) and Kroy Biermann (32). Montana’s single-season record is 19 set by Andy Petek in 2000. Holmes notched four tackles for loss, giving him 16.5 for the season to lead the Big Sky. He has 42 TFLs in his career, sixth in UM history behind Wagenmann (53), Bush (48.5), Biermann (45), Mike Murphy (44.5) and Petek (44).
“It was just a huge momentum game where it seemed like we had it for most of the game,” Holmes said. “The guys were making plays and it was fun to be out there, because we know how hard each other works during the offseason so it was fun seeing those big plays.”
The Griz converted the seven EWU turnovers into 27 points, including a pair of defensive touchdowns. Just two plays into the second half, EWU running back Jabari Wilson fumbled the ball on his own 41-yard line and Griz defensive end Ryan Johnson recovered. UM marched the ball to the end zone but settled for a 37-yard Daniel Sullivan to give Montana a 33-9 lead.
Senior linebacker Kendrick Van Ackeren, who missed last game due to suspension, notched 16 tackles and intercepted West in the third quarter to set up the second of three Sullivan third-quarter field goals. Holmes sacked West again on the next EWU possession to help aid a punt and Gustafson’s long touchdown to Jones followed as UM reached 50 points for the first time during the Stitt era. The clock read 8:25 left in the third quarter
UM wide receiver Ben Roberts dives at the goal line against a horde of EWU defenders/by Evan Frost
The Griz defense picked off West twice, including an interception by JR Nelson that the junior cornerback returned 36 yards for a touchdown on the heels of Jones’ touchdown. Cornerback Markell Sanders capped the turnover barrage with a interception of EWU third-string quarterback Gage Gubrud with five minutes to play.
Montana capped the scoring as previously suspended running back Joey Counts, in his first action since suffering an injury in September, ripped off a 27-yard touchdown.
“Like I’ve said since I’ve been here, if you’re healthy late, you can make a run,” Stitt said. “We’re finally healthy, and our off season strength program is now paying off, our kids are bought in, they’re taking care of their bodies, and we’re coming out on Saturdays with the same guys that we started the season with. There aren’t many teams that can say that.”
“We have to focus, and take care of business, and we’re going to be in good shape.”
Photos by Evan Frost for Skyline Sports. All Rights Reserved.
