 |  Senior safety Mike McCord had his first career pick in UM's 17-14 win over EWU. |
Sept. 17, 2011
A record crowd was on hand as The University of Montana Grizzlies started their 2011 Big Sky Conference season with a hard-fought 17-14 victory over defending FCS national champion Eastern Washington Saturday afternoon in UM's Washington-Grizzly Stadium.
There were 26,066 in Washington-Grizzly Stadium, breaking the old record of 26,019 set in the Montana State game last season.
It was a defensive slugfest, as there were just 15 points scored in the second half. The Grizzlies got all of the points that they needed with 6:14 left in the third quarter, when Gerald Kemp lined up at a wide receiver position and scored on a 1-yard pass from sophomore quarterback Jordan Johnson. Kemp's touchdown catch gave Montana (2-1/1-0) a 17-6 lead over the Eagles (0-3/0-1), which proved to be all the points they needed.
"It was a great win," said Griz head coach Robin Plfugrad. "Eastern Washington has great team and they're probably the best 0-3 team in the nation. It was a very physical game."
It wasn't an easy win, though.
EWU cut the UM lead to 17-14 with 10:32 left in the contest when senior quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell connected with junior wide receiver Nicholas Edwards for a 4-yard TD. Those two hooked up again for the two-point conversion and the Eagles were back in the hunt.
But, the Grizzly defense withstood three more possessions by the Eagles, and ended the comeback with an interception by sophomore linebacker John Kanonagata'a on EWU's 17-yard line with 25 seconds left.
The Griz scored on their first possession on a 1-yard scoring run by junior halfback Dan Moore. The TD was set up thanks to a 44-yard run by Johnson, who advanced the ball to EWU's four-yard line, and Moore scored two plays later. Montana took a 10-0 lead with 3:29 remaining in the first quarter on a 35-yard field goal by senior kicker Brody McKnight.
EWU had 212 total yards and dominated time of possession (21:36 to 8:24) in the first 30 minutes, but was held to two field goals by senior kicker Mike Jarrett, who connected from 41 and 42 yards out, making it 10-6 Griz at halftime.
The final touchdown by Kemp, who is also the Grizzlies' back-up quarterback, gave his team an 11-point cushion, and UM's defense did the rest, holding EWU to just eight second-half points.
"The defense played great, no doubt about it," said Pflugrad. "I thought our coaches did a very good job with substituting our linebackers and our D-line. Tyrone Duncan played a good game as did (senior ends) Ryan Fetherston and Bobby Alt, along with Waldo (senior defensive tackle Bryan Waldhauser). Obviously John (Kanongata'a) performed today and we're really glad to have him on our football team."
The Griz rushed 46 times for 316 yards, led by Johnson's 102 yards on just 10 carries. Redshirt freshman Jordan Canada gained 76 yards, while junior Peter Nguyenadded 59, and Kemp had just one attempt but picked up 50 yards. Kemp's burst led to McKnight's first quarter field goal.
Senior linebacker Caleb McSurdy led the Griz with 12 tackles, along with Kanongata'a, who also had 12 stops. Kanongata'a, who also had a sack to go along with his pick, was filling in for junior linebacker Jordan Tripp, who left the game with an injury. Waldhauser added eight stops, including 1.5 sacks, while senior cornerback Houston Rootshad seven stops and a TFL.
Mitchell was 26-of-49-2 for 237 yards and a TD. Freshman halfback Jordan Talley had game-highs of 19 carries for 114 yards. Senior linebacker Zack Johnson led EWU with a game-high 13 tackles.
The Griz are at Sacramento State next Saturday for a 7: 05 p.m. (Mtn.) game. EWU hosts Montana State
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