CHENEY, Wash. — Logan Fife has spent the early portion of this season either playing behind or sharing time with fellow Montana quarterback Keali’i Ah Yat.
But the job was Fife’s on Saturday, and he made a big impression in the Grizzlies’ 52-49 Big Sky-opening (and long-awaited) win atop “The Inferno” at Eastern Washington’s Roos Field — despite the Eagles’ best comeback effort in an exhausting second half.
With Ah Yat out due to injury, Fife, a transfer from Fresno State, threw five touchdown passes in his first start at UM, and the Grizzlies needed each and every one of them as the Eagles put all kinds of pressure on the visitors.
Fife found tight end Erik Barker on two first-half scoring throws, a 29-yarder down the sideline to put the Grizzlies ahead 10-7 in the first half, and a 5-yarder over the top of the defense on play action with 12 seconds left before halftime.
Fife also connected with Junior Bergen on a 47-yard touchdown in the second quarter. Bergen had a huge first half, catching six passes for 140 yards prior to intermission alone.
Nick Ostmo added an 8-yard TD run as part of the Grizzlies’ big second quarter.
UM’s Ty Morrison opened the scoring with a 29-yard field goal. But the Grizzlies trailed 7-3 in the first quarter after EWU QB Kekoa Visperas ran one in from 2 yards, and were down again 14-10 when Visperas threw a 7-yard touchdown pass to prolific wideout Efton Chism III. But Fife and Montana took control in the first half.
The Eagles chipped into UM’s lead in the third quarter when QB Jared Taylor broke tackles and sped to a 48-yard TD run, making the score 31-21. Taylor came in after Visperas got nicked up.
That began a frenetic second-half stretch as the team’s traded touchdowns in a high-scoring affair.
Eli Gillman first countered for the Grizzlies, bursting down the sideline for a 69-yard touchdown run to give Montana another three-score advantage.
EWU answered later on another Chism TD catch to make it 38-28 early in the fourth, then the Eagles recovered a surprise onside kick and turned it into a 7-yard touchdown rush by Visperas, and suddenly Eastern Washington was within three points, 38-35, with 10:59 left.
The Grizzlies, though, made a huge fourth-and-2 conversion with a 40-yard run by Xavier Harris to the EWU 1-yard line. That set up a short TD pass by Fife to Ostmo just inside the near pylon with 5:11 left, giving Montana a 45-35 lead.
Still, the back-and-forth nature continued, as Chism caught yet another touchdown pass from Visperas, this time a 50-yarder to bring the Eagles back again at 45-42.
But the Griz went back up by 10 after a long run by Ostmo and another Fife TD pass, this one to Jake Olson in the back of the end zone for a 52-42 lead with 2:34 to go.
It didn’t end there. Visperas threw a 16-yard touchdown pass to Cole Pruett with 52 seconds remaining. The Eagles tried to make their second onside kick recovery of the second half, but this time the try went out of bounds and Montana was able to kneel out the clock.
It was Montana’s first victory on the road over Eastern Washington since 2008 and was its first win ever on EWU’s signature red turf, nicknamed “The Inferno,” since its installation in 2010.
Turning point: After Ostmo’s first-half touchdown run Montana’s defense was able to get off the field with a key stop, which set up Fife’s pretty 47-yard TD throw — off of double play-action — over the top to Bergen.
That gave the Grizzlies breathing room with a 24-14 lead. That cushion, which later grew and then shrank and then grew and then shrank, became crucial to the final outcome.
Stat of the game: Fife and the Griz offense put together five consecutive scoring drives in the first half — including four straight touchdowns — to take a 31-14 advantage into the break. Fife’s halftime numbers were eye-popping — 21-of-28 passing for 309 yards and three TDs.
Grizzly game balls: QB Logan Fife (Offense). Making his first Griz start in place of the injured Ah Yat, Fife put up huge numbers: 364 passing yards with five TDs and no interceptions. As an offense, Montana rolled up 701 total yards.
LB Ryan Tirrell (Defense). Montana’s defense (and special teams) gave up its share of big plays, and the Eagles had 551 yards of their own. But Tirrell was all around the action, making a team-high 14 tackles.
What’s next: Montana (4-1, 1-0 Big Sky) returns to the friendly confines of Washington-Grizzly Stadium next week as it hosts longtime Big Sky rival Weber State for a 1 p.m. matchup.
Though they’ve lost four of the past five, the Grizzlies lead the all-time series 40-16, including a 15-2 mark at home.
