Griz use their depth in defeat of Skyhawks

If the University of Montana football program wants Lex Hilliard to break UM’s career rushing record, it wouldn’t hurt to schedule Fort Lewis College every weekend.

The senior running back from Kalispell had his way with the Skyhawks’ overmatched defense, particularly in the first quarter when he plowed ahead for 72 yards on six carries.
Beyond the first quarter, however, Hilliard played sparingly, finishing with 86 yards, as every player for the second-ranked Grizzlies saw action in the 49-0 rout.

With those numbers, he moved within 991 yards of UM career-rushing leader Yohance Humphrey, who left the program in 2001 after netting 4,070 yards.

Junior quarterback Cole Bergquist, not to be outdone, completed all 13 of his passes, including a 15-yard strike to Ryan Bagley for a second quarter touchdown, amassing 163 yards.

What was most impressive about Hilliard’s short day wasn’t his less-than-eye-popping final tally; it was the confidence, strength and agility he displayed against the Division II Skyhawks.

Montana head coach Bobby Hauck said Hilliard looked like a “bigger, faster version” of the player he was in 2005, when he last competed for the Griz. Hilliard missed all of last season with a ruptured Achilles tendon and if any of the 22,866 fans that crowded into Washington-Grizzly Stadium had looked closely enough, they might have actually seen Hilliard shaking off the rust as he ran for three first-quarter touchdowns.

The first sign that Hilliard’s day would be big wasn’t veiled. On the Grizzlies’ first play from scrimmage he slipped right up the middle and sprinted untouched into the end zone for a 54-yard touchdown.

“The first touch was amazing and the O-line did an incredible job in opening up a lane I could have drove my truck through,” he said.

Hilliard also blasted in for touchdown runs of five and two yards before giving way to the backups for the majority of the remaining drives.

By the time the first half was over, the Griz were on top 35-0. The starters played only one more series following halftime.

Skyhawks head coach Ed Rifilato was realistic about his team’s chances against Montana going into the game, and afterward was pleased with how his team had performed.

“In the first half they came out and just beat the hell out of us,” Rifilato said. “I think in the second half the guys kind of responded and didn’t want to let themselves down, and didn’t want to let the people back home down, us as coaches down. They did a great job. I was proud of them in the second half.”

This was the second time in three years that the Grizzlies had shut out the Skyhawks in Missoula. In 2005, Montana rolled, 55-0.

Rifilato said that this year’s Grizzly team was markedly better than the one he coached against two years ago.

“They were 100 times better than they were in the 2005 season,” Rifilato said. “I was praying to play the 2005 team. The 2005 team was nothing compared to this team.”

Seventy-three players suited up for the Griz, and all got in the game, which Rifilato said provided another obstacle his team couldn’t overcome.

“They’re so deep right now that they just keep rotating people in,” he said.

Hauck was pleased with the performance of not just Bergquist, but his other three quarterbacks – Jeff Larson, Andrew Selle, and Clint Stapp – as well.

“I thought today (Bergquist) was sharp as far as getting rid of the ball,” Hauck said. “We’re young at that position in general so when you can get all those guys reps it’s a good thing.”

Despite the mismatch between the two teams, turnovers were virtually a non-factor in the game. Only one change of possession was forced – a fumble caused by the Griz on a fourth-and-short attempt by the Skyhawks.

A near-interception by Tyler Joyce can go under the “What Could Have Been” heading in Grizzly lore. The senior had a bead on a Dave Nieman pass in the third quarter and appeared to have it when he collided with umpire Dan Mahoney, knocking off the official’s hat. The ball fell to the ground and was ruled an incomplete pass, but only because an incomplete interception statistic isn’t kept.

“It wasn’t his fault,” Joyce said of the umpire after the game. “I still should have caught it. It just distracted me a little bit.”

The Grizzlies have two weeks to prepare for their next opponent, the Albany Great Danes. Hauck said the team will spend its bye week practicing basic drills and fine-tuning before zeroing in on Albany the next week.