With the exception of a small group of Maine faithful, a crowd of 23,228 left Washington-Grizzly Stadium happy and a bit relieved after the third-ranked Grizzlies scored 24 second-half points and beat No. 11 Maine 27-20 in the season opener for both bears.
Senior QB Craig Ochs capped fourth-quarter drives with touchdown passes to Jon Talmage and Willie Walden as the Grizzlies turned a 13-13 tie into a 27-13 lead with 1:54 remaining.
"I still thought we were going to win that game at the end,'' said Maine coach Jack Cosgrove, whose team was flagged 12 times for 119 yards, converted just 3-of-11 third downs, and threw two interceptions. "I was sure we were going to get that onside kick and we came damn close to it. Then we go score again and we have a chance to win it in overtime. It didn't happen.''
Ochs showed fans he's more than capable of getting the job done, even though the thumb on his throwing hand is protected by a splint. Ochs, who worked out of the shotgun most of the afternoon, completed 22-of-33 passes for 217 yards with no interceptions and three touchdowns. He also scrambled 13 times for 33 yards, running for a couple of crucial first downs.
"I was impressed with him,'' said Montana coach Bobby Hauck, who earned his first career victory last season with a 30-20 win over Maine. "He threw for a high percentage. I thought he had a heck of a day, a pretty good opening day.''
Ochs made one very costly mistake, but the 6-foot-2, 205-pounder was able to recover. With Montana holding a 13-6 lead and backed up at its own 7-yard line, Ochs waited too long to pull the ball away from running back Justin Green on a play-fake. Ochs dropped the ball and Maine's Matthew King recovered at the 1-yard line. A play later, Marcus Williams, who rushed for 105 yards on 20 carries, tied the score with a 1-yard run.
"Completely my fault,'' Ochs said of the fumble. "I was supposed to pull out for a pass play, and just left it in there too long. Your stomach just drops when you see that ball lying there and I wasn't able to fall on it.''
The offense responded with an 11-play, 70-yard drive highlighted by three third-down conversions. The biggest occurred when Ochs connected with Levander Segars on a 17-yard gain on a third-and-4. On the next play, Ochs hit Talmage on a slant in the end zone.
"They gave us man-for-man on the outside with me and Jefferson (Heidelberger),'' Talmage said. "The safety went with Jefferson and it left a big hole for me. It doesn't get any easier than that.''
Grizzly junior safety Kevin Edwards put the Griz in position to put the game away when he intercepted Whitcomb for the second time, this one coming on the Maine 28-yard line with 3:51 remaining. Whitcomb overthrew his tight end and Edwards made a diving grab.
"I anticipated the cut,'' said Whitcomb, who completed 24-of-32 passes for 234 yards and tossed a 4-yard scoring pass to Christain Pereria early in the second quarter. "I threw it a little too early. It's on my shoulders.''
Five plays after the interception, Ochs found a wide-open Walden from 2 yards out to put the Griz up 27-13.
The TD pass was Ochs' third of the day. Just once last season did Montana have a three-touchdown pass game. Ochs' first touchdown was a pretty 25-yarder to Heidelberger that gave Montana a 10-6 edge midway through the third quarter. Heidelberger finished with seven catches for a game-high 115 yards.
Montana threw the ball 33 times and called several more pass plays that turned into scrambles by Ochs. The Griz called just six first-half running plays, but were able to find some openings in the second half. Montana rushed for 101 yards in the final 30 minutes. Justin Green finished with 47 yards on 15 carries. JR Waller picked up 46 yards on just six carries.
"Until we started throwing the ball well, they were really geared to stop the run,'' Hauck said. "When they have that many in there and they are really good, (running the ball) is going to be hard to do."
Montana's young defense proved it will be a force at some point this season. The unit combined for four sacks and limited Maine to 125 rushing yards. Montana held Maine to just one score over the first three quarters, and the second touchdown was a gift because of the Ochs' fumble.
"We wanted to come in and we knew they were going to try and pound it down our throat,'' said Griz senior linebacker Adam Hoge. "We wanted to shut their run game down and keep their QB contained and I think we did a pretty good job today.''
The other big question that was answered was the Grizzlies' kicking situation. True freshman Dan Carpenter accounted for Montana's lone first-half points on a 32-yard field goal. Carpenter also made a 47-yarder late in the third quarter to give UM a 13-6 lead. One of Carpenter's kickoffs was fielded 7 yards deep in the end zone for a touchback. Carpenter also made all three of his extra points.
"It wasn't quite the best kick, but I'll take it,'' Carpenter said of his 47-yard field goal. "I was just sitting there praying that I got enough of it, and got it up high enough.''
Reporter Jon Kasper can be reached at 523-5247 or by e-mail at jkasper@missoulian.com
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