But the view from the driver's seat is sure nice for the No. 5 Grizzlies.
Sophomore running back Lex Hilliard ran for a career-high 116 yards and three touchdowns, and the Griz blocked a potential game-tying game field goal for the second straight game - this time by linebacker Shane MacIntyre - to knock No. 23 Eastern Washington from the top of the Big Sky. Montana improved to 3-0 in league play, and 6-1 overall. Eastern, playing before a Woodward Field-record 10,754 fans, fell to 3-1 in the Big Sky and 4-3 overall.
The usual suspects played key roles. Quarterback Craig Ochs threw for 230 yards, 70 of those coming on an 85-yard drive in the final 90 seconds of the first half. Freshman kicker Dan Carpenter supplied the eventual winning points with a 39-yard field goal with 5:45 left in the game.
Add in the fact that Eastern became the fourth team to outgain the Griz this season and lose, and it's just another day, another dollar.
"You can never tell what's going to happen," said MacIntyre, who came through untouched to block Sheldon Weddle's 28-yard field goal with 18 seconds left. "Last week Jonny Varona did 'er (blocked a field goal to preserve a 24-22 win over Idaho State). It's crazy.
"We'd like to win in a little different fashion, but a win's a win, especially against these guys. They're a good team."
Eastern quarterback Erik Meyer had a strong game statistically, throwing for 320 yards and one touchdown, but was also picked off twice in the first half, and took a critical sack near the end of Eastern's final drive.
The junior had been fairly well contained by an active Griz defense until Carpenter's field goal made it 31-21. Then Meyer drove the Eagles 77 yards in seven plays, the last 11 on a slant pass to standout receiver Eric Kimble with 3:44 left. That cut the gap to 31-28.
Montana went three-and-out on its ensuing possession, setting up another wild finish. Kimble got things started by breaking five tackles on a 19-yard punt return, putting the ball at Eastern's 44-yard line with 2:10 remaining.
From there the Eagles got off 11 plays, including a 14-yard scramble by Meyer on third-and-13, and a 2-yard run by Darius Washington on third-and-1. That put the ball at Montana's 17, and Meyer hit Craig McIntyre for 11 yards down to the 6.
Meyer followed that with a quarterback draw that netted 2 yards, then took a 7-yard loss when Mike Potts came in from the left side for a sack. Eastern called time out with 30 seconds left, and tried one more pass that Meyer threw away under pressure from Mike Murphy.
That set up MacIntyre.
"We just had block called on my side," said the junior, who had team-high 10 tackles, three for losses. "Mike Murphy was the D-end going with me, and he drew a double team. They stepped down to him, and I sort of came clean and laid out, and got it."
It was a heartbreaker for Eastern, which had just crawled back into the I-AA rankings, and had the look of a champion early. The Eagles led 10-0 before the first quarter ended when Washington, who ran for 82 yards and two touchdowns, scored from 2 yards out with 59 seconds left.
Things could've really gone south from there, because EWU kicker Skyler Allen squibbed the ensuing kickoff off of Griz up-man Brady Green, and Kyle Long recovered for the Eagles at midfield.
"At that point, we knew we really had to buckle down," MacIntyre said. "The defense did a great job of shutting them down the rest of the half."
Montana forced a punt, then put together three drives, although the first ended with a blocked kick of its own, thanks in part to a high snap. But that put EWU at its own 5, and the Eagles had to punt again, setting up the Griz with a short field.
Hilliard capped a 37-yard march with a 16-yard burst up the left side, cutting the gap to 10-7.
Montana got the ball back with 1:29 left when freshman Torrey Thomas broke in front of Eagle receiver Richmond Sanders for the Grizzlies' second interception. A 33-yard pass to 6-foot-3 Jon Talmage, who was matched up with 5-7 cornerback Isaiah Trufant, was key. Ochs was 5-for-7 on the drive, including a 2-yard TD pass to tight end Willie Walden with 33 seconds left in the half.
From there Hilliard and running mate Justin Green (46 yards) helped control the tempo for the Griz.
"At halftime, Justin and I talked to each other, and we said, 'You need me, I need you, let's go out and blow these guys off the line,' " Hilliard said. "And our line really did a good job of taking control."
Hilliard added scoring runs of 8 yards at 3:28 of the third - aided by a wild scramble and throw from Ochs that netted 25 yards to Levander Segars - and 2 yards with 9:50 left in the game. Hilliard set up his last TD with a 41-yard burst down to the EWU 15-yard line.
Then it was a matter of holding off the Eagles.
"I'm just disappointed for the kids," said EWU coach Paul Wulff. "We're down 10 points late in the game and we kept fighting. We did not play our best game. We've played better, but to not play our best game and still come in and play hard, and still have a chance to win, I couldn't be prouder.
"I told the kids, 'This postgame speech was going to be the same whether we won or lost, in that we've gotta flush this game.' We've got Weber State next week, and all our goals are still intact."
So, of course, are the Grizzlies'.
"It puts us in first place," said Hauck, whose team has next weekend off. "As I said before the game, there's a long way to go. The Big Sky championship wasn't won by us today, it wasn't lost by them today. But the team that wins takes a step forward. It's a good place to be."
Montana 0 14 7 10 - 31
E. Washington 10 0 11 7 - 28
First Quarter
EWU-Weddle 28 FG 6:49
EWU-Washington 2 run (Allen kick) :59
Second Quarter
MON-Hilliard 16 run (Carpenter kick) 3:46
MON-Walden 2 pass from Ochs (Carpenter kick) :33
Third Quarter
EWU-Weddle 21 FG 9:07
MON-Hilliard 8 run (Carpenter kick) 3:28
EWU-Washington 1 run (Kimble pass from Meyer) :10
Fourth Quarter
MON-Hilliard 2 run (Carpenter kick) 9:50
MON-Carpenter 39 FG 5:45
EWU-Kimble 11 pass from Meyer (Allen kick) 3:44
A-10,754.
MON EWU
First downs 22 26
Rushes-yards 43-157 40-126
Passing 230 320
Comp-Att-Int 16-31-1 27-42-2
Return Yards 42 145
Punts-Avg. 04-48.5 4-41.3
Fumbles-Lost 0-0 1-0
Penalties-Yards 2-25 5-65
Time of Possession 29:40 30:20
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING-Montana, Hilliard 19-116, Green 17-46, Ochs 6- -5). E. Washington, Washington 26-82, Meyer 11-22, Witherspoon 2-19, Slind 1-3.
PASSING-Montana, Ochs 16-31-230-1, E. Washington, Meyer 27-41-320-2
RECEIVING-Montana, Hancock 5-61, Talmage 4-54, Segars 3-49, Hilliard 2-26, Heidelberger 1-38, Walden 1-2. E. Washington, Kimble 6-91, Vijil 6-66, McIntyre 5-84, Sanders 3-22, Washington 3-21, Witherspoon 2-8, Slind 1-17, Cwik 1-11.
Reporter Fritz Neighbor can be reached at 523-5247 or by e-mail at fneighbor@missoulian.com.
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