(Montana Sports Information) Montana football bounced back on Homecoming and defeated an explosive Idaho State team 28-20 to improve to 4-1 on the season and 1-1 in Big Sky play. The Grizzlies never trailed in the game and picked up their ninth win in the past 10 Homecoming games.

It may not have been the prettiest of games on a rainy day in Missoula, but head coach Bobby Hauck is glad to get back in the win column.

“It was a really fun game,” Hauck said. “Exciting, certainly, and I think we just have to accept the fact that we have a hard time getting away from people. There weren’t enough plays to get away from them, but winning by eight in that game is great, and I’m very happy to be at 4-1.”

Get our free mobile app

The Grizzlies outgained the Bengals 394-334, holding the best passing attack in the Big Sky to 289 yards through the air. The game was a battle of styles with Montana running the ball 51 times and the Bengals passing it 47 times. In the end, Montana did enough to remain undefeated against Idaho State inside Washington-Grizzly Stadium.

Clifton McDowell started the game and took the majority of the reps at quarterback, helping spark Montana’s rushing attack. McDowell had 20 carries for 66 yards and a touchdown and added 160 yards and another score through the air. He completed 65 percent of his passes with no turnovers.

“He did a good job with a good portion of it,” Hauck said of his quarterback. “There were some things in there that weren’t good enough, but you learn football by playing it and he will continue to learn. He did a good job today and I was proud of him coming in and producing like that.”

Freshman running back Eli Gillman followed his quarterback with 16 carries for 51 yards and a score, while Nick Ostmo had eight totes for 49 yards on a 6.1 average.

Montana pulled out a pair of trick plays for momentum-changing plays. Sawyer Racanelli threw a touchdown pass to Evan Shafer on a reverse, and punter Travis Benham converted a fourth down with a pass to Garrett Graves.

The offense was balanced with 220 yards coming in the air and 174 on the ground.

Junior Bergen hauled in seven catches for 100 yards on the day, gaining 40 of those after the catch. Keelan White added five catches, including two spectacular first-down grabs that are sure to make the highlight reel, for 54 yards.

“It’s absolutely good for us when we can (get the ball) to Junior,” Hauck said. “He got a little banged up today, so we have to temper our want of how many times he can get the ball because he’s not had a history of staying healthy.”

Montana’s defense forced a pair of turnovers, both coming in the second half.

Homecoming game photos