Montana Griz Football Standout Earns His First-Ever Weekly Honor

A Montana kid through and through did some serious roping of his opponents to corral some huge plays that had major impact on the game.

While you can find him working the middle of the football field on Saturdays, Jace Klucewich can also often be found working the family ranch on Sundays. And what he contributed to his team's win this past Saturday at incredibly critical junctures in the game has earned him well-deserved weekly recognition.

University of Montana Sports Information Director Eric Taber tells us that today (Monday), Klucewich was named Big Sky Conference Defensive Player of the Week, the first weekly honor from the league of his career. He also earned an honorable mention for the Stats Perform Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) Defensive Player of the Week.

The junior safety from Frenchtown did just about everything in his power to shut down Portland State’s high-powered offense on Saturday, helping lead the Griz to an important 28-17 win. With two interceptions on the goal line (the second of which he returned 40 yards), Jace put a halt to a pair of would-be scoring drives that might have been the difference in the game.

With his two interceptions on Saturday, he now leads the Big Sky in total interceptions and is tied for third in the FCS this season with four. Montana forced a season high five turnovers against the Vikings and now lead the Big Sky in total turnover margin at +7 on the year.

Congratulations to Jace ahead of the behemoth Brawl of the Wild game in Bozeman against Montana State at noon this Saturday, November 23. We will bring you the most coverage of Grizzly football, starting at 10:00 a.m. with the two-hour pregame broadcast on the Voice of the Griz, News/Talk KGVO, FM 98.3 and AM 1290, as well as online on the station website's Listen Now player.