Football Plays Before Largest Crowd in Program's History in 35-14 Loss at No. 2 Montana

Courtesy: UAlbany Sports Information

Missoula, Mont. – Cole Bergquist passed for two touchdowns and ran for another score in leading Montana, the nation's second-ranked team, to a 35-14 victory over UAlbany before 23,097 fans on Saturday, Sept. 22 at Washington-Grizzly Stadium.

Bergquist, who passed for 283 yards and ran for 89 more, broke open a tight game in the third quarter when he scored on a 55-yard option run over left tackle for a 21-7 lead. He then engineered a 76-yard march in the fourth quarter, including a 24-yard middle screen pass into UAlbany territory. Lex Hilliard, who rushed for 136 yards and two TDs, later rumbled 26 yards to paydirt with 9:53 to play.

UAlbany (1-3) closed the gap by answering with a 10-play scoring drive. Vinny Esposito, who completed 20 of 40 passes for 273 yards, the seventh-best total in school history, fired a 23-yard touchdown strike to Jason Smith. The Great Danes, who playing before the largest crowd in the program's history, then recovered an on-side kick. But cornerback Jeremy Pate intercepted Esposito's pass to the sideline at the Grizzlies' 16 to end the threat. Bergquist added a 30-yard touchdown throw with 1:51 remaining to complete the scoring. Montana (3-0) could move to the top of the rankings as Appalachian State was beaten earlier in the day.

"They are an excellent team,” said UAlbany head coach Bob Ford, whose team lost All-America linebacker Colin Disch to a knee sprain on the second play of the game. “They are very hard to defend because they can run inside and outside and spread the ball with that quarterback to a multitude of receivers. We tried to do some (different) things as the underdog, but they gradually wore us down. We played as hard as we could and their fans appreciated the effort with an ovation as we left the field."

UAlbany came to play in the first quarter against the nationally-ranked Grizzlies. Esposito hooked up with Daniel Bocanegra on a 46-yard flea-flicker on the Great Danes' second offensive play, but Jason Fralicker missed a 31-yard field goal to the left of the upright.

Montana took a 7-0 lead on its third series, when Bergquist led a three-play, 58-yard drive. Berguqist, a 6-foot-2 junior, connected with wide receiver Eric Allen on a 38-yard play down the middle of the defense. He fired a 12-yard scoring pass to Ryan Bagley with 4:35 left in the period.

"They have great athletic talent, especially (Kroy) Biermann coming off the edge,” Esposito said. “They really play together, come after you wave after wave, and swarm to the football. It came down to situations where they made the big play."

The Great Danes stopped punter Tyson Johnson on a fourth-down run off a fake at midfield to set up their touchdown midway through the second quarter. The scoring march was kept alive when Montana's Severin Campbell was called for a roughing-the-punter penalty. Esposito then flipped a 22-yard pass to Colin Simmons in the left flat to set up first-and- goal at the Grizzlies 2. Omar Johnson would score from one yard out over left tackle on fourth down.

After Bergquist threw an interception inside the UAlbany five-yard line, the Montana signal-caller led his team on a short six-play drive that put his team ahead 14-7 with 1:49 left before halftime. Hilliard reached the end zone on a one-yard blast over the right side.

"As a senior, I really looked forward to playing in this game,” said Wall, who recovered the on-side kick and also had a 64-yard quick kick on special teams. “The non-league games are just as important, but this first part (of the schedule) has helped us find our identity. We kept playing today no matter what happened. I have confidence in our team."