Weber State football: No. 3 Montana flattens Wildcats from opening kick
Big Sky final: Montana 38, Weber State 17
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- Weber State running back Colter May (34) is upended by Montana’s Brock Beaner (13) on Saturday, Nov. 1, 2025, at Stewart Stadium in Ogden.
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- Weber State receiver Jayleen Record (4) runs for a gain past Montana’s Elijawah Tolbert (11) on Saturday, Nov. 1, 2025, at Stewart Stadium in Ogden.
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- Weber State quarterback Kingston Tisdell (14) throws a pass against pressure from Montana’s Kade Cutler (30) on Saturday, Nov. 1, 2025, at Stewart Stadium in Ogden.
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- Weber State running back Colter May (34) is brought down by Montana’s Clay Oven (37) on Saturday, Nov. 1, 2025, at Stewart Stadium in Ogden.
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- Weber State receiver Jayleen Record (4) looks in what became a touchdown reception against Montana on Saturday, Nov. 1, 2025, at Stewart Stadium in Ogden.
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- Weber State running back Colter May (34) follows the block of tight end Ammon Munyer (85) during a game against Montana on Saturday, Nov. 1, 2025, at Stewart Stadium in Ogden.
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- Weber State running back Bird Butler (15) reaches to stiff-arm Montana safety Diezel Wilkinson (24) on Saturday, Nov. 1, 2025, at Stewart Stadium in Ogden.
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- Weber State defenders Ishaan Daniels (22) and Mayson Hitchens (0) help to tackle Montana running back Eli Gillman on Saturday, Nov. 1, 2025, at Stewart Stadium in Ogden.
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- Weber State running back Colter May (24) cradles the football as he finishes a run against Montana on Saturday, Nov. 1, 2025, at Stewart Stadium in Ogden.
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- Weber State quarterback Kingston Tisdell (14) follows Colter May (34) on a run against Montana on Saturday, Nov. 1, 2025, at Stewart Stadium in Ogden.
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- Weber State quarterback Kingston Tisdell (14) throws a pass against Montana on Saturday, Nov. 1, 2025, at Stewart Stadium in Ogden.
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- Weber State receiver Mason York (80) hangs on to a pass as Montana’s Prince Ford (6) tackles him on Saturday, Nov. 1, 2025, at Stewart Stadium in Ogden.
OGDEN — On a beautiful Nov. 1 afternoon, No. 3 Montana got Dia De Los Muertos festivities going early for Weber State, putting the Wildcats in the dirt in the first half and cruising to a dominant, 38-17 victory Saturday at Stewart Stadium, the historic program’s first win in Ogden since 2012.
The undefeated Griz (9-0, 5-0 Big Sky) racked up 366 yards on just 28 plays in the first half, building a 31-10 halftime lead only suppressed by two field goal attempts, one of which was missed.
After that, despite a workhorse effort from WSU’s Colter May for an injury-devastated backfield and flashes from freshman quarterback Kingston Tisdell, Montana controlled matters and went to a backup quarterback with 14:01 left.
In just one example of how quickly the game got out of hand, WSU gave up two pass plays of 60-plus yards in the first half.
“Without seeing film, I think it was bad eyes and just seeing coverage, and making sure you’re where you’re supposed to be,” WSU head coach Mickey Mental said. “Having great eyes, great demeanor, great discipline so those big plays don’t arise.”
In some ways, Weber State (3-6, 1-4) lost the game from the jump.
With Davion Godley and Chauncey Sylvester both out for the season with knee injuries suffered last week, and redshirt freshman Spencer Ferguson out with a hamstring injury, that left seniors May, Zach Hrbacek and Bird Butler in the backfield (with redshirt-freshman defensive back Khalil Stolden switching to running back this week for additional depth).
After an opening-kickoff touchback, WSU handed the ball to Hrbacek on the first play of the game. He found space for 9 yards and fumbled, recovered by Montana’s Micah Harper at the WSU 34.
Michael Wortham, the nation’s all-purpose yards leader, rushed from the QB spot for 16 yards and two plays later, Brooks Davis took a receiver sweep for 12 yards and a touchdown. Montana led 7-0 just 1:12 into the contest.
“Loved how our team competed in the second half. Can’t spot a good team, or any team at that point in time, what we did in the first half,” Mental said. “But credit, obviously, to Montana for their game.”
For the second-straight week, Weber fell behind early on a devastating turnover deep in its own half of the field. Hrbacek didn’t see the field the rest of the game.
“Zach’s run the ball 1,000 times in his career; guy put a nice helmet on him. But it’s no excuse, you’ve got to step up and hand the ball to the official,” Mental said. “At the end of the day, it’s a huge mistake, costly mistake that needs to get corrected.”
WSU’s next drive got inside the Montana 20 before a false start helped force the offense to settle for Sloan Calder; the senior made his 29-yard field goal.
Three plays later, quarterback Keali’i Ah Yat had an easy throw to receiver Blake Bohannon, left open behind the defense for a 62-yard touchdown pass. Bohannon finished with three catches for 131 yards.
A three-and-out got the Griz cooking again, and Ah Yat completed a seven-play drive with a 2-yard scoring rush. Montana led 21-3 after one quarter.
Not long after, Ah Yat threw to Davis on a 61-yard completion, setting up star back Eli Gillman for a 14-yard touchdown run. That made it 28-3 with 12:10 left in the second quarter and, in most respects, the game was over.
Weber State’s offense did get off the mat there; a 16-play drive of 8:25 finished with Dijon Jennings connecting with Jayleen Record for an 11-yard touchdown throw, leading to the 31-10 halftime tally.
Though Weber State held Montana scoreless on its first three possessions after halftime, it was not a “mostly dead” scenario for WSU. Four plays after stopping UM on a turnover on downs, Jennings chucked an arm punt going 50 yards downfield to give UM safety Kade Boyd an interception.
Later in the third quarter, a three-and-out punt got Roy High product Robert Young loose on a 17-yard punt return to get Weber State across midfield. That’s when WSU gave freshman QB Tisdell his second appearance of the season.
After a pair of May carries, WSU went for it on fourth-and-4 and a long-developing pass play got Record loose on the wide, right side; Tisdell threw a strike for an 18-yard touchdown, making it 31-17 with 3:20 left in the third quarter.
But Montana got the spark it needed to stay in control from the junior Gillman, one of the school’s all-time greats who only continues to climb Griz leaderboards. He dashed a 35-yard rush up the sideline on Montana’s next play, beginning a 10-play touchdown drive capped when Ah Yat roped a play-action RPO throw to tight end Evan Shafer from 9 yards out. That pushed Montana’s lead to 38-17 with 14:55 left in the contest.
Gillman finished with 122 yards on 12 carries.
Montana outgained Weber 522-327, though WSU did hold a 187-156 advantage in the second half.
“Just the purpose to play, the intent in how you play,” Mental said about the change in his second-half defense. “I thought they played hard, I thought they played physical, I thought they played how they should play. We’ve just got to do that for four quarters.”
For Weber State, Tisdell finished 10 of 21 for 116 yards; Jennings was 15 of 21 for 97 yards. May rushed 19 times for 74 yards. Record caught eight passes for 107 yards. Montae Pate led the defense with eight tackles, including 1.5 for loss.
For Montana, Ah Yat passed 15 of 27 for 296 yards.
Weber State next gears up for a trip to No. 4 Montana State (7-2).
LOCALS TAKE THE FIELD
Roy High products Cannon Panfiloff (Montana) and Cole Millward (WSU) started on each offensive line. In the fourth quarter, with Cole Casto out for Weber, Will Way went down with an injury that got freshman Ty Hunter (Syracuse High) in for reps at center.
Young, too, had his most involved game as a Wildcat freshman. He returned three punts for 36 yards and took several reps at receiver for the first time.
Mental said Young’s willingness to compete, practice hard and win his battles, often on the scout team, is what earned him more game reps.
“He’s doing that every day in practice, so it’s kind of a no-brainer to me. A kid that cares, a kid that wants to work, that wants to be really good — I had to give him an opportunity that he’s earned,” Mental said.
BIG SKY SCORES
No. 4 Montana State 55, Northern Colorado 7
Idaho State 38, No. 6 UC Davis 36
Sacramento State 35, Eastern Washington 13
Portland State 40, Cal Poly 35
