davis rallied late, but the rally fell short when a critical late-game fumble ended a potential game-tying drive in a heartbreaking 31-23 loss to the Montana Grizzlies before a crowd of 9,576 Saturday night at UC Davis Health Stadium.
The Big Sky Conference loss drops the Aggies to 3-3 overall and 1-2 in league play. Montana is now 5-1 and 2-1.
"It's a single elimination tournament now," said Aggie head coach Dan Hawkins about UCD's quest for a Big Sky title. "It was a tough one for us. It's a close league, but it's not one play or one guy or one unit. It's on us to get better and I know we will. I know the character of this team." The Grizzlies, 9-1 lifetime against UCD, dominated the early part of the second half, turning a 21-20 lead at intermission into a 31-20 lead with 7:03 remaining in the game. The Aggies had 264 yards in the first half as Miles Hastings was on target, hitting 15 of 19 tosses for 204 yards and two scores. Montana's defense stiffened in the third quarter, however, holding the Aggies to just 72 yards as the Griz held the Aggies scoreless for nearly 29 minutes. UCD had taken a 20-14 lead on a 14-yard TD pass from Hastings to Samuel Gbatu with 3:06 remaining in the first half, but didn't score again until Hunter Ridley converted a 42-yard field goal to cut the deficit to 31-23 with just 3:58 remaining in the game.
After forcing a three-and-out on the Montana offense, UCD started its final drive at its own 35-yard-line with 3:01 on the clock and one timeout remaining. UCD wasted little time moving into scoring position as coaches drew up a potential game-tying 2-point conversion should the Aggies hit paydirt. Hastings, who was on target all night against a talented Montana defense, completed passes to Gbatu and Chaz Davis as the Aggies moved quickly to the Griz 33. A 16-yard strike to Andre Crump brought the ball to the Montana 12. On the next play, Hastings again found Crump with a short pass in the left flat. Crump gathered the ball in and headed for the goal line, but was tripped up at the Griz 7 and fumbled the ball as he was going down. Montana safety Ryder Meyer jumped on the loose ball with 1:18 left and Montana ran out the clock to claim the tense win.
"It's not fun," said Hastings at the post-game press conference. "I hate losing. You put yourself out there and take a shot, but it just wasn't our day. We'll be back." Despite the loss, Hastings enjoyed a stellar night, never getting sacked as he hit 31 of 46 for 359 yards with no interceptions. In the absence of starting running back Lan Larison, freshman Jordan Fisher had a standout night with 57 yards on the ground. "He's a very special kid," said Hawkins of Fisher. "His number was called and he responded."
The Aggies return to Big Sky play at Weber State on Saturday Oct. 14, and don't return home until a Saturday, Nov. 4 date with Portland State.
— Contact Bob Dunning at bdunning@davisenterprise
The Big Sky Conference loss drops the Aggies to 3-3 overall and 1-2 in league play. Montana is now 5-1 and 2-1.
"It's a single elimination tournament now," said Aggie head coach Dan Hawkins about UCD's quest for a Big Sky title. "It was a tough one for us. It's a close league, but it's not one play or one guy or one unit. It's on us to get better and I know we will. I know the character of this team." The Grizzlies, 9-1 lifetime against UCD, dominated the early part of the second half, turning a 21-20 lead at intermission into a 31-20 lead with 7:03 remaining in the game. The Aggies had 264 yards in the first half as Miles Hastings was on target, hitting 15 of 19 tosses for 204 yards and two scores. Montana's defense stiffened in the third quarter, however, holding the Aggies to just 72 yards as the Griz held the Aggies scoreless for nearly 29 minutes. UCD had taken a 20-14 lead on a 14-yard TD pass from Hastings to Samuel Gbatu with 3:06 remaining in the first half, but didn't score again until Hunter Ridley converted a 42-yard field goal to cut the deficit to 31-23 with just 3:58 remaining in the game.
After forcing a three-and-out on the Montana offense, UCD started its final drive at its own 35-yard-line with 3:01 on the clock and one timeout remaining. UCD wasted little time moving into scoring position as coaches drew up a potential game-tying 2-point conversion should the Aggies hit paydirt. Hastings, who was on target all night against a talented Montana defense, completed passes to Gbatu and Chaz Davis as the Aggies moved quickly to the Griz 33. A 16-yard strike to Andre Crump brought the ball to the Montana 12. On the next play, Hastings again found Crump with a short pass in the left flat. Crump gathered the ball in and headed for the goal line, but was tripped up at the Griz 7 and fumbled the ball as he was going down. Montana safety Ryder Meyer jumped on the loose ball with 1:18 left and Montana ran out the clock to claim the tense win.
"It's not fun," said Hastings at the post-game press conference. "I hate losing. You put yourself out there and take a shot, but it just wasn't our day. We'll be back." Despite the loss, Hastings enjoyed a stellar night, never getting sacked as he hit 31 of 46 for 359 yards with no interceptions. In the absence of starting running back Lan Larison, freshman Jordan Fisher had a standout night with 57 yards on the ground. "He's a very special kid," said Hawkins of Fisher. "His number was called and he responded."
The Aggies return to Big Sky play at Weber State on Saturday Oct. 14, and don't return home until a Saturday, Nov. 4 date with Portland State.
— Contact Bob Dunning at bdunning@davisenterprise
