Montana’s second-half comeback against Western Carolina on Saturday was furious. But still, for all that the Grizzlies ran the ball down the Catamounts’ throats, the game wasn’t clinched until Logan Fife connected with Junior Bergen for 14 yards on a fourth-and-4 in WCU territory just before the 2-minute timeout.
The crucial play came on a sail concept, with Fife rolling to his right and Bergen running an out-breaking flood route towards that sideline. Fife perfectly floated the ball over a defender to Bergen for the completion. Four plays earlier, the two had connected on an almost identical route to convert a third-and-5 at the WCU 45.
“We had run that play earlier in the drive,” Bergen said. “Kind of saw the same coverage. I thought that (the defense) figured that was what was coming, but I guess not. I was able to get free and Logan threw a really good ball and hit me in stride. … For Fife to come in and play as well as he did, he did a really good job.”
Together, the two throws helped the Griz bleed clock and kill off the Catamounts. Nick Ostmo ran for a 12-yard touchdown later in the drive, and Montana got out of Washington-Grizzly Stadium with a 46-35 comeback win.
“I thought Logan did a great job of coming in the game and making some key passes,” Ostmo said. “That fourth-down pass he had to Junior was a really key play in the game.”
That it was Fife making the throw and not Keali’i Ah Yat, who played almost all of the first three quarters, was encouraging and discouraging in equal measure for the Griz.
Ah Yat, who appeared to suffer an injury on his diving 6-yard touchdown run midway through the third quarter and left the game for good one series later, spent the entire fourth quarter on the sidelines without his helmet, talking to trainers – bad news, obviously, for the electrifying redshirt freshman from Hawaii.
But Fife coming into the game and making crucial plays late was an encouraging sign about the depth in the Grizzlies’ QB room – and the effectiveness of their roster-building strategy at that position in recent years.
In previous years, the Griz might not have even had one quarterback they trusted to make a fourth-down throw with two minutes left in a one-score game.
Now, it appears they have two – and that could be key as Montana heads to Eastern Washington this week to start Big Sky Conference play.
Hauck did not confirm – or even acknowledge the possibility of – an injury to Ah Yat in the post-game press conference on Saturday, instead saying “the stuff we wanted to do at the point is the stuff that Logan does best.”
Montana’s depth chart for Eastern Washington, released on Tuesday, listed either Fife “OR” Ah Yat as the starter, as it has all season long.
Even if Ah Yat is fit to play, added depth and confidence in both quarterbacks could open up new options for the Griz.
Montana tried to play a two-quarterback system last year with Sam Vidlak and Clifton McDowell before it became clear that McDowell was the best option and Vidlak faded off the depth chart entirely.
Those struggles didn’t stop Hauck and Brent Pease from bringing in Fife as a transfer from Fresno State in the off-season to compete with Ah Yat and Kaden Huot, and then trying to play two QBs again to start the season.
It’s a strategy designed to increase competition, but also mitigate the effects of ill-timed injuries – a lesson this Griz staff has learned the hard way.
In both 2021 and 2022, their starting quarterback – first Cam Humphrey and then Lucas Johnson – missed time, forcing Montana to turn to over-matched backups – including in the FCS quarterfinals in 2021 at James Madison, a stroke of misfortune that vaporized the Grizzlies’ already-slim chances against the Dukes.
With the starter unclear coming out of fall camp, Fife has played in all four games so far, although Ah Yat started all of them and appeared to be grabbing an increased share of snaps in recent weeks.
Saturday, though, showed that the Griz might need both of them to succeed this season – and that Fife, when called upon, might be up to the task.
“We were kind of leaning on some of the things that he excels at and sees well,” Hauck said. “That’s what we wanted to do, and I thought he came in and executed. … We don’t put anybody out there we don’t trust.”
