Southern Utah Thunderbirds

0-1

Ugh, no.

Southern Utah Thunderbirds lost to the Montana Grizzlies

0-1 21 – 28

1-0

Final · Sat, Aug 29

Game Details

Washington-Grizzly Stadium (Missoula) · 31,287 fans · ESPN+, Scripps Sports

Highlights

Keali’i Ah Yat scores go-ahead TD to help Montana beat Southern Utah 28-21

Keali’i Ah Yat threw for 265 yards and two touchdowns, including a 53-yard score to Lekeldrick Bridges with 3:20 remaining, as Montana beat Southern Utah 28-21 on Saturday night in the season and Big Sky Conference opener for both teams.

Recap via ESPN

0:32 Keali'i Ah Yat connects for 85-yard TD pass

0:10 Jayden Rogers kicks 50-yard field goal

0:15 Eli Gillman rushes in for 29-yard rushing touchdown

0:12 Touchdown! Floyd Chalk IV scores vs. Montana

Clips play on ESPN

Washington-Grizzly Stadium · Missoula

Line Score

	1	2	3	4	T
SUU	0	3	6	12	21
MONT	7	7	7	7	28

Win Probability · Southern Utah Thunderbirds

kickoffnow: 0%

Game Leaders

Southern Utah Thunderbirds

Will Burns · 24/34, 251 YDS, 2 TD, 1 INTPassing Yards
Will Burns · 15 CAR, 119 YDSRushing Yards
Joshua Acord · 6 REC, 86 YDS, 2 TDReceiving Yards
Myles Amey · 0.5Sacks
Parker Vance · 8Tackles

Montana Grizzlies

Keali'i Ah Yat · 15/28, 264 YDS, 2 TD, 1 INTPassing Yards
Eli Gillman · 13 CAR, 76 YDS, 1 TDRushing Yards
Eli Gillman · 2 REC, 93 YDS, 1 TDReceiving Yards
Braeden Orlandi · 8Tackles

2026 Big Sky Conference Standings

Team
Montana
Montana State
Weber State
Northern Arizona
UC Davis
Cal Poly
Idaho State
Idaho
Portland State
Northern Colorado
Southern Utah
Eastern Washington
Utah Tech

Scoring

Q4 3:14

TD Lekeldrick Bridges 53 Yd pass from Keali'i Ah Yat (Jo Silver Kick)21–28

Q4 11:41

TD Joshua Acord 58 Yd pass from Will Burns (Jayden Rogers PAT blocked)21–21

Q4 14:56

TD Joshua Acord 13 Yd pass from Will Burns (Two-Point Run Conversion Failed)15–21

Q3 8:48

TD Keali'i Ah Yat 3 Yd Run (Jo Silver Kick)9–21

Q3 10:09

TD Floyd Chalk 6 Yd Run 9–14

Q2 11:50

TD Eli Gillman 29 Yd Run (Jo Silver Kick)3–14

Q2 13:27

FG Jayden Rogers 50 Yd Field Goal 3–7

Q1 13:42

TD Eli Gillman 85 Yd pass from Keali'i Ah Yat (Jo Silver Kick)0–7

Team Stats

Southern Utah ThunderbirdsMontana Grizzlies

Offense

510 Total Yards 337

251 Passing Yards 264

259 Rushing Yards 73

31 First Downs 14

Efficiency

8-16 3rd Down 6-11

1-3 4th Down 0-0

24/34 Completions 15/28

Turnovers & Clock

1 Turnovers 2

9-94 Penalties 3-32

43:34 Possession 16:26

Box Score

Southern Utah Thunderbirds ▾

Passing

Player	C/ATT	YDS	AVG	TD	INT
Will Burns	24/34	251	7.4	2	1
Team	24/34	251	7.4	2	1

Rushing

Player	CAR	YDS	AVG	TD	LONG
Will Burns	15	119	7.9	0	18
Floyd Chalk	25	100	4.0	1	19
Camury Reid	4	29	7.3	0	25
Niko Alailefaleula	5	11	2.2	0	3
Team	49	259	5.3	1	25

Receiving

Player	REC	YDS	AVG	TD	LONG
Joshua Acord	6	86	14.3	2	58
Devin Downing	5	61	12.2	0	15
David Spjut	3	29	9.7	0	12
Floyd Chalk	3	24	8.0	0	18
Mark Bails	3	21	7.0	0	14
Hayden George	1	15	15.0	0	15
Camury Reid	1	13	13.0	0	13
Niko Alailefaleula	1	2	2.0	0	2
Ran Sawyer	1	0	0.0	0	0
Team	24	251	10.5	2	58

Defense

Player	TOT	SOLO	SACKS	TFL	PD
Parker Vance	8	5	0	1	0
Christian Sampson	5	2	0	0	0
Logalima Lesa	4	0	0	0	0
Jonathan Landry	2	2	0	0	0
Tim Christian	2	2	0	0	0
Myles Amey	2	1	0.5	0.5	0
Jakobi Spence	2	1	0	1	0
Aiden Hall	2	1	0.5	1.5	1
Mason Stromstad	2	0	0	0	1
Amarion York	2	0	0	0	0
Jesse Garza	1	1	0	0	0
Sean Mays	1	1	0	0	0
Kasahn Johnson	1	1	0	0	0
Manasa Pela	1	1	0	0	0
Seni Tuiaki	1	0	0	0	0
Tim Malo	1	0	0	0	0
Tavian Edwards	1	0	0	0	0
Team	38	18	1	4	2

Interceptions

Player	INT	YDS	TD
Parker Vance	1	0	0
Team	1	0	0

Kick Returns

Player	NO	YDS	AVG	LONG	TD
Ran Sawyer	2	48	24.0	28	0
Team	2	48	24.0	28	0

Punt Returns

Player	NO	YDS	AVG	LONG	TD
Jakobi Spence	1	2	2.0	2	0
Team	1	2	2.0	2	0

Kicking

Player	FG	PCT	LONG	XP	PTS
Jayden Rogers	1/2	50.0	50	0/1	3
Team	1/2	50.0	50	0/1	3

Punting

Player	NO	YDS	AVG	TB	In 20	LONG
Danny Valencia	2	87	43.5	1	1	45
Team	2	87	43.5	1	1	45

Montana Grizzlies ▾

Passing

Player	C/ATT	YDS	AVG	TD	INT
Keali'i Ah Yat	15/28	264	9.4	2	1
Team	15/28	264	9.4	2	1

Rushing

Player	CAR	YDS	AVG	TD	LONG
Eli Gillman	13	76	5.8	1	29
Dylan Paine	2	3	1.5	0	5
Team	1	-1	-1.0	0	1
Keali'i Ah Yat	2	-5	-2.5	1	3
Team	18	73	4.1	2	29

Receiving

Player	REC	YDS	AVG	TD	LONG
Eli Gillman	2	93	46.5	1	85
Lekeldrick Bridges	5	91	18.2	1	53
Brooks Davis	4	59	14.8	0	33
Landon Ransom-Goelz	2	14	7.0	0	7
Mariano Birdno	1	13	13.0	0	13
Dylan Paine	1	-6	-6.0	0	0
Team	15	264	17.6	2	85

Fumbles

Player	FUM	LOST	REC
Landon Ransom-Goelz	1	1	0
Team	1	1	0

Defense

Player	TOT	SOLO	SACKS	TFL	PD	QB HUR
Braeden Orlandi	8	2	0	0.5	0	0
Sage Salopek	7	6	0	0	0	0
Kade Cutler	7	4	0	1	0	0
Tyler King	7	4	0	0	0	0
Tanner Huff	7	2	0	0	0	0
Chris Johnson II	6	3	0	1	0	0
Brock Beaner	6	3	0	0	0	0
Jake Mason	6	2	0	1	0	0
Zekiel Seumalo	5	2	0	0	0	0
Brady Beaner	4	4	0	1	1	0
Justin Eklund	4	1	0	0.5	0	0
Tanner Williams	4	1	0	0.5	0	0
Manase Tupou	4	1	0	0	0	0
Cooper Buffington	4	1	0	0	0	0
Kade Boyd	3	2	0	0	0	0
Solomon Tuliaupupu	3	1	0	0.5	0	0
Peyton Wing	3	1	0	0	1	1
Nui Tovey	2	1	0	1	0	0
Colton Lentz	1	1	0	0	0	0
Devin Dunn	1	0	0	0	0	0
Ian Finch	1	0	0	0	0	0
Clay Oven	1	0	0	0	0	0
Team	94	42	1	7	2	1

Interceptions

Player	INT	YDS	TD
Brock Beaner	1	0	0
Team	1	0	0

Kick Returns

Player	NO	YDS	AVG	LONG	TD
Landon Ransom-Goelz	1	21	21.0	21	0
Team	1	21	21.0	21	0

Punt Returns

Player	NO	YDS	AVG	LONG	TD
Brooks Davis	1	0	0.0	0	0
Team	1	0	0.0	0	0

Kicking

Player	FG	PCT	LONG	XP	PTS
Jo Silver	0/1	0.0	0	4/4	4
Team	0/1	0.0	0	4/4	4

Punting

Player	NO	YDS	AVG	TB	In 20	LONG
Everett O'Donnell	3	136	45.3	0	1	48
Team	3	136	45.3	0	1	48

Roster

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vs UC Davis Aggies at Idaho Vandals vs Northern Arizona Lumberjacks vs Northern Colorado Bears at Portland State Vikings vs Chicago State Cougars

Southern Utah Thunderbirds

Game Details

Highlights

On the Field LIVE

Line Score

Game Flow

Win Probability · Southern Utah Thunderbirds

Game Leaders

2026 Big Sky Conference Standings

Scoring

Team Stats

Box Score

Roster

Schedule Add to calendar