MISSOULA — The hits keep coming for Drew Deck.

The senior receiver out of Glacier High made his mark in Montana’s 50-29 playoff win over South Dakota State Saturday with a highlight reel catch for a 29-yard touchdown. 

It gave Montana a 29-14 lead and signaled that the SDSU defense was in for a long night. 

The pass came with Ah Yat the lone player in the “empty” backfield; Deck was in single coverage. 

“It’s a look that we had studied all week,” Deck, who had three catches for 43 yards, said. “Get out in empty and they’ll adjust a couple different ways. I think, shoot, across the board there were a couple other guys open too.  

“It was just something we prepared for, and we went out and executed.” 

Ah Yat was 29 of 37 passing; Michael Wortham caught eight passes for 113 yards and one touchdown, and eight Grizzlies besides him had receptions. 

“Everyone’s talking about touches and targets and all that crap and they don’t care about that,” UM coach Bobby Hauck said. “They just care about getting one more point than the other team.” 

Then he pointed over to Deck. “That was a great catch by him. Great example,” he said. 

When it was all over, first-year SDSU coach Dan Jackson was impressed by the Grizzlies overall and Ah Yat in particular. 

“I think our defensive line played pretty well, putting some pressure on,” Jackson said. “We put some heat on him and he made some throws. ... he’s a phenomenal player.” 

Statue of Liberty 

Eli Gillman’s 135 rushing yards on 24 carries including touchdowns covering 5 and 11 yards. The latter came after Ah Yat set up on the pocket and then handed the ball behind his back to Gillman, who went untouched for the “Statue of Liberty” TD. 

On a day when the Grizzlies tried a shovel pass from Wortham to Gillman, this stood out. 

Hauck said it was nothing new; offensive coordinator Brent Pease has a lot of plays. 

‘We had 32 first downs,” he noted. “And he can get down his call sheet.” 

Brought Back Loud 

TJ Rausch and Terahiti Wolfe had interceptions for the Grizzlies Saturday, but Kyon Loud might have had the biggest impact just by returning from injury. 

His two tackles and one (third-down) pass breakup don’t tell the whole story. 

“He's our best corner,” Hauck said. “Being without him for whatever, eight weeks, was not good. It was good having him back. He didn’t look too rusty to me today. He's 

been practicing for a few weeks and I thought he did a good job of working up into it.” 

NOTABLE: Ian Finch, who recovered an onside kick Saturday, got a hand on an SDSU punt that fluttered 27 yards. ... Gillman now has 3,533 career rushing yards, moving him past Jordan Canada (3,435) and into fourth in UM history. ... Rausch had eight tackles to lead UM. ... UM’s Solomon Tuliaupupu had five tackles, including three TFL’s and a sack. ... Dawson Ripperds’ nine tackles led SDSU. ... The Jacks’ Julius Loughridge came in with 1,016 rushing yards but netted just four on five carries Saturday.