GREELEY — In losing four of their previous five games by a combined 17 points, the Northern Colorado Bears have seen their fair share of missed opportunities.
Saturday’s 41-20 loss to eighth-ranked Montana at Nottingham Field showcased more of the same, but one sequence in particular summed up the Bears’ 2008 season.
Trailing the Grizzlies 3-0 in the first quarter, UNC worked its way down to the Montana 1. Just when it looked like the Bears (1-6, 1-3 Big Sky) were about to cap off a 74-yard drive and take the lead, things fell apart.
David Woods was stopped for a 1-yard loss, then a bad snap caused quarterback Bryan Waggener to be sacked at the 10. Following Waggener’s incomplete pass on third down, UNC had to settle for a 27-yard Michael York field goal to make it 3-3.
From there, though, the Bears only missed and missed again — mostly on tackles. Behind a Griz offensive line that made for seemingly easy passes from Cole Bergquist (14-of-18 for 243 yards and two touchdowns) and even more running room for UM back Chase Reynolds, Montana (7-1, 3-1) tacked on 31 points before UNC could answer with another York field goal.
Reynolds finished with 137 yards on 14 carries, but a good chunk came on his two scoring runs for 43 and 32 yards in which he went untouched, leaving Bears defenders in his wake.
Bergquist’s 75-yard TD to Mark Ferriter came on a simple crossing route in which two UNC players failed to close on Ferriter, and he eased up the sideline uninhibited.
Conversely, the Bears — who used three quarterbacks because of a first-half injury to Waggener — only managed 149 first-half yards and were rarely in Montana territory with the game in reach. Waggener finished 6-for-11 for 53 yards, while one of his replacements, redshirt freshman Dylan Orms, led UNC to two late touchdowns. In his first college action, Orms was 8-for-10 for 150 yards and ran for another 67, including a 1-yard score. The Wheat Ridge product also found Brandon Smith for a 5-yard TD with just over a minute remaining.
