By Tribune Staff

SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. – The Montana Grizzlies suffered their first conference loss of the season Saturday, a 41-21 decision to Cal Poly.

The Griz (5-3, 3-1) fell behind early in the first, when Cal Poly ran a touchdown in from inside the 5-yard line to take a 7-0 lead after it traveled 66 yards in 13 plays.

The Griz responded early in the second quarter. Montana quarterback Jordan Johnson threw a strike to Sean Haynes for 24 yards all the way down to the Cal Poly 8. Two plays later, Johnson connected with Jamaal Jones for a 1-yard touchdown to tie the game at 7, capping an 11-play, 86-yard drive that took up 5 minutes and 21 seconds.

Montana forced a Cal Poly punt on its next possession, and the Griz took over from their own 10-yard line. A third-and-5 completion from Johnson to Ryan Burke extended the drive, and the next play, they converted a 50-yard passing play. Johnson connected with Mitch Saylor a play later for a 20-yard passing touchdown. The five-play, 90-yard drive took a little more than two minutes, and the Griz took a 14-7 lead with 5:06 left in the half.

Johnson was 8-of-12 through the air for 128 yards and two touchdowns in the first half. Both teams moved the ball on offense in the first half. The Griz accumulated 246 yards of offense, while Cal Poly managed 226, slicing up Montana to the tune of 182 rushing yards.

Cal Poly responded with a drive of its own right after. Brandon Howe capped an 11-play, 74-yard drive with a 5-yard scamper to pay dirt, which tied the game up at 14-all with less than a minute in the half.

Both teams went into the half tied at 14.

The Mustangs regained the lead on the first possession of the second half to take the lead 21-14.

With one minute left in the third, the Griz fell further behind. Cal Poly's Chris Brown ran in a 17-yard score to take a 27-14 lead after the extra point missed. The Griz struggled in the third to amount any sort of offensive push.

The Mustangs blew the doors open in the fourth when Brown accounted for another 15-yard score to put Cal Poly up 34-14.

Johnson responded with his third touchdown pass of the game on a 2-yard completion to Jones to cut into the lead and make the score 34-21.

But the Griz just couldn't get a stop in the second half.

The Mustangs proceeded to march all the way down the field on the Grizzlies: a nine-play, 59-yard drive that took five minutes off the clock and left the scoreboard reading 41-21 with a minute left.

The Grizzly defense couldn't get off the field in the second half. Cal Poly's Brown ran the ball 21 times for 226 times, an average of 10.8 yards per carry, while Brandon Howe, another tailback, scampered for 98 yards on 19 carries.