Gillman, Ah Yat help Montana roll past D-II’s Central Washington 42-17

MISSOULA, Mont. (AP) — Eli Gillman ran for 198 yards and three touchdowns, Keali’i Ah Yat threw for a pair of scores and Montana rolled to a season-opening 42-17 victory over Division II Central Washington on Saturday night.

Gillman broke loose on a 54-yard touchdown run on Montana’s opening drive. Steve Rocker Jr.’s 5-yard TD run made it 14-3 heading into the second quarter.

Beau Phillips ran for a 31-yard touchdown late in the second to pull Central Washington (1-1) to 17-14. But on the next possession, Ah Yat connected with Drew Deck on a 50-yard touchdown pass just before halftime.

Gillman hit Michael Worthan on a 76-yard touchdown pass midway through the third and Gilliam then added TD runs from 11 and 1 yard to cap the scoring.

Ah Yat was 14-of-24 passing for 250 yards. Worthan, who was Eastern Washington’s quarterback last season, caught six passes for 120 yards. Rocker finished with 72 yards rushing.

Kennedy McGill completed 7 of 16 passes for 76 yards for CWU. Phillips finished with 69 yards rushing on 11 carries.

___ Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football

News from © The Associated Press, . All rights reserved.
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Join the Conversation!

Want to share your thoughts, add context, or connect with others in your community?

The Associated Press

The Associated Press is an independent global news organization dedicated to factual reporting. Founded in 1846, AP today remains the most trusted source of fast, accurate, unbiased news in all formats and the essential provider of the technology and services vital to the news business. More than half the world’s population sees AP journalism every day.