Cat-Griz Game Day 2013

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Nov. 22, 2013

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Old Rivalry: Bobcats and Grizzlies have the 31st oldest rivalry in all of college football ■ From Page 2 The Cats put the game away in the second half with a pair of TD runs, each from 1 yard out: Bruce Molock scores in the third quarter, and QB Travis Lulay, who claims his second win over the Griz, cashes in from 1 yard out in the fourth.

UM closes within 27-20 with a 32-yard Chris Snyder field goal and a 6-yard TD pass from Ochs to Dane Oliver. But a potential game-tying drive ends when Adam Cordeiro and Clive Lowe sacked Ochs on a fourth down with 2:09 to play.

It is the first time the Cats have won a Brawl of the Wild in Bozeman since 1985.

Mariani made a dynamite catch; he also had 120 yards on three punt returns, including a 33-yarder that set up Beaudin’s first TD. “The individual stuff is one thing,” said Mariani. “But this senior class is 4-0 now (against them), and it’s a great feeling.

It feels awesome.”

Montana State 21, Montana 16 - 2010, Missoula The Griz ran into Washington-Grizzly Stadium in new allblack uniforms but couldn’t catch the Bobcats, who scored on their first three possessions and never trailed.

DeNarius McGhee, MSU’s freshman quarterback, threw touchdown passes to Great Falls’ Tanner Bleskin and C.J. Palmer, and Orenzo Davis provided the winning points with a 17-yard TD run.

The Grizzlies stayed in range, answering the Cats’ first two drives with a 59-yard TD burst from Chase Reynolds and a 6-yard scoring run from QB Justin Roper.

But UM was turnover-plagued: Both Reynolds and Gerald Kemp fumbled inside the MSU 5-yard line in the second half.

Reynolds’ turnover came after a bad punt snap resulted in an MSU safety. The Griz also turned the ball over on downs at MSU’s 15 with 1:23 left.

That cinched the Cats’ first win over the Griz and first Big Sky title since 2005. Davis ran for 140 yards for MSU. Reynolds ran for 180 yards for the Griz, who ended up 7-4 and out of the postseason for the first time since 1992.

Montana 38, Montana State 22 – 2004, Missoula The Griz ride two touchdowns each from Lex Hilliard and Jefferson Heidelberger to romp to a 38-22 win, despite 386 passing yards from MSU quarterback Travis Lulay and a Brawl-record 235 receiving yards from the Cats’ Rick Gatewood.

Heidelberger, who has 131 receiving yards of his own, gives the Griz the lead when he collects a 15-yard scoring strike from Craig Ochs. His second score, a 14-yarder, gives the Griz a 31-16 lead in the third quarter and essentially puts the Cats away.

Gatewood catches a 38-yard strike from Lulay off a fake punt to the tie the game at 7-7 with 6:18 left in the first, and ended the scoring with a 2-yard option run with 6:42 remaining. It wasn’t enough because Montana piles up 524 yards of offense, 244 on the ground.

Montana 36, Montana State 10 - 2011, Bozeman

Montana State 16, Montana 6 - 2005, Bozeman On a muddy track in Bobcat Stadium, MSU freshman Evin Groves ran for 143 yards and a touchdown, and teammate Travis Lulay engineered his third win over the Griz in his four seasons as starting quarterback.

Montana State also got three Jeff Hastings field goals while earning a share of the Big Sky title, alongside Montana and Eastern.

Lulay had pedestrian passing statistics: 15-for-31, 171 yards with one interception. But he engineered a 90-yard, first-quarter touchdown drive that was all the 22nd-ranked Bobcats needed. They outgained the No. 3 Grizzlies 370220.

Montana had its opportunities. In the third quarter, the Griz had first-and-goal at the 3 after a 33-yard run by Lex Hilliard, only to come up empty. With 10:27 left, freshman QB Cole Bergquist completed a fourth-down strike to Mike Ferriter for UM’s points.

Hilliard, hampered by a migraine headache, managed 75 yards on 19 carries.

“It’s been a long time in the shadow of a great Grizzly program that they’ve been held to six points,” Bobcat coach Mike Kramer said.

Montana 13, Montana State 7 – 2006, Missoula Montana quarterback Josh Swogger threw for 231 yards, including a 54-yard touchdown pass to Eric Allen, but the Grizzly defense and two Dan Carpenter field goals were the difference on a cold, sunny afternoon.

What turned out to be MSU coach Mike Kramer’s last “Brawl” was a defensive battle that saw the teams combine for just five third-down conversions.

The Bobcats’ only score came on Aaron Mason’s 5-yard TD run at 5:07 of the second quarter, set up by a 43-yard pass from Jack Rolovich to Josh Lewis. But the visitors were never out of it.

After Allen’s touchdown gave UM a 10-7 lead midway through the third quarter, the Griz twice traded interceptions with the Bobcats. The last pick came from Andre Fuller and gave MSU the ball at Montana’s 40-yard line with 4:40 remaining, but the Bobcats’ last gasp edned on downs at UM’s 25.

“With a couple minutes left to go in the game, we’re standing on the doorstep,” said Mike Kramer, who went 3-4 against the Griz. “It’s us against them. And it was them. Congratulations.”

Montana 41, Montana State 20 – 2007, Bozeman Montana’s 67th win in the Griz-Cat series was the first for UM coach Bobby Hauck in Bozeman, and was a landmark day as well for seniors Lex Hilliard, Dan Carpenter and Eric Allen in front of 14,877 fans.

Allen caught the go-ahead touchdown pass against the

AP Photo Havre's Marc Mariani, left, hauls in a long touchdown pass during the 2008 Cat-Griz game in Missoula. On a day when the Grizzlies wore throwback uniforms, Mariani returned a punt for a TD in the second quarter, sparking Montana to a 35-3 win at Washington-Grizzly Stadium. In his career, the former Havre High star never lost to the Bobcats.

Cats for a second straight year, a 29-yard reception shortly after UM’s Colt Anderson intercepted a Jack Rolovich pass near midfield. That put the Griz ahead 20-14 at 12:08 of the third quarter.

Allen, who had five catches for 89 yards, caught another TD pass early in the fourth as Montana went up 27-14. Hilliard scored his second and third touchdowns, from 2 and 31 yards, in the final 3:38 to put the game away. Montana withstood 115 rushing yards by MSU’s Demetrius Crawford, who had two TDs, to go 8-0 in Big Sky play for the second straight year and 11-0 in the regular season for the second time in school history. Carpenter hit two first-quarter field goals to give him a career total of 72; that and his 403 career points set the FCS standard (he still holds the career kicking records at 75 field goals and 407 points).

But the biggest day belonged to Hilliard, who finished with 181 yards and three TDs on a muddy track. That gave the Kalispell product a school-record 49 career rushing touchdowns and his first win at Bobcat Stadium.

“I think he probably had a little extra spring in his step today, being a Montana guy and playing in this game,” noted first-year MSU coach Rob Ash. “He’s a senior, too, I hope.

Isn’t he?”

Montana 35, Montana State 3 - 2008, Missoula The Griz go “old school,” donning copper jerseys and yellow helmets for the first time since 1995, and use five MSU turnovers and big plays to beat the undermanned Bobcats.

A record crowd of 25,629 sees Drummond product Chase Reynolds run for 115 yards and two touchdowns for the Griz, though the fans go silent when MSU’s Demetrius Crawford tears off an 84-yard run on the Cats’ second snap.

The game turns UM’s way after Crawford is pushed out of bounds at UM’s 3. The Griz mount a goal-line stand, ending with a fourth-down fumble.

The Griz go up 7-0 on Havre flash Marc Mariani’s 75-yard punt return in the first quarter, and lead 14-3 at halftime on a 6-yard run by Reynolds.

Crawford runs for 203 yards for MSU, but it isn’t enough.

Cole Bergquist hits Mariani with a 37-yard TD pass ahead of a Reynolds 15-yard run to cap a 98-yard fourth-quarter drive. Libby’s George Mercer delivers the final blow for UM, tumbling into the end zone with a 73-yard interception return in the final minute.

“Everyone just piled up on each other,” UM safety Shann Schillinger, who has eight tackles and an interception, said of the final TD. “It kind of set in then that we won, and it was an unbelievable feeling; something I’ll never forget.”

Montana 33, Montana State 19 – 2009, Bozeman In a game in which each team scored a safety, Dan Beaudin and Marc Mariani caught two touchdown passes apiece for the Grizzlies, who extended their “Brawl” streak to four and improved to 11-0 for the second time in three seasons.

Beaudin, a senior from Noxon, made nifty catches on a 1-yard pass from Justin Roper and a 14-yard strike from Andrew Selle, who threw for three TDs. The latter made it 33-12.

MSU’s Cody Kempt, who also threw for a score, had a 1-yard TD run to cap the scoring with a minute left. Shann Schillinger had six tackles, two passes defended and interception to lead the Griz D. Mariani’s second TD began a nightmarish third quarter for the Bobcats, who had the wind in their faces and saw UM use short fields to pad a 9-5 halftime lead out to 26-5.

Yet the key play came after Billings West product Joe Schreibeis scored his first collegiate TD, drawing the Bobcats to 26-12 with 12:40 left. The Griz drove 80 yards into the wind to Beadin’s second TD, but needed a fourth-and-4 pass from Selle to Mariani to keep the drive alive.

It was set up as a coronation for the newly top-ranked Bobcats, but the No. 7 Griz took command in the second half behind Dan Moore and Peter Nguyen.

Moore rushed for 116 yards, including a 37-yard touchdown to put UM up 29-7 at 5:37 of the third quarter. Nguyen ran for 123, including a 21-yard run to cap the scoring with 9:28 left, and send many of the record crowd of 20,247 at an expanded Bobcat Stadium for the exits.

Griz quarterback Jordan Johnson threw for two touchdowns, one a 2-yard strike to Kavario Middleton on fourthand-goal with 2:15 left in the first half. That put Montana up 12-0.

MSU drove to a touchdown to start the second half, DeNarius McGee hitting Elvis Akpla from 7 yards. But the Griz answered on their next offensive snap: Johnson found Jabin Sambrano for 79 yards and a TD to make it 19-7.

Montana gained 316 yards of offense in the second half, and rushed for 309 yards against the Big Sky’s top run defense.

“I’m very proud and honored to be involved in a game like this, when it comes down to the great state of Montana for the championship,” second-year Griz coach Robin Pflugrad said. “It’s nice to get on that bus with a win.”

Both teams lost at Sam Houston State in the FCS playoffs; the Griz fell 31-28 in the semifinals. And in 2013, as part of NCAA sanctions, the Griz’ victory that day in Bozeman was wiped off the record books.

Cats 16, Griz 7 – 2012, Missoula The second-ranked Bobcats relied on defense, kicker Rory Perez and quarterback DeNarius McGhee to subdue the Griz.

Montana led 7-3 after Peter Nguyen’s 47-yard scoring run in the first quarter but didn’t score again. Bobcat defensive ends Caleb Schreibeis (16 tackles and a sack) and Brad Daly shut down the Griz running game; Montana punted eight times after Nguyen’s TD. A record Washington-Grizzly Stadium of 26,210 saw MSU go in front on McGhee’s 15-yard scoring pass to Saco product Kruiz Siewing at 7:54 of the second quarter.

McGhee threw for 246 yards and ran four times on a clockkilling drive that ended in Perez’s third field goal with 2:23 left.

That made it a two-score game and clinched the Grizzlies’ first losing season since 1985. The Griz, who missed two field goals, finished 5-6.

“We knew they were big up front and knew they would be a physical team,” said Schreibeis, who in January became the first Bobcat to win the Buck Buchanan Award for the top defensive player in the FCS. “We just had to weather the storm for a little bit and then let our speed kind of take control.”

The Cats improved to 10-1 and finished 11-2 with a loss in the FCS quarterfinals.

2

Nov. 22, 2013

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Cat-Griz nearly as old as football itself Montana and Montana State will meet for the 113th time Saturday in Bozeman George Ferguson Havre Daily News sports editor gferguson@havredailynews.com On Saturday afternoon, the Montana State University Bobcats and Montana Grizzlies will meet on the football field inside Bobcat Stadium in Bozeman. It happens every year, and every year the game seems to get bigger and bigger, and take on more meaning.

This year’s Brawl of the Wild will be no different. The No. 13 Bobcats are fighting for their playoff lives after back-to-back losses, while the No. 5 Griz, with a win, could gain a top seed in the FCS playoffs, and truly have a chance to put last year’s losing season to bed forever.

However, as great as Saturday’s game is shaping up to be, it’s also the 113th time the Cats and Griz will have met on the gridiron, and with a rivalry that old, there are so many magical moments, it will be hard for the lat-

est game to top many of them.

Yes, the 31st oldest rivalry in college football has provided the state of Montana with a treasure trove of memories, of great games, of legendary players and some amazing moments. And the 20,000-plus fans that will pack Bobcat Stadium on Saturday, as well as the hundreds of thousands of viewers who will watch nation, and worldwide, can only up, the 113th meeting lives up to the high standard the rivalry has set over the years.

Montana State 27, Montana 20 – 2003, Bozeman

Nov. 22, 2013

No. 13 Montana State Bobcats

No. 5 Montana Grizzlies

7-4, 5-2

9-2, 5-2

def. Monmouth 42-24 lost to SMU 31-30 def. CSU Mesa 26-0 lost to S.F. Austin 52-38 def. North Dakota 63-20 def. Northern Arizona 36-7 def. Weber State 34-16 def. UC Davis 34-17 def. Northern Colorado 35-28 lost to Eastern Washington 54-29 lost to Southern Utah 22-14 MSU Offense

Two costly mistakes doom Montana in a game where the Griz dominate almost all of the statistics. Montana State’s Corey Smith returns the opening kickoff 90 yards for a touchdown, and safety Kenneth Qualls intercepts a Craig Ochs pass and races 54 yards for a score to give the Cats a 13-10 halftime lead.

Cats average 35 points per game, 190 yards rushing/240 yards passing. MSU converts 44 percent of its third downs. MSU scores touchdowns on 87 percent of its redzone opportunities. MSU is third in the Big Sky with a +8 turnover margin. MSU averages 45 yards per game in penalties.

■ See History Page 12

Montana Grizzlies at Montana State Bobcats Montana State University Location: Bozeman Nickname: Bobcats Colors: Blue/Gold Enrollment: 15,924 2013 record: 7-4 (5-2)

2012 record: 10-3 (7-1) Head coach: Rob Ash (57-19) Stadium: Bobcat Stadium Streak: The Bobcats beat the Grizzlies 16-7 in 2012 and have won two straight times in Missoula. They bring a two-game losing streak into Saturday's game in Bozeman

Saturday, November 23, 2013 Bobcat Stadium ~ 12:07 pm University of Montana Location: Missoula Nickname: Grizzlies Colors: Maroon/Silver Enrollment: 14,964 2013 record: 9-2 (5-2)

2012 record: 5-6 (3-5) Head coach: Mick Delaney (14-8) Stadium: WashingtonGrizzly Stadium Streak: The Griz have won three straight meetings in Bozeman. They also bring a three-game winning streak into Saturday's contest.

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2013 Cat-Griz By the Numbers 8/29 9/7 9/14 9/21 9/28 10/5 10/19 10/26 11/2 11/9 11/16

Hereʼs a historic look at the last 10 meetings between UM and MSU, of which the Griz hold a 6-4 edge.

AP Photo Photo right: Montana State players celebrate with the Divide Trophy after winning last year's Brawl of the Wild, 16-7 in Missoula. Saturday's Cat-Griz game is the 113th meeting between the rivals.

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Star Watch: QB DeNarius McGhee averages 193 yards passing per game; RB Cody Kirk averages 95 yards per game and has 1,039 yards and 18 touchdowns. Kirk is the all-time TD leader in MSU history; RB Shawn Johnson gains 54 yards per game and has five TD’s; WR Tanner Bleskin averages 93 yards per game, has 909 yards on 59 receptions and three touchdowns; WR Brian Floetketter has 519 yards on 34 catches and three TD’s. WR Jon Ellis has 32 catches for 374 yards and a team-high five TD’s. Bleskin averages 15 yards per catch as does Floetketter.

MSU Defense Cats allow 25 points per game, 151 rushing/222

passing. Montana State has five INT’s and a Big Sky best 28 sacks. MSU is +8 in turnover margin. Montana State stops opponents on third down 40 percent of the time.

Star Watch: DE Brad Daly leads the FCS with 14 sacks. He also has 19.5 tackles for loss and 61 tackles; LB Alex Singleton has 100 tackles and 16.5 tackles for loss and a team-high three INT’s; LB Cole Moore has 63 tackles and two INT’s; LB Michael Foster has 63 tackles; S Steven Bethley has 60 tackles and one INT; C Deonte Flowers has 35 tackles and 13 pass breakups.

MSU Special Teams Cats average a Big Sky best 26 yards on kickoff returns, but only 9.4 yards on punt returns; Cats convert 50 percent of their field goals and 87 percent of their PAT’s.

Star Watch: Shawn Johnson has 668 yards on kick returns, including 100-yard and 98-yard TD’s. Johnson is fourth in the Big Sky with 1,630 all-purpose yards. K/P Rory Perez has made 7-of-14 field goals with a long of 48 yards. He averages 46 yards per punt.

8-31 9/14 9/21 9/28 10/5 10/12 10/19 10/26 11/2 11/9 11/16

def. Appalachian State 30-6 def. North Dakota 55-17 def. Panhandle State 47-14 lost to Northern Arizona 34-16 def. Portland State 55-27 def. UC Davis 42-7 def. Cal Poly 21-14 OT lost to Eastern Washington 42-37 def. Sacramento State 51-48 OT def. South Dakota 31-27 def. Weber State 42-6 UM Offense

Griz average 39 points per game, 193 yards rushing/259 yards passing; Griz convert 43 percent on third down; Griz score touchdowns 68 percent of the time in the redzone; UM is a Big Sky best +16 in turnover margin; UM averages a Big Sky best 39 yards per game in penalties.

Star Watch: QB Jordan Johnson averages 250 yards passing per game, has thrown for 27 TD’s with just four INT’s. He completes 59 percent of his passes; RB Jordan Canada has rushed for 887 yards and a team-high 14 TD’s; RB Travon Van has rushed for 491 yards on 79 carries; WR Ellis Henderson has 882 yards on 35 catches with 14 TD’s. He averages

an FCS best 25 yards per catch; WR Jamaal Jones had 537 yards on 31 catches; WR Cam Warren has 428 yards on 32 catches: TE’s Clay Pierson and Jordan Harper have a combined eight TD’s on the season.

UM Defense Griz allow 22 points per game, 134 yards rushing/248 yards passing; UM has a Big Sky best 16 INT’s and nine fumble recoveries to go along with 22 sacks; Griz stop opponents on third down 42 percent of the time.

Star Watch: LB Brock Coyle has 99 tackles, nine TFL’s, two sacks and two INT’s; LB Jordan Tripp has 82 tackles, three INT’s, five forced fumbles and a field goal block; LB J.P. Kanongata’a has 78 tackles, four sacks and two INT’s; S Matt Hermanson has 83 tackles; DE Zack Wagenmann has 50 tackles, seven sacks and 15 TFL’s.

UM Special Teams Griz average 22 yards per kickoff return and 11 yards per punt return; UM convert on 60 percent of its field goal tries.

Star Watch: Ellis Henderson leads the Big Sky with a 13.1 yard per average on punt returns. He also has a 98-yard kickoff return for a TD, and is fifth in the Big Sky with 1,620 all-purpose yards. K Ben Worst leads the league in kicking, going a perfect 39-39 on PAT’s and 9-of-16 on field goals with a long of 51 yards. P Stephen Shawn averages 44 yards per punt.

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Nov. 22, 2013

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Bobcats Numerical Roster No.Name 1 2 2 3 4 5 5 6 7 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 15 16 17 17 18 18 19 20 20 22 23 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 53 54 55 56 56 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 62

Steven Bethley Jake Bleskin Na'a Moeakiola Sean Gords Jon Ellis Robert Marshall Dakota Prukop Kurt Davis Preston Gale DeNarius McGhee Odin Coe Tanner Roderick David Dash Mitch Griebel Quinn McQueary Austin Barth Cody Cleveland Cole Moore Kellen Kollmorgen Chad Newell Bo Hughes Rory Perez Jayshawn Gates Brandon Davis Jaylen Price Eryon Barnett Nick LaSane Cody Kirk James Nelson Gunnar Brekke Vince DiGiallonardo Fe'ao Vunipola Trevor Bolton Khari Garcia Heath Hunter Shawn Johnson Blake Braun Morris Gates-Mouton Brad Nordahl Deonte Flowers Trace Timmer Cody Vitt Brad Daly Trevan Timmer Alex Singleton Aleksei Grosulak Luke Daly Hayden Vick Taylor Dees Connor Verlanic Mac Bignell Craig Ashworth Michael Foster Robert Walsh Wyatt Christensen John Weidenaar Rocky Hogue Tyler Nesbitt Tyler Nesbitt Jachi Madubuko Rhett Young Fletcher Collins Dylan Mahoney Richard Hageman Matt Brownlow Brad Mathis

Year

DB QB LB DB WR DB QB WR DE QB DL WR WR WR QB TE DB LB S RB DB P/K WR RB DB CB RB RB DB RB DB LB K/P DB LB RB LB RB DB DB DB RB DE DB LB LB K DE DE DE DB DL LB LB LB OL LS LS LS LB LB LB OL LS DL OG

Pos. Ht. Wt. Hometown

5-11 6-1 5-11 5-10 5-10 6-0 6-2 6-5 6-3 6-0 6-3 6-3 5-7 5-11 6-2 6-5 6-0 6-2 6-0 6-1 6-0 6-2 5-8 5-9 5-9 6-2 5-11 5-10 5-11 5-11 5-11 5-10 5-10 5-10 6-1 5-9 6-2 5-7 5-11 5-11 5-11 5-11 6-1 6-0 6-2 5-10 6-2 6-3 6-2 6-4 6-0 6-1 6-1 6-0 5-11 6-7 6-3 5-9 5-9 5-10 6-0 6-1 6-6 5-10 5-10 6-0

210 195 220 193 175 200 195 215 254 212 250 185 174 193 185 240 190 220 195 220 200 199 150 175 175 200 205 213 199 180 180 222 189 178 221 175 225 167 172 183 185 200 240 202 240 208 180 236 273 245 190 280 228 213 215 280 205 195 195 220 215 230 235 205 285 293

Sr. So. Sr. Sr. Sr. Jr. Rf. R-Jr. Sr. Sr. So. So. Jr. So. Fr. Rf. Jr. Jr. Fr. Rf. Fr. Sr. Fr. So. Fr. Sr. Fr. Sr. Jr. Fr. Rf. Rf. So. Fr. So. Jr. Fr. Rf. So. Jr. So. Fr. Sr. Fr. Jr. Sr. Fr. Jr. Jr. Jr. Fr. Sr. Jr. So. Fr. So. Fr. Fr. Fr. Fr. Jr. Rf. Fr. Jr. Fr. So.

Chino, CA Don Antonio Lugo Great Falls, MT CM Russell Euless, TX Trinity Torrance, CA North Torrance Mansfield, TX Summit Carrollton, TX Creekview Austin, TX Vandegrift Bellflower, CA Centennial UNLV Forney, TX Forney Euless, TX Trinity Camas, WA Camas Bozeman, MT Bozeman Nevada Fontana, CA A.B. Miller Littleton, CO Heritage Air Force Manhattan, MT Manhattan Columbia Falls, MT Columbia Falls New Lenox, IL Providence Palo Alto, CA Lake Forest Prep Waukee, IA Waukee Billings, MT Senior Missoula, MT Loyola Moreno Valley, CA Canyon Palo Alto, CA Palo Alto Granbury, TX Granbury Louisiana Tech Little Elm, TX Little Elm Euless, TX Trinity Texas Dallas, TX Lovejoy Frenchtown, MT Frenchtown Los Angeles, CA Long Beach Poly Helena, MT Capital Polson, MT Polson Pittsburg, CA Pittsburg Great Falls, MT Great Falls Covina, CA Charter Oak Bozeman, MT Bozeman Bakersfield, CA Centennial Riverside, CA Redlands East Valley Palo Alto, CA Palo Alto Frenchtown, MT Frenchtown San Diego, CA Samuel Morse Great Falls, MT Great Falls Fairview, MT Fairview Helena, MT Capital Great Falls, MT Great Falls Thousand Oaks, CA Billings, MT Central Billings, MT Central Power, MT Power Worden, MT Huntley Project Drummond, MT Drummond Drummond, MT Drummond Florence, MT Florence Seabrook, TX Clear Lake Twin Bridges, MT Twin Bridges Fountain Valley, CA Fountain Valley Manhattan, MT Manhattan Merced, CA Merced South Lake Tahoe, CA South Lake Tahoe, NV Fort Richardson, AK Augusta, MT Augusta Seattle, WA Seattle Prep Great Falls, MT CM Russell Jordan, MT Jordan Missoula, MT Sentinel Georgetown, TX

No.Name 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 79 80 81 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99

Kyle Godecke Andy Austin Christian Williams Andrew Alt Doug Hanson Dillon Fraley Eric Williamson Joel Horn Alex Eekhoff Charles Lee Caleb Gillis Matthew Devereux JP Flynn Marshall Womack Quinn Catalano Tiai Salanoa Jacob Stanton Manny Kalfell Brian Flotkoetter Will Krolick Tanner Bleskin Shadeed Crockett Clay Compton Joey Michael Taylor Sheridan Robert Wilcox Nate Bignell Lee Perkins Devin Jeffries Zach Hutchins Monte Folsom Connor Thomas Luke Halliburton Dallas Hayes

Year

OL OL OL OL OL OL DL OL OL OL OL OL OL OL OL TE WR WR WR WR WR WR WR TE DL DL DE TE DL DL DL DT DL DL

Pos. Ht. Wt. Hometown

6-5 6-3 6-2 6-4 6-4 6-5 6-2 6-4 6-6 6-4 6-4 6-3 6-5 6-5 6-4 6-3 6-2 6-3 6-2 6-0 6-3 6-1 5-11 6-3 6-3 6-3 6-2 6-2 6-1 6-3 6-2 6-3 6-0 6-1

315 285 300 260 265 278 205 320 288 291 210 294 304 273 289 257 180 191 211 192 218 179 180 220 277 255 273 232 215 238 290 290 234 293

R-Fr. Sr. R-Jr. Fr. Rf. Rf. Fr. So. So. R-Jr. So. So. Rf. Rf. Jr. Jr. Fr. So. Jr. Rf. Sr. Rf. Fr. So. So. So. So. Jr. Fr. Rf. Fr. Fr. Rf. Fr.

Dillon, MT Beaverhead County Billings, MT West Glendale, AZ Cactus Scottsdale CC Roundup, MT Roundup Trabuco Canyon, CA Mission Viejo Bigfork, MT Bigfork Polson, MT Polson Kalispell, MT Glacier Reno, NV Bishop Manogue Menifee, CA Paloma Valley Glenn, MT Beaverhead County Eugene, OR Marist Bettendorf, IA Bettendorf Lakeway, TX Lake Travis San Diego, CA Scripps Ranch Oxnard, CA Oxnard Billings, MT Central Bozeman, MT Bozeman Laurel, MT Laurel Anchorage, AK South Great Falls, MT CM Russell Champlin, MN Maple Grove Billings, MT West Dryden, WA Cashmere Pacific (Ore.) Littleton, CO Rock Canyon Frisco, TX Princeton Grambling Drummond, MT Drummond Great Falls, MT Great Falls Kalispell, MT Glacier Las Vegas, NV Bishop Gorman Dillon, MT Kalispell, MT Flathead Kalispell, MT Glacier Kent, WA Tahoma

2013 Bobcat Staff Rob Ash Jamie Marshall Tim Cramsey Bo Beck Daniel DaPrato Jason McEndoo Brian Von Bergen Kane Ioane Brandon North Demo Odems

Head Football Coach Assistant Head Coach/Defensive Coordinator/Secondary Assistant Coach/Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks Assistant Coach/Defensive Line/Recruiting Coordinator Assistant Coach/Tight Ends/Special Teams Coordinator Assistant Coach/Run Game Coordinator/Offensive Line Assistant Coach/Pass Game Coordinator/Receivers Assistant Coach/Linebackers Assistant Coach/Secondary Assistant Coach/Running Backs

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Nov. 22, 2013

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Big Sky Conference Standings

Eastern Washington Northern Arizona Montana Southern Utah Montana State Cal Poly Sacramento State UC Davis Portland State North Dakota Idaho State Northern Colorado Weber State

Conf.

WL

7-0 6-1 5-2 5-2 5-2 4-3 4-3 4-3 3-4 2-6 1-6 0-7 0-7

Overall WL

9-2 8-2 9-2 8-3 7-4 5-6 5-6 4-7 6-5 3-8 3-8 1-10 1-10

Saturday's Games Montana at Montana State Eastern Washington vs Portland State Southern Utah vs Northern Arizona UC Davis vs Sacramento State Weber State vs Idaho State Northern Colorado vs Cal Poly

TSN FCS Top 25 Rec. Pts 1. North Dakota State 10-0 2. Eastern Illinois 10-1 3. Eastern Washington 9-2 4. Maine 10-1 5. Montana 9-2 6. McNeese State 9-2 7. Towson 9-2 8. Southeastern Louisiana 9-2 9. Sam Houston State 8-3 10. Northern Arizona 8-2 11. Coastal Carolina 10-1 12. Fordham 10-1 13. Montana State 7-4

3875 3686 3579 3335 3022 2882 2795 2781 2527 2513 2509 2163 1675

Rec. Pts

Rnk 1 2 3 6 7 9 10 14 4 12 11 5 8

14. Bethune-Cookman 15. Youngstown State 16. South Dakota State 17. Lehigh 18. Charleston Southern 19. William & Mary 20. Southern Utah 21. New Hampshire 22. Princeton 23. Chattanooga 24. Samford 25. Tennessee State

9-2 8-3 7-4 8-2 10-2 7-4 8-3 6-4 8-1 8-3 7-4 9-3

1568 1487 1415 1324 1181 1051 878 759 704 578 506 402

Rnk 18 15 19 20 13 16 NR 23 25 17 NR NR

Others receiving votes: : Jacksonville State 262, Delaware 253, South Carolina State 158, Harvard 113, Villanova 56, Northern Iowa 55, Wofford 43, UT Martin 38, Sacred Heart 30, Alcorn State 28, Furman 25.24,

Big Sky Conference Individual Leaders For 2013

Passing: Vernon Adams, EWU, 327 ypg Receiving: Cooper Kupp, EWU, 112 ypg Receptions: Luke Austin, ISU, 7 rpg Rushing: D.J. Adams, PSU, 132 ypg Tackles: Todd Davis, SAC ST., 10.8 tpg Sacks: Brady Daly, MSU, 14 sacks INT's: David Edgerson, PSU, 5 INT's

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Nov. 22, 2013

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Montana Grizzlies Offensive Starters

Montana State Bobcats Defensive Starters

Griz Offensive Numbers

Cats Defensive Numbers

Scoring: 39 ppg, 2nd in Big Sky Total offense: 452 ypg, 3rd in Big Sky

Scoring: 25 ppg, 5th in Big Sky Ellis Henderson #7, 6-0, 185 Receiver

Deonte Flowers #37, 5-11, 183 Cornerback

Rushing: 193 ypg, 3rd in Big Sky

Total defense: 373 ypg, 4th in Big Sky Rush defense: 151 ypg, 7th in Big Sky

John Schmaing #74, 6-7, 291 Left tackle Cam Warren #23, 5-7, 160 Reciever

Mick Delaney UM Head Coach In his second season at UM, Delaney has compiled a 14-8 overall record as head coach. Before taking over the program, Delaney served as running backs coach for five seasons. Delaney also coached at UM in 1968-69, spent 15 seasons as an assistant at Colorado State, and was an assistant at rival MSU and head coach UM-Western in 1981-82.

Trevor Poole #72, 6-5, 290 Left guard

Brad Daly #41, 6-1, 240

Defensive End

Alex Singleton #43, 6-2, 240 Linebacker Brady Harkless #1, 5-11, 210 Free Safety

Jordan Canada #26, 5-9, 190 Running Back

Jordan Johnson #10, 6-1, 195 Quarterback

Kjelby Oiland #69, 6-4, 290 Center

Taylor Sheridan #90, 6-4, 280 Nose tackle

Michael Foster #51, 6-1, 228 Linebacker Rob Marshall #5, 6-0, 200 Strong Safety

William Poehls #75, 6-8, 345 Right guard

Taylor Dees #47, 6-2, 273 Defensive tackle

Danny Kistler #76, 6-8, 315 Right tackle

Preston Gale #7, 6-3, 245 Linebacker

Cole Moore #16, 6-2, 220 Linebacker

Clay Pierson #46, 6-3, 239 Tight end Ben Worst #53, 5-11, 190 Kicker

Stephen Shaw #88, 6-3, 260 Punter

Jamaal Jones #6, 6-1, 188 Receiver

Sean Gords #3, 5-10, 193 Cornerback

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Grizzlies Numerical Roster No. Name 1 1 2 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 8 9 10 11 11 12 12 13 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 56 58 65 66 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79

Yr. Pos.

Anthony Goodwin SR Cornerback Treshawn Favors FR Running Back Taylor Walcott SO Wide Receiver Ryan McKinley FR Defensive Back Brady Gustafson RS FR Quarterback Chris Parker FR Defensive Back Chase Naccarato SO Wide Receiver Jamaal Jones RS SO Wide Receiver Ellis Henderson SO Wide Receiver Travon Van JR Running Back Marquin Russell FR Cornerback Addison Owen RS SO Linebacker Jordan Johnson RS JR Quarterback Trent McKinney RS SO Quarterback Nate Harris RS SO Cornerback Tra Ludeman FR Wide Receiver Matt Hermanson JR Free Safety Zach Gratton RS FR Strong Safety Joshua Janssen FR Wide Receiver Joshua Dennard JR Cornerback Retired in Honor of Dave Dickenson Marq Rogers FR Wide Receiver Makena Simis FR Quarterback JR Nelson RS FR Cornerback Shay Smithwick-Hann RS JR Quarterback Herbert Gamboa SO Strong Safety Joey Counts SO Running Back Retired in Honor of Terry Dillon Cam Warren RS SR Wide Receiver Steven Rominger RS SR Safety Marlon Miles RS SR Running Back Jordan Canada RS JR Running Back Nico Graham FR Wide Receiver Jamaal Anderson SO Cornerback Connor Strahm FR Linebacker Bo Tully SR Strong Safety Justin Whitted RS SO Free Safety Zach Vis FR Wide Receiver Connor Lebsock RS SO Linebacker Jamal Wilson RS SO Fullback Kendrick Van Ackeren SO Linebacker Gavin Hagfors RS SO Fullback Jordan Tripp RS SR Linebacker John Nguyen FR Running Back Jake Dallaserra RS SO Safety Cooper Sprunk FR Tight End Mick Delaney FR Safety Kelsey Lippert RS SO Linebacker Nate Bradley FR Noseguard Caleb Kidder SO Def.Tackle Jeremiah Kose RS SO Linebacker Clay Pierson RS SR Tight End Derek Crittenden RS SO Defensive End Jonathan Richards RS SO Tight End Jordan Harper FR Tight End Aaron Held RS FR Snaps Tucker Schye FR Linebacker John Kanongata'a SR Linebacker Ben Worst FR Kicker/Punter Trevor Rehm RS JR Nose Tackle Brock Coyle RS SR Linebacker Zack Wagenmann RS JR Defensive End Jordan Hines RS JR Guard Logan Hines RS JR Center McCauley Todd RS FR Guard Kjelby Oiland SR Center/Snaps Ben Weyer RS FR Guard Devon Dietrich RS FR Guard Trevor Poole RS JR Guard Samson Kaleikini RS SO Guard John Schmaing RS SO Tackle William Poehls SR Guard Danny Kistler Jr. SR Tackle Cameron Rokich FR Offensive Line Clint LaRowe RS FR Tackle Max Kelly RS FR Tackle

*Cut and take to the game!!

Ht.

6-1 5-9 6-0 5-1 6-7 6-0 5-7 6-1 6-0 5-11 6-0 6-2 6-1 6-0 5-10 5-9 6-1 6-1 6-0 5-11

180 185 177 187 230 185 160 188 185 195 190 220 200 190 180 160 198 195 188 185

Wt.

Hometown

6-3.5 6-2 6-2 6-4 6-1 5-9

181 200 177 219 193 215

Fort Wayne, Ind. Boise, Idaho (Capital) Hacienda Heights, Calif.

Kalispell, Mont. (Glacier) San Clemente, Calif.

Mesa, Ariz. (Desert Ridge)

5-7 5-10 5-9 5-9 5-11 5-11 6-0 6-2 6-1 6-3 6-2 5-11 6-1 6-2 6-3.5 5-7 5-11 6-4 6-0 6-0 5-11 6-5 6-2 6-3 6-3 6-3 6-3 6-1 6-4 5-11 5-11 6-3 6-2 6-3.5 6-4 6-4 6-7 6-4 6-4 6-4 6-5 6-5 6-7 6-8 6-8 6-5 6-5 6-7

160 187 180 190 175 180 230 199 191 200 205 238 195 226 237 180 180 242 185 212 265 260 230 239 240 222 215 200 215 215 197 265 245 250 291 290 295 290 270 270 290 280 291 340 315 245 275 274

Bellevue, Wash. (Bellevue) Missoula, Mont. (Sentinel) Portland, Ore. West Covina, Calif. (Duarte) Missoula, Mont. (Big Sky) Fontana, Calif.

Eugene, Ore. (Sheldon) Spokane, Wash. (Mead) Los Angeles, Calif.

Lynden, Wash. (Lynden) Billings, Mont. (Billings Skyview) Fontana, Calif. (Boise State) Bellevue, Wash. (Hawaii) Great Falls, Mont. (C.M. Russell) Missoula, Mont. (Big Sky) Seattle, Wash. (Bellevue) Butte, Mont. (Butte) Tigard, Ore. (Jesuit) Bozeman, Mont. (Bozeman) Fort Benton, Mont. (Fort Benton) Billings, Mont. (West) Helena, Mont. (Helena Capital) Oceanside, Calif.

Twin Bridges, Mont.

Whitefish, Mont. (Whitefish) Butte, Mont. (Butte Central) Great Falls, Mont. (C.M. Russell) Sacramento, Calif. (El Camino) Malta, Mont. (Malta) Bellevue, Wash. (Bellevue) Twin Falls, Idaho (Twin Falls) Dillon, Mont.

Bozeman, Mont. (Bozeman) Missoula, Mont. (Sentinel) Phoenix, Ariz. (Phoenix College) Phoenix, Ariz. (Phoenix College) Cedar Rapids, Iowa Spokane, Wash. (UNLV) Bozeman, Mont. (Bozeman) Woodinville, Wash.

Spokane, Wash. (Ferris) Kapolei, Hawaii (Kapolei) Billings, Mont. (Senior) Chandler, Ariz. (Chandler) Seattle, Wash. (O'Dea) West Jordan, Utah Miles City, Mont. (Custer County) Spokane, Wash.

Murrieta, Calif.

Glendale, Ariz.

Eugene, Ore. (Marist) Anthem, Ariz. (Boulder Creek) Billings, Mont. (Billings West) Sioux Falls, S.D. (Washington) Spokane, Wash. (Mt. Spokane) Spanaway, Wash. (U of W) Portland, Ore. (Hawaii) San Diego, Calif. (Marshall) Lakewood, Wash. (Lakes) Vancouver, Wash. (Camas) Eugene, Ore. (Sheldon) Miliani, Hawaii (Miliani) Chino, Calif. (Chino Hills) Charlo, Mont. (Charlo) Sioux Falls, SD (Washington) Billings, Mont. (Billings Senior) Missoula, Mont. (Loyola) Phoenix, Ariz. (Brophy Prep)

No. Name 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 97 98 99

Sean Haynes Mitch Saylor Noah Scarver Ryan Burke Kevin Berland Spencer Hale Austin Carver Chris Lider Stephen Shaw Aschan Richards Bo Harris Tyrone Holmes Alex Bienemann Zach Peevey Harrison Greenberg Tonga Takai Ryan Johnson Mike Ralston Jesse Ginn

Yr. Pos.

RS JR JR FR RS FR RS JR RS JR FR RS SO RS SO RS SO RS FR SO SR RS FR RS FR RS JR RS FR FR RS SO

Ht.

Wide Receiver 6-3 Wide Receiver 6-5 Tight End 6-5 Wide Receiver 6-4 Wide Receiver 5-9 Wide Receiver 5-11 Wide Receiver 6-0 Kicker 6-1 Punter 6-3 Tight End 6-6 Defensive Tackle 6-3 Defensive End 6-4 Defensive Tackle 6-2 Defensive End 6-2.5 Kicker 5-8 Defensive Tackle/Snaps Defensive End 6-2.5 Tight End 6-5.5 Defensive Tackle 6-5

Wt.

185 222 250 190 175 183 180 199 260 227 265 245 285 250 170 6-2 245 245 298

2013 Grizzly Staff Mick Delaney - Head Coach Scott Gragg - Assistant Head Coach/Co-Offensive Coordinator/O-Line Ty Gregorak - Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers Kefense Hynson - Co-Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks Jake Cookus - Safeties/Co-Special Teams Coordinator Justin Green - Running Backs/Recruiting Coordinator Torrey Myers - Wide Receivers Kade Rannings - Video Coordinator Lawrence Suiaunoa - Associate Head Coach/D-Line Aric Williams - Cornerbacks Ross Brunelle - Tight Ends/Co-Special Teams Coordinator Roland Ford - Director of Football Operations Rob Oviatt - Strength and Conditioning

Hometown

Los Angeles, Calif.

Vancouver, Wash. (Union) Minneapolis, Minn. (Washburn) Billings, Mont. (Billings Central) Missoula, Mont. (Loyola) Missoula, Mont. (Hellgate) Dillon, Mont.

Bellevue, Wash. (Sammamish) Fullerton, Calif.

Butte, Mont. (Butte Central) Fairfield, Mont. (Fairfield) Eagle Point, Ore. (Eagle Point) Denver, Colo. (Regis Jesuit) Missoula, Mont. (Hellgate) Lake Oswego, Ore. 315 Honolulu, Hawaii Vancouver, Wash.

Eugene, Ore. (Sheldon) Missoula, Mont. (Hellgate)

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Can't have Cat-Griz without both teams From the Fringe...

George Ferguson Sports Editor It’s that time. It’s time for Montana to once again divide, and I’m not talking the Continental Divide either.

No, it’s time for all the love to be thrown out the window as Montana and Montana State fans gear up for the annual Cat-Griz showdown, which takes place Saturday in Bozeman.

In one of the oldest rivalries in college football, for the fan bases, it’s also one of the most heated. Yes, the annual Cat-Griz game takes on all the tones of the Civil War. Families and households are divided.

Coworkers do battle all week long, and entire towns become the battle ground for this annual football classic.

But wait a minute. It shouldn’t be all about the hate. And ironically, with this year’s Brawl of the Wild so close to Thanksgiving, Saturday’s 113th meeting between the Bobcats and Grizzlies should be about giving thanks too.

I know, in some circles, me telling fans on either side of the rivalry to agree on something is nearly

blasphemy, but really, if there’s one thing fans who love the Blue and Gold, or the Maroon and Silver should be thankful for, it’s that they have each other.

In a state with no professional sports, without so much as one big-time college football program and with barely a population of a million people, fans, Cats and Griz alike should treasure the fact that we have this.

For one Saturday each year, this is Montana’s Super Bowl, and Super Bowl’s can’t have just one team.

No, without the Bobcats, the Grizzlies are different, and without the Griz, the Cats don’t have what they have either.

While so many people stand on one side of the rivalry or the other, really, in a strange way, Montana and Montana State are united. Sure, for about three hours on what’s usually a cold and snowy day in November, there is no convincing anybody that the Cats and Griz are united in anything. But for the rest of the year, while the banter and insults and jokes keep going from both fan bases, really, in reality, none of it would exist if both schools and both football programs hadn’t have become what they’ve become.

If both teams didn’t mean so much to so many people, this rivalry really wouldn’t be a rivalry at all.

And there’s more to it than just the football game. Consider how popular both teams have become.

The money being made from both

football programs is reaching an all-time high, the attendance at both universities can certainly be attributed to so much visible success on the gridiron, and did anyone every think we’d be where we are now? I mean seriously, in such a sparsely populated state, with so much of that population spread out over so many miles, did anyone ever think we’d get to the point where we’re selling out two 20,000 –plus seat football stadiums on the same weekend?

But that’s where we are. Montana leads the Football Championship Subdivision in average attendance this season. Over six home games, the Grizzlies averaged nearly 26,000 fans per game, while Montana State is currently fourth, averaging just over 19,000 per game with Saturday’s game in Bozeman certain to set a new Bobcat Stadium attendance record.

And interestingly, on three different Saturdays this fall, UM and MSU played at home on the same day, and on a fourth weekend, the Cats and Griz played at home just two days apart. That means, on average this year, roughly 45,000 fans were in two towns to watch two football games on the same day, or close to it four different times.

Those numbers might not mean much in places like Los Angeles, Chicago, or football crazy states like Texas, Florida and Ohio, but in Montana, the fact that that many people care, and pay to see the

Bobcats and Grizzlies play every Saturday is incredible, and I can’t help but think, it wouldn’t be that way if both the Cats and the Griz weren’t so popular and so special at the same time. It seems these days, no matter which team you root for, everybody is winning.

Then there’s having a rivalry like this itself, because not everybody has what Montana has.

Yes, there’s some great ones out there like Michigan/Ohio State, Alabama/Auburn and the Civil War in Oregon. But look at some other major schools and they don’t have what we have, an in-state, true Hatfield and McCoy type rivalry.

Notre Dame doesn’t have that with Purdue or Indiana. Ohio State certainly doesn’t have that with any other school inside the state. And as proud a football tradition as the University of Nebraska has, the Huskers have never really had a blood-thirsty, in-state rivalry to be a part of. No, the fact that we, as football fans in Montana, have had this Cat-Griz rivalry for over a century, we should all consider ourselves blessed.

And again, to have this rivalry, you just can’t have one without the other.

Former Duke basketball star Jay Bilas summed how I feel about the Cat-Griz rivalry best when talking about the epic series between Duke and North Carolina, one of the great all-time rivalries in sports.

Bilas said: “How lucky are we, to

have this to go against, right in our back yard. How lucky are we to have this greatness right down the road from us.”

And that’s honestly how both Cats and Griz’ fans should feel. I hear so much hatred sometimes coming from both fan bases, it sounds as if they wish the other school didn’t exist. To me, that’s just ridiculous.

I’ve lived in Montana all my life.

I grew up with this rivalry game. At a young age I chose a side. I, like so many in this state, look forward to this game each and every year, for now too many years to count. And I couldn’t imagine this game, this annual Brawl of the Wild not being a part of my life. I couldn’t imagine it not being a part of this great state. To me, the Cat-Griz game is Montana.

And just because I root for one team over another in the Cat-Griz rivalry, doesn’t mean I don’t consider myself damn lucky to have the other as a part of it. Without both the Montana Grizzlies and Montana State Bobcats, everything we love about the rivalry, about that one special day in November, everything we’ve passed on to our children, all of the special memories, this game that has become such a huge part of a way of life in Montana, well, we wouldn’t have any of it all.

I just can’t imagine that. For me, as a fan of this game for so long, I couldn’t live without the Cats or the Griz. I wouldn’t want to.

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Montana Grizzlies Defensive Starters

Montana State Bobcats Offensive Starters Cats Offensive Numbers

Griz Defensive Numbers

Scoring: 35 ppg, 3rd in Big Sky

Scoring: 22 ppg, 2nd in Big Sky Total defense: 382 ypg, 5th in Big Sky

Anthony Goodwin #1, 6-1, 180 Cornerback

Tanner Bleskin #86, 6-3, 218 Receiver

Total offense: 436 ypg, 5th in Big Sky Passing: 240 ypg, 4th in Big Sky

Rush defense: 134 ypg, 3rd in Big Sky

Quinn Catalano #79, 6-4, 300 Offensive line

Zack Wagnemann #58, 6-3, 250 Defensive end J.P. Kanongata'a

#52, 5-11, 215 Linebacker

Matt Hermanson #12, 6-1, 198 Free Safety

Alex Bieneman #92, 6-2, 285 Defensive tackle Brock Coyle #56, 6-2, 245 Linebacker

Bo Tully #30, 6-2, 199 Strong Safety

Tonga Takai #95, 6-2, 315 Nose tackle Jordan Tripp #37, 6-3, 237 Linebacker

Tyrone Holmes #91, 6-4, 245 Defensive end

JP Flynn #75, 6-5, 304 Offensive line

Matthew Devereux #74, 6-3, 300 Offensive line

Rob Ash MSU Head Coach

DeNarius McGhee #9, 6-0, 212 Quarterback

Cody Kirk #25 , 5-10, 213 Running back

Kyle Godecke #63, 6-5, 315 Offensive line

John Weidenaar #55, 6-7, 280 Offensive line

Jon Ellis #4, 5-10, 175 Receiver Tia Salanoa #80, 6-3, 275 Tight end

Nate Harris #11, 5-10, 180 Corner

Brian Floetketter #84, 6-2, 211 Receiver

Rory Perez #18, 6-3, 199 Kicker/Punter

Ash is in his seventh season at MSU, after coaching at Drake for 17 seasons. Ash has 57 wins in Bozeman, the most by any coach in MSU history. He's also led the Bobcats to four Big Sky Conference titles and five playoff appearances. His coaching career began at Cornell as an assistant, and he was also the head coach at Juanita for eight seasons.

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Nov. 22, 2013

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Nov. 22, 2013

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McGhee already a legacy at MSU Johnson's return fueled Grizzlies MSU quarterback already one of the best to ever suit up in Bozeman

Griz QB has quickly turned things around in Missoula

George Ferguson

George Ferguson

Five years ago, Montana State’s legacy at quarterback had but one name above all the others and that name was Travis Lulay.

After all, Lulay led the Bobcats to three wins in four years against rival Montana, and his first was the biggest, a victory in Missoula, as a freshman, which snapped MSU’s horrific 16-year losing streak to the Grizzlies.

Now, as the 2013 Cat-Griz game approaches, Lulay certainly hasn’t been forgotten, but because of everything DeNarius McGhee has done in the past four seasons at MSU, there’s a healthy debate about who the greatest MSU quarterback of all time is.

McGhee arrived in Bozeman five years ago as a highly decorated quarterback at Trinity High School in Euless, Texas. He led his team to the prestigious 5A Texas State Championship his senior year, and more than likely, if not for his 6-0 frame, he’d be wrapping up his career for an FBS school somewhere right now.

Thankfully for the Bobcats however, the big schools passed on McGhee as a quarterback and he landed in Bozeman. And nothing in Bozeman has been the same since.

McGhee has shattered many of MSU’s passing records, mostly belonging to Lulay.

He’s the all-time winningest quarterback in MSU history, and he sits only behind Lulay in career passing yards and career total offense. In nearly four full seasons, McGhee has racked up 10,705 passing yards, which ranks him ninth on the Big Sky Conference’s alltime list. He’s thrown for a school-record 84 touchdowns and is MSU’s all-time leader in nine different passing categories.

As a red-shirt freshman, McGhee was named Big Sky Offensive Player of the Year, and he won the award again as a junior last season. He’s a three-time All Big Sky performer and three-time FCS All-American. Earlier this season, McGhee also became the 13th player at any level of college football to throw for over 10,000 yards and rush for 1,000in a career.

Simply put, there haven’t been many things DeNarius McGhee hasn’t done with his time in Bozeman.

“He’s a special player,” Montana head coach Mick Delaney lamented ahead of Saturday’s Cat-Griz showdown in Bozeman. “He’s athletic. He’s won a lot of football games for MSU over the years.

“I think DeNarius McGhee is one of the best quarterbacks ever to play FCS football,” said head coach Rob Ash. “When you look at his record of success, it is almost incredible. He has an uncanny ability to lead his team, and he does it one play at a time, one third down conversion at a time, one score at a time, one comeback at a time. He never gets rattled and he never quits and he repeatedly finds a way to make a crucial play.”

Indeed, McGhee is all that and more. And,

When Jordan Johnson ran out of the Washington-Grizzly Stadium tunnel for the Montana Grizzlies’ season-opening game with Appalachian State back on Aug. 31, it was a moment to remember.

But throughout the course of that night, it was also clear that the Grizzlies, who went 5-6 without Johnson during the 2012 season, were back to normal. In his first game in nearly two years, Johnson threw three touchdown passes and led the Griz to a scintillating 30-6 win over the Mountaineers.

And from there, it’s all finally been normal for junior quarterback from Oregon, who helped push the Griz to the Football Championship Subdivision semifinals in his first year as the Griz’ starter, way back in 2011. That season, Johnson guided the Grizzlies to an 11-3 season, and a near-miss at a national championship game berth.

Individually, Johnson was spectacular in the stretch run. During the Griz’ last six games of that season, where he threw 11 of his 24 TD’s in the final six games. Johnson also ran for 506 yards that year, which was third on a Griz’ squad that included star backs Peter Nyguen, Jordan Canada and Dan Moore.

Down the stretch of that season, in only his sophomore year, Johnson was doing things few Grizzly QB’s had done. He was a true dual threat and Montana was poised for even bigger things to come.

However, everything that was normal for Johnson quickly turned to abnormal in the blink of an eye. A sexual assault charge, of which he was unanimously acquitted of in the winter of 2013, would cause him to miss the 2012 season. During that time, he saw the head coach, Robin Pflugrad, who recruited him, get fired, and then watched his team stumble to a 5-6 season, the first losing season for the Griz in 25 years. It was certainly a year that would change Johnson’s life forever.

However, now Johnson’s life is in a much better place. He’s back to being the leader of the Grizzlies, back to being able to focus on just being a student-athlete, and it’s no coincidence, the Griz are back to their winning ways.

And now, Johnson is back in the annual Brawl of the Wild, a game he shined in in 2011 when he threw a pair of TD’s to help the Griz upset then No. 1 Montana State 36-10 in Bozeman. Now, JJ as he’s called is going back to Bozeman to try and do it again.

“Two years ago it was awesome. To go in there, they were ranked No. 1 and to beat them the way we beat them was probably the most fun I’ve had playing football. At any level,” Johnson said. “Just from that standpoint, that’s the only experience I have in this game and it was a lot of fun for me. I

Havre Daily News sports editor gferguson@havredailynews.com

Havre Daily News sports editor gferguson@havredailynews.com

AP Photo Montana State University quarterback DeNarius McGhee has shattered all kinds of Bobcat passing records in his four years at MSU. He'll try to beat the Grizzlies for the third time in his career on Saturday. like Lulay, he’s already beaten the Grizzlies twice, and has a chance to do so for a third time on Saturday.

But what makes McGhee special, and simply different from other quarterbacks with his skill and his success, is how unselfish he is, how humble he is, and how hard he works to help make his team and his teammates better. That’s always been McGhee’s attitude at MSU, and it’s paid off because in his time in Bozeman, the Bobcats have never been so successful. In his four years as a starter, MSU has been to the FCS playoffs every year so far, they’ve been ranked in the FCS Top 25 every single week he’s been in Bozeman, attendance at an expanded Bobcat Stadium is at an all-time high during McGhee’s tenure, and overall, Montana State University is thriving like never before, and not just the football program.

All of that can be linked to McGhee’s arrival in Bozeman five years ago, and though he’s about to leave the program, as he’ll celebrate senior day against the Grizzlies Saturday, because McGhee chose to play at MSU, the program will never be the same again.

“He is one of the most unselfish players I have ever coached,” Ash said. “He has never focused on individual awards; he has only ever focused on winning games with his team.

And that is probably why he has won so many individual awards and deserves to win many more.

“You know; as many people know I really don’t focus on records or anything like that because I know if you win then those things will take care of itself,” McGhee said in a recent interview. “The relationships that I’ve had, and Bobcat Nation in general, it’s treated me well. It’s treated all of us, the entire football program well, and it’s been a joy to play for the MSU Bobcats.”

And McGhee, for all he’s already accomplished, for the fact that he has put himself in rarefied air as quarterbacks go, being on the same lists with the likes of the legendary Dave Dickinson, Russell Wilson and others, as well as Lulay, he’s all about his team, his head coach, his program, and above all else, about winning. And he wants to win on Saturday, he wants to beat the Griz one more time

and go to the playoffs. And for all he’s done, he hasn’t beaten the Griz in Bozeman yet.

Needless to say, McGhee is ready to check that one off his list too.

“It’s not about my legacy, it’s about the legacy of the Bobcats and that’s what’s missing from our legacy,” McGhee said. “I came in here and Coach Ash gave me the opportunity to play as a youngster. We’ve been able to do a lot of things and this is our last Cat-Griz game. Out of all the offensive coordinators and coaches I’ve had within the past years, the one that is still standing here is the man over there and that’s Coach Ash. I’m going to do everything I can to end this regular season with a win.”

DeNarius McGhee doesn’t need to take the field worrying about his legacy on Saturday. No matter what happens against the Grizzlies inside Bobcat Stadium, McGhee’s legacy is already complete. He started to set the standard the minute he arrived in Bozeman and he’s never stopped.

DeNarius McGhee doesn’t have a legacy at MSU, he IS an MSU legacy.

AP Photo University of Montana quarterback Jordan Johnson returned this season after missing the 2012 campaign while embroiled in a sexual assault case. Johnson was acquitted last winter and has come back to lead the Grizzlies to 9-2 season and a likely Football Championship Subdivision playoff berth. In one career start against Montana State, Johnson led the Griz to a 36-10 win in Bozeman back in 2011. Saturday at Bobcat Stadium, he'll try and do it again.

can’t wait to play on Saturday.”

The Griz are hoping this Saturday will be just as fun as the last time Johnson was on the field at Bobcat Stadium. So far, the season has been a lot of fun.

Johnson, who was an Big Sky All-Conference performer in 2011, has already thrown for a career-high 27 TD’s in Mick Delaney’s pro style offense, an offense Johnson has never operated in before. He’s been re-

markably efficient this season, throwing just four interceptions in 173 pass attempts.

He has 2,749 yards passing, and while he doesn’t carry the ball as much as he did in Pflugrad’s spread option attack, he has still made huge plays with his feet throughout the season.

But perhaps bigger than all of his stats, which will surely land him All Big Sky accolades again next week, is the fact that the

Griz are winning, and their field general is a huge reason why.

Since a bitter loss at Northern Arizona back on Sept. 28, the Griz have won six of their last seven games to climb to a No. 5 ranking, putting them on the verge of getting a national seed in the upcoming FCS playoffs. Johnson led a spectacular finalminute drive to send the Griz to an overtime win over Cal Poly, and he threw an overtime, walk-off TD in Montana’s wild 51-48 win at Sacramento State. He also nearly engineered a great comeback against Eastern Washington, where he threw three TD passes in the final eight minutes in what turned out to be a 42-36 loss.

There’s no doubt Johnson has been the catalyst for a Griz’ team which has roared back to life after a shockingly difficult 2012 season. The QB who gave the Big Sky Conference fits two years ago is now doing it again.

But perhaps more importantly, his return seemingly injected a new attitude into a Montana Grizzly team now set on taking its rightful place in the FCS playoffs back.

“When you lose a member of the family like that it stings,” Griz star linebacker Jordan Tripp said about Johnson at Big Sky media day. “When you get somebody like that back, it’s pretty special. The whole morale and aura of the team, overnight it just changed.

“You get somebody like that back who truly, genuinely cares about everybody on the team and they’ve got that feeling back.

I mean he’s our field general, our compass on offense. He’s going to lead you that way.

He’s very smart. The guys really look up to him. He’s chosen as a captain. That attitude, I mean it’s so contagious.”

And with that Grizzly attitude back, with Johnson back at the controls, the Griz are now set to barn storm their way into Bobcat Stadium on Saturday. In 2012, Montana scored just seven points in a 16-7 loss in the Cat-Griz showdown in Missoula. Johnson wasn’t on the field that day, but he will be Saturday in Bozeman. And there’s no doubt, like everything about this season so far, Johnson’s presence in the Brawl of the Wild will make it very different.

“They (Montana State) have one of the best defenses we’ve seen, definitely,” Johnson noted. “You turn on the film and they just line up and say, ‘We’re better than you,’ and lots of times they are. It’s going to be a big challenge for us.

“I feel like we’ve played well to this point,” Johnson said. “We’re 9-2 so you can’t really complain. But I feel like our best football is still out there. We haven’t really put together a complete game on both sides of the ball. If we can do that, I think we could be a really special team.”

The Griz may not have put together a complete game yet, as Johnson insists, but because they have JJ at the helm again, there's no question, they're already a special team.

That's because Johnson is a special player, a special quarterback and a special talent, and the Griz are lucky to have their leader back.

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Nov. 22, 2013

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Nov. 22, 2013

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McGhee already a legacy at MSU Johnson's return fueled Grizzlies MSU quarterback already one of the best to ever suit up in Bozeman

Griz QB has quickly turned things around in Missoula

George Ferguson

George Ferguson

Five years ago, Montana State’s legacy at quarterback had but one name above all the others and that name was Travis Lulay.

After all, Lulay led the Bobcats to three wins in four years against rival Montana, and his first was the biggest, a victory in Missoula, as a freshman, which snapped MSU’s horrific 16-year losing streak to the Grizzlies.

Now, as the 2013 Cat-Griz game approaches, Lulay certainly hasn’t been forgotten, but because of everything DeNarius McGhee has done in the past four seasons at MSU, there’s a healthy debate about who the greatest MSU quarterback of all time is.

McGhee arrived in Bozeman five years ago as a highly decorated quarterback at Trinity High School in Euless, Texas. He led his team to the prestigious 5A Texas State Championship his senior year, and more than likely, if not for his 6-0 frame, he’d be wrapping up his career for an FBS school somewhere right now.

Thankfully for the Bobcats however, the big schools passed on McGhee as a quarterback and he landed in Bozeman. And nothing in Bozeman has been the same since.

McGhee has shattered many of MSU’s passing records, mostly belonging to Lulay.

He’s the all-time winningest quarterback in MSU history, and he sits only behind Lulay in career passing yards and career total offense. In nearly four full seasons, McGhee has racked up 10,705 passing yards, which ranks him ninth on the Big Sky Conference’s alltime list. He’s thrown for a school-record 84 touchdowns and is MSU’s all-time leader in nine different passing categories.

As a red-shirt freshman, McGhee was named Big Sky Offensive Player of the Year, and he won the award again as a junior last season. He’s a three-time All Big Sky performer and three-time FCS All-American. Earlier this season, McGhee also became the 13th player at any level of college football to throw for over 10,000 yards and rush for 1,000in a career.

Simply put, there haven’t been many things DeNarius McGhee hasn’t done with his time in Bozeman.

“He’s a special player,” Montana head coach Mick Delaney lamented ahead of Saturday’s Cat-Griz showdown in Bozeman. “He’s athletic. He’s won a lot of football games for MSU over the years.

“I think DeNarius McGhee is one of the best quarterbacks ever to play FCS football,” said head coach Rob Ash. “When you look at his record of success, it is almost incredible. He has an uncanny ability to lead his team, and he does it one play at a time, one third down conversion at a time, one score at a time, one comeback at a time. He never gets rattled and he never quits and he repeatedly finds a way to make a crucial play.”

Indeed, McGhee is all that and more. And,

When Jordan Johnson ran out of the Washington-Grizzly Stadium tunnel for the Montana Grizzlies’ season-opening game with Appalachian State back on Aug. 31, it was a moment to remember.

But throughout the course of that night, it was also clear that the Grizzlies, who went 5-6 without Johnson during the 2012 season, were back to normal. In his first game in nearly two years, Johnson threw three touchdown passes and led the Griz to a scintillating 30-6 win over the Mountaineers.

And from there, it’s all finally been normal for junior quarterback from Oregon, who helped push the Griz to the Football Championship Subdivision semifinals in his first year as the Griz’ starter, way back in 2011. That season, Johnson guided the Grizzlies to an 11-3 season, and a near-miss at a national championship game berth.

Individually, Johnson was spectacular in the stretch run. During the Griz’ last six games of that season, where he threw 11 of his 24 TD’s in the final six games. Johnson also ran for 506 yards that year, which was third on a Griz’ squad that included star backs Peter Nyguen, Jordan Canada and Dan Moore.

Down the stretch of that season, in only his sophomore year, Johnson was doing things few Grizzly QB’s had done. He was a true dual threat and Montana was poised for even bigger things to come.

However, everything that was normal for Johnson quickly turned to abnormal in the blink of an eye. A sexual assault charge, of which he was unanimously acquitted of in the winter of 2013, would cause him to miss the 2012 season. During that time, he saw the head coach, Robin Pflugrad, who recruited him, get fired, and then watched his team stumble to a 5-6 season, the first losing season for the Griz in 25 years. It was certainly a year that would change Johnson’s life forever.

However, now Johnson’s life is in a much better place. He’s back to being the leader of the Grizzlies, back to being able to focus on just being a student-athlete, and it’s no coincidence, the Griz are back to their winning ways.

And now, Johnson is back in the annual Brawl of the Wild, a game he shined in in 2011 when he threw a pair of TD’s to help the Griz upset then No. 1 Montana State 36-10 in Bozeman. Now, JJ as he’s called is going back to Bozeman to try and do it again.

“Two years ago it was awesome. To go in there, they were ranked No. 1 and to beat them the way we beat them was probably the most fun I’ve had playing football. At any level,” Johnson said. “Just from that standpoint, that’s the only experience I have in this game and it was a lot of fun for me. I

Havre Daily News sports editor gferguson@havredailynews.com

Havre Daily News sports editor gferguson@havredailynews.com

AP Photo Montana State University quarterback DeNarius McGhee has shattered all kinds of Bobcat passing records in his four years at MSU. He'll try to beat the Grizzlies for the third time in his career on Saturday. like Lulay, he’s already beaten the Grizzlies twice, and has a chance to do so for a third time on Saturday.

But what makes McGhee special, and simply different from other quarterbacks with his skill and his success, is how unselfish he is, how humble he is, and how hard he works to help make his team and his teammates better. That’s always been McGhee’s attitude at MSU, and it’s paid off because in his time in Bozeman, the Bobcats have never been so successful. In his four years as a starter, MSU has been to the FCS playoffs every year so far, they’ve been ranked in the FCS Top 25 every single week he’s been in Bozeman, attendance at an expanded Bobcat Stadium is at an all-time high during McGhee’s tenure, and overall, Montana State University is thriving like never before, and not just the football program.

All of that can be linked to McGhee’s arrival in Bozeman five years ago, and though he’s about to leave the program, as he’ll celebrate senior day against the Grizzlies Saturday, because McGhee chose to play at MSU, the program will never be the same again.

“He is one of the most unselfish players I have ever coached,” Ash said. “He has never focused on individual awards; he has only ever focused on winning games with his team.

And that is probably why he has won so many individual awards and deserves to win many more.

“You know; as many people know I really don’t focus on records or anything like that because I know if you win then those things will take care of itself,” McGhee said in a recent interview. “The relationships that I’ve had, and Bobcat Nation in general, it’s treated me well. It’s treated all of us, the entire football program well, and it’s been a joy to play for the MSU Bobcats.”

And McGhee, for all he’s already accomplished, for the fact that he has put himself in rarefied air as quarterbacks go, being on the same lists with the likes of the legendary Dave Dickinson, Russell Wilson and others, as well as Lulay, he’s all about his team, his head coach, his program, and above all else, about winning. And he wants to win on Saturday, he wants to beat the Griz one more time

and go to the playoffs. And for all he’s done, he hasn’t beaten the Griz in Bozeman yet.

Needless to say, McGhee is ready to check that one off his list too.

“It’s not about my legacy, it’s about the legacy of the Bobcats and that’s what’s missing from our legacy,” McGhee said. “I came in here and Coach Ash gave me the opportunity to play as a youngster. We’ve been able to do a lot of things and this is our last Cat-Griz game. Out of all the offensive coordinators and coaches I’ve had within the past years, the one that is still standing here is the man over there and that’s Coach Ash. I’m going to do everything I can to end this regular season with a win.”

DeNarius McGhee doesn’t need to take the field worrying about his legacy on Saturday. No matter what happens against the Grizzlies inside Bobcat Stadium, McGhee’s legacy is already complete. He started to set the standard the minute he arrived in Bozeman and he’s never stopped.

DeNarius McGhee doesn’t have a legacy at MSU, he IS an MSU legacy.

AP Photo University of Montana quarterback Jordan Johnson returned this season after missing the 2012 campaign while embroiled in a sexual assault case. Johnson was acquitted last winter and has come back to lead the Grizzlies to 9-2 season and a likely Football Championship Subdivision playoff berth. In one career start against Montana State, Johnson led the Griz to a 36-10 win in Bozeman back in 2011. Saturday at Bobcat Stadium, he'll try and do it again.

can’t wait to play on Saturday.”

The Griz are hoping this Saturday will be just as fun as the last time Johnson was on the field at Bobcat Stadium. So far, the season has been a lot of fun.

Johnson, who was an Big Sky All-Conference performer in 2011, has already thrown for a career-high 27 TD’s in Mick Delaney’s pro style offense, an offense Johnson has never operated in before. He’s been re-

markably efficient this season, throwing just four interceptions in 173 pass attempts.

He has 2,749 yards passing, and while he doesn’t carry the ball as much as he did in Pflugrad’s spread option attack, he has still made huge plays with his feet throughout the season.

But perhaps bigger than all of his stats, which will surely land him All Big Sky accolades again next week, is the fact that the

Griz are winning, and their field general is a huge reason why.

Since a bitter loss at Northern Arizona back on Sept. 28, the Griz have won six of their last seven games to climb to a No. 5 ranking, putting them on the verge of getting a national seed in the upcoming FCS playoffs. Johnson led a spectacular finalminute drive to send the Griz to an overtime win over Cal Poly, and he threw an overtime, walk-off TD in Montana’s wild 51-48 win at Sacramento State. He also nearly engineered a great comeback against Eastern Washington, where he threw three TD passes in the final eight minutes in what turned out to be a 42-36 loss.

There’s no doubt Johnson has been the catalyst for a Griz’ team which has roared back to life after a shockingly difficult 2012 season. The QB who gave the Big Sky Conference fits two years ago is now doing it again.

But perhaps more importantly, his return seemingly injected a new attitude into a Montana Grizzly team now set on taking its rightful place in the FCS playoffs back.

“When you lose a member of the family like that it stings,” Griz star linebacker Jordan Tripp said about Johnson at Big Sky media day. “When you get somebody like that back, it’s pretty special. The whole morale and aura of the team, overnight it just changed.

“You get somebody like that back who truly, genuinely cares about everybody on the team and they’ve got that feeling back.

I mean he’s our field general, our compass on offense. He’s going to lead you that way.

He’s very smart. The guys really look up to him. He’s chosen as a captain. That attitude, I mean it’s so contagious.”

And with that Grizzly attitude back, with Johnson back at the controls, the Griz are now set to barn storm their way into Bobcat Stadium on Saturday. In 2012, Montana scored just seven points in a 16-7 loss in the Cat-Griz showdown in Missoula. Johnson wasn’t on the field that day, but he will be Saturday in Bozeman. And there’s no doubt, like everything about this season so far, Johnson’s presence in the Brawl of the Wild will make it very different.

“They (Montana State) have one of the best defenses we’ve seen, definitely,” Johnson noted. “You turn on the film and they just line up and say, ‘We’re better than you,’ and lots of times they are. It’s going to be a big challenge for us.

“I feel like we’ve played well to this point,” Johnson said. “We’re 9-2 so you can’t really complain. But I feel like our best football is still out there. We haven’t really put together a complete game on both sides of the ball. If we can do that, I think we could be a really special team.”

The Griz may not have put together a complete game yet, as Johnson insists, but because they have JJ at the helm again, there's no question, they're already a special team.

That's because Johnson is a special player, a special quarterback and a special talent, and the Griz are lucky to have their leader back.

8

Nov. 22, 2013

www.havredailynews.com

Can't have Cat-Griz without both teams From the Fringe...

George Ferguson Sports Editor It’s that time. It’s time for Montana to once again divide, and I’m not talking the Continental Divide either.

No, it’s time for all the love to be thrown out the window as Montana and Montana State fans gear up for the annual Cat-Griz showdown, which takes place Saturday in Bozeman.

In one of the oldest rivalries in college football, for the fan bases, it’s also one of the most heated. Yes, the annual Cat-Griz game takes on all the tones of the Civil War. Families and households are divided.

Coworkers do battle all week long, and entire towns become the battle ground for this annual football classic.

But wait a minute. It shouldn’t be all about the hate. And ironically, with this year’s Brawl of the Wild so close to Thanksgiving, Saturday’s 113th meeting between the Bobcats and Grizzlies should be about giving thanks too.

I know, in some circles, me telling fans on either side of the rivalry to agree on something is nearly

blasphemy, but really, if there’s one thing fans who love the Blue and Gold, or the Maroon and Silver should be thankful for, it’s that they have each other.

In a state with no professional sports, without so much as one big-time college football program and with barely a population of a million people, fans, Cats and Griz alike should treasure the fact that we have this.

For one Saturday each year, this is Montana’s Super Bowl, and Super Bowl’s can’t have just one team.

No, without the Bobcats, the Grizzlies are different, and without the Griz, the Cats don’t have what they have either.

While so many people stand on one side of the rivalry or the other, really, in a strange way, Montana and Montana State are united. Sure, for about three hours on what’s usually a cold and snowy day in November, there is no convincing anybody that the Cats and Griz are united in anything. But for the rest of the year, while the banter and insults and jokes keep going from both fan bases, really, in reality, none of it would exist if both schools and both football programs hadn’t have become what they’ve become.

If both teams didn’t mean so much to so many people, this rivalry really wouldn’t be a rivalry at all.

And there’s more to it than just the football game. Consider how popular both teams have become.

The money being made from both

football programs is reaching an all-time high, the attendance at both universities can certainly be attributed to so much visible success on the gridiron, and did anyone every think we’d be where we are now? I mean seriously, in such a sparsely populated state, with so much of that population spread out over so many miles, did anyone ever think we’d get to the point where we’re selling out two 20,000 –plus seat football stadiums on the same weekend?

But that’s where we are. Montana leads the Football Championship Subdivision in average attendance this season. Over six home games, the Grizzlies averaged nearly 26,000 fans per game, while Montana State is currently fourth, averaging just over 19,000 per game with Saturday’s game in Bozeman certain to set a new Bobcat Stadium attendance record.

And interestingly, on three different Saturdays this fall, UM and MSU played at home on the same day, and on a fourth weekend, the Cats and Griz played at home just two days apart. That means, on average this year, roughly 45,000 fans were in two towns to watch two football games on the same day, or close to it four different times.

Those numbers might not mean much in places like Los Angeles, Chicago, or football crazy states like Texas, Florida and Ohio, but in Montana, the fact that that many people care, and pay to see the

Bobcats and Grizzlies play every Saturday is incredible, and I can’t help but think, it wouldn’t be that way if both the Cats and the Griz weren’t so popular and so special at the same time. It seems these days, no matter which team you root for, everybody is winning.

Then there’s having a rivalry like this itself, because not everybody has what Montana has.

Yes, there’s some great ones out there like Michigan/Ohio State, Alabama/Auburn and the Civil War in Oregon. But look at some other major schools and they don’t have what we have, an in-state, true Hatfield and McCoy type rivalry.

Notre Dame doesn’t have that with Purdue or Indiana. Ohio State certainly doesn’t have that with any other school inside the state. And as proud a football tradition as the University of Nebraska has, the Huskers have never really had a blood-thirsty, in-state rivalry to be a part of. No, the fact that we, as football fans in Montana, have had this Cat-Griz rivalry for over a century, we should all consider ourselves blessed.

And again, to have this rivalry, you just can’t have one without the other.

Former Duke basketball star Jay Bilas summed how I feel about the Cat-Griz rivalry best when talking about the epic series between Duke and North Carolina, one of the great all-time rivalries in sports.

Bilas said: “How lucky are we, to

have this to go against, right in our back yard. How lucky are we to have this greatness right down the road from us.”

And that’s honestly how both Cats and Griz’ fans should feel. I hear so much hatred sometimes coming from both fan bases, it sounds as if they wish the other school didn’t exist. To me, that’s just ridiculous.

I’ve lived in Montana all my life.

I grew up with this rivalry game. At a young age I chose a side. I, like so many in this state, look forward to this game each and every year, for now too many years to count. And I couldn’t imagine this game, this annual Brawl of the Wild not being a part of my life. I couldn’t imagine it not being a part of this great state. To me, the Cat-Griz game is Montana.

And just because I root for one team over another in the Cat-Griz rivalry, doesn’t mean I don’t consider myself damn lucky to have the other as a part of it. Without both the Montana Grizzlies and Montana State Bobcats, everything we love about the rivalry, about that one special day in November, everything we’ve passed on to our children, all of the special memories, this game that has become such a huge part of a way of life in Montana, well, we wouldn’t have any of it all.

I just can’t imagine that. For me, as a fan of this game for so long, I couldn’t live without the Cats or the Griz. I wouldn’t want to.

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Nov. 22, 2013

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Montana Grizzlies Defensive Starters

Montana State Bobcats Offensive Starters Cats Offensive Numbers

Griz Defensive Numbers

Scoring: 35 ppg, 3rd in Big Sky

Scoring: 22 ppg, 2nd in Big Sky Total defense: 382 ypg, 5th in Big Sky

Anthony Goodwin #1, 6-1, 180 Cornerback

Tanner Bleskin #86, 6-3, 218 Receiver

Total offense: 436 ypg, 5th in Big Sky Passing: 240 ypg, 4th in Big Sky

Rush defense: 134 ypg, 3rd in Big Sky

Quinn Catalano #79, 6-4, 300 Offensive line

Zack Wagnemann #58, 6-3, 250 Defensive end J.P. Kanongata'a

#52, 5-11, 215 Linebacker

Matt Hermanson #12, 6-1, 198 Free Safety

Alex Bieneman #92, 6-2, 285 Defensive tackle Brock Coyle #56, 6-2, 245 Linebacker

Bo Tully #30, 6-2, 199 Strong Safety

Tonga Takai #95, 6-2, 315 Nose tackle Jordan Tripp #37, 6-3, 237 Linebacker

Tyrone Holmes #91, 6-4, 245 Defensive end

JP Flynn #75, 6-5, 304 Offensive line

Matthew Devereux #74, 6-3, 300 Offensive line

Rob Ash MSU Head Coach

DeNarius McGhee #9, 6-0, 212 Quarterback

Cody Kirk #25 , 5-10, 213 Running back

Kyle Godecke #63, 6-5, 315 Offensive line

John Weidenaar #55, 6-7, 280 Offensive line

Jon Ellis #4, 5-10, 175 Receiver Tia Salanoa #80, 6-3, 275 Tight end

Nate Harris #11, 5-10, 180 Corner

Brian Floetketter #84, 6-2, 211 Receiver

Rory Perez #18, 6-3, 199 Kicker/Punter

Ash is in his seventh season at MSU, after coaching at Drake for 17 seasons. Ash has 57 wins in Bozeman, the most by any coach in MSU history. He's also led the Bobcats to four Big Sky Conference titles and five playoff appearances. His coaching career began at Cornell as an assistant, and he was also the head coach at Juanita for eight seasons.

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Nov. 22, 2013

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Montana Grizzlies Offensive Starters

Montana State Bobcats Defensive Starters

Griz Offensive Numbers

Cats Defensive Numbers

Scoring: 39 ppg, 2nd in Big Sky Total offense: 452 ypg, 3rd in Big Sky

Scoring: 25 ppg, 5th in Big Sky Ellis Henderson #7, 6-0, 185 Receiver

Deonte Flowers #37, 5-11, 183 Cornerback

Rushing: 193 ypg, 3rd in Big Sky

Total defense: 373 ypg, 4th in Big Sky Rush defense: 151 ypg, 7th in Big Sky

John Schmaing #74, 6-7, 291 Left tackle Cam Warren #23, 5-7, 160 Reciever

Mick Delaney UM Head Coach In his second season at UM, Delaney has compiled a 14-8 overall record as head coach. Before taking over the program, Delaney served as running backs coach for five seasons. Delaney also coached at UM in 1968-69, spent 15 seasons as an assistant at Colorado State, and was an assistant at rival MSU and head coach UM-Western in 1981-82.

Trevor Poole #72, 6-5, 290 Left guard

Brad Daly #41, 6-1, 240

Defensive End

Alex Singleton #43, 6-2, 240 Linebacker Brady Harkless #1, 5-11, 210 Free Safety

Jordan Canada #26, 5-9, 190 Running Back

Jordan Johnson #10, 6-1, 195 Quarterback

Kjelby Oiland #69, 6-4, 290 Center

Taylor Sheridan #90, 6-4, 280 Nose tackle

Michael Foster #51, 6-1, 228 Linebacker Rob Marshall #5, 6-0, 200 Strong Safety

William Poehls #75, 6-8, 345 Right guard

Taylor Dees #47, 6-2, 273 Defensive tackle

Danny Kistler #76, 6-8, 315 Right tackle

Preston Gale #7, 6-3, 245 Linebacker

Cole Moore #16, 6-2, 220 Linebacker

Clay Pierson #46, 6-3, 239 Tight end Ben Worst #53, 5-11, 190 Kicker

Stephen Shaw #88, 6-3, 260 Punter

Jamaal Jones #6, 6-1, 188 Receiver

Sean Gords #3, 5-10, 193 Cornerback

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Nov. 22, 2013

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Grizzlies Numerical Roster No. Name 1 1 2 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 8 9 10 11 11 12 12 13 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 56 58 65 66 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79

Yr. Pos.

Anthony Goodwin SR Cornerback Treshawn Favors FR Running Back Taylor Walcott SO Wide Receiver Ryan McKinley FR Defensive Back Brady Gustafson RS FR Quarterback Chris Parker FR Defensive Back Chase Naccarato SO Wide Receiver Jamaal Jones RS SO Wide Receiver Ellis Henderson SO Wide Receiver Travon Van JR Running Back Marquin Russell FR Cornerback Addison Owen RS SO Linebacker Jordan Johnson RS JR Quarterback Trent McKinney RS SO Quarterback Nate Harris RS SO Cornerback Tra Ludeman FR Wide Receiver Matt Hermanson JR Free Safety Zach Gratton RS FR Strong Safety Joshua Janssen FR Wide Receiver Joshua Dennard JR Cornerback Retired in Honor of Dave Dickenson Marq Rogers FR Wide Receiver Makena Simis FR Quarterback JR Nelson RS FR Cornerback Shay Smithwick-Hann RS JR Quarterback Herbert Gamboa SO Strong Safety Joey Counts SO Running Back Retired in Honor of Terry Dillon Cam Warren RS SR Wide Receiver Steven Rominger RS SR Safety Marlon Miles RS SR Running Back Jordan Canada RS JR Running Back Nico Graham FR Wide Receiver Jamaal Anderson SO Cornerback Connor Strahm FR Linebacker Bo Tully SR Strong Safety Justin Whitted RS SO Free Safety Zach Vis FR Wide Receiver Connor Lebsock RS SO Linebacker Jamal Wilson RS SO Fullback Kendrick Van Ackeren SO Linebacker Gavin Hagfors RS SO Fullback Jordan Tripp RS SR Linebacker John Nguyen FR Running Back Jake Dallaserra RS SO Safety Cooper Sprunk FR Tight End Mick Delaney FR Safety Kelsey Lippert RS SO Linebacker Nate Bradley FR Noseguard Caleb Kidder SO Def.Tackle Jeremiah Kose RS SO Linebacker Clay Pierson RS SR Tight End Derek Crittenden RS SO Defensive End Jonathan Richards RS SO Tight End Jordan Harper FR Tight End Aaron Held RS FR Snaps Tucker Schye FR Linebacker John Kanongata'a SR Linebacker Ben Worst FR Kicker/Punter Trevor Rehm RS JR Nose Tackle Brock Coyle RS SR Linebacker Zack Wagenmann RS JR Defensive End Jordan Hines RS JR Guard Logan Hines RS JR Center McCauley Todd RS FR Guard Kjelby Oiland SR Center/Snaps Ben Weyer RS FR Guard Devon Dietrich RS FR Guard Trevor Poole RS JR Guard Samson Kaleikini RS SO Guard John Schmaing RS SO Tackle William Poehls SR Guard Danny Kistler Jr. SR Tackle Cameron Rokich FR Offensive Line Clint LaRowe RS FR Tackle Max Kelly RS FR Tackle

*Cut and take to the game!!

Ht.

6-1 5-9 6-0 5-1 6-7 6-0 5-7 6-1 6-0 5-11 6-0 6-2 6-1 6-0 5-10 5-9 6-1 6-1 6-0 5-11

180 185 177 187 230 185 160 188 185 195 190 220 200 190 180 160 198 195 188 185

Wt.

Hometown

6-3.5 6-2 6-2 6-4 6-1 5-9

181 200 177 219 193 215

Fort Wayne, Ind. Boise, Idaho (Capital) Hacienda Heights, Calif.

Kalispell, Mont. (Glacier) San Clemente, Calif.

Mesa, Ariz. (Desert Ridge)

5-7 5-10 5-9 5-9 5-11 5-11 6-0 6-2 6-1 6-3 6-2 5-11 6-1 6-2 6-3.5 5-7 5-11 6-4 6-0 6-0 5-11 6-5 6-2 6-3 6-3 6-3 6-3 6-1 6-4 5-11 5-11 6-3 6-2 6-3.5 6-4 6-4 6-7 6-4 6-4 6-4 6-5 6-5 6-7 6-8 6-8 6-5 6-5 6-7

160 187 180 190 175 180 230 199 191 200 205 238 195 226 237 180 180 242 185 212 265 260 230 239 240 222 215 200 215 215 197 265 245 250 291 290 295 290 270 270 290 280 291 340 315 245 275 274

Bellevue, Wash. (Bellevue) Missoula, Mont. (Sentinel) Portland, Ore. West Covina, Calif. (Duarte) Missoula, Mont. (Big Sky) Fontana, Calif.

Eugene, Ore. (Sheldon) Spokane, Wash. (Mead) Los Angeles, Calif.

Lynden, Wash. (Lynden) Billings, Mont. (Billings Skyview) Fontana, Calif. (Boise State) Bellevue, Wash. (Hawaii) Great Falls, Mont. (C.M. Russell) Missoula, Mont. (Big Sky) Seattle, Wash. (Bellevue) Butte, Mont. (Butte) Tigard, Ore. (Jesuit) Bozeman, Mont. (Bozeman) Fort Benton, Mont. (Fort Benton) Billings, Mont. (West) Helena, Mont. (Helena Capital) Oceanside, Calif.

Twin Bridges, Mont.

Whitefish, Mont. (Whitefish) Butte, Mont. (Butte Central) Great Falls, Mont. (C.M. Russell) Sacramento, Calif. (El Camino) Malta, Mont. (Malta) Bellevue, Wash. (Bellevue) Twin Falls, Idaho (Twin Falls) Dillon, Mont.

Bozeman, Mont. (Bozeman) Missoula, Mont. (Sentinel) Phoenix, Ariz. (Phoenix College) Phoenix, Ariz. (Phoenix College) Cedar Rapids, Iowa Spokane, Wash. (UNLV) Bozeman, Mont. (Bozeman) Woodinville, Wash.

Spokane, Wash. (Ferris) Kapolei, Hawaii (Kapolei) Billings, Mont. (Senior) Chandler, Ariz. (Chandler) Seattle, Wash. (O'Dea) West Jordan, Utah Miles City, Mont. (Custer County) Spokane, Wash.

Murrieta, Calif.

Glendale, Ariz.

Eugene, Ore. (Marist) Anthem, Ariz. (Boulder Creek) Billings, Mont. (Billings West) Sioux Falls, S.D. (Washington) Spokane, Wash. (Mt. Spokane) Spanaway, Wash. (U of W) Portland, Ore. (Hawaii) San Diego, Calif. (Marshall) Lakewood, Wash. (Lakes) Vancouver, Wash. (Camas) Eugene, Ore. (Sheldon) Miliani, Hawaii (Miliani) Chino, Calif. (Chino Hills) Charlo, Mont. (Charlo) Sioux Falls, SD (Washington) Billings, Mont. (Billings Senior) Missoula, Mont. (Loyola) Phoenix, Ariz. (Brophy Prep)

No. Name 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 97 98 99

Sean Haynes Mitch Saylor Noah Scarver Ryan Burke Kevin Berland Spencer Hale Austin Carver Chris Lider Stephen Shaw Aschan Richards Bo Harris Tyrone Holmes Alex Bienemann Zach Peevey Harrison Greenberg Tonga Takai Ryan Johnson Mike Ralston Jesse Ginn

Yr. Pos.

RS JR JR FR RS FR RS JR RS JR FR RS SO RS SO RS SO RS FR SO SR RS FR RS FR RS JR RS FR FR RS SO

Ht.

Wide Receiver 6-3 Wide Receiver 6-5 Tight End 6-5 Wide Receiver 6-4 Wide Receiver 5-9 Wide Receiver 5-11 Wide Receiver 6-0 Kicker 6-1 Punter 6-3 Tight End 6-6 Defensive Tackle 6-3 Defensive End 6-4 Defensive Tackle 6-2 Defensive End 6-2.5 Kicker 5-8 Defensive Tackle/Snaps Defensive End 6-2.5 Tight End 6-5.5 Defensive Tackle 6-5

Wt.

185 222 250 190 175 183 180 199 260 227 265 245 285 250 170 6-2 245 245 298

2013 Grizzly Staff Mick Delaney - Head Coach Scott Gragg - Assistant Head Coach/Co-Offensive Coordinator/O-Line Ty Gregorak - Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers Kefense Hynson - Co-Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks Jake Cookus - Safeties/Co-Special Teams Coordinator Justin Green - Running Backs/Recruiting Coordinator Torrey Myers - Wide Receivers Kade Rannings - Video Coordinator Lawrence Suiaunoa - Associate Head Coach/D-Line Aric Williams - Cornerbacks Ross Brunelle - Tight Ends/Co-Special Teams Coordinator Roland Ford - Director of Football Operations Rob Oviatt - Strength and Conditioning

Hometown

Los Angeles, Calif.

Vancouver, Wash. (Union) Minneapolis, Minn. (Washburn) Billings, Mont. (Billings Central) Missoula, Mont. (Loyola) Missoula, Mont. (Hellgate) Dillon, Mont.

Bellevue, Wash. (Sammamish) Fullerton, Calif.

Butte, Mont. (Butte Central) Fairfield, Mont. (Fairfield) Eagle Point, Ore. (Eagle Point) Denver, Colo. (Regis Jesuit) Missoula, Mont. (Hellgate) Lake Oswego, Ore. 315 Honolulu, Hawaii Vancouver, Wash.

Eugene, Ore. (Sheldon) Missoula, Mont. (Hellgate)

10

Nov. 22, 2013

www.havredailynews.com

Bobcats Numerical Roster No.Name 1 2 2 3 4 5 5 6 7 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 15 16 17 17 18 18 19 20 20 22 23 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 53 54 55 56 56 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 62

Steven Bethley Jake Bleskin Na'a Moeakiola Sean Gords Jon Ellis Robert Marshall Dakota Prukop Kurt Davis Preston Gale DeNarius McGhee Odin Coe Tanner Roderick David Dash Mitch Griebel Quinn McQueary Austin Barth Cody Cleveland Cole Moore Kellen Kollmorgen Chad Newell Bo Hughes Rory Perez Jayshawn Gates Brandon Davis Jaylen Price Eryon Barnett Nick LaSane Cody Kirk James Nelson Gunnar Brekke Vince DiGiallonardo Fe'ao Vunipola Trevor Bolton Khari Garcia Heath Hunter Shawn Johnson Blake Braun Morris Gates-Mouton Brad Nordahl Deonte Flowers Trace Timmer Cody Vitt Brad Daly Trevan Timmer Alex Singleton Aleksei Grosulak Luke Daly Hayden Vick Taylor Dees Connor Verlanic Mac Bignell Craig Ashworth Michael Foster Robert Walsh Wyatt Christensen John Weidenaar Rocky Hogue Tyler Nesbitt Tyler Nesbitt Jachi Madubuko Rhett Young Fletcher Collins Dylan Mahoney Richard Hageman Matt Brownlow Brad Mathis

Year

DB QB LB DB WR DB QB WR DE QB DL WR WR WR QB TE DB LB S RB DB P/K WR RB DB CB RB RB DB RB DB LB K/P DB LB RB LB RB DB DB DB RB DE DB LB LB K DE DE DE DB DL LB LB LB OL LS LS LS LB LB LB OL LS DL OG

Pos. Ht. Wt. Hometown

5-11 6-1 5-11 5-10 5-10 6-0 6-2 6-5 6-3 6-0 6-3 6-3 5-7 5-11 6-2 6-5 6-0 6-2 6-0 6-1 6-0 6-2 5-8 5-9 5-9 6-2 5-11 5-10 5-11 5-11 5-11 5-10 5-10 5-10 6-1 5-9 6-2 5-7 5-11 5-11 5-11 5-11 6-1 6-0 6-2 5-10 6-2 6-3 6-2 6-4 6-0 6-1 6-1 6-0 5-11 6-7 6-3 5-9 5-9 5-10 6-0 6-1 6-6 5-10 5-10 6-0

210 195 220 193 175 200 195 215 254 212 250 185 174 193 185 240 190 220 195 220 200 199 150 175 175 200 205 213 199 180 180 222 189 178 221 175 225 167 172 183 185 200 240 202 240 208 180 236 273 245 190 280 228 213 215 280 205 195 195 220 215 230 235 205 285 293

Sr. So. Sr. Sr. Sr. Jr. Rf. R-Jr. Sr. Sr. So. So. Jr. So. Fr. Rf. Jr. Jr. Fr. Rf. Fr. Sr. Fr. So. Fr. Sr. Fr. Sr. Jr. Fr. Rf. Rf. So. Fr. So. Jr. Fr. Rf. So. Jr. So. Fr. Sr. Fr. Jr. Sr. Fr. Jr. Jr. Jr. Fr. Sr. Jr. So. Fr. So. Fr. Fr. Fr. Fr. Jr. Rf. Fr. Jr. Fr. So.

Chino, CA Don Antonio Lugo Great Falls, MT CM Russell Euless, TX Trinity Torrance, CA North Torrance Mansfield, TX Summit Carrollton, TX Creekview Austin, TX Vandegrift Bellflower, CA Centennial UNLV Forney, TX Forney Euless, TX Trinity Camas, WA Camas Bozeman, MT Bozeman Nevada Fontana, CA A.B. Miller Littleton, CO Heritage Air Force Manhattan, MT Manhattan Columbia Falls, MT Columbia Falls New Lenox, IL Providence Palo Alto, CA Lake Forest Prep Waukee, IA Waukee Billings, MT Senior Missoula, MT Loyola Moreno Valley, CA Canyon Palo Alto, CA Palo Alto Granbury, TX Granbury Louisiana Tech Little Elm, TX Little Elm Euless, TX Trinity Texas Dallas, TX Lovejoy Frenchtown, MT Frenchtown Los Angeles, CA Long Beach Poly Helena, MT Capital Polson, MT Polson Pittsburg, CA Pittsburg Great Falls, MT Great Falls Covina, CA Charter Oak Bozeman, MT Bozeman Bakersfield, CA Centennial Riverside, CA Redlands East Valley Palo Alto, CA Palo Alto Frenchtown, MT Frenchtown San Diego, CA Samuel Morse Great Falls, MT Great Falls Fairview, MT Fairview Helena, MT Capital Great Falls, MT Great Falls Thousand Oaks, CA Billings, MT Central Billings, MT Central Power, MT Power Worden, MT Huntley Project Drummond, MT Drummond Drummond, MT Drummond Florence, MT Florence Seabrook, TX Clear Lake Twin Bridges, MT Twin Bridges Fountain Valley, CA Fountain Valley Manhattan, MT Manhattan Merced, CA Merced South Lake Tahoe, CA South Lake Tahoe, NV Fort Richardson, AK Augusta, MT Augusta Seattle, WA Seattle Prep Great Falls, MT CM Russell Jordan, MT Jordan Missoula, MT Sentinel Georgetown, TX

No.Name 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 79 80 81 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99

Kyle Godecke Andy Austin Christian Williams Andrew Alt Doug Hanson Dillon Fraley Eric Williamson Joel Horn Alex Eekhoff Charles Lee Caleb Gillis Matthew Devereux JP Flynn Marshall Womack Quinn Catalano Tiai Salanoa Jacob Stanton Manny Kalfell Brian Flotkoetter Will Krolick Tanner Bleskin Shadeed Crockett Clay Compton Joey Michael Taylor Sheridan Robert Wilcox Nate Bignell Lee Perkins Devin Jeffries Zach Hutchins Monte Folsom Connor Thomas Luke Halliburton Dallas Hayes

Year

OL OL OL OL OL OL DL OL OL OL OL OL OL OL OL TE WR WR WR WR WR WR WR TE DL DL DE TE DL DL DL DT DL DL

Pos. Ht. Wt. Hometown

6-5 6-3 6-2 6-4 6-4 6-5 6-2 6-4 6-6 6-4 6-4 6-3 6-5 6-5 6-4 6-3 6-2 6-3 6-2 6-0 6-3 6-1 5-11 6-3 6-3 6-3 6-2 6-2 6-1 6-3 6-2 6-3 6-0 6-1

315 285 300 260 265 278 205 320 288 291 210 294 304 273 289 257 180 191 211 192 218 179 180 220 277 255 273 232 215 238 290 290 234 293

R-Fr. Sr. R-Jr. Fr. Rf. Rf. Fr. So. So. R-Jr. So. So. Rf. Rf. Jr. Jr. Fr. So. Jr. Rf. Sr. Rf. Fr. So. So. So. So. Jr. Fr. Rf. Fr. Fr. Rf. Fr.

Dillon, MT Beaverhead County Billings, MT West Glendale, AZ Cactus Scottsdale CC Roundup, MT Roundup Trabuco Canyon, CA Mission Viejo Bigfork, MT Bigfork Polson, MT Polson Kalispell, MT Glacier Reno, NV Bishop Manogue Menifee, CA Paloma Valley Glenn, MT Beaverhead County Eugene, OR Marist Bettendorf, IA Bettendorf Lakeway, TX Lake Travis San Diego, CA Scripps Ranch Oxnard, CA Oxnard Billings, MT Central Bozeman, MT Bozeman Laurel, MT Laurel Anchorage, AK South Great Falls, MT CM Russell Champlin, MN Maple Grove Billings, MT West Dryden, WA Cashmere Pacific (Ore.) Littleton, CO Rock Canyon Frisco, TX Princeton Grambling Drummond, MT Drummond Great Falls, MT Great Falls Kalispell, MT Glacier Las Vegas, NV Bishop Gorman Dillon, MT Kalispell, MT Flathead Kalispell, MT Glacier Kent, WA Tahoma

2013 Bobcat Staff Rob Ash Jamie Marshall Tim Cramsey Bo Beck Daniel DaPrato Jason McEndoo Brian Von Bergen Kane Ioane Brandon North Demo Odems

Head Football Coach Assistant Head Coach/Defensive Coordinator/Secondary Assistant Coach/Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks Assistant Coach/Defensive Line/Recruiting Coordinator Assistant Coach/Tight Ends/Special Teams Coordinator Assistant Coach/Run Game Coordinator/Offensive Line Assistant Coach/Pass Game Coordinator/Receivers Assistant Coach/Linebackers Assistant Coach/Secondary Assistant Coach/Running Backs

3

Nov. 22, 2013

www.havredailynews.com

Big Sky Conference Standings

Eastern Washington Northern Arizona Montana Southern Utah Montana State Cal Poly Sacramento State UC Davis Portland State North Dakota Idaho State Northern Colorado Weber State

Conf.

WL

7-0 6-1 5-2 5-2 5-2 4-3 4-3 4-3 3-4 2-6 1-6 0-7 0-7

Overall WL

9-2 8-2 9-2 8-3 7-4 5-6 5-6 4-7 6-5 3-8 3-8 1-10 1-10

Saturday's Games Montana at Montana State Eastern Washington vs Portland State Southern Utah vs Northern Arizona UC Davis vs Sacramento State Weber State vs Idaho State Northern Colorado vs Cal Poly

TSN FCS Top 25 Rec. Pts 1. North Dakota State 10-0 2. Eastern Illinois 10-1 3. Eastern Washington 9-2 4. Maine 10-1 5. Montana 9-2 6. McNeese State 9-2 7. Towson 9-2 8. Southeastern Louisiana 9-2 9. Sam Houston State 8-3 10. Northern Arizona 8-2 11. Coastal Carolina 10-1 12. Fordham 10-1 13. Montana State 7-4

3875 3686 3579 3335 3022 2882 2795 2781 2527 2513 2509 2163 1675

Rec. Pts

Rnk 1 2 3 6 7 9 10 14 4 12 11 5 8

14. Bethune-Cookman 15. Youngstown State 16. South Dakota State 17. Lehigh 18. Charleston Southern 19. William & Mary 20. Southern Utah 21. New Hampshire 22. Princeton 23. Chattanooga 24. Samford 25. Tennessee State

9-2 8-3 7-4 8-2 10-2 7-4 8-3 6-4 8-1 8-3 7-4 9-3

1568 1487 1415 1324 1181 1051 878 759 704 578 506 402

Rnk 18 15 19 20 13 16 NR 23 25 17 NR NR

Others receiving votes: : Jacksonville State 262, Delaware 253, South Carolina State 158, Harvard 113, Villanova 56, Northern Iowa 55, Wofford 43, UT Martin 38, Sacred Heart 30, Alcorn State 28, Furman 25.24,

Big Sky Conference Individual Leaders For 2013

Passing: Vernon Adams, EWU, 327 ypg Receiving: Cooper Kupp, EWU, 112 ypg Receptions: Luke Austin, ISU, 7 rpg Rushing: D.J. Adams, PSU, 132 ypg Tackles: Todd Davis, SAC ST., 10.8 tpg Sacks: Brady Daly, MSU, 14 sacks INT's: David Edgerson, PSU, 5 INT's

2

Nov. 22, 2013

www.havredailynews.com

Cat-Griz nearly as old as football itself Montana and Montana State will meet for the 113th time Saturday in Bozeman George Ferguson Havre Daily News sports editor gferguson@havredailynews.com On Saturday afternoon, the Montana State University Bobcats and Montana Grizzlies will meet on the football field inside Bobcat Stadium in Bozeman. It happens every year, and every year the game seems to get bigger and bigger, and take on more meaning.

This year’s Brawl of the Wild will be no different. The No. 13 Bobcats are fighting for their playoff lives after back-to-back losses, while the No. 5 Griz, with a win, could gain a top seed in the FCS playoffs, and truly have a chance to put last year’s losing season to bed forever.

However, as great as Saturday’s game is shaping up to be, it’s also the 113th time the Cats and Griz will have met on the gridiron, and with a rivalry that old, there are so many magical moments, it will be hard for the lat-

est game to top many of them.

Yes, the 31st oldest rivalry in college football has provided the state of Montana with a treasure trove of memories, of great games, of legendary players and some amazing moments. And the 20,000-plus fans that will pack Bobcat Stadium on Saturday, as well as the hundreds of thousands of viewers who will watch nation, and worldwide, can only up, the 113th meeting lives up to the high standard the rivalry has set over the years.

Montana State 27, Montana 20 – 2003, Bozeman

Nov. 22, 2013

No. 13 Montana State Bobcats

No. 5 Montana Grizzlies

7-4, 5-2

9-2, 5-2

def. Monmouth 42-24 lost to SMU 31-30 def. CSU Mesa 26-0 lost to S.F. Austin 52-38 def. North Dakota 63-20 def. Northern Arizona 36-7 def. Weber State 34-16 def. UC Davis 34-17 def. Northern Colorado 35-28 lost to Eastern Washington 54-29 lost to Southern Utah 22-14 MSU Offense

Two costly mistakes doom Montana in a game where the Griz dominate almost all of the statistics. Montana State’s Corey Smith returns the opening kickoff 90 yards for a touchdown, and safety Kenneth Qualls intercepts a Craig Ochs pass and races 54 yards for a score to give the Cats a 13-10 halftime lead.

Cats average 35 points per game, 190 yards rushing/240 yards passing. MSU converts 44 percent of its third downs. MSU scores touchdowns on 87 percent of its redzone opportunities. MSU is third in the Big Sky with a +8 turnover margin. MSU averages 45 yards per game in penalties.

■ See History Page 12

Montana Grizzlies at Montana State Bobcats Montana State University Location: Bozeman Nickname: Bobcats Colors: Blue/Gold Enrollment: 15,924 2013 record: 7-4 (5-2)

2012 record: 10-3 (7-1) Head coach: Rob Ash (57-19) Stadium: Bobcat Stadium Streak: The Bobcats beat the Grizzlies 16-7 in 2012 and have won two straight times in Missoula. They bring a two-game losing streak into Saturday's game in Bozeman

Saturday, November 23, 2013 Bobcat Stadium ~ 12:07 pm University of Montana Location: Missoula Nickname: Grizzlies Colors: Maroon/Silver Enrollment: 14,964 2013 record: 9-2 (5-2)

2012 record: 5-6 (3-5) Head coach: Mick Delaney (14-8) Stadium: WashingtonGrizzly Stadium Streak: The Griz have won three straight meetings in Bozeman. They also bring a three-game winning streak into Saturday's contest.

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2013 Cat-Griz By the Numbers 8/29 9/7 9/14 9/21 9/28 10/5 10/19 10/26 11/2 11/9 11/16

Hereʼs a historic look at the last 10 meetings between UM and MSU, of which the Griz hold a 6-4 edge.

AP Photo Photo right: Montana State players celebrate with the Divide Trophy after winning last year's Brawl of the Wild, 16-7 in Missoula. Saturday's Cat-Griz game is the 113th meeting between the rivals.

11

Star Watch: QB DeNarius McGhee averages 193 yards passing per game; RB Cody Kirk averages 95 yards per game and has 1,039 yards and 18 touchdowns. Kirk is the all-time TD leader in MSU history; RB Shawn Johnson gains 54 yards per game and has five TD’s; WR Tanner Bleskin averages 93 yards per game, has 909 yards on 59 receptions and three touchdowns; WR Brian Floetketter has 519 yards on 34 catches and three TD’s. WR Jon Ellis has 32 catches for 374 yards and a team-high five TD’s. Bleskin averages 15 yards per catch as does Floetketter.

MSU Defense Cats allow 25 points per game, 151 rushing/222

passing. Montana State has five INT’s and a Big Sky best 28 sacks. MSU is +8 in turnover margin. Montana State stops opponents on third down 40 percent of the time.

Star Watch: DE Brad Daly leads the FCS with 14 sacks. He also has 19.5 tackles for loss and 61 tackles; LB Alex Singleton has 100 tackles and 16.5 tackles for loss and a team-high three INT’s; LB Cole Moore has 63 tackles and two INT’s; LB Michael Foster has 63 tackles; S Steven Bethley has 60 tackles and one INT; C Deonte Flowers has 35 tackles and 13 pass breakups.

MSU Special Teams Cats average a Big Sky best 26 yards on kickoff returns, but only 9.4 yards on punt returns; Cats convert 50 percent of their field goals and 87 percent of their PAT’s.

Star Watch: Shawn Johnson has 668 yards on kick returns, including 100-yard and 98-yard TD’s. Johnson is fourth in the Big Sky with 1,630 all-purpose yards. K/P Rory Perez has made 7-of-14 field goals with a long of 48 yards. He averages 46 yards per punt.

8-31 9/14 9/21 9/28 10/5 10/12 10/19 10/26 11/2 11/9 11/16

def. Appalachian State 30-6 def. North Dakota 55-17 def. Panhandle State 47-14 lost to Northern Arizona 34-16 def. Portland State 55-27 def. UC Davis 42-7 def. Cal Poly 21-14 OT lost to Eastern Washington 42-37 def. Sacramento State 51-48 OT def. South Dakota 31-27 def. Weber State 42-6 UM Offense

Griz average 39 points per game, 193 yards rushing/259 yards passing; Griz convert 43 percent on third down; Griz score touchdowns 68 percent of the time in the redzone; UM is a Big Sky best +16 in turnover margin; UM averages a Big Sky best 39 yards per game in penalties.

Star Watch: QB Jordan Johnson averages 250 yards passing per game, has thrown for 27 TD’s with just four INT’s. He completes 59 percent of his passes; RB Jordan Canada has rushed for 887 yards and a team-high 14 TD’s; RB Travon Van has rushed for 491 yards on 79 carries; WR Ellis Henderson has 882 yards on 35 catches with 14 TD’s. He averages

an FCS best 25 yards per catch; WR Jamaal Jones had 537 yards on 31 catches; WR Cam Warren has 428 yards on 32 catches: TE’s Clay Pierson and Jordan Harper have a combined eight TD’s on the season.

UM Defense Griz allow 22 points per game, 134 yards rushing/248 yards passing; UM has a Big Sky best 16 INT’s and nine fumble recoveries to go along with 22 sacks; Griz stop opponents on third down 42 percent of the time.

Star Watch: LB Brock Coyle has 99 tackles, nine TFL’s, two sacks and two INT’s; LB Jordan Tripp has 82 tackles, three INT’s, five forced fumbles and a field goal block; LB J.P. Kanongata’a has 78 tackles, four sacks and two INT’s; S Matt Hermanson has 83 tackles; DE Zack Wagenmann has 50 tackles, seven sacks and 15 TFL’s.

UM Special Teams Griz average 22 yards per kickoff return and 11 yards per punt return; UM convert on 60 percent of its field goal tries.

Star Watch: Ellis Henderson leads the Big Sky with a 13.1 yard per average on punt returns. He also has a 98-yard kickoff return for a TD, and is fifth in the Big Sky with 1,620 all-purpose yards. K Ben Worst leads the league in kicking, going a perfect 39-39 on PAT’s and 9-of-16 on field goals with a long of 51 yards. P Stephen Shawn averages 44 yards per punt.

12

Nov. 22, 2013

www.havredailynews.com

Old Rivalry: Bobcats and Grizzlies have the 31st oldest rivalry in all of college football ■ From Page 2 The Cats put the game away in the second half with a pair of TD runs, each from 1 yard out: Bruce Molock scores in the third quarter, and QB Travis Lulay, who claims his second win over the Griz, cashes in from 1 yard out in the fourth.

UM closes within 27-20 with a 32-yard Chris Snyder field goal and a 6-yard TD pass from Ochs to Dane Oliver. But a potential game-tying drive ends when Adam Cordeiro and Clive Lowe sacked Ochs on a fourth down with 2:09 to play.

It is the first time the Cats have won a Brawl of the Wild in Bozeman since 1985.

Mariani made a dynamite catch; he also had 120 yards on three punt returns, including a 33-yarder that set up Beaudin’s first TD. “The individual stuff is one thing,” said Mariani. “But this senior class is 4-0 now (against them), and it’s a great feeling.

It feels awesome.”

Montana State 21, Montana 16 - 2010, Missoula The Griz ran into Washington-Grizzly Stadium in new allblack uniforms but couldn’t catch the Bobcats, who scored on their first three possessions and never trailed.

DeNarius McGhee, MSU’s freshman quarterback, threw touchdown passes to Great Falls’ Tanner Bleskin and C.J. Palmer, and Orenzo Davis provided the winning points with a 17-yard TD run.

The Grizzlies stayed in range, answering the Cats’ first two drives with a 59-yard TD burst from Chase Reynolds and a 6-yard scoring run from QB Justin Roper.

But UM was turnover-plagued: Both Reynolds and Gerald Kemp fumbled inside the MSU 5-yard line in the second half.

Reynolds’ turnover came after a bad punt snap resulted in an MSU safety. The Griz also turned the ball over on downs at MSU’s 15 with 1:23 left.

That cinched the Cats’ first win over the Griz and first Big Sky title since 2005. Davis ran for 140 yards for MSU. Reynolds ran for 180 yards for the Griz, who ended up 7-4 and out of the postseason for the first time since 1992.

Montana 38, Montana State 22 – 2004, Missoula The Griz ride two touchdowns each from Lex Hilliard and Jefferson Heidelberger to romp to a 38-22 win, despite 386 passing yards from MSU quarterback Travis Lulay and a Brawl-record 235 receiving yards from the Cats’ Rick Gatewood.

Heidelberger, who has 131 receiving yards of his own, gives the Griz the lead when he collects a 15-yard scoring strike from Craig Ochs. His second score, a 14-yarder, gives the Griz a 31-16 lead in the third quarter and essentially puts the Cats away.

Gatewood catches a 38-yard strike from Lulay off a fake punt to the tie the game at 7-7 with 6:18 left in the first, and ended the scoring with a 2-yard option run with 6:42 remaining. It wasn’t enough because Montana piles up 524 yards of offense, 244 on the ground.

Montana 36, Montana State 10 - 2011, Bozeman

Montana State 16, Montana 6 - 2005, Bozeman On a muddy track in Bobcat Stadium, MSU freshman Evin Groves ran for 143 yards and a touchdown, and teammate Travis Lulay engineered his third win over the Griz in his four seasons as starting quarterback.

Montana State also got three Jeff Hastings field goals while earning a share of the Big Sky title, alongside Montana and Eastern.

Lulay had pedestrian passing statistics: 15-for-31, 171 yards with one interception. But he engineered a 90-yard, first-quarter touchdown drive that was all the 22nd-ranked Bobcats needed. They outgained the No. 3 Grizzlies 370220.

Montana had its opportunities. In the third quarter, the Griz had first-and-goal at the 3 after a 33-yard run by Lex Hilliard, only to come up empty. With 10:27 left, freshman QB Cole Bergquist completed a fourth-down strike to Mike Ferriter for UM’s points.

Hilliard, hampered by a migraine headache, managed 75 yards on 19 carries.

“It’s been a long time in the shadow of a great Grizzly program that they’ve been held to six points,” Bobcat coach Mike Kramer said.

Montana 13, Montana State 7 – 2006, Missoula Montana quarterback Josh Swogger threw for 231 yards, including a 54-yard touchdown pass to Eric Allen, but the Grizzly defense and two Dan Carpenter field goals were the difference on a cold, sunny afternoon.

What turned out to be MSU coach Mike Kramer’s last “Brawl” was a defensive battle that saw the teams combine for just five third-down conversions.

The Bobcats’ only score came on Aaron Mason’s 5-yard TD run at 5:07 of the second quarter, set up by a 43-yard pass from Jack Rolovich to Josh Lewis. But the visitors were never out of it.

After Allen’s touchdown gave UM a 10-7 lead midway through the third quarter, the Griz twice traded interceptions with the Bobcats. The last pick came from Andre Fuller and gave MSU the ball at Montana’s 40-yard line with 4:40 remaining, but the Bobcats’ last gasp edned on downs at UM’s 25.

“With a couple minutes left to go in the game, we’re standing on the doorstep,” said Mike Kramer, who went 3-4 against the Griz. “It’s us against them. And it was them. Congratulations.”

Montana 41, Montana State 20 – 2007, Bozeman Montana’s 67th win in the Griz-Cat series was the first for UM coach Bobby Hauck in Bozeman, and was a landmark day as well for seniors Lex Hilliard, Dan Carpenter and Eric Allen in front of 14,877 fans.

Allen caught the go-ahead touchdown pass against the

AP Photo Havre's Marc Mariani, left, hauls in a long touchdown pass during the 2008 Cat-Griz game in Missoula. On a day when the Grizzlies wore throwback uniforms, Mariani returned a punt for a TD in the second quarter, sparking Montana to a 35-3 win at Washington-Grizzly Stadium. In his career, the former Havre High star never lost to the Bobcats.

Cats for a second straight year, a 29-yard reception shortly after UM’s Colt Anderson intercepted a Jack Rolovich pass near midfield. That put the Griz ahead 20-14 at 12:08 of the third quarter.

Allen, who had five catches for 89 yards, caught another TD pass early in the fourth as Montana went up 27-14. Hilliard scored his second and third touchdowns, from 2 and 31 yards, in the final 3:38 to put the game away. Montana withstood 115 rushing yards by MSU’s Demetrius Crawford, who had two TDs, to go 8-0 in Big Sky play for the second straight year and 11-0 in the regular season for the second time in school history. Carpenter hit two first-quarter field goals to give him a career total of 72; that and his 403 career points set the FCS standard (he still holds the career kicking records at 75 field goals and 407 points).

But the biggest day belonged to Hilliard, who finished with 181 yards and three TDs on a muddy track. That gave the Kalispell product a school-record 49 career rushing touchdowns and his first win at Bobcat Stadium.

“I think he probably had a little extra spring in his step today, being a Montana guy and playing in this game,” noted first-year MSU coach Rob Ash. “He’s a senior, too, I hope.

Isn’t he?”

Montana 35, Montana State 3 - 2008, Missoula The Griz go “old school,” donning copper jerseys and yellow helmets for the first time since 1995, and use five MSU turnovers and big plays to beat the undermanned Bobcats.

A record crowd of 25,629 sees Drummond product Chase Reynolds run for 115 yards and two touchdowns for the Griz, though the fans go silent when MSU’s Demetrius Crawford tears off an 84-yard run on the Cats’ second snap.

The game turns UM’s way after Crawford is pushed out of bounds at UM’s 3. The Griz mount a goal-line stand, ending with a fourth-down fumble.

The Griz go up 7-0 on Havre flash Marc Mariani’s 75-yard punt return in the first quarter, and lead 14-3 at halftime on a 6-yard run by Reynolds.

Crawford runs for 203 yards for MSU, but it isn’t enough.

Cole Bergquist hits Mariani with a 37-yard TD pass ahead of a Reynolds 15-yard run to cap a 98-yard fourth-quarter drive. Libby’s George Mercer delivers the final blow for UM, tumbling into the end zone with a 73-yard interception return in the final minute.

“Everyone just piled up on each other,” UM safety Shann Schillinger, who has eight tackles and an interception, said of the final TD. “It kind of set in then that we won, and it was an unbelievable feeling; something I’ll never forget.”

Montana 33, Montana State 19 – 2009, Bozeman In a game in which each team scored a safety, Dan Beaudin and Marc Mariani caught two touchdown passes apiece for the Grizzlies, who extended their “Brawl” streak to four and improved to 11-0 for the second time in three seasons.

Beaudin, a senior from Noxon, made nifty catches on a 1-yard pass from Justin Roper and a 14-yard strike from Andrew Selle, who threw for three TDs. The latter made it 33-12.

MSU’s Cody Kempt, who also threw for a score, had a 1-yard TD run to cap the scoring with a minute left. Shann Schillinger had six tackles, two passes defended and interception to lead the Griz D. Mariani’s second TD began a nightmarish third quarter for the Bobcats, who had the wind in their faces and saw UM use short fields to pad a 9-5 halftime lead out to 26-5.

Yet the key play came after Billings West product Joe Schreibeis scored his first collegiate TD, drawing the Bobcats to 26-12 with 12:40 left. The Griz drove 80 yards into the wind to Beadin’s second TD, but needed a fourth-and-4 pass from Selle to Mariani to keep the drive alive.

It was set up as a coronation for the newly top-ranked Bobcats, but the No. 7 Griz took command in the second half behind Dan Moore and Peter Nguyen.

Moore rushed for 116 yards, including a 37-yard touchdown to put UM up 29-7 at 5:37 of the third quarter. Nguyen ran for 123, including a 21-yard run to cap the scoring with 9:28 left, and send many of the record crowd of 20,247 at an expanded Bobcat Stadium for the exits.

Griz quarterback Jordan Johnson threw for two touchdowns, one a 2-yard strike to Kavario Middleton on fourthand-goal with 2:15 left in the first half. That put Montana up 12-0.

MSU drove to a touchdown to start the second half, DeNarius McGee hitting Elvis Akpla from 7 yards. But the Griz answered on their next offensive snap: Johnson found Jabin Sambrano for 79 yards and a TD to make it 19-7.

Montana gained 316 yards of offense in the second half, and rushed for 309 yards against the Big Sky’s top run defense.

“I’m very proud and honored to be involved in a game like this, when it comes down to the great state of Montana for the championship,” second-year Griz coach Robin Pflugrad said. “It’s nice to get on that bus with a win.”

Both teams lost at Sam Houston State in the FCS playoffs; the Griz fell 31-28 in the semifinals. And in 2013, as part of NCAA sanctions, the Griz’ victory that day in Bozeman was wiped off the record books.

Cats 16, Griz 7 – 2012, Missoula The second-ranked Bobcats relied on defense, kicker Rory Perez and quarterback DeNarius McGhee to subdue the Griz.

Montana led 7-3 after Peter Nguyen’s 47-yard scoring run in the first quarter but didn’t score again. Bobcat defensive ends Caleb Schreibeis (16 tackles and a sack) and Brad Daly shut down the Griz running game; Montana punted eight times after Nguyen’s TD. A record Washington-Grizzly Stadium of 26,210 saw MSU go in front on McGhee’s 15-yard scoring pass to Saco product Kruiz Siewing at 7:54 of the second quarter.

McGhee threw for 246 yards and ran four times on a clockkilling drive that ended in Perez’s third field goal with 2:23 left.

That made it a two-score game and clinched the Grizzlies’ first losing season since 1985. The Griz, who missed two field goals, finished 5-6.

“We knew they were big up front and knew they would be a physical team,” said Schreibeis, who in January became the first Bobcat to win the Buck Buchanan Award for the top defensive player in the FCS. “We just had to weather the storm for a little bit and then let our speed kind of take control.”

The Cats improved to 10-1 and finished 11-2 with a loss in the FCS quarterfinals.