Griz Game Day Saturday, September 2, 2017

Missoulian, Saturday, September 2, 2017 — E1

VALPARAISO AT MONTANA • KICKOFF: 1 P.M. • TV: FOX MONTANA • SATURDAY, SEPT. 2, 2017

STARTING OVER Makena Simis gets a 2nd chance at the starting lineup ... this time at wide receiver

TOMMY MARTINO, Missoulian

Q&A: GAVIN CROW • PICKS: SPELTZ PICKS THE BIG SKY • THE EDGE: HOUGHTALING GIVES THE NOD TO ...

E2 — Missoulian, Saturday, September 2, 2017

Raised with

GRIZZLY GAME DAY | Q&A

respect Gavin Crow’s military family background paves way for gridiron toughness Kubisaki Dragons.

What was one of the biggest adjustments you had to make moving he hardest thing for cornerback Gavin Crow to America?

A lot of my teachers didn’t to stop doing when he moved back to America want me to call them “yes, sir.” was bowing every time That was a major thing. I think it was just the whole culture, too. he entered a restaurant.

American schools, compared to The redshirt-freshman lived Japanese schools. in Okinawa, Japan, where his What was one of father Darren was stationed those things? with the United States Marine Like in Japan, every restauCorps. Crow moved to Kennewick, Washington, to finish out rant we walked in, we always bowed. That was always a habit his high school career, but still — seven years of just bowing carried many of the lessons in discipline and respect he learned every time you walk into a room, restaurant or anything. while in Japan.

Also in Japan — partying I Crow’s father, a major who guess, not a lot of high school served in the Marines for 20 parties. Never did that until I years, is his biggest role model, came here to the U.S. and is what made Crow the How long did it take you player he is today — a deterto shake that bowing habit? mined, hard-hitting defensive Were you bowing at McDonback and special teams runner. ald’s?

The Missoulian talked to Yeah, even in McDonald’s in Crow about his life in Japan, Japan, you come in and bow. his father and his football They bow at you right as you career Tuesday.

What did your father do in come up to order.

Was it tough for you to the Marines? kind of shake that?

He trained Marine reconYeah, that was actually one naissance and did a bunch of special forces stuff. He won the of the hardest things. I actually maybe miss Japan a little Bronze Star. bit just because of the high What was it like being respect everybody had for each raised in a military family? other there.

Really high discipline. Not You’re a kick returning really room to slip up. specialist and a cornerWhat was your high back. What do you like school mascot in Japan? doing more?

A dragon. We were the NICK PUCKETT for 406mtsports.com‌

‌T

REBEKAH WELCH, Missoulian‌

Safety Gavin Crow leaps over wide receiver Kobe Eaton after an incomplete pass to Eaton during Montana’s scrimmage Aug. 19 at Washington-Grizzly Stadium.

GAVIN CROW No. 20 Year: Redshirt freshman Positions: Cornerback/ Special Teams Height: 6-1 Weight: 187 Hometown: Kennewick, Wash.

Playing defense for sure, getting to smack somebody.

Why is that?

I’d rather be the hammer than the nail.

What is the key to being a solid special teams player?

Running down, staying zero, not giving a care in the world and smacking somebody in the mouth. That’s the attitude you have on every special teams.

Coach (Travis) Niekamp, he’s looking for the guys who’s

willing to fight every down on special teams.

How would you describe your play style on defense?

I’d definitely say I’m more of a hitter. I need to work on my ball skills a little more, try and get some picks. But I definitely say I’m more of a banger.

Who’s the hardest hitter in the secondary?

Oh, easily J. (Justin) Strong.

That’s why I’m trying to be like him, trying to bang people like that.

Is he one of those guys, as a redshirt last year, you studied?

Yeah.

What about NFL level?

NFL level? Like favorite DB? Probably be like Brian Dawkins or Charles Woodson.

Who did you look up to as a kid?

Definitely my dad. He’s a big role model in my life. I remember when I was in elementary he used to wake me up at 5 a.m. to go do hill sprints. He’s always pushing me to be better, be an athlete. He was the one who

really set a goal for me to go play football and I loved every moment of it.

What’s the best advice he’s ever given you?

Respect everyone until they lose it.

Who’s the toughest wide receiver to guard on the Griz?

Probably Sammy (Akem).

Sammy brings a lot to the table with his jumping ability and just his quickness for how big he is.

And Keenan Curran.

What are your goals for this year?

Definitely trying for special teams player of the year this year. Hopefully earn the name “War Daddy,” come down and bang some people.

War Daddy?

Yeah, Connor Strahm’s got that name right now.

Is it like one person each year earns that name?

I don’t really know how that works. I just know that he got that name on special teams, so I’m trying to earn a name for myself out there too.

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E4 — Missoulian, Saturday, September 2, 2017

GRIZZLY GAME DAY | MAKENA SIMIS Montana quarterback Makena Simis gets tackled

by Jeremy Bittle in the second half of the Grizzlies’ 33-27 overtime victory over Idaho State Nov. 7, 2015, in Pocatello, Idaho. Simis ran for 105 yards in the game; he was the first Grizzly to hit 100 yards rushing in the 2015 season.

TOMMY MARTINO, Missoulian

STARTING WITH

SIMIS Makena Simis makes journey back to starting lineup in new role AMIE JUST 406mtsports.com

M

akena Simis’ dad had one message for his son during the 2015 season: “You’re gonna get an opportunity.”

And by the middle of the year, the then-sophomore and third-string quarterback was taking the field as a starter for the Montana Grizzlies.

Starting quarterback Brady Gustafson played two games before injuring his leg against Liberty. Second-string quarterback Chad Chalich broke his foot three games later. And in came Simis.

“I was able to step in,” Simis, now a senior, said. “It was a whirlwind but I just tried to stay prepared and do everything I had to do to step in and play. Like (Dad) said, I got my opportunity. One of my goals coming out of high school was to be a starting quarterback and although it was a short stint, I got to do that. I can still claim that.”

Simis’ first start came against North Dakota on October 24, 2015.

In that game he tied a Griz program record by passing for six touchdowns

MAKENA SIMIS No. 17 Year: Sr. Positions: WR, formerly QB Height: 6-2 Weight: 215 Hometown: Boise and was named FCS National Performer of the Week and co-Big Sky Player of the Week.

Over the course of the season, Simis threw for 740 yards on 63 completions with four interceptions and seven touchdowns. On the ground, he rushed for 226 yards on 65 carries for another touchdown.

With Simis starting under center, the Griz went 2-1, with the loss at Idaho State coming in overtime.

Gustafson returned for the regular season finale against Montana State and into the playoffs.

“It was definitely a really, really special experience,” Simis said looking back. “I wouldn’t want to change it at this point.”

After the 2015 season came to a screeching halt, Simis had a decision to make. He was approached by the coaches and they said that it was a possibility that he could switch positions to wide receiver.

See SIMIS, Page E9

Missoulian, Saturday, September 2, 2017 — E5

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E6 — Missoulian, Saturday, September 2, 2017

GRIZZLY GAME DAY | CONFERENCE CAPSULES

AROUND THE BIG SKY

LAURA DICKINSON, The Tribune (San Luis Obispo) via AP‌

Colgate’s Trent Williams (42) and John Steffen (95) take down Cal Poly’s Joe Protheroe (5) during the second quarter Saturday in San Luis Obispo, Calif.

Cal Poly at San Jose State‌ Saturday, 5:30 p.m.

San Jose, Calif.

CEFCU Stadium (30,456 AstroTurf)

Series History: First meeting Last Meeting: First meeting The Coaches: Tim Walsh enters his ninth season at Cal Poly, Brent Brennan is in his first season as head coach at San Jose State.

Notes: San Jose State defensive coordinator Derrick Odum coached at Montana from 1998-99. Cal Poly fell in its season opener to Colgate, 2014 at home.

Valparaiso at Montana‌ Saturday, 1:05 p.m.

Missoula Washington-Grizzly Stadium (25,217 FieldTurf) Fox Montana Series History: First meeting Last Meeting: First meeting The Coaches: Bob Stitt is in his third season at UM, while Dave Checchini is in his fourth season at Valpo.

Notes: Valpo last played a Big Sky school in 2013. It traveled to North Dakota, where it fell to the Fighting Hawks, 69-10.

PLEASE SEE BIG SKY, Page E12

NOTE Other Big Sky teams played their season openers Thursday: North Dakota faced Utah, Sacramento State visited Idaho, and Idaho State hosted Western Oregon.

Missoulian, Saturday, September 2, 2017 — E7

GRIZZLY GAME DAY | STRENGTHS

THE EDGE ‌Missoulian reporter KYLE HOUGHTALING assesses the strengths of both teams

QUARTERBACK: Valparaiso’s sophomore signal caller, Jimmy Seewald, may have more FCS experience — the sophomore played in 10 games last season — but Montana’s Reese Phillips has impressed in preseason. The Kentucky transfer has the mobility to succeed in coach Bob Stitt’s offense, one that was second in the Big Sky conference in both scoring and passing yards a season ago without Phillips.

Technology to drive productivity

OFFENSIVE LINE: The Griz O-line is loaded with seniors — Montana looks likely to start four upperclassmen in the trenches, and all four weigh in at over 300 pounds. Valpo doesn’t start a single senior.

RUNNING BACK: Jeremy Calhoun is going to be a stud in Montana’s offense, no doubt. His sophomore season saw the running back average 7.2 yards per carry. But after an injury to Rey Green left the Griz with no clear favorite to share Calhoun’s load and Valparaiso’s top two options from 2016 to carry the rock back in 2017, the Crusaders get the nod.

WIDE RECEIVERS/TE: Montana’s dilemma may be it has too much talent on the outside. The Griz return their three leading receivers from 2016 in Jerry Louie-McGee, Justin Calhoun and Keenan Curran. All three had over 600 yards receiving last year.

DEFENSIVE LINE: As a freshman, Corvallis high school grad Jesse Sims raised Griz Nation’s eyebrows after finishing seventh on the team in tackles for loss. Throw in Mr. No. 37 himself, Tucker Schye, and one of Montana’s calling cards — stingy defensive line play — should be dialed in.

LINEBACKERS: Let’s start here: one of Valparaiso’s starting outside linebackers (Austin Petrie) was a running back last season.

The Crusaders do bring back their leading tackler from 2016, Drew Snouffer, at inside backer (102 total tackles), but so do the Griz. Josh Buss finished with a team-high 81 tackles for Montana. While the loss of Connor Strahm for Game 1 hurts the Griz here, their returning experience with Buss, James Banks and Vika Fa’atuiese wins out.

CB/SAFETY: Montana’s secondary unit — if healthy — may be second to none most of the season. The group that was secondbest in the Big Sky against the pass last season (in terms of total yards) returns its top two interceptions leaders in safety Justin Strong and corner Ryan McKinley.

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SPECIAL TEAMS: The Griz will want to be on the lookout for return specialist Bailey Gessinger, who was one of just three FCS players to take two kickoffs back for touchdowns in 2016.

INTANGIBLES: It’s Week 1 at Washington-Grizzly Stadium, what more do you need? UM has won 16 straight home openers and is 26-4 all-time in Game 1 at Missoula since moving to the friendly confines of Wa-Griz. Valparaiso plays in front of an average home fan base of 2,034. There will be 10 times that on Saturday.

Nothing compares to the north end zone in the FCS, particularly on the first game back from hibernation. Good luck, Valparaiso.

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E8 — Missoulian, Saturday, September 2, 2017

GRIZZLY GAME DAY / P ICKS

HOW WE SEE THE BIG SKY ‌ o it’s time to get off the “Bob Stitt is S inadequate” narrative.

That’s my theme for the start of the 2017 season. Give the third-year Montana football coach a chance to show his stuff.

Our capable new Griz football beat writer, Amie Just, put it best when she suggested that I “just be nice.” I wasn’t so nice to Stitt when his team took a whuppin’ from Montana State last November, but this is a new season.

It’s pretty much a given the Grizzlies will win two of their first three games, with the exception coming next week at Washington. What happens after that is anybody’s guess.

I have it on record from a reliable Grizzly source Montana is going to run the table in Big Sky Conference play. The experience is there on both sides of the ball and maybe most important of all, the offensive line is well-drilled.

I’m looking forward to watching new starting quarterback Reese Phillips work his magic. His mobility adds a dimension that might just give opposing defenses fits.

It’s going to be fun to be back in the press box for all the home games, reviving my role as Griz football columnist after a two-year hiatus.

But please, I’m begging whoever is in charge, lose the tired old songs you play every year, the likes of which include “Cotton Eye Joe” and “Thank God I’m a Country Boy.” If the budget is that tight, I’ll loan you my Pearl Jam CDs.

Valparaiso at Montana: I want to see the Grizzlies play with more emotion this season.

I love the fact Chase Reynolds came to camp last week to talk to the team. Montana needs to be ready for the veteran-laden Crusaders Saturday. They didn’t travel all the way from Indiana to lay an egg. It’s just that the Griz are too much for Valpo up front. Bill: Grizzlies 38, Valparaiso 17. Kyle: Montana 31, Valpo 14. Frank: Montana 27, Valparaiso 13. Amie: Montana 55, Valpo 12.

Montana State at Washington State: The Cougars lost their last two home openers to Big Sky Conference teams and it’s not going to happen three years in a row. Portland State was solid when they came to Pullman in 2015. Eastern Washington was even better when they beat WSU last year. Montana State is young at a lot of spots.

Bill: Cougs 31, Cats 14. Kyle: Washington State 35, Montana State 13. Frank: Washington State 49, Montana State 21. Amie: Washington State 39, Montana State 24.

BILL SPELTZ

KYLE HOUGHTALING

No. 5 Eastern Washington at Texas Tech: The Red Raiders are picked to finish eighth in the Big 12 and the Eagles second in the Big Sky. This should be a whale of a game in the home of Buddy Holly — Lubbuck, Texas. My capable co-worker Kyle Houghtaling is picking the Eagles to pull the upset. I’m predicting coach Kliff Kingsbury’s Texas Tech offense will win the day.

Bill: Red Raiders 44, Eagles 34. Kyle: Eastern 47, Texas Tech 41. Frank: Texas Tech 44, Eastern Washington 20. Amie: Eastern Washington 43, Texas Tech 42.

Montana-Western at Weber State: Sheesh.

Really? Can you imagine Montana-Western coming to Missoula to play the Grizzlies? Not in a million years. This matchup represents all that is wrong with college football. Mismatch trash.

Bill: Wildcats 55, Bulldogs 10. Kyle: Weber State 48, Montana-Western 6. Frank: Weber State 42, Montana-Western 9. Amie: Weber State 27, Montana-Western 7.

Northern Arizona at Arizona: The Wildcats are picked to finish dead last in the Pac-12 preseason media poll, but they’re still going to be too much for the Lumberjacks up front. Northern Arizona is going to be good this season and I’d give them a puncher’s chance if the game were in Flagstaff. But since it’s in Tucson ... Bill: Mildcats 31, Jacks 21. Kyle: Arizona 52, N. Arizona 17.

Frank: Arizona 44, Northern Arizona 17. Amie: Arizona 35, Northern Arizona 27.

Portland State at Oregon State: Each team is coming off a road loss and this one could be interesting. Vikings true freshman QB Jalani Eason no doubt learned some valuable lessons in last week’s 20-6 loss at Brigham Young.

Still, if the Beavers lose this one at home it’s going to be a colossal embarrassment for their coach, Gary Andersen. Bill: Beavers 28, Vikings 14. Kyle: Oregon State 37, Portland State 20. Frank: Oregon State 42, Portland State 14. Amie: Oregon State 45, Portland State 33.

College of Idaho at Northern Colorado: This one is on par with English cricket for me. Who gives a rip? Even though the Bears are picked

FRANK GOGOLA

BILL SPELTZ bill.speltz@missoulian.com‌

AMIE JUST

to finish ninth in the Big Sky Conference, they should win this one. My guess is when Northern Colorado comes to Missoula in November, the team will have two or three wins to its credit, including Saturday’s over the Yotes. Bill: Bears 27, Yotes 17. Kyle: Northern Colorado 34, College of Idaho 3. Frank: Northern Colorado 28, College of Idaho 7. Amie: Northern Colorado 35, College of Idaho 7.

Cal Poly at San Jose State: The Mustangs

dropped a 20-14 home decision to Colgate last week so I don’t see them winning at San Jose State. What puzzles me about Cal Pol’s opener is they spotted the Raiders a 20-0 lead. The Spartans are picked to finish near the bottom in the Mountain West but they’ll beat the Mustangs at home. Bill: Spartans 28, Mustangs 21. Kyle: San Jose State 34, Cal Poly 17. Frank: San Jose State 31, Cal Poly 16. Amie: San Jose State 40, Cal Poly 35.

Southern Utah at Oregon: Hey, stranger things have happened, but the Thunderbirds winning in Eugene just doesn’t seem likely. If they do, Ducks first-year coach Willie Taggart might want to invest in a fake mustache and glasses. Bill: Ducks 41, T-birds 17. Kyle: Oregon 56, Southern Utah 10. Frank: Oregon 56, Southern Utah 7.

Amie: Oregon 45, Southern Utah 30.

UC Davis at San Diego State: The Fighting Bobby Haucks of San Diego State finished No. 25 in the final Associated Press Top 25 poll of 2016. The former Griz mentor Hauck serves as an assistant coach for the Aztecs. San Diego State lost a lot of talent to graduation but even if they lost all their starters my guess is they’d beat the Aggies in San Diego. Bill: Aztecs 44, Aggies 10.

Kyle: San Diego State 39, UC Davis 7. Frank: San Diego State 38, UC Davis 13. Amie: San Diego State 35, UC Davis 29.

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Missoulian, Saturday, September 2, 2017 — E9

GRIZZLY GAME DAY | MAKENA SIMIS

Simis Continued

Simis said the coaches didn’t push him in either direction.

“Really, they left it up to me,” Simis said. “They said, ‘You can stay and be a quarterback. You can move to a different position and have a different role. Maybe have a chance to be on the field a little more.’ I took some time to think about it.”

Simis went back to his hometown of Boise over the winter break to contemplate his decision. It was a tough one. He’d only ever played quarterback. He didn’t know the first thing about playing any other position.

But after going through workouts with his high school coach, he was willing to give wide receiver a shot.

“Coming out of that, he instilled some confidence in me,” Simis said. “He said, ‘Yeah.

You can definitely do this.’ He’s coached some very good players, some guys who have been in NFL training camps. To hear that from him was a big deal and it really instilled that confidence in me that I needed. From there it was a pretty easy decision.”

When Simis returned to Missoula for the spring semester in 2016, he told his coaches that he wanted to line up at H, a wide receiver position that other schools utilize as a tight end. Simis said that’s where the coaches wanted him to be, so it worked out.

The transition wasn’t seamless. There were struggles. He had a learning curve.

“It was my first season as a non-quarterback ever,” Simis said. “It was different for sure. It was a lot of learning. I had a very steep learning curve and I think that’s still there for me. I’m still trying to learn, pick up things quickly. It was just a learning process and I kept getting better as the year went on. I got to see the field a little bit, probably not as much as I would have liked or hoped, though.”

Simis’ wide receiver coach Mike Ferriter agreed.

“Makena would be the first

TOMMY MARTINO, Missoulian‌

Montana’s Makena Simis launches a pass near the 20-yard line in the fourth quarter against Portland State on Oct. 31, 2015, in Portland, Ore. After falling out of the Grizzlies’ starting quarterback position, Simis has made his way back to the first string as a wide receiver. player to tell you that initially, he struggled,” Ferriter said. “He’d never played it. He’d never played anything but quarterback his entire life. He struggled. But he was fun because he had the willingness to work and to improve.

“I think over the course of a year and a half now, he’s done all the things that he’s needed to do that I asked for him. To see his improvements day to day, it’s been extremely rewarding to see through hard work that you can completely change the type of player you’ve always been your whole life and help the team out in whatever way you see fit.”

Simis went from starting in

high-pressure situations at quarterback to being a wideout reserve. In the 2016 season, he played in only four games and caught four passes for 46 yards.

Since Simis switched positions, Ferriter said he’s used his “second-to-none” work ethic through the offseason to better himself as not only an athlete, but as a teammate and a human being.

“I should be more like Makena Simis,” Ferriter said. “He’s the type of person that you love to have in your room and he’s the type of person that you want everyone to model after. He’s just such a high-character, driven, hard working person. There’s a

ton of characteristics that he has that a lot of people don’t have.

“He’s got really, really natural leadership qualities that not a lot of people have and I think people just feed off of that.

When things are tough, they look to him for answers. They look for him to do the right thing, to make a play when you need to. His leadership is phenomenal.”

Come Saturday, Simis won’t be just a former starting quarterback or the backup wide receiver.

He’s finessed his way into the starting role at H wide receiver.

“Where I’m at now, it was good to have last year just to

soak everything up and learn everything I needed to,” Simis said. “I’m just excited to enjoy all this time that we’re spending together. We have a really close-knit group and every time this group of guys is together, it’s really fun. We have a lot of fun and at the same time we’re getting a lot of work done. I look forward to that and hopefully because of that, a lot of wins will come with it, but that’s to come.”

Amie Just covers Griz football for the Missoulian, among other things. Follow her on Twitter @ Amie_Just or email her at Amie.

Just@406mtsports.com.

Missoulian, Saturday, September 2, 2017 — E9

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E10 — Missoulian, Saturday, September 2, 2017

Missoulian, Saturday, September 2, 2017 — E11

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MONTANA STARTING OFFENSE

‌MONTANA ROSTER No. 1 1 2 2 3 3 4 5 5 6 7 7 8 8 9 10 10 11 11 12 12 13 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 60 61 62 66 67 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99

Name Pos. Hgt. Wt. Year Treshawn Favors RB 5-9 209 SR Markell Sanders CB 6-2 189 JR Gresch Jensen QB 6-2 218 RS FR Ryan McKinley CB 6-1 193 SR Justin Calhoun WR 5-10 174 SO Mick Delaney S 6-0 196 SR Rey Green RB 5-11 195 RS FR Kobey Eaton WR 6-3 180 SO Justin Strong S 5-11 190 SR Keenan Curran WR 6-2 203 JR Dareon Nash CB 6-2 178 RS FR Matt Rensvold WR 6-4 211 FR Jeremy Calhoun RB 6-0 213 JR Lewis Cowans CB 6-1 192 RS FR Brennan Corbin WR 6-5 210 RS FR Connor Strahm LB 6-0 240 SR Nate Dick QB 5-10 188 FR Isiahia Banks S 6-0 203 S FR Reese Phillips QB 6-2 212 SR Korey Alexander S 5-11 190 SR Caleb Hill QB 6-4 215 JR Josh Sandry S 6-1 203 SO Tanner Wilson QB 6-2 195 FR Michael McGinnis QB 6-2 191 FR RETIRED IN HONOR OF DAVE DICKENSON Jerry Louie-McGee WR 5-9 175 SO Makena Simis WR 6-2 235 SR Samuel Akem WR 6-4 195 RS FR Malik Flowers WR 6-2 185 FR Gavin Crow S 6-1 200 RS FR Terron Moses RB 5-7 166 FR Lamarriel Taylor WR 6-2 198 SO RETIRED IN HONOR OF TERRY DILLON Josh Egbo CB 6-2 193 RS FR Alijah Lee RB 5-6 197 JR Shane Moody RB 5-8 176 SR Jared Thurber WR 6-4 169 FR Cody McCombs RB 5-9 196 SO Josh Deshner ATH 6-0 190 FR Kendall Sweet LB 5-11 216 FR Evan Epperly S 5-10 197 JR Nick Fouch WR 6-0 162 FR Trase Le Texier LB 6-2 236 RS FR Josh Labrador RB 6-0 220 JR Dante Olson LB 6-3 230 SO Jace Lewis LB 6-1 220 RS FR Eric Williams KP 6-0 188 JR James Banks LB 6-1 215 SR Tucker Schye DE 6-4 242 SR Caleb Mitchell LS 6-1 195 RS FR Brandon Purdy KP 5-10 182 SO Cy Sirmon DE 6-3 250 SO Curtis Holmes RB 5-9 175 FR Josh Buss LB 6-2 220 JR Chris Favoroso DE 6-3 245 SO Randy Rodriguez DT 6-3 244 RS FR Vika Fa’atuiese LB 6-3 230 SO Cole Rosling DE 6-4 230 RS FR Trevor Hoerner DE 6-4 225 FR Jesse Sims DT 6-4 272 SO Cody Meyer OL 6-3 293 SO Mike Ralston OL 6-5 302 SR Michael Matthews LB 6-2 206 FR Carder Key LB 6-2 210 FR Gage Smith LB 6-3 217 JR Kyle Davis DT 6-1 283 JR Marcus Welnel LB 6-0 212 FR Shayne Cochran LB 6-1 220 JR Colton Keintz OL 6-8 275 FR Matthew O’Donoghue LS 6-1 248 RS FR Dylan Eickmeyer OG 6-4 292 RS FR Ashton Torres OT 6-4 292 RS FR Thayne Jackson OG 6-5 296 RS FR Skyler Martin OL 6-5 255 FR Payton Stoner OL 6-6 282 FR Cooper Sprunk C 6-4 300 SR Brandon Scott OT 6-7 295 RS FR Angel Villanueva OL 6-5 324 SO Robert Luke OL 6-4 318 SR David Reese OL 6-7 301 SR Dallas Hart OL 6-5 315 SO Conlan Beaver OT 6-5 293 RS FR Josh Horner WR 6-5 232 SR Mitch McLaughlin WR 5-9 174 JR Samori Toure WR 6-3 186 RS FR Mitch Roberts WR 6-1 188 FR Jed Nagler WR 6-4 218 RS FR Danny Burton WR 5-10 172 FR Braxton Reiten WR 5-9 170 FR Bryson Deming WR 6-4 228 FR Colin Bingham WR 6-3 230 SO Tim Semenza K 5-7 155 SO McKenzie Holt ATH 6-4 238 FR Brandt Davidson DT 6-3 293 SR Myles McKee-Osibodu DT 6-3 272 SR Braydon Deming DE 6-4 234 FR Devin Maua DE 6-3 232 RS FR Andrew Harris DE 6-2 231 SO David Shaw DT 6-5 319 JR RJ Nelson DE 6-4 221 FR Esai Longoria DT 6-3 305 RS FR Reggie Tilleman DT 6-4 272 JR

Hometown Glendale, Ariz.

Renton, Wash.

Auburn, Wash.

Anthem, Ariz.

Long Beach, Calif.

Bozeman, Mont.

Vancouver, Wash.

Vancouver, Wash.

Rialto, Calif.

Federal Way, Wash.

Covina, Calif.

Polson, Mont.

Long Beach, Calif.

Mission Viejo, Calif.

Anaheim, Calif.

Eugene, Ore. Billings, Mont.

Aurora, Colo.

Chattanooga, Tenn.

Pittsburg, Calif.

Brenham, Texas Bigfork, Mont.

Polson, Mont.

Sidney, Mont.

LT 76 David Reese

RB 8 Jeremy Calhoun

DT 99 Jake Trumpower

LG 74 Angel Villanueva

CB 17 Brandon Riley

WR 16 Jerry Louie-McGee

K 39 Brandon Purdy

P 88 Alex Ng

MONTANA BACKUPS ON OFFENSE LG C OR RG RT K

73 50 62 77 78 89

Brandon Scott, R-Fr. Cody Meyer Dylan Eickmeyer, R-Fr. Dallas Hart, R-So. Conlan Beaver, R-Fr. Tim Semenza, R-So.

VALPARAISO BACKUPS ON DEFENSE DE NT DT OLB OLB ILB

54 91 97 46 38 37

Jesse Studyvin, Jr. Jordan Goebel, R-Fr. Jeremiah Olojo, Fr. Josh Baker, Fr. Joey Poloskey, Fr. Laddie Skarecky, Fr.

MONTANA STARTING DEFENSE FS 30 Evan Epperly

DE 43 Chris Favoroso NT 91 Brandt Davidson

SS 13 Josh Sandry OLB 42 Josh Buss

DT 49 Jesse Sims

DE 37 Tucker Schye

TE 84 Mason Sutter

Randy Rodriguez, R-Fr. David Shaw, Jr. Reggie Tilleman, R-Jr. Cy Sirmon, R-So. Dante Olson, R-So. Shayne Cochran, R-Jr.

SLB CB FS SS CB

33 8 3 3 7

Tyler Newkirk, So. Cam Kelly, Fr. Jamari Booker, So. Tramone Duncan, Fr. Dilan Scargle, Fr.

Dante Olson, R-So. Lewis Cowans, R-Fr. Mick Delaney, R-Sr. Mick Delaney, R-Sr. Dareon Nash, R-Fr.

WR 1 Jean Rene

QB 9 Jimmy Seewald

RB 10 Jarrett Morgan

LG 67 Eric Rentschler LT 60 Andrew Lundburg WR 3 Parker Fox WR 30 Frank Catrine

MONTANA BACKUPS ON DEFENSE 44 96 99 40 33 57

9 14 20 22 25

RT 75 Shannon Taliaferro RG 73 Tom Schofield C 65 Jack Jarnigan

FCB 1 Markell Sanders

P 35 Eric Williams

ILB CB SS FS CB

VALPARAISO STARTING OFFENSE BCB 2 Ryan McKinley

OLB 36 James Banks

MLB 45 Vika Fa’atuiese

DE NT DT DE WLB MLB

OLB 18 Mike Wheeler

RT 51 Mike Ralston

WR 9 Justin Calhoun

Gresch Jensen, R-Fr. Alijah Lee, R-Jr. Josh Horner, Sr. Sam Akem, R-Fr. Kobey Eaton, R-So. Samori Toure, R-Fr. Thayne Jackson, R-Fr.

FS 28 Josmar DiazMartinez

ILB 49 Nick Turner

DE 34 Jay Slone

RG 75 Robert Luke

2 24 80 18 5 82 67

SS 4 J.J. Nunes

ILB 24 Drew Snouffer

NT 93 James Reed

C 72 Cooper Sprunk

QB RB H WR WR WR Z WR LT

VALPARAISO STARTING DEFENSE OLB 36 Austin Petrie

QB 11 Reese Phillips

Coeur d’Alene, Idaho Boise, Idaho Broken Arrow, Okla.

Fontana, Calif Kennewich, Wash.

Vian, Okla.

Chula Vista, Calif.

Gilbert, Ariz.

Los Angeles Parker, Colo.

Burien, Wash.

Billings, Mont.

Missoula, Mont.

Tulsa, Okla.

Kalispell, Mont.

Woodinville, Wash.

Boulder, Mont.

Eagle, Idaho Medford, Ore. Townsend, Mont.

Missoula, Mont.

Junction City, Ore. Malta, Mont.

North Bend, Wash.

Kalispell, Mont.

Wenatchee, Wash.

Spring Valley, Calif.

Boise, Idaho Port St. Lucie, Fla. Peoria, Ariz.

Vista, Calif.

Helena, Mont.

Columbia Falls, Mont.

Stevensville, Mont.

San Marcos, Calif.

Oregon City, Ore. Camas, Wash.

Broken Arrow, Okla.

Whitefish, Mont.

San Diego Helena, Mont.

Culbertson, Mont.

Missoula, Mont.

Santa Ana, Calif.

Tucson, Ariz.

Aurora, Colo.

Gilbert, Ariz.

Vancouver, Wash.

San Diego Tigard, Ore. Owasso, Okla.

Duarte, Calif.

Tacoma. Wash.

Happy Valley, Ore. Cypress, Calif.

Fredericksburg, Va. Great Falls, Mont.

Riverside, Calif.

Portland, Ore. Missoula, Mont.

Whitefish, Mont.

Helena, Mont.

Columbia Falls, Mont.

Billings, Mont.

Missoula, Mont.

San Diego Thompson Falls, Mont.

Tucson, Ariz.

Santa Ana, Calif.

Billings, Mont.

Billings, Mont.

Kalispell, Mont.

Spring Grove, Pa. Hillsboro, Ore. Caldwell, Idaho Genessee, Idaho

CB 29 Jalin LeAndre

WR 8 Keenan Curran

WR 17 Makena Simis

PK 1 Dimitrios Latsonas

VALPARAISO BACKUPS ON OFFENSE QB RB WR WR WR TE

14 44 23 12 2 87

Chris Duncan, R-Fr. Kyle Cartales, So. Bailey Gessinger, So. JD Koehler R-So. Griffin Norberg, Jr. Martin Petruf, So.

LT LG C RG RT

77 66 70 72 76

Terrance Roberts, R-So. Sam Vas, Fr. Brady Sullivan, R-So. Solomon Kamara, R-Fr. Alex Cotton R-So.

VALPARAISO ROSTER No. 1-O 1-S 2-O 2-D 3 4-O 4-D 5 6 9-O 9-D 10 11 12 13-O 13-S 14-O 14-D 15 16 17 18 19-O 19-D 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 28 29 30-O 30-D 31 32 33-O 33-D 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44-O 44-D 45 46 47 49 50 51 54 56 58 60 61 62 64 65 66 67 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 95 96 97 98 99-D 99-S

Name Jean Rene Dimitrios Latsonas Griffin Norberg Stacey Jones Parker Fox Joe Mullen J.J. Nunes Jalin LeAndre Logan Pfizenmayer Jimmy Seewald Tyler Newkirk Jarrett Morgan Trey Bilinksi JD Koehler Ryan Markoff Kyle Ulbrich Chris Duncan Cam Kelly Dough Haugh Ryan Clarke Brandon Riley Mike Wheeler Trey Stablein Bryce Leach Jamari Booker Elias Earley Tramone Duncan Bailey Gessinger Drew Snouffer Dilan Scargle Donny Navarro Josmar Diaz-Martinez Julian Benavides Frank Catrine Cole VanSetters Alex Kluck Cody Boxrucker Conor Beer Gowan Baldwin Jay Slone Gavin Twigg Austin Petrie Laddie Skarecky Joey Poloskey Jack Buckley Brannen Martin Henry Hebda Jake Iery John Regan Kyle Carales Connor Sperling David Hebda Josh Baker Matthew Messler Nick Turner John Horan Nick Antonacci Jesse Studyvin Tristan De La Rosa David Mason III Andrew Lundberg Sean Pearce Nathan Orlandini Sean Stephens Jack Jarnigan Sam Vas Eric Rentschler Alex Helander Brady Sullivan Bryce Biggs Solomon Kamara Tom Schofield Jimmy Zajac Shannon Taliaferro Alex Cotton Terrance Roberts Ron Williams Thomas Walsh Brett Bittner Deuce Larose Brent Brimmage Mason Sutter T.J. Weinzimmer Kevin Wright Martin Petruf Alex Ng Cade Bishop Isaac Velasco Jordan Goebel Drew Gedrys Murphy Osmond Cameron Germain Jeremiah Olojo Jake Simpson Jake Trumpower Carter Puckett

Pos. Hgt. Wt. Year Hometown WR 5-10 180 JR Delray Beach, Fla. K 5-11 175 SO Westmont, Ill. WR 6-3 225 JR Sunrise, Fla. DB 6-1 195 FR Wadsworth, Ill. WR 5-11 175 RS SO Winamac, Ind. QB 6-4 215 RS SO Elgin, Ill. DB 5-10 195 RS SR Baltimore DB 6-0 190 JR West Park, Fla. LB 6-2 210 FR Mansfield, Ohio QB 6-5 220 SO Livonia, Ohio LB 6-1 200 SO Chicago RB 5-11 195 SR Cooper City, Fla. QB 6-2 215 FR Napanee, Ind. WR 6-0 210 RS SO St. Charles, Mo. QB 6-2 190 FR Centerville, Ohio P/K 6-0 185 FR Mentor, Ohio QB 6-4 190 RS FR Woodland Hills, Calif.

DB 5-11 175 FR Stamford, Conn.

RB 6-1 205 FR Redlands, Calif.

TE 6-5 245 SR Hopatcong, N.J. DB 5-10 150 SR Chicago LB 6-3 220 JR Fullerton, Calif.

WR 5-11 160 FR Delaware, Ohio DB 6-2 180 FR Sacramento, Calif.

DB 6-0 185 SO Kentwood, Mich.

RB 5-6 175 RS SO Land O’Lakes, Fla. DB 5-11 200 FR Gastonia, N.C. WR 5-10 165 SO Napanee, Ind. LB 6-0 230 JR Columbus, Ohio DB 5-11 190 FR Dunedin, Fla. WR 5-9 180 FR Naperville, Ill. DB 5-11 180 JR Miramar, Fla. DB 6-0 185 FR Rochester Hills, Mich.

WR 6-0 210 SR Springboro, Ohio LB 5-11 195 FR Rockford, Mich.

TE 6-5 220 FR Cedarburg, Wis. RB 6-0 200 SO West Chester, Ohio WR 5-9 155 FR Sidney, Ohio LB 6-3 240 JR Kalamazoo, Mich.

DL 6-3 215 RS SR Kankakee, Ill. LB 6-1 215 FR Acworth, Ga. LB 5-10 220 SO Livonia, Mich.

LB 6-0 210 FR Naperville, Ill. LB 6-2 180 FR Boca Raton, Fla. LB 6-1 210 SO Granger, Ind. FB 6-1 230 RS FR Reading, Ohio DB 6-0 160 FR Brighton, Mich.

DL 6-2 250 JR Zionville, Ind. LB 6-0 215 JR Oak Lawn, Ill. RB 6-1 220 SO Loxahatchee, Fla. DL 6-2 245 RS FR Dixon, Ill. DB 6-0 160 FR Brighton, Mich.

LB 6-3 220 FR Lockport, Ill. LB 6-0 230 RS SO Charlotte, N.C. LB 6-1 225 JR Gurnee, Ill. OL 6-2 315 RS SO Oak Forest, Ill. OL 5-11 255 FR Cooper City, Fla. DL 6-4 270 JR Barnhart, Mo. DL 6-1 305 SR La Habra, Calif.

DL 5-7 270 FR Canton, Mich.

OL 6-5 275 RS SO Lisle, Ill. OL 6-4 310 SO Lindenhurst, Ill. DL 6-0 255 FR Columbus, Ohio OL 6-2 305 RS FR Trenton, Mich.

OL 6-2 285 RS SO Los Gatos, Calif.

OL 6-1 305 FR Olmstead Township, Ohio OL 6-2 285 JR Highland, Ind. OL 6-1 270 RS SO Dixon, Ill. OL 6-4 280 RS SO Hartland, Wis. OL 6-4 240 RS FR Weston, Fla. OL 6-2 295 RS FR Bolingbrook, Ill. OL 6-3 285 JR Chicago OL 6-6 270 RS FR Tinley Park, Ill. OL 6-1 295 JR Chicago OL 6-4 280 RS SO Indianapolis OL 6-5 335 RS SO Chicago OL 6-1 365 RS FR Jacksonville, Fla. OL 6-3 315 FR Plainfield, Ill. TE 6-5 205 FR Chicago WR 6-0 205 FR Fort Lauderdale, Fla. DB 5-11 180 FR Indianapolis TE 6-5 240 JR Woodstock, Ill. WR 6-2 170 FR Northbrook, Ill. WR 5-11 170 FR Wellington, Fla. TE 6-5 220 SO Hammond, Ind. P 6-0 220 JR Royal Palm Beach, Fla. LB 6-1 225 Lafayette, Ind. DL 5-11 265 FR Naperville, Ill. DL 6-3 265 RS FR Lansing, Mich.

DL 6-3 260 FR McDonald, Penn.

DL 6-1 300 SO De Soto, Mo. DL 6-3 245 FR West Palm Beach, Fla. DL 6-4 280 FR Chicago K 5-11 175 SR Wyandotte, Mich.

DL 6-4 260 RS SO Fort Mill, S.C. LS 6-0 180 FR LaPorte, Ind.

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E10 — Missoulian, Saturday, September 2, 2017

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MONTANA STARTING OFFENSE

‌MONTANA ROSTER No. 1 1 2 2 3 3 4 5 5 6 7 7 8 8 9 10 10 11 11 12 12 13 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 60 61 62 66 67 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99

Name Pos. Hgt. Wt. Year Treshawn Favors RB 5-9 209 SR Markell Sanders CB 6-2 189 JR Gresch Jensen QB 6-2 218 RS FR Ryan McKinley CB 6-1 193 SR Justin Calhoun WR 5-10 174 SO Mick Delaney S 6-0 196 SR Rey Green RB 5-11 195 RS FR Kobey Eaton WR 6-3 180 SO Justin Strong S 5-11 190 SR Keenan Curran WR 6-2 203 JR Dareon Nash CB 6-2 178 RS FR Matt Rensvold WR 6-4 211 FR Jeremy Calhoun RB 6-0 213 JR Lewis Cowans CB 6-1 192 RS FR Brennan Corbin WR 6-5 210 RS FR Connor Strahm LB 6-0 240 SR Nate Dick QB 5-10 188 FR Isiahia Banks S 6-0 203 S FR Reese Phillips QB 6-2 212 SR Korey Alexander S 5-11 190 SR Caleb Hill QB 6-4 215 JR Josh Sandry S 6-1 203 SO Tanner Wilson QB 6-2 195 FR Michael McGinnis QB 6-2 191 FR RETIRED IN HONOR OF DAVE DICKENSON Jerry Louie-McGee WR 5-9 175 SO Makena Simis WR 6-2 235 SR Samuel Akem WR 6-4 195 RS FR Malik Flowers WR 6-2 185 FR Gavin Crow S 6-1 200 RS FR Terron Moses RB 5-7 166 FR Lamarriel Taylor WR 6-2 198 SO RETIRED IN HONOR OF TERRY DILLON Josh Egbo CB 6-2 193 RS FR Alijah Lee RB 5-6 197 JR Shane Moody RB 5-8 176 SR Jared Thurber WR 6-4 169 FR Cody McCombs RB 5-9 196 SO Josh Deshner ATH 6-0 190 FR Kendall Sweet LB 5-11 216 FR Evan Epperly S 5-10 197 JR Nick Fouch WR 6-0 162 FR Trase Le Texier LB 6-2 236 RS FR Josh Labrador RB 6-0 220 JR Dante Olson LB 6-3 230 SO Jace Lewis LB 6-1 220 RS FR Eric Williams KP 6-0 188 JR James Banks LB 6-1 215 SR Tucker Schye DE 6-4 242 SR Caleb Mitchell LS 6-1 195 RS FR Brandon Purdy KP 5-10 182 SO Cy Sirmon DE 6-3 250 SO Curtis Holmes RB 5-9 175 FR Josh Buss LB 6-2 220 JR Chris Favoroso DE 6-3 245 SO Randy Rodriguez DT 6-3 244 RS FR Vika Fa’atuiese LB 6-3 230 SO Cole Rosling DE 6-4 230 RS FR Trevor Hoerner DE 6-4 225 FR Jesse Sims DT 6-4 272 SO Cody Meyer OL 6-3 293 SO Mike Ralston OL 6-5 302 SR Michael Matthews LB 6-2 206 FR Carder Key LB 6-2 210 FR Gage Smith LB 6-3 217 JR Kyle Davis DT 6-1 283 JR Marcus Welnel LB 6-0 212 FR Shayne Cochran LB 6-1 220 JR Colton Keintz OL 6-8 275 FR Matthew O’Donoghue LS 6-1 248 RS FR Dylan Eickmeyer OG 6-4 292 RS FR Ashton Torres OT 6-4 292 RS FR Thayne Jackson OG 6-5 296 RS FR Skyler Martin OL 6-5 255 FR Payton Stoner OL 6-6 282 FR Cooper Sprunk C 6-4 300 SR Brandon Scott OT 6-7 295 RS FR Angel Villanueva OL 6-5 324 SO Robert Luke OL 6-4 318 SR David Reese OL 6-7 301 SR Dallas Hart OL 6-5 315 SO Conlan Beaver OT 6-5 293 RS FR Josh Horner WR 6-5 232 SR Mitch McLaughlin WR 5-9 174 JR Samori Toure WR 6-3 186 RS FR Mitch Roberts WR 6-1 188 FR Jed Nagler WR 6-4 218 RS FR Danny Burton WR 5-10 172 FR Braxton Reiten WR 5-9 170 FR Bryson Deming WR 6-4 228 FR Colin Bingham WR 6-3 230 SO Tim Semenza K 5-7 155 SO McKenzie Holt ATH 6-4 238 FR Brandt Davidson DT 6-3 293 SR Myles McKee-Osibodu DT 6-3 272 SR Braydon Deming DE 6-4 234 FR Devin Maua DE 6-3 232 RS FR Andrew Harris DE 6-2 231 SO David Shaw DT 6-5 319 JR RJ Nelson DE 6-4 221 FR Esai Longoria DT 6-3 305 RS FR Reggie Tilleman DT 6-4 272 JR

Hometown Glendale, Ariz.

Renton, Wash.

Auburn, Wash.

Anthem, Ariz.

Long Beach, Calif.

Bozeman, Mont.

Vancouver, Wash.

Vancouver, Wash.

Rialto, Calif.

Federal Way, Wash.

Covina, Calif.

Polson, Mont.

Long Beach, Calif.

Mission Viejo, Calif.

Anaheim, Calif.

Eugene, Ore. Billings, Mont.

Aurora, Colo.

Chattanooga, Tenn.

Pittsburg, Calif.

Brenham, Texas Bigfork, Mont.

Polson, Mont.

Sidney, Mont.

QB 11 Reese Phillips

LT 76 David Reese

RB 8 Jeremy Calhoun

LG 74 Angel Villanueva C 72 Cooper Sprunk RG 75 Robert Luke

Coeur d’Alene, Idaho Boise, Idaho Broken Arrow, Okla.

Fontana, Calif Kennewich, Wash.

Vian, Okla.

Chula Vista, Calif.

Gilbert, Ariz.

Los Angeles Parker, Colo.

Burien, Wash.

Billings, Mont.

Missoula, Mont.

Tulsa, Okla.

Kalispell, Mont.

Woodinville, Wash.

Boulder, Mont.

Eagle, Idaho Medford, Ore. Townsend, Mont.

Missoula, Mont.

Junction City, Ore. Malta, Mont.

North Bend, Wash.

Kalispell, Mont.

Wenatchee, Wash.

Spring Valley, Calif.

Boise, Idaho Port St. Lucie, Fla. Peoria, Ariz.

Vista, Calif.

Helena, Mont.

Columbia Falls, Mont.

Stevensville, Mont.

San Marcos, Calif.

Oregon City, Ore. Camas, Wash.

Broken Arrow, Okla.

Whitefish, Mont.

San Diego Helena, Mont.

Culbertson, Mont.

Missoula, Mont.

Santa Ana, Calif.

Tucson, Ariz.

Aurora, Colo.

Gilbert, Ariz.

Vancouver, Wash.

San Diego Tigard, Ore. Owasso, Okla.

Duarte, Calif.

Tacoma. Wash.

Happy Valley, Ore. Cypress, Calif.

Fredericksburg, Va. Great Falls, Mont.

Riverside, Calif.

Portland, Ore. Missoula, Mont.

Whitefish, Mont.

Helena, Mont.

Columbia Falls, Mont.

Billings, Mont.

Missoula, Mont.

San Diego Thompson Falls, Mont.

Tucson, Ariz.

Santa Ana, Calif.

Billings, Mont.

Billings, Mont.

Kalispell, Mont.

Spring Grove, Pa. Hillsboro, Ore. Caldwell, Idaho Genessee, Idaho

WR 8 Keenan Curran

WR 17 Makena Simis

RT 51 Mike Ralston

WR 9 Justin Calhoun

WR 16 Jerry Louie-McGee

K 39 Brandon Purdy

MONTANA BACKUPS ON OFFENSE QB RB H WR WR WR Z WR LT

2 24 80 18 5 82 67

Gresch Jensen, R-Fr. Alijah Lee, R-Jr. Josh Horner, Sr. Sam Akem, R-Fr. Kobey Eaton, R-So. Samori Toure, R-Fr. Thayne Jackson, R-Fr.

LG C OR RG RT K

73 50 62 77 78 89

Brandon Scott, R-Fr. Cody Meyer Dylan Eickmeyer, R-Fr. Dallas Hart, R-So. Conlan Beaver, R-Fr. Tim Semenza, R-So.

MONTANA STARTING DEFENSE FS 30 Evan Epperly

BCB 2 Ryan McKinley

OLB 36 James Banks

DE 43 Chris Favoroso

MLB 45 Vika Fa’atuiese

NT 91 Brandt Davidson

SS 13 Josh Sandry OLB 42 Josh Buss

DT 49 Jesse Sims

DE 37 Tucker Schye

FCB 1 Markell Sanders

P 35 Eric Williams

MONTANA BACKUPS ON DEFENSE DE NT DT DE WLB MLB

44 96 99 40 33 57

Randy Rodriguez, R-Fr. David Shaw, Jr. Reggie Tilleman, R-Jr. Cy Sirmon, R-So. Dante Olson, R-So. Shayne Cochran, R-Jr.

SLB CB FS SS CB

33 8 3 3 7

Dante Olson, R-So. Lewis Cowans, R-Fr. Mick Delaney, R-Sr. Mick Delaney, R-Sr. Dareon Nash, R-Fr.

Missoulian, Saturday, September 2, 2017 — E11

DAY MATCHUPS CB 29 Jalin LeAndre

VALPARAISO STARTING DEFENSE SS 4 J.J. Nunes

OLB 36 Austin Petrie DT 99 Jake Trumpower

ILB 24 Drew Snouffer

NT 93 James Reed

FS 28 Josmar DiazMartinez

ILB 49 Nick Turner

DE 34 Jay Slone

OLB 18 Mike Wheeler

CB 17 Brandon Riley P 88 Alex Ng

VALPARAISO BACKUPS ON DEFENSE DE NT DT OLB OLB ILB

54 91 97 46 38 37

Jesse Studyvin, Jr. Jordan Goebel, R-Fr. Jeremiah Olojo, Fr. Josh Baker, Fr. Joey Poloskey, Fr. Laddie Skarecky, Fr.

ILB CB SS FS CB

9 14 20 22 25

Tyler Newkirk, So. Cam Kelly, Fr. Jamari Booker, So. Tramone Duncan, Fr. Dilan Scargle, Fr.

VALPARAISO STARTING OFFENSE TE 84 Mason Sutter

WR 1 Jean Rene

RT 75 Shannon Taliaferro RG 73 Tom Schofield C 65 Jack Jarnigan

QB 9 Jimmy Seewald

RB 10 Jarrett Morgan

LG 67 Eric Rentschler LT 60 Andrew Lundburg WR 3 Parker Fox WR 30 Frank Catrine

PK 1 Dimitrios Latsonas

VALPARAISO BACKUPS ON OFFENSE QB RB WR WR WR TE

14 44 23 12 2 87

Chris Duncan, R-Fr. Kyle Cartales, So. Bailey Gessinger, So. JD Koehler R-So. Griffin Norberg, Jr. Martin Petruf, So.

LT LG C RG RT

77 66 70 72 76

Terrance Roberts, R-So. Sam Vas, Fr. Brady Sullivan, R-So. Solomon Kamara, R-Fr. Alex Cotton R-So.

VALPARAISO ROSTER No. 1-O 1-S 2-O 2-D 3 4-O 4-D 5 6 9-O 9-D 10 11 12 13-O 13-S 14-O 14-D 15 16 17 18 19-O 19-D 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 28 29 30-O 30-D 31 32 33-O 33-D 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44-O 44-D 45 46 47 49 50 51 54 56 58 60 61 62 64 65 66 67 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 95 96 97 98 99-D 99-S

Name Jean Rene Dimitrios Latsonas Griffin Norberg Stacey Jones Parker Fox Joe Mullen J.J. Nunes Jalin LeAndre Logan Pfizenmayer Jimmy Seewald Tyler Newkirk Jarrett Morgan Trey Bilinksi JD Koehler Ryan Markoff Kyle Ulbrich Chris Duncan Cam Kelly Dough Haugh Ryan Clarke Brandon Riley Mike Wheeler Trey Stablein Bryce Leach Jamari Booker Elias Earley Tramone Duncan Bailey Gessinger Drew Snouffer Dilan Scargle Donny Navarro Josmar Diaz-Martinez Julian Benavides Frank Catrine Cole VanSetters Alex Kluck Cody Boxrucker Conor Beer Gowan Baldwin Jay Slone Gavin Twigg Austin Petrie Laddie Skarecky Joey Poloskey Jack Buckley Brannen Martin Henry Hebda Jake Iery John Regan Kyle Carales Connor Sperling David Hebda Josh Baker Matthew Messler Nick Turner John Horan Nick Antonacci Jesse Studyvin Tristan De La Rosa David Mason III Andrew Lundberg Sean Pearce Nathan Orlandini Sean Stephens Jack Jarnigan Sam Vas Eric Rentschler Alex Helander Brady Sullivan Bryce Biggs Solomon Kamara Tom Schofield Jimmy Zajac Shannon Taliaferro Alex Cotton Terrance Roberts Ron Williams Thomas Walsh Brett Bittner Deuce Larose Brent Brimmage Mason Sutter T.J. Weinzimmer Kevin Wright Martin Petruf Alex Ng Cade Bishop Isaac Velasco Jordan Goebel Drew Gedrys Murphy Osmond Cameron Germain Jeremiah Olojo Jake Simpson Jake Trumpower Carter Puckett

Pos. Hgt. Wt. Year Hometown WR 5-10 180 JR Delray Beach, Fla. K 5-11 175 SO Westmont, Ill. WR 6-3 225 JR Sunrise, Fla. DB 6-1 195 FR Wadsworth, Ill. WR 5-11 175 RS SO Winamac, Ind. QB 6-4 215 RS SO Elgin, Ill. DB 5-10 195 RS SR Baltimore DB 6-0 190 JR West Park, Fla. LB 6-2 210 FR Mansfield, Ohio QB 6-5 220 SO Livonia, Ohio LB 6-1 200 SO Chicago RB 5-11 195 SR Cooper City, Fla. QB 6-2 215 FR Napanee, Ind. WR 6-0 210 RS SO St. Charles, Mo. QB 6-2 190 FR Centerville, Ohio P/K 6-0 185 FR Mentor, Ohio QB 6-4 190 RS FR Woodland Hills, Calif.

DB 5-11 175 FR Stamford, Conn.

RB 6-1 205 FR Redlands, Calif.

TE 6-5 245 SR Hopatcong, N.J. DB 5-10 150 SR Chicago LB 6-3 220 JR Fullerton, Calif.

WR 5-11 160 FR Delaware, Ohio DB 6-2 180 FR Sacramento, Calif.

DB 6-0 185 SO Kentwood, Mich.

RB 5-6 175 RS SO Land O’Lakes, Fla. DB 5-11 200 FR Gastonia, N.C. WR 5-10 165 SO Napanee, Ind. LB 6-0 230 JR Columbus, Ohio DB 5-11 190 FR Dunedin, Fla. WR 5-9 180 FR Naperville, Ill. DB 5-11 180 JR Miramar, Fla. DB 6-0 185 FR Rochester Hills, Mich.

WR 6-0 210 SR Springboro, Ohio LB 5-11 195 FR Rockford, Mich.

TE 6-5 220 FR Cedarburg, Wis. RB 6-0 200 SO West Chester, Ohio WR 5-9 155 FR Sidney, Ohio LB 6-3 240 JR Kalamazoo, Mich.

DL 6-3 215 RS SR Kankakee, Ill. LB 6-1 215 FR Acworth, Ga. LB 5-10 220 SO Livonia, Mich.

LB 6-0 210 FR Naperville, Ill. LB 6-2 180 FR Boca Raton, Fla. LB 6-1 210 SO Granger, Ind. FB 6-1 230 RS FR Reading, Ohio DB 6-0 160 FR Brighton, Mich.

DL 6-2 250 JR Zionville, Ind. LB 6-0 215 JR Oak Lawn, Ill. RB 6-1 220 SO Loxahatchee, Fla. DL 6-2 245 RS FR Dixon, Ill. DB 6-0 160 FR Brighton, Mich.

LB 6-3 220 FR Lockport, Ill. LB 6-0 230 RS SO Charlotte, N.C. LB 6-1 225 JR Gurnee, Ill. OL 6-2 315 RS SO Oak Forest, Ill. OL 5-11 255 FR Cooper City, Fla. DL 6-4 270 JR Barnhart, Mo. DL 6-1 305 SR La Habra, Calif.

DL 5-7 270 FR Canton, Mich.

OL 6-5 275 RS SO Lisle, Ill. OL 6-4 310 SO Lindenhurst, Ill. DL 6-0 255 FR Columbus, Ohio OL 6-2 305 RS FR Trenton, Mich.

OL 6-2 285 RS SO Los Gatos, Calif.

OL 6-1 305 FR Olmstead Township, Ohio OL 6-2 285 JR Highland, Ind. OL 6-1 270 RS SO Dixon, Ill. OL 6-4 280 RS SO Hartland, Wis. OL 6-4 240 RS FR Weston, Fla. OL 6-2 295 RS FR Bolingbrook, Ill. OL 6-3 285 JR Chicago OL 6-6 270 RS FR Tinley Park, Ill. OL 6-1 295 JR Chicago OL 6-4 280 RS SO Indianapolis OL 6-5 335 RS SO Chicago OL 6-1 365 RS FR Jacksonville, Fla. OL 6-3 315 FR Plainfield, Ill. TE 6-5 205 FR Chicago WR 6-0 205 FR Fort Lauderdale, Fla. DB 5-11 180 FR Indianapolis TE 6-5 240 JR Woodstock, Ill. WR 6-2 170 FR Northbrook, Ill. WR 5-11 170 FR Wellington, Fla. TE 6-5 220 SO Hammond, Ind. P 6-0 220 JR Royal Palm Beach, Fla. LB 6-1 225 Lafayette, Ind. DL 5-11 265 FR Naperville, Ill. DL 6-3 265 RS FR Lansing, Mich.

DL 6-3 260 FR McDonald, Penn.

DL 6-1 300 SO De Soto, Mo. DL 6-3 245 FR West Palm Beach, Fla. DL 6-4 280 FR Chicago K 5-11 175 SR Wyandotte, Mich.

DL 6-4 260 RS SO Fort Mill, S.C. LS 6-0 180 FR LaPorte, Ind.

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E12 — Missoulian, Saturday, September 2, 2017

GRIZZLY GAME DAY | CONFERENCE CAPSULES

AROUND THE BIG SKY Portland State at Oregon State‌ Saturday, 12:05 p.m.

Corvallis, Ore. Reser Stadium (43,363 FieldTurf) Pac-12 Network Series History: Oregon State leads the all-time series, 4-0 Last Meeting: OSU, 29-14 in 2014 The Coaches: Bruce Barnum enters his third season at the helm of PSU, Gary Andersen is in his third season as the head coach at Oregon State.

Notes: Oregon State fell 58-27 on the road at Colorado State in its season opener.

Eastern Washington at Texas Tech‌ Saturday, 2 p.m.

Lubbock, Texas Jones AT&T Stadium (60,454 FieldTurf) Fox Sports Network Root Sports Series History: Texas Tech leads the all-time series, 1-0 Last Meeting: Texas Tech beat EWU 49-24 in 2008.

The Coaches: Aaron Best is in his first season as head coach at EWU, while Kliff Kingsbury is in his fifth season at Texas Tech.

Notes: Texas Tech announced Wednesday that it will donate $100 to Hurricane Harvey relief efforts for every point it scores on Saturday.

College of Idaho at Northern Colorado‌ Saturday, 2:05 p.m.

Greeley, Colo.

Nottingham Field (8,533 Grass) watchbigsky.com, Pluto TV Series History: First meeting Last Meeting: First meeting The Coaches: Mike Moroski is in his fourth season at The College of Idaho.

Prior to that, Moroski spent three decades at UC Davis as a player and coach with 2012 as his final season.

Notes: Offensive coordinator Mike Cody played football at UC Davis and was a graduate assistant with the Aggies and at Northern Arizona for two years.

Montana Western at Weber State‌ Saturday, 6:05 p.m.

Ogden, Utah Stewart Stadium

(17,312 synthetic turf) Pluto TV, watchbigsky.com Series History: Weber State leads the all-time series, 3-0 Last Meeting: Weber State beat Montana Western 62-6 in 2008 The Coaches: Jay Hill is in his fourth season at Weber State, while Ryan Nourse is in his third season.

Notes: Ryan Nourse previously served as the Montana Western AD from 2013-16.

Southern Utah at Oregon‌ Saturday, 6:15 p.m.

Eugene, Ore. Autzen Stadium (54,000 FieldTurf) Pac-12 Network Series History: First meeting Last Meeting: First meeting The Coaches: Demario Warren is in his second season as head coach at SUU, while Willie Taggart is in his first season as head coach at Oregon.

Notes: Safeties coach Keith Heyward coached the linebackers at Cal Poly in 2007. Track Town USA has hosted more NCAA Outdoor Championships than any venue in modern history.

seven seasons. Hauck claimed at least a share of the Big Sky title iin every season as the UM head coach and led the Griz to the national championship game on three occasions (2004, 2008 and 2009).

Montana State at Washington State‌ Saturday, 8:35 p.m.

Pullman, Washington Martin Stadium (32,952 FieldTurf) Fox Sports 1 Series History: Washington State leads the all-time series, 9-0 Last Meeting: Washington State won, 23-22, in 2010 The Coaches: Jeff Choate is in his second season at MSU, while Mike Leach is in his sixth season at the helm of the WSU football program.

Notes: Leach coached at Cal Poly during the 1987 season. Jim Mastro was a running back for Cal Poly from 1987-88, under Leach.

He was the running backs coach from 1989-1993 and the defensive run game coordinator in 1994.

Northern Arizona at Arizona‌

UC Davis at San Diego State‌ Saturday, 6:35 p.m.

San Diego, Calif.

San Diego Stadium (54,000 Bandera Bermuda Grass) Series History: First meeting Last Meeting: First meeting The Coaches: Dan Hawkins is in his first season at his alma mater UCD. Rocky Long is in his ninth season as head coach at SDSU. Notes: San Diego State special teams coordinator Bobby Hauck was the head coach at Montana from 2003-09, advancing to the FCS playoffs all

Saturday, 9 p.m.

Tucson, Ariz.

Arizona Stadium (55,675 FieldTurf) Pac-12 Network Series History: Arizona leads the all-time series, 13-1 Last Meeting: Arizona won, 77-13, in 2015 The Coaches: Jerome Souers is in his 20th season at the helm of the Lumberjack football program.

He is tied for the eighth longest tenured coach in the FCS. Rich Rodriguez is in his sixth season at Arizona.

Notes: Offensive line coach Jim Michalczik coached at Montana State from 1992-98. His son Max is a freshman on the NAU squad.

Every minute. Every day. missoulian.com

Missoulian, Saturday, September 2, 2017 — E13

GRIZZLY GAME DAY | CONFERENCE CAPSULES

AROUND THE BIG SKY

DENIS POROY, Associated Press‌

Washington State quarterback Luke Falk (4) plays during the first half of the Holiday Bowl against Minnesota on Dec. 27, 2016, in San Diego. Washington State hosts Montana State on Saturday night in the season opener for both teams.

E14 — Missoulian, Saturday, September 2, 2017

GRIZZLY GAME DAY | STAT PACK

2016 BIG SKY CONFERENCE STATISTICS ‌‌Team statistics

‌SCORING OFFENSE

G TD XP 2XP DXP FG Saf Pts Avg E. Wash. 14 81 75 1 0 10 0 593 42.4 Montana 11 57 45 1 0 15 0 434 39.5 Cal Poly 12 57 54 1 0 6 0 416 34.7 N. Colo.

11 51 48 1 0 7 0 377 34.3 Portland St. 11 49 48 1 0 7 0 365 33.2 NAU 11 46 44 1 0 13 0 361 32.8 N. Dakota 12 44 41 0 0 16 1 355 29.6 S. Utah 11 44 40 0 1 5 0 321 29.2 UC Davis 11 40 33 1 0 11 1 310 28.2 Weber St. 12 42 33 2 0 7 1 312 26.0 Montana St. 11 36 33 0 0 11 0 282 25.6 Sac State 11 35 27 2 0 8 1 267 24.3 Idaho St. 11 37 32 1 0 3 1 267 24.3 ‌RUSHING OFFENSE

G Att Yds Avg TD Yds/G Cal Poly 12 717 4122 5.7 3.9 343.5 Portland St. 11 505 2680 5.3 35 243.6 Montana St. 11 456 2332 5.1 23 212.0 N. Dakota 12 546 2501 4.6 22 208.4 Sac State 11 431 1890 4.4 20 171.8 S. Utah 11 393 1816 4.6 19 165.1 N. Colo. 11 379 1796 4.7 19 163.3 NAU 11 392 1723 4.4 11 156.6 Montana 11 387 1713 4.4 19 155.7 UC Davis 11 359 1708 4.8 17 155.3 Weber St. 12 417 1582 3.8 15 131.8 E. Wash. 14 442 1800 4.1 24 128.6 Idaho St. 11 312 1360 4.4 14 123.6 ‌SCORING DEFENSE

G TD XP 2XP DXP FG Saf Pts Avg N. Dakota 12 34 27 0 0 11 0 264 22.0 Montana St. 11 34 33 0 0 13 0 276 25.1 E. Wash. 14 49 45 0 0 10 1 371 26.5 Montana 11 41 39 0 0 4 0 297 27.0 S. Utah 11 41 35 1 0 9 1 312 28.4 NAU 11 41 33 2 0 10 0 313 28.5 Weber St. 12 46 42 2 1 12 0 360 30.0 Cal Poly 12 53 46 0 0 10 0 394 32.8 N. Colo.

11 50 43 2 0 17 0 398 36.2 UC Davis 11 52 46 4 0 14 0 408 37.1 Portland St. 11 60 50 2 0 5 0 429 39.0 Sac State 11 60 56 0 0 8 0 440 40.0 Idaho St. 11 60 57 1 0 10 1 451 41.0 ‌RUSHING DEFENSE

G Rushes Yards Avg. TD Yds/G N. Dakota 12 372 1096 2.9 7 91.3 Cal Poly 12 354 1615 4.6 15 134.5 Montana St. 11 374 1605 4.3 16 145.9 Montana 11 426 1650 3.9 16 150.0 NAU 11 403 1687 4.2 21 153.4 S. Utah 11 408 1694 4.2 14 154.0 E. Wash 14 591 2711 4.6 26 193.6 Weber St. 12 484 2342 4.8 21 195.2 UC Davis 11 466 2194 4.7 30 199.5 Idaho St. 11 488 2525 5.2 31 229.5 N. Colo.

11 529 2632 5.0 30 239.3 Portland St. 11 451 2740 6.1 31 249.1 Sac State 11 472 3205 6.8 32 291.4 ‌PASS OFFENSE

G Att Cmp Int Pct. Yds Avg TD Yds/G E. Wash 14 620 421 14 67.9 5614 9.1 54 401.0 Montana 11 493 322 10 65.3 3591 7.3 34 326.5 NAU 11 443 278 9 62.8 3507 7.9 34 318.8 N. Colo. 11 336 210 10 62.5 2867 8.5 31 260.6 Weber St. 12 438 269 14 61.4 3068 7.0 25 255.7 Idaho St. 11 471 266 11 56.5 2666 5.7 22 242.4 UC Davis 11 386 218 7 56.5 2620 6.8 19 238.2 S. Utah 11 388 222 10 57.2 2411 6.2 23 219.2 Portland St. 11 264 150 11 56.8 2316 8.8 13 210.5 Sac State 11 392 186 13 47.4 2217 5.7 13 201.5 N. Dakota 12 293 164 3 56.0 2133 7.3 17 177.8 Montana St. 11 276 127 14 46.0 1715 6.2 13 155.9 Cal Poly 12 159 99 4 62.3 1534 9.6 17 127.8 ‌TOTAL OFFENSE

G Rush Pass Plays Yards Avg/P TD Yds/G E. Wash 14 1800 5614 1062 7417 7.0 78 529.6 Montana 11 1713 3591 880 5304 6.0 53 482.2 NAU 11 1723 3507 835 5230 6.3 45 475.5 Cal Poly 12 4122 1534 876 5656 6.5 56 471.3 Portland St. 11 2680 2316 769 4996 6.5 48 454.2 N. Colo. 11 1796 2867 715 4663 6.5 50 423.9 UC Davis 11 1708 2620 745 4328 5.8 36 393.5

Weber St. 12 S. Utah 11 Sac State 11 Montana St. 11 Idaho St. 11

1582 3068 855 4650 5.4 40 387.5 1816 2411 781 4227 5.4 42 384.3 1890 2217 823 4107 5.0 33 373.4 2332 1715 732 4047 5.5 36 367.9 1360 2666 783 4026 5.1 36 366.0 ‌PASS DEFENSE

G Att Cmp Int Pct. Yds Avg TD Yds/G Weber St. 12 357 199 5 55.7 2322 6.5 21 193.5 Montana 11 318 147 8 46.2 2198 6.9 23 199.8 E. Wash. 14 470 289 17 61.5 3124 6.6 22 223.1 Portland St. 11 321 179 8 55.8 2521 7.9 28 229.2 Sac State 11 325 199 4 61.2 2589 8.0 25 235.4 UC Davis 11 307 189 7 61.6 2617 8.5 20 237.9 N. Colo. 11 352 231 2 65.6 2685 7.6 19 242.7 Montana St. 11 414 248 10 59.9 2670 6.4 18 242.7 NAU 11 415 238 8 57.3 2857 6.9 19 259.7 N. Dakota 12 452 253 20 56.0 3167 7.0 25 263.9 Cal Poly 12 414 273 8 65.9 3251 7.9 35 270.9 Idaho St. 11 365 219 10 60.0 2999 8.2 26 272.6 S. Utah 11 438 253 20 57.8 3311 7.6 27 301.0 ‌TOTAL DEFENSE

G Rush Pass Plys Yards Avg TD Yds/G Montana 11 1650 2198 744 3848 5.2 39 349.8 N. Dakota 12 1096 3167 824 4263 5.2 32 355.2 Montana St. 11 1605 2670 788 4275 5.4 34 388.6 Weber St. 12 2342 2322 841 4664 5.5 42 388.7 Cal Poly 12 1615 3251 768 4866 6.3 50 405.5 NAU 11 1687 2857 818 4544 5.6 40 413.1 E. Wash 14 2711 3124 1061 5835 5.5 48 416.8 UC Davis 11 2194 2617 773 4811 6.2 50 437.4 S. Utah 11 1694 3311 846 5005 5.9 41 455.0 Portland St. 11 2740 2521 772 5261 6.8 59 478.3 N. Colo. 11 2632 2685 881 5317 6.0 49 483.4 Idaho St. 11 2525 2999 853 5524 6.5 57 502.2 Sac State 11 3205 2589 797 5794 7.3 57 526.7 ‌TURNOVER MARGIN Gained Lost

G Fum Int Tot Fum Int Tot Mar Per/G N. Dakota 12 10 20 30 9 3 12 +18 1.5 S. Utah 11 6 20 26 4 10 14 +12 1.09 E. Wash. 14 14 17 31 5 14 19 +12 0.86 NAU 11 11 8 19 7 9 16 +3 0.27 Montana 11 13 8 21 10 10 20 +1 0.09 UC Davis 11 6 7 13 6 7 13 +0 0.00 Cal Poly 12 6 8 14 12 4 16 -2 -0.17 Sac State 11 11 4 15 5 13 18 -3 -0.27 N. Colo. 11 11 2 13 6 10 16 -3 -0.27 Portland St. 11 6 8 14 9 11 20 -6 -0.55 Idaho St. 11 5 10 15 11 11 22 -7 -0.64 Montana St. 11 8 10 18 11 14 25 -7 -0.64 Weber St. 12 7 5 12 8 14 22 -10 -0.83 ‌3RD-DN CONVERSIONS

G Conv Att Pct Cal Poly 12 96 179 53.6 E. Wash.

14 99 190 52.1 Portland St. 11 74 149 49.7 Montana 11 78 181 43.1 Weber St. 12 73 185 39.5 NAU 11 68 180 37.8 N. Colo.

11 49 132 37.1 Idaho St. 11 61 174 35.1 Sac State 11 63 180 35.0 UC Davis 11 53 152 34.9 S. Utah 11 55 166 33.1 Montana St. 11 50 156 32.1 N. Dakota 12 56 177 31.6 ‌OPP 3RD-DN CONVERT

G Conv Att Pct Montana 11 44 162 27.2 N. Dakota 12 64 186 34.4 Montana St. 11 57 160 35.6 S. Utah 11 66 172 38.4 NAU 11 74 184 40.2 E. Wash.

14 88 217 40.6 Sac State 11 61 150 40.7 Weber St. 12 80 190 42.1 Portland St. 11 63 145 43.4 UC Davis 11 70 154 45.5 Idaho St. 11 80 173 46.2 N. Colo.

11 83 178 46.6 Cal Poly 12 75 156 48.1 ‌SACKS BY

G Sacks Yards E. Wash.

14 35 216 N. Dakota 12 28 166 Montana 11 28 218

NAU S. Utah Idaho St. Sac State UC Davis N. Colo.

Portland St. Montana St. Weber St. Cal Poly

11 27 199 11 26 178 11 22 130 11 19 115 11 18 135 11 18 106 11 17 83 11 15 84 12 15 112 12 15 86 ‌SACKS AGAINST

G Sacks Yards Cal Poly 12 7 36 NAU 11 8 50 UC Davis 11 16 102 Montana St. 11 16 130 S. Utah 11 18 140 Portland St. 11 21 129 Weber St. 12 23 138 N. Colo.

11 23 147 Montana 11 24 99 N. Dakota 12 24 151 E. Wash.

14 24 173 Idaho St. 11 33 164 Sac State 11 35 224 ‌PENALTIES

G No Yds Avg/G Montana St. 11 61 510 46.4 Cal Poly 12 63 575 47.9 Weber St. 12 66 588 49.0 Idaho St. 11 65 564 51.3 N. Dakota 12 70 624 52.0 Sac State 11 61 582 52.9 UC Davis 11 72 589 53.5 E. Wash.

14 86 751 53.6 Portland St. 11 68 665 60.5 NAU 11 79 694 63.1 S. Utah 11 70 715 65.0 Montana 11 79 719 65.4 N. Colo.

11 87 805 73.2 ‌4TH-DN CONVERSIONS

G Conv Att Pct N. Dakota 12 11 15 73.3 Weber St. 12 15 21 71.4 S. Utah 11 12 17 70.6 Cal Poly 12 20 31 64.5 Sac State 11 10 17 58.8 N. Colo.

11 10 17 58.8 Montana St. 11 11 19 57.9 Idaho St. 11 18 32 56.2 E. Wash.

14 14 27 51.9 UC Davis 11 8 16 50.0 Portland St. 11 9 18 50.0 Montana 11 11 24 45.8 NAU 11 14 31 45.2 ‌TIME OF POSSESSION

G Total Time Avg/G Cal Poly 12 416:47 34:43 N. Dakota 12 398:19 33:11 Weber St. 12 380:46 31:43 Portland St. 11 345:50 31:26 Montana 11 341:25 31:02 UC Davis 11 333:08 30:17 Montana St. 11 327:08 29:44 NAU 11 321:54 29:15 Sac State 11 317:38 28:52 E. Wash 14 393:04 28:04 Idaho St. 11 299:19 27:12 S. Utah 11 292:43 26:36 N. Colo.

11 287:52 26:10 ‌OPP 4TH-DN CONVERT

G Conv Att Pct NAU 11 10 24 41.7 Montana 11 8 19 42.1 Sac State 11 6 14 42.9 S. Utah 11 11 24 45.8 Weber St. 12 12 23 52.2 Montana St. 11 11 20 55.0 N. Dakota 12 11 20 55.0 E. Wash.

14 20 34 58.8 UC Davis 11 9 14 64.3 N. Colo.

11 16 24 66.7 Idaho St. 11 13 19 68.4 Portland St. 11 17 23 73.9 Cal Poly 12 10 11 90.9

‌Individual statistics

‌RUSHING

Team Cl G Att Yds Avg TD Long Yds/G Protheroe CP JR 11 252 1334 5.3 13 76 121.3 Luuga UCD SR 11 213 1077 5.1 11 90 97.9 Brown SUU FR 11 182 1027 5.6 7 87 93.4 Robinson SAC SR 11 164 996 6.1 13 75 90.5 Santiago UND SO 12 183 983 5.4 7 38 81.9 Riek UNCO SO 9 128 741 5.8 3 53 82.3 Logan NAU FR 9 115 726 6.3 5 72 80.7 Murray MSU FR 11 138 860 6.2 12 70 78.2 Newell MSU SR 9 148 703 4.8 8 29 78.1 Kuresa PSU SR 11 147 858 5.8 10 69 78.0 ‌PASSING

Team Cl G Att Cmp Int Pct. Yds TD Avg/G Gubrud EWU SO 14 570 386 14 67.7 5160 48 368.6 Gustafson UM SR 9 396 260 8 65.7 2785 25 309.4 Clark WSU SR 12 431 265 14 61.5 3028 23 252.3 Sloter UNCO SR 11 317 197 10 62.1 2665 29 242.3 Kemp NAU SR 9 312 191 8 61.2 2157 17 239.7 Gueller ISU SO 10 404 235 10 58.2 2328 20 232.8 Scott UCD SR 10 313 182 6 58.1 2266 16 226.6 Tyler SUU FR 11 356 212 7 59.6 2294 23 208.5 Kuresa PSU SR 11 257 145 11 56.4 2137 12 194.3 Studsrud UND JR 11 268 150 2 56.0 2027 14 184.3 ‌TOTAL OFFENSE

Team Cl G Rush Pass Plays Total Yds/G Gubrud EWU SO 14 606 5160 704 5766 411.9 Gustafson UM SR 9 11 2785 436 2796 310.7 Clark WSU SR 12 293 3028 533 3321 276.8 Kuresa PSU SR 11 858 2137 404 2995 272.3 Gueller ISU SO 10 157 2328 466 2485 248.5 Kemp NAU SR 9 61 2157 339 2218 246.4 Sloter UNCO SR 11 19 2665 389 2684 244.0 Scott UCD SR 10 2 2266 341 2268 226.8 Tyler SUU FR 11 63 2294 417 2357 214.3 Studsrud UND JR 11 176 2027 355 2203 200.3 ‌RECEIVING

Team Cl G Rec Yds TD Long Avg/C Yds/G Kupp EWU SR 13 117 1700 17 75 14.5 9.0 130.8 Miller UNCO SR 11 56 1007 5 45 18.0 91.5 Butler NAU JR 11 69 1003 9 51 14.5 91.2 Bourne EWU SR 14 79 1201 7 83 5.6 15.2 85.8 Doss UCD SO 11 66 911 10 58 13.8 82.8 Hill EWU SR 14 77 1157 17 84 5.5 15.0 82.6 Sharp SUU FR 11 75 898 12 90 12.0 81.6 Marks NAU JR 10 43 770 7 87 17.9 77.0 Vollert WSU JR 12 62 840 7 46 5.2 13.5 70.0 Williams ISU SR 11 64 694 11 63 10.8 63.1 ‌TACKLES Player Team Cl G Pos Solo Ast Total Avg/G Sack Newsom UNCO SR 11 LB 59 62 121 11.0 3.5 Anderson SAC SO 11 DB 55 52 107 9.7 1.0 Jenkins ISU JR 10 LB 33 60 93 9.3 3.0 Meteer SAC JR 11 LB 44 56 100 9.1 2.5 Zamora EWU SR 12 LB 46 63 109 9.1 2.5 Santini CP SR 12 LB 68 38 106 8.8 3.5 Bignell MSU JR 11 LB 61 36 97 8.8 3.5 Stice WSU SO 12 LB 52 52 104 8.7 0.5 Bruce EWU SR 14 DB 63 52 115 8.2 0.0 Bakker UND SR 12 LB 54 44 98 8.2 1.0 ‌SACKS

Team Cl G Pos Solo Ast Yds Total Avg/G Ebukam EWU SR 14 DL 9 1 73 9.5 0.68 Anau NAU SR 11 DL 7 3 66 8.5 0.77 Johnson UM SR 11 DE 5 2 44 6.0 0.55 Buss UM SO 11 LB 5 1 60 5.5 0.50 Obinna SAC SO 9 DL 5 1 39 5.5 0.61 Kidder UM SR 11 DE 5 1 35 5.5 0.50 Torgerso SUU FR 11 5 0 38 5.0 0.45 Razor ISU SO 9 DL 4 1 34 4.5 0.50 Strahm UM JR 11 LB 4 1 33 4.5 0.41

Missoulian, Saturday, September 2, 2017 — E15

GRIZZLY GAME DAY | STAT PACK

BY THE NUMBERS ‌‌MONTANA (6-5) STATISTICS

Griz Opp Scoring average 39.5 27.0 Rushing yards 155.7 150.0 Avg./Rush 4.4 3.9 Passing 322-493-10 147-318-8 Passing yards 326.5 199.8 Average per pass 7.3 6.9 Total offense 482.2 349.8 Average per play 6.0 5.2 3rd-down conv.

78-181 44-162 Time of possession 31:02 28:58 Fumbles-lost 20-10 27-13 Kick returns 29-19.0 55-22.5 Punt returns 23-11.2 24-9.4 Punting 51-40.0 74-39.0 Sacks by-yards 28-218 24-99 Montana 97 149 78 110 – 434 Opponents 84 90 62 61 – 297

‌OFFENSIVE LEADERS

‌Rushing John Nguyen 149-731 (4.6 ypc.), long 81, 1 TD *Jeremy Calhoun 77-573 (7.2 ypc.), long 65, 9 TDs Joey Counts 42-188 (4.4 ypc.), long 19, 4 TDs Chad Chalich 42-175 (3.3 ypc.), long 20, 3 TDs *Treshawn Favors 23-112 (4.9 ypc.), long 21 ‌Passing Brady Gustafson 260-396-8, 2,785 yards, long 75, 25 TDs Chad Chalich 54-81-2, 756 yards, long 61, 9 TDs *Reese Phillips 8-15-0, 50 yards, long 13 ‌Receiving *Jerry Louie-McGee 73-651 (8.9 ypc.), long 61, 3 TDs *Justin Calhoun 42-625 (14.9 ypc.), long 61, 6 TDs *Keenan Curran 40-601 (15.0 ypc.), long 75, 10 TDs James Homan 36-450 (12.5 ypc.), long 58, 3 TDs John Nguyen 26-266 (10.2 ypc.), long 35, 1 TD Caleb Lyons 26-114 (4.4 ypc.), long 25, 1 TD *Colin Bingham 24-282 (11.8 ypc), long 27, 3 TDs *Josh Horner 22-241 (11.0 ypc), long 34, 4 TDs

‌DEFENSIVE LEADERS

‌Tackles *LB Josh Buss 81, 43 unassisted !LB Connor Strahm 70, 21 unassisted *S Justin Strong 68, 42 unassisted DE Ryan Johnson 57, 22 unassisted DT Caleb Kidder 55, 21 unassisted *LB James Banks 54, 13 unassisted *NT Brandt Davidson 32, 7 unassisted S Yamen Sanders 32, 13 unassisted ‌Tackles for loss *LB Buss 20.0-96 DE Johnson 13.0-64 DT Kidder 11.0-45 !LB Strahm 8.0-39 *DE Schye 7.0-23 ‌Sacks DE Johnson 6.0-44 *LB Buss 5.5-60 DT Kidder 5.5-35 !LB Strahm 4.5-33

*S Sandry 1.5-16

‌Interceptions *S Strong 3-86 *CB McKinley 2-2 !LB Strahm 1-78 DE Johnson 1-40 S Y. Sanders 1-0 ‌Fumbles forced-recovered !LB Strahm 3-1 DE Johnson 3-0 DT Kidder 0-2 *NT Davidson 1-2 *S Sandry 0-1 *DE Schye 0-1 *CB M. Sanders 0-1 *CB McKinley 1-0 CB Nelson 0-1 DT Peevey 0-1 CB Reynard 0-1 *LB Fa’atuiese 0-1 S Alexander 0-1 DE Bedell 0-1 *S Strong 0-1 *LB Buss 0-1 ‌Fumbles forced-recovered LB Strahm 3-1 DE Johnson 3-0 DT Kidder 0-2 NT Davidson 1-2 S Sandry 0-1 DE Schye 0-1 CB M. Sanders 0-1 CB McKinley 1-0 CB Nelson 0-1 DT Peevey 0-1 CB Reynard 0-1 LB Fa’atuiese 0-1 S Alexander 0-1 DE Bedell 0-1 S Strong 0-1 LB Buss 0-1 ‌Pass breakups CB Nelson 8 *S M. Sanders 7 *CB McKinley 4 ‌Special teams leaders ‌PATs/Field goals *Tim Semenza 33-42/13-16, long 47, 0 blocked, 72 points *Brandon Purdy 12-13/2-3, long 38, 1 blocked, 18 points ‌Punting *Eric Williams 50-40.8, long 59, 7 inside 20, 1 blocked ‌Punt returns John Nguyen 13-6.1, long 24 *Jerry Louie-McGee 8-19.2, long 81, 1 TD Caleb Lyons 1-33, long 33 ‌Kickoff returns *Treshawn Favors 10-17.1, long 24 Caleb Lyons 8-21.5, long 29 *Jerry Louie-McGee 7-21.9, long 45 *Colin Bingham 2-7.0, long 11 John Nguyen 2-21.0, long 24

‌VALPARAISO (4-7) STATISTICS

SFU Opp Scoring average 23.0 33.3 First downs 189 248 Rushing yards 1112 2233 Avg./Rush 3.0 4.9 Passing 202-365-12 186-331-13 Passing yards 2191 2493 Average per pass 6.0 7.5 Total offense 3303 4726 Plays per game 67.2 71.2 Average per play 4.5 6.0 3rd-down conv.

54-160 63-147 4th-down conv.

11-22 5-20 Time of possession 29:15 30:34 Fumbles-lost 9-1 16-5 Kick returns 49-21.3 48-19.5 Punt returns 9-7.1 27-11.1 Punting 60-37.6 43-36.1 Sacks-yards 14-106 21-150 Penalties 54-532 56-486 Valparaiso 82 82 52 37 – 253 Opponents 87 148 70 61 – 366

‌OFFENSIVE LEADERS

‌Rushing *Jarrett Morgan 156-632 (3.7 ypc), long 52, 2 TDs *Kyle Cartales 65-243 (3.6 ypc), long 3.6 *Cody Boxrucker 46-141 (2.9 ypc), long 13, 7 TDs *Frank Catrine 7-126 (18.0 ypc), long 72, 1 TD ‌Passing *Jimmy Seewald 124-216-7, 1443 yards, long 61, 13 TDs *Ryan Clarke 77-147-5, 744 yards, long 39, 3 TDs ‌Receiving *Catrine 42-496 (11.8 ypc), long 38, 3 TDs *Jean Rene 31-453 (14.6 ypc), long 61, 5 TDs *Morgan 30-285 (9.5 ypc), long 55, 3 TDs *Mason Sutter 22-230 (10.5 ypc), long 25, 2 TDs *Griffin Norberg 17-244 (14.4 ypc), long 39, 2 TDs *Kyle Cartales 14-73 (5.2 ypc), long 24, 1 TD Ryan Moore 10-140 (14.0 ypc), long 38 Ryan Shea 10-104 (10.4 ypc), long 27

‌DEFENSIVE LEADERS

‌Tackles *Drew Snouffer 102, 39 unassisted Kellan Hughes 84, 41 unassisted *Joe Diaz-Martinez 70, 36 unassisted *Nick Turner 54, 14 unassisted Kye Hall 54, 29 unassisted Idode Kerobo 52, 33 unassisted Derrick Estell 47, 18 unassisted *Mike Wheeler 42, 15 unassisted

‌Tackles for loss Hall 7.5-32 *Snouffer 7.0-33 Brandon Doepke 5.0-11 Estell 4.5-12 Dylan Johnson 3.5-6 ‌Sacks *Snouffer 4.0-27 *Jay Slone 1.0-15 *Wheeler 1.0-13 Estell 1.0-8 *Tristan De La Rosa 1.0-6 ‌Interceptions *Diaz-Martinez 5-81 Hughes 2-48 Christian Campbell 2-29 *Snouffer 2-13 Kerobo 1-0 *Brandon Riley 1-0 ‌ ‌Fumbles forced-recovered *Snouffer 1-2 *Diaz-Martinez 0-1 Hall 1-1 Kerobo 1-1 Estell 1-0 *Wheeler 2-0 *Murphy Osmond 1-0 ‌Pass breakups *Diaz-Martinez 6 *Turner 6 *Snouffer 5 Doepke 5 *De La Rosa 5 Hall 4

‌SPECIAL TEAMS LEADERS

‌PATs/Field goals *Jake Simpson 27-27/5-8, long 45, 1 blocked *Dimitrios Latsonas 4-6/1-2, long 31, 0 blocked ‌Punting *Alex Ng 66-37.7, long 59, 5 inside 20 2 touchback, 0 blocked *Jimmy Seewald 3-36.7, long 40, 2 inside 20 ‌Punt returns *Bailey Gessinger 8-6.2, long 14 *Norberg 1-14 ‌Kickoff returns *Gessinger 31-24.4, long 89, 2 TDs *Rene 9-17.2, long 31 *Morgan 5-15.8, long 17

*Returner !Returner, suspended for this week’s contest

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E16 — Missoulian, Saturday, September 2, 2017

GRIZZLY GAME DAY | PRIME-TIME

THEY GET ALONG

UNTIL KICKOFF

Competitive fire fuels friendship between Alabama’s Nick Saban, FSU’s Jimbo Fisher SAFID DEEN Orlando Sentinel‌

‌TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Nick Saban loved Jimbo Fisher’s competitive spirit so much, he always wanted him on his team.

Saban’s “noon-time basketball league” team, that is.

During their time together at LSU from 2000-04 when Fisher served as Saban’s offensive coordinator, Fisher was one of Saban’s 6 p.m., most constant teamABC mates whenever the staff flexed its competitive muscles on a basketball court.

Saban also loved the fact Fisher “could shoot 3s,” an aspect that helped make their team unstoppable — at least, that’s how Fisher recalls it.

“We used to play a lot of basketball. He and I were always on the same team. We always played (together). We won every time. We always won when we played,” Fisher said during a Florida State’s news conference shortly after Saban commented about their friendship during his own news conference to kick off an epic game week.

Whether it was on the hardwood or the gridiron, the longtime friendship between Saban and Fisher flourished thanks to their competitive nature.

On Saturday, Fisher’s No. 3 Seminoles team will try to upset Saban’s No. 1 Alabama squad in a season opening matchup between two of the highest rated preseason teams since 1950. It will also be their first

Associated Press‌

LEFT: Alabama head coach Nick Saban gives directions from the sidelines during the first half against Wisconsin on Sept. 5, 2015, in Arlington, Texas. RIGHT: Florida State coach Jimbo Fisher shouts instructions during the team’s game against Clemson on Oct. 29, 2016, in Tallahassee, Fla. The friendship between the two has flourished thanks to their competitive natures, but that will be tested when their top-5 teams face off Saturday night in the season opener for both in Atlanta. matchup against each other as head coaches.

During their tenure at LSU, where the coaches paired to help win Saban’s first national title in 2003, their competitive natures got the most heated on the Tigers’ practice fields.

“He wanted to build confidence in the offense, and the system we ran,” Saban recalled.

“I guess the one story I could tell you is we’re having team run and they’re running zone-read

options and all that kinda stuff.

So all of a sudden, we started running (run-pass options) during team runs when I’m worried about can we block them?

Can we take on blocks? Can we control blockers?

“Then the ball comes spitting out of there, and I can remember that’s one time I threw a ‘Nickfit’ … if you want to call it that.”

Saban could not help but smile and laugh while reminiscing about the episode.

Thanks to the power of social media, with Alabama reporters posting on Twitter about the interaction, Fisher, too, had a beaming smile when asked about their basketball-playing days and his role as a pesky offensive coordinator.

Fisher quickly explained, just like Saban, how their competitiveness in practice never pitted the LSU offense and defense against each other in a personal manner. Fisher wanted the

offense to improve its rhythm and timing against the defense, which was coached by Saban and other assistants.

Naturally, however, all parties involved wanted to settle the score in practice, including the players, Fisher said.

“We had competitive guys, too. Our guys wanted to see it, too,” Fisher said. “… He’d get mad every now and then, but it was never separated. It was fun. Learned a lot of football and a lot of different ways in which you practice and how we did things.”

Saban said he loved Fisher’s coaching methods and philosophy, adding they were closer to Saban’s approach than any other assistant.

“Jimbo was, always in my mind, one of the best play callers, one of the best assistant coaches, relating to players, and teacher, on any of our staffs,” Saban said. “I certainly appreciate the great work that he did for us.”

Fisher, who has offered praise to Saban as one of the greatest college coaches of his time during the offseason, said he has not communicated with Saban since the NFL draft in April. He also does not expect them to make contact unless they bump into each other on an ESPN set before meeting midfield minutes before kickoff Saturday.

“Listen, I’m great, I’m nice, just like he is,” Fisher said lightheartedly. “When it’s time to keep score, we’ll go keep score.

“It’ll be nice.”

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E18 — Missoulian, Saturday, September 2, 2017

GRIZZLY GAME DAY | STOKING THE FIRE

TOMMY MARTINO, Missoulian‌

Monte rouses the crowd atop a military Humvee before Montana’s game against Idaho State on Nov. 5, 2016, at Washington-Grizzly Stadium. Montana handled Idaho State 62-44.

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Missoulian, Saturday, September 2, 2017 — E19

GRIZ TRIVIA ‌1. Who was the last team Montana lost to in a home opener?

A. North Dakota State, 2003 B. Hofstra, 2000 C. Portland State, 1987 D. North Dakota State, 2015 2. When was the last time Valparaiso played Montana?

A. 1978 B. 1940 C. 1917 D. Never 3. Valparaiso plays in the Pioneer League.

What was the result of Montana’s last game against a school in that conference?

A. Montana lost to San Diego in last game of 1958 season, 24-13.

B. Montana beat San Diego 52-14 in the 2014 FCS playoffs.

C. Montana lost to Valparaiso in 1970 regular season.

D. Montana has never played a Pioneer League team before.

Answers: 1. A, 2. D, 3. B.

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