J.P. Flynn remembers the first time he ever stepped foot in Bobcat Stadium as a member of the Montana State program. He threw up in the corner of the field by the North end zone.
The Bettendorf, Iowa native remembers moving to Bozeman a few months before the 2012 season began. The giant offensive lineman hoped to bond with his teammates and get a leg up in conditioning. He remembers strength coach Alex Wilcox running him and the other newcomers to exhaustion while Flynn hopelessly tried to keep pace with sprinting specimens like Caleb Schreibeis and Odin Coe. He remembers the transition and wondering if he would ever be able to keep pace.
Flynn remembers the sea of gold that unfolded at the venue a few months later as lights illuminated the stadium for the first time. His first Gold Rush game, Flynn stood on the sideline but he was overwhelmed by the record-setting crowd of more than 21,000 on hand to watch a team fresh off two straight Big Sky Conference championships taking their first step toward a third straight banner.
MSU running back Gunnar Brekke (2) & guard JP Flynn (75)
Flynn remembers the “face rippings” former offensive line coach Jason McEndoo used to dole out on the sidelines during home game Saturdays. Flynn remembers the countless touchdowns the Bobcats scored in the Sonny Holland end zone to the delight of the thousands of Montana State students on hand.
Flynn remembers the worst pain of his life as he lay on the stadium turf last November. He remembers feeling like a grenade went off in his knee as his season, and nearly his career, ended in the span of one exploded patella tendon.
Most of all, Flynn remembers the feelings Bobcat Stadium has elicited deep within him for the last five years. He remembers carrying the flag onto his home turf, walking to the middle of the field for pre-game coin tosses, battling for victories with his brothers even if wins have been fleeting over the past two years.
The All-American offensive guard might be the only Bobcat senior who has a chance to play football after the 2016 season is finished. But Saturday will mark an unwavering ending for Flynn and his 13 senior teammates. They will have one last chance to make one last set of memories on Saturday afternoon against UC Davis.
MSU running back Chad Newell (17) and guard JP Flynn (75)
“It’s a sad day for me,” Flynn said. “This program means the world to me. I’ve dedicated a lot of time, blood, sweat and tears to it. Bobcat Stadium in my opinion is the best place to play a game on Saturday afternoon. It’s going to be very, very sad for me to be done here.”
Montana State’s season has been a nightmare to this point. The once-proud Bobcats — MSU made the playoffs four of five years to start the decade — are mired in a six-game losing streak, including losses in their last three at home games. Davis has an identical 2-7 record that includes one more Big Sky win — a 34-21 win over Northern Colorado — than MSU has to its credit.
“This game Saturday is about those seniors,” said MSU junior Mac Bignell, a two-year starter at Sam linebacker who leads the ‘Cats with 76 tackles and 12 tackles for loss. “To put in four or five years to a program, it’s really tough to do and that’s why there is so few of them. To get a win is a top priority.”
The odyssey for Montana State’s seniors, particularly the five players who redshirted during MSU’s last conference championship run, has been atypical and trying to say the least.
Flynn and tight end Austin Barth are the only two players left from Montana State’s 2012 signing class. Running back Chad Newell, linebacker Fletcher Collins and wide receiver Will Krolick each joined the team as preferred walk-ons that fall. All have Big Sky championship rings but none have been able to help lead the Bobcats back to the top of the Big Sky in the four years after their redshirt seasons.
“I’m not really sure what to expect on Saturday,” Barth, a quarterback recruit from Columbia Falls who switched to tight end his first spring, said on Tuesday. “I’ve seen the seniors from the last four years and there is a lot of emotions in it. You take this for granted the first four years you do it. Being in here and to imagine it’s the last time, that’s hard but it’s been a great ride.
“I want to win for these fans because they deserve a win as much as we do. That would be a great way to go out playing here.”
Running back Gunnar Brekke is the only member of the Class of 2013 that played as a true freshman and kept playing The rest of the class is comprised of players who walked varying paths to Montana State. Defensive tackle Matt Brownlow walked on after his first year attending MSU solely as a student. He was a start of school tryout player, as was linebacker Joey Michael. Both have carved out niches and played more than most expected after making the team right off the street.
Defensive lineman Robert Wilcox transferred from Grambling State before the 2013 season and redshirted that fall. He missed all 2014 and the first of 2015 with various knee injuries. He started eight games last season but the injuries came back and Wilcox left the program all together after a second ACL tear was confirmed during fall camp.
MSU defensive end Jessie Clark (33) & linebacker Fletcher Collins (59)
Wide receiver Brandon Brown (Baylor), defensive end Jessie Clark (Los Angeles Harbor) and safety Zach Stern (Santa Monica Community College) all joined the Bobcats as transfers signed in February of 2015. Senior cornerback John Walker (Colorado) and offensive lineman Patrick Carroll (UNLV) joined the Bobcats as transfers in the off-season.
Most of the group has been a part of a playoff team in 2014 and all of them have been Bobcats during the darker days of the past two seasons. MSU began last fall as the No. 9 team in the FCS only to finish with its first losing record since 2001. Rob Ash was fired two days after a 54-35 loss to Montana at home. Jeff Choate took over in December of 2015. The Bobcats have not been able to rediscover their winning ways thus far in Choate’s first season.
“I’m extremely, extremely grateful for the group of seniors we have,” Choate said. “They have never been resistant. They have always come to work with an open mind and an open heart. I think they are appreciative of some things we’ve brought to the program. That’s probably one of the things that makes this more painful. I have a great deal of respect for those young men and I hurt for them because I want to see them have the success I think they deserve.
“But that’s the reality of life sometimes. I know that all those guys will be very, very successful men. Part of the reason is I can see how they’ve handled this situation here. It would mean nothing more to be able to walk out of that stadium with a win to help those men take at least a little bit of the sting off of this.”
MSU running back Chad Newell (17)
Choate called Saturday a “forever game”, reminding his players all week that you might not remember specific games, but you will certainly remember your final home game of your college career forever. Despite Montana State’s record, Choate said Monday he really hopes for a sellout, spirited crowd to send off players like Newell, Flynn, Barth and Brekke, players who have stayed the course and represented the Bobcat brand with class.
Flynn likely speaks for the rest of his classmates when he describes the season. The disappointment is written across his face. But the three-time All-Big Sky selection will not quit and he will not roll over as MSU tries to snap a losing streak on an afternoon all the senior Bobcats will remember no matter what.
“It’s felt serious every week,” Flynn said. “I’m a sore loser, 100 percent the worst loser you have ever seen. I have never been a good loser and I never will be. I will never be ok with losing. Every week has brought an added pressure to win. When you are ok with losing a game, you are a loser and I will never be a loser in my life. There’s added pressure this week, there’s added pressure next week. I will be competitive every second of my life, whether it’s Saturday or when I’m 35 playing noon ball. We have to win on Saturday and I know the guys feel the same way.”
Photos by Brooks Nuanez. All Rights Reserved.
