BOZEMAN – Montana State bounced back from it’s lone conference loss in a big way using its patented “Run The Damn Ball” running game in trouncing Northern Arizona, 45-21.
The Bobcats, now 5-1 in the Big Sky and 7-2 overall, ran for 343 yards and five touchdowns. Four players had over 50 yards rushing. MSU scored on all four of its first half possessions and raced out to a 28-7 halftime lead that it extended to 38-7 near the end of the third quarter.
The Bobcats ran on all 12 plays of its opening 75-yard drive, which culminated in a touchdown run by quarterback Tommy Mellott from nine yards out.
“Right from the start to be able to set the tone that first drive and cash in (was big),” MSU head coach Brent Vigen said. “The defense was able to follow it up with a three and out and we were able to score again. I think we were off and running after that.”
MSU was precise in the first half before slogging through a second half filled with penalties.
“I really appreciate the effort and intensity the guys came out with today,” Vigen said. “It’s the only way you can move forward. Don’t look back, try to be concerned with what can we do to put our best foot forward.”
Mellott was brilliant in the first half, as was the play calling. Mellott connected on all seven of his first half attempts, including a touchdown pass to Ryan Lonergan to finish a crisp two-minute drill, before the break and also ran for 107 yards on just 10 carries and a touchdown.
“He’s gonna make those runs and flash his speed and really be a game changer in that regard,” Vigen said. “And then for us to go down in the two-minute situation, that was a big score before the half. A lot of it was Tommy continuing to manage that and ultimately have that beautiful throw and catch to Ryan.”
Lonergan was also stellar as he filled in for both Derryk Snell, who was out for the game and Treyton Pickering, who left the game with a lower leg injury. Lonergan finished with three grabs for 38 yards and an over the shoulder touchdown reception with a NAU defender draped all over him.
“Ryan Lonergan had to step up,” Vigen said. “I think we felt like Ryan is a very capable guy and he just happens to be behind two really good players in Derryk and Treyton and he’s continued to gain experience being that third guy and now the second guy and as it turned out for much of the game he was the top guy. He’s got all the tools and he was able to flash them today catching the football.”
Lonergan is a Bozeman High product who was a top-rated recruit out of high school, but has had to wait his turn behind Snell and Pickering.
“That was definitely special,” Lonergan said of his touchdown. “That two-minute drill were marching down the field and I saw they were in man, so I didn’t really expect the ball because that’s not really a man play but Tommy threw and trusted it.
Perhaps the biggest bright spot for the Bobcats was the performance of new placekicker Casey Kautzman. The Butte High product hit all six of his extra points and also connected on a 42-yard field goal, which MSU’s first made field goal after four straight misses. The last make was against Cal Poly three games ago.
“He was perfect on extra points and had the field goal opportunity and put it through,” Vigen said. “He got the job done today.”
Brendan Hall also had a good day for the MSU special teams averaging 50 yards on three punts and booming all of his kickoffs for touchbacks. Punt returner Taco Dowler had a trio of good returns but all of those were called back on penalties.
Julius Davis has been incredibly consistent running the ball for the Bobcats. He had 79 yards on 14 carries on this day and scored a pair of touchdowns. Scottre Humphrey saw his role increased late in the game and he sprinted for a 45-yard touchdown, finishing with 80 yards on 10 carries. Sean Chambers had 52 yards on 7 rushes and a touchdown. He went for 36 yards only to land on the NAU 1, but came back to bust through for the score two plays later during MSU’s first half scoring barrage.
The Bobcat’ defense was solid in the first half and held the Lumberjacks to just seven points through three-plus quarters. NAU got a big run from former University of Montana quarterback Daniel Britt, who came on in relief of starter Angel Flores, to set up its second score and then connected on a TD pass Xavier Werner with just :22 to play.
Level Price, Jr. returned at nickelback for the Bobcats but they were without safety Dru Polidore, who’s been battling an injured wrist for the past three games. Price had five tackles and a tackle for loss as part of a defense that collected three sacks and seven TFLs.
“It’s been tough dealing with a hamstring injury,” Price said. “My mindset this past few weeks has been to help the guys out there, kind of be coach out there. Felt good to be back in front of the Bobcat’ fans. It’s exciting because I’ve only got a couple more games left in Bobcat Stadium, I almost cried because it’s almost time. This stadium is special, especially on third down they get loud and I feel like out crowd is a good advantage to us, especially on defense.”
McCade O’Reilly led the defense with nine tackles, including a quarterback hurry and a half-sack. Nine different players had either a TFL or a quarterback hurry.
The Bobcats weren’t too far off from moving back ahead of Idaho in the league standings. The Vandals, which MSU lost to last week found themselves in a dogfight with winless Northern Colorado. The Bears were driving in the waning moments in hopes of tying the game and sending it to overtime before the Vandals got a 70-yard interception return for a touchdown with just 2:44 to play to win 27-13.
MSU has one more regular season home game this Saturday when Eastern Washington comes to Bozeman for Senior Day, which kicks off at 1.
