The 124th rendition of the fiercest rivalry in college football will once again highlight some of the best football players who grew up in the Treasure State. Those Montana-made products will certainly influence a contest that has huge playoff ramifications for both Montana and Montana State and will determine if Montana State can win its third Big Sky Conference title in the last four seasons.
A total of 76 in-state products will play in Saturday’s rivalry showdown at Washington-Grizzly Stadium. A total of 23 Montana towns will have native sons representing in one of the fiercest rivalries in college football.
A total of 44 players on the No. 3 Bobcats, three less than last season and 12 more than Montana boasts, will play in the game. The No. 2 Griz have a roster features 32 in-state products entering the game on Saturday, down from 49 a year ago.
The rivalry game has postseason ramifications for the sixth year in a row.
“We are in a state that’s isolated from professional sports and this is the primary focal point,” Vigen said. “There’s a rich, rich, long history. It’s been back and forth like recent years. There’s been stretches of one-sidedness, I guess. And that feeds to the history and the feelings people have.
“Thinking about it, what it means to our players, we have 44 guys on our roster from Montana and those guys, wherever they come from in the state of Montana, there are people on both sides. There’s probably families on both sides. A lot of our guys have teammates, high school teammates over there. This is a rivalry that is felt every day of the year as far as what side you’re on. Being on the right side is what we are after.
“These type of games, same state, same conference, high stakes games just don’t exist a whole lot. We are very fortunate that it does for us. It certainly drives us this week but it drives us, in a lot of ways, each and every week of the year.”
This year’s Bobcat team has 12 total starters from Montana. Seven more in-state players are on the two-deep depth chart.
This year’s Griz team features four starters from Montana and another four players on the two-deep.
“The pride level, I’ve always been a ‘Cats fan, my two brothers played here,” Brott said. “It’s representing them, it’s representing Montana State. Even wnen you’re little, you are wearing a Cat shirt, a Griz shirt, you are playing football at recess and you try to smack the dude wearing Griz. Can’t wait get this to another level and put on for the state with the team.”
Between the two rosters combined, there are a total of 23 Montana towns represented. A total of 50 in-state players (32 for MSU, 18 for Montana) played Class AA football in high school.
Class A has 11 representatives, including eight Grizzlies. Whitefish (two Griz) and Dillon (two ‘Cats) are the most well-represented towns.
A total of 10 players cut their teeth in the Class B ranks, including seven on the Bobcats.
And a total of six players prepped in the Class C ranks, including four for the Bobcats.
Missoula is the most represented town after that distinction belonged to Bozeman the last three years. A total of 15 players from Missoula, including nine from Sentinel High, will suit up. Of those former Spartans, five play for the Grizzlies and four play for the Bobcats. Hellgate, Big Sky and Loyola each have two representatives.
Bozeman is next on the list with 12 players in the game, including 11 that play at Montana State. Bozeman High offensive lineman Torin Jeske plays for the Griz while seven other former Hawks and four former Gallatin Raptors play for the Bobcats, including Montana State head coach Brent Vigen’s two sons; Jake is a junior defensive end and Grant is a freshman quarterback who is redshirting.
Billings boasts nine players in the game, including six that went to West and three more that went to Billings Central. All six Billings West alums play for Montana State. Neither Billings Senior or Billings Skyview is represented in this year’s game. Central is the most well-represented Class A school with three players in the game, including two for the Griz.
Helena has six players in the game, including four for the ‘Cats. Capital has five graduates playing in the game, including three for the Bobcats. Montana State’s Colter Petre is the lone representative from Helena High.
In terms of the other three Montana “cities”: Kalispell has six representatives, all who went to Glacier High and five that play for the Griz. Butte has three reps, all former Butte High Bulldogs and all three who play at Montana. And Great Falls has two representatives, both who play for the Bobcats, one each from C.M. Russell and Great Falls High.
Billings Central and Red Lodge are the only non-AA Montana high schools with more than two representatives. Class A Beaverhead County (Dillon) and Whitefish, Class B Florence and Jefferson County (Boulder/Montana City) and Missoula Loyola all have two players in the game. Both former Florence players play for the ‘Cats as do both Jefferson alums. Both Loyola alums play for the Griz. Two from Red Lodge play at MSU and one at UM.
Other Class A towns represented include Columbia Falls, Browning, Havre and Libby, all who play for the Griz.
The other Class B town represented is Malta with Blaine Downing playing for the Bobcats.
Class C communities represented in the game include Melstone (Bryce Grebe, MSU), Phillipsburg (Kade Cutler, UM), Culbertson (Bridger Salvevold, UM), Brockton (Mason Dethman, Froid-Medicine Lake High, MSU), Big Sky (George Helms, Lone Peak High, MSU) and Fairview (Hunter Sharbono, MSU) are also represented.
“Some of those guys from the smallest towns, they might be the one from the last 10, 20, 30 years that represented that town, so that spans a long time, whereas the guys from the biggest cities, they are just the next guy up that’s playing in the rivalry,” Vigen said. “The pride for a guy like Mason Dethman (Brockton, Montana, population: 358) to represent Froid-Medicine Lake (Froid population 158, Medicine Lake population is 224) and that region up in the Northeast, that carries a lot of weight.”
Here’s a look at the 44 Montana products on the Bobcat roster headed into the 124th rendition of the fierce rivalry in Missoula on Saturday afternoon.
THE STARS
Paul Brott, defensive tackle, Billings, senior — Brott has a stated goal of being the best Brott player to ever play at Montana State. It’s a high bar considering the middle Brott brother, Mitch, was an All-American in 2019 and a 50-game starter during his stellar career. But Paul Brott is certainly carving out his own legend.
The proud bearer of Montana State’s No. 41 legacy jersey has been called by coaches and teammates alike “the hardest working player on the team” and he’s been the tone-setter for the Bobcat defense. Stats don’t show the impact Brott makes on a game. The nose 6-foot-3, 304-pound nose guard out of West High has 11 tackles, two tackles for loss and a sack. But he’s the unquestioned linchpin of a Bobcat defense that leads the Big Sky in most major statistical categories.
“The pride level, I’ve always been a ‘Cats fan, my two brothers played here,” Brott said. “It’s representing them, it’s representing Montana State. Even wnen you’re little, you are wearing a Cat shirt, a Griz shirt, you are playing football at recess and you try to smack the dude wearing Griz. Can’t wait get this to another level and put on for the state with the team.”
Taco Dowler, wide receiver, Billings, junior — Dowler is arguably the biggest star in the state of Montana. The former Montana Gatorade Player of the Year during his standout career at Billings West burst onto the scene as a clutch performer during MSU’s 2022 undefeated run through Big Sky play as a true freshman, returning two punts for TDs.
He battled injuries in 2023, but reemerged as a dangerous weapon on the perimeter and in the return game. He caught seven touchdowns last season and set MSU’s single-season record for punt return yardage, amassing 505 yards.
This season, he’s having a career year. He’s caught almost 1/3 of Justin Lamson’s completions for nearly 1/3 of the Bobcat quarterback’s yards. He’s hauled in 56 passes for 723 yards and five touchdowns while also rushing for 220 yards and another score. His 90-yard punt return touchdown against Northern Arizona swung the momentum as MSU rallied from a 7-0 deficit to roll 34-10 in Flagstaff.
“We will just do what we always do: cover hard, work hard, tackle,” Hauck said when asked about Dowler’s prowess in the return game.
Adam Jones, running back, Missoula, sophomore — The Missoula Sentinel product technically is a co-starter with senior Julius Davis, but his impact and his star power are undeniable.
Last season, Jones was a revelation. He rushed for 1,172 yards and 14 touchdowns while also catching 21 passes for 214 yards and a 56-yard touchdown on his way to finishing as the runner-up for the Jerry Rice Award, given to the top freshman in the FCS.
That led to Jones being voted as the Big Sky Preseason Offensive Player of the Year despite enduring off-season surgery. He had a slower than expected start to his sophomore season but has come on strong during the second half of the year.
He had a 173-yard outburst against Idaho State and has 647 yards and nine rushing touchdowns entering Saturday. He has caught 21 passes for 174 yards and another score. He’s one of six captains for MSU.
Caden Dowler, safety, Billings, junior — Over the last two weeks, the junior captain from West High has vaulted himself to become a leading candidate for Big Sky Conference Defensive Player of the Year.
His interception and forced fumble against Weber State flipped the game on its head as the Bobcats rolled to a 66-14 victory. Last week in a 38-17 win over No. 9 UC Davis, he rolled up 12 tackles. He also snared two interceptions, one he returned 83 yards for a score and the other that he nearly housed before getting pushed out of bounds in the red-zone.
He has made a name for himself while emerging from his twin brother’s shadow despite suffering season ending knee injuries each of the last two seasons before 2025. He has a team-best 72 tackles, including 5.5 tackles for loss and a sack. He has two forced fumbles, three interceptions and four pass breakups as well.
“You knew the talent, the desire, the smarts, the instincts were always there,” Vigen said. “He played a little bit then the last two seasons got cut short. You’d hope for him that it would work out and to this point, it has. You go back to 2023, he went down early and he was an inspiration that year as a young, young player.
“Those two brothers are different but what’s clear is they are competitive, they are great teammates, they work their tails off and for Caden to have success…he’s a captain and he’s a captain because he’s an easy guy to root for. He hasn’t’ played much so in his own mind, he was like ‘why am I a captain’. And it’s because of who he is and all the stuff he does besides the games. Now to have the games along with it, the performance is awesome.”
Kenneth Eiden IV, defensive end, Bozeman, senior — The dyed in the wool Bobcat has carried his family name admirably during his career with MSU. After having one of the most prolific careers in Bozeman High and Montana history during his high school days dominating for the Hawks, he’s come on strong, particularly in November, each of the last two seasons.
Eiden had the majority of his team-best nine sacks last season during the stretch run of MSU’s undefeated run to the national championship game. He had two more sacks last weekend, bringing his season total to 4.5 and his career total to 19 sacks. He also has 28 tackles for loss in his career, including 8.5 this season.
“This means a lot, especially being my last one,” Eiden said. “I’m going to miss playing in this game. It’s been really fun the last couple of years. It means a lot to me and it’s a great experience playing in it every year. I’m excited to go out there and represent for my state and my community and my town and go out there, compete, play hard and let the chips fall where they do.”
THE STARTERS
Cole Taylor, linebacker, Great Falls, sophomore — The former C.M. Russell High quarterback burst onto the scene when fellow Montana-made linebacker Neil Daily went down with a lower leg injury against Oregon. Taylor smashed his way to seven tackles in the second half of that game and has never looked back.
He followed it up the next week with 12 bruising tackles against South Dakota State and has kept rolling. The man known as “Cole Train” Taylor (thanks, Ty Gregorak) is second on MSU with 55 tackles, including 6.5 tackles for loss. He also has an interception, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery to his credit for the league’s leading defense.
Braden Zimmer, offensive line, Billings, redshirt freshman — Zimmer spent the last off-season piling on the pounds. He got to Montana State as a 6-foot-7, 230-pound former three-sport star out of Billings West. Now he’s a 285-pound stalwart that is one of the top-rated tackles in the FCS as just a freshman.
Zimmer was thrown to the wolves early when Burke Mastel suffered a hand injury during fall camp. That caused senior captain JT Reed to shift to center, junior All-American right tackle Titan Fleishman to bump into right guard, sophomore left tackle Cedric Jefferson to move to right tackle and Zimmer, as a rookie, to enter the starting lineup.
Three months later, he looks like an all-conference candidate and a player who’s ceiling might be playing on Sundays.
“Zim’s confidence has grown,” Reed said on Monday. “Zim was very timid when he came in. He would make calls and he’s over there whispering and I was like, Bro, it’s not a secret, you can yell it. I think Zim’s confidence has grown, his physicality and grown and he’s grown. The level of physicality he brings to the left side of our line in every game has been so monumental to what we are trying to do in the run game and in the pass game. He’s grown the most on the line. He’s taken huge steps this year.”
Burke Mastel, offensive line, Red Lodge, sophomore — The former Class B standout burst into the starting lineup last season as a redshirt freshman. And his return to the starting lineup this year has helped steady Montana State’s offensive line.
The narrative around Montana is that not as many offensive linemen are coming up through the prep ranks. But the 6-foot-4, 315-pounder is helping to dispel that notion with his fine play.
Zac Crews, defensive end, Missoula, junior — The Crews saga (https://buttesports.com/sentinel-great-zac-crews-stuck-in-football-limbo/)
seems to be a story line of the past now that the former Griz commit has become a standout on the defensive front for the Bobcats.
Last season, Crews made a splash with a few big special teams plays, including taking a blocked punt back for a touchdown. This season, he’s been productive as MSU’s third defensive end. He has 3.5 sacks and 4.5 tackles for loss, bringing his career totals to 8.5 sacks and 10 tackles for loss.
Crews was the Class AA Player of the Year as a senior and a key contributor at quarterback and on the defensive line as Sentinel won consecutive state titles his junior and senior years.
Bryce Grebe, linebacker, Melstone, sophomore — Last season, Bryce was the other Grebe as his older brother, Brody, earned All-American honors for the third year in a row and completed his career with Big Sky Defensive Player of the Year honors.
Now, Bryce is making a name for himself as a hard-hitting, aggressive inside linebacker in a defensive scheme that is playing four guys in two spots now that Daily is healthy and freshman Xavier Ahrens has emerged.
The younger Grebe brother has been solid all season, including when he rolled up 11 tackles and a tackle for loss in MSU’s 34-10 win over Northern Arizona. He has 47 total tackles (third on the team), three tackles for loss and a sack against South Dakota State to his credit so far this season.
Neil Daily, linebacker, Billings, junior — Daily was thrown into action last season when captain Danny Uluilakepa suffered a season-ending injury in October against Idaho.
The athletic former track standout improved rapidly as the season went along, helping him enter his junior year as one of MSU’s established players and a leader of the defense.
But this season got derailed when he suffered an injury against Oregon that cost him most of the first half of the season. He’s made it back over the last six games and has been a solid contributor. Daily, who started his high school career at Missoula Sentinel before playing his final two years at Billings West, has 16 tackles and a fumble recovery so far this season.
Rocky Lencioni, tight end, Bozeman, redshirt freshman — Lencioni has been arguably the breakout star of this season for the Bobcat offense.
The former Bozeman High wide receiver had a ton of interest from several Ivy League schools coming out of high school, so his ability to adjust to a new position is not surprising. His ability to adjust to the physicality and in-line blocking that comes with playing tight end as a redshirt freshman is a little more unlikely.
The 6-foot-3, 220-pounder has done it pretty seamlessly and has become a touchdown maker for the Bobcats. His season high for catches came when he snared four in his college debut at Oregon. He hasn’t had more than two catches in a game since then, and enters Saturday with 12 catches in 11 games. But his five touchdowns is tied with Taco Dowler for the team lead as 11 different Bobcats have caught TDs.
JJ Dolan, safety/nickel, Missoula, sophomore — Dolan’s father, Nate, played on the Grizzlies in the early 1990s. His grandfather, Pat, is also a former Griz. But his aunt played volleyball at MSU. And he is one of a collection of former Spartans who will likely contribute to Montana State’s efforts in Missoula on Saturday.
The former walk-on has earned some financial assistance through his steady play. He has been a co-starter at free safety for most of the second half of the season and is one of the highest graded players on the Bobcat defense even if a ton of tackles have not come his way.
His has 20 stops so far during his sophomore season.
Rylan Schlepp, tight end, Bozeman Gallatin, sophomore — the towering 6-foot-5 tight end has the unbeatable distinction of being the first Gallatin High alum to catch a touchdown for Montana State.
He did it technically during his redshirt year. He scored against Utah Tech in 2023 from 12 yards out in one of the three games he played that season. Last year, he emerged as second bananas with Hunter Provience behind first-team All-Big Sky tight end Rohan Jones. When Jones transferred to Arkansas of the SEC, Schlepp and Provience welcomed Lencioni into the fold to form a three-headed tight end monster.
This season, both Schlepp and Provience have taken turned being banged up. So all three of the aforementioned have started. But when all three are healthy, all three will get snaps.
Schlepp has caught eight passes for 43 yards this season after snaring 12 passes for 129 yards and two touchdowns last year.
THE CONTRIBUTORS
Talon Marsh, defensive tackle, Helena, sophomore — Marsh had a play so iconic, it coined a new social media catchphrase (or at least accentuated an existing one) – the Thicc-Six.
The 6-foot-1, 285-pound former Montana Gatorade Player of the Year snared an interception in the Northern Colorado red-zone and rumbled 90 yards for an unforgettable touchdown. He got an escort from the other 10 Bobcat defenders on the field, garnering a flag that Vigen could only laugh about. That TD helped blow the game open as MSU beat UNC 55-7, marking the fourth-largest margin of victory in a conference game since the ‘Cats helped found the league in 1963.
Colter Petre, nickel, Helena, sophomore — The son of former Montana State women’s basketball standout “Downtown” Julie Brown has rapidly climbed the depth chart at Montana State after joining the ‘Cats as a walk-on.
Like Dolan, Petre received a scholarship from the “Torely’s Tailgaters” support group. The safety/nickel has proven he belongs and is the only Helena High alum in this game Saturday. After dominating on kick teams last year (12 tackles, including three solos against Portland State), he’s rolled up 27 tackles, forced a fumble and recovered another in 2025.
Everett Carr, offensive line, Bozeman, sophomore — Carr was thrust into starting duty for the first month of the season before Mastel returned. He played in all 16 of MSU’s games last season.
Ryan Krahe, linebacker, Great Falls, junior — Krahe is the only Great Falls High alum in the game on Saturday.
The former Bison has worked his way onto the field on special teams and at times, especially when Daily was out, into the inside linebacker Rotation. He enters the game with 18 total tackles so far this season.
Hunter Sharbono, defensive tackle, Fairview, sophomore — With Brott out or limited the last few weeks, the former Class C standout has had an elevated role.
The 6-foot-2, 280-pounder has played in 10 games and made three tackles this season.
Patrick Duchien, quarterback, Florence, sophomore — Justin Lamson has been steady Eddy so far this season. But when MSU had been up by enough, Duchien has been the No. 2 quarterback all season long after beating out Chance Wilson & Jordan Reed for that designation last off-season.
The two-time Class B state championship quarterback has thrown for 86 yards and a touchdown in his six appearances so far this season. He’s also served as MSU’s primary holder in the kicking game for the last two seasons.
Mason Dethman, defensive back, Froid Lake, redshirt freshman – The former 6-man star is from one of the smallest towns to be represented in Montana.
Towns like Fairview (population: 854), Phillipsburg (population: 841) and Culbertson (pop: 706) dwarf the 738 people that hail from Brockton, Froid & Medicine Lake COMBINED. But Melstone is one of the 8 smallest towns in Montana with a population of 126.
The 6-foot-4, 205-pounder has adjusted well to the 11-man game. He has seven tackles on kick teams so far this season.
Jake Vigen, defensive end, Bozeman, junior — Brent Vigen’s oldest son registered his first two career tackles for loss and his first career sack in MSU’s 55-7 win at Northern Colorado.
Dylan Rollins, offensive line, Missoula, sophomore — The former Montana Gatorade Player of the Year after guiding Sentinel to its first state title since 1964 is the son of former Bobcat OL Josh Rollins and the younger brother of former MSU defensive lineman Byron Rollins.
The former BYU transfer battled injuries earlier this season but has solidified himself as Mastel’s backup for the MSU offense.
THE MONTANANS
Tommy Nilson, offensive line, Missoula, junior –
Jaren Perkins, defensive line, Bozeman, junior
Tom Carter, wide receiver, Helena Capital, sophomore
Jonathan Luhmann, offensive line, Florence, sophomore
Luke Smith, tight end, Bozeman High, sophomore
Hudson Wiens, defensive tackle, Bozeman High, redshirt freshman
Dalton Noble, offensive line, Boulder, redshirt freshman
Thomas Buchanan, tight end, Red Lodge, Redshirt freshman
Kee Christiansen, wide receiver, Dillon, redshirt freshman
Josh Woodberry, linebacker, Bozeman Gallatin, redshirt freshman
George Helms, running back, Big Sky, redshirt freshman
Grant Vigen, quarterback, Bozeman Gallatin, freshman
Luke Oxarart, defensive back, Montana City, freshman
Malachi Claunch, running back, Billings West, freshman
Vinnie Souza, linebacker, Billings Central, freshman
Tommy Springman, linebacker, Bozeman Gallatin, freshman
Blake Downing, defensive end, Malta, freshman
Vaughn Wirkus, offensive line, Helena Capital, freshman
Ben Winters, offensive line, Kalispell Glacier, Freshman
Kash Embry, wide receiver, Bozeman, freshman
Carter Curnow, tight end, Dillon, freshman
