Analysis

Choate: ‘We missed a defining moment’ in loss to UND

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Jeff Choate told his offensive coordinator Courtney Messingham before his first Homecoming game as the head coach of the Bobcats if Chad Newell rushed for 100 yards, Montana State would defeat North Dakota.

Choate told defensive coordinator Ty Gregorak if his defense could corral UND star running back John Santiago, the Bobcats would have the upper hand against the Fighting Hawks.

From setting the tone on the opening defensive series by stripping Santiago to Newell ripping off a 16-yard carry on his first touch after missing two games with an injured hand to Montana State dictating the action for most of Saturday’s Big Sky Conference opener, the afternoon played out almost exactly how Choate expected. Montana State’s first-year head coach did not expect, however, that his Bobcats would commit five turnovers and force just one in coming up just short.

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Photos by Brooks Nuanez. All Rights Reserved. 

About Colter Nuanez

Colter Nuanez is the co-founder and senior writer for Skyline Sports. After spending six years in the newspaper industry with stops at the Missoulian, the Ellensburg Daily Record and the Bozeman Daily Chronicle, the former Washington Newspaper Association Sportswriter of the Year and University of Montana Journalism School graduate ('09) has cultivated a deep passion for sports journalism during his 13-year career covering the Big Sky Conference. In August of 2014, Colter and brother Brooks merged their passions of writing and art to found Skyline Sports.

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