Game Day - Weber State

7/27/2019 Game Day - Weber State

1/6

Saturday, Oct. 19

at Weber StateGameDay

Full PaPer

InsIDe

no. 5 monTana sTaTe aT Weber sTaTe, oGDen, uTah, 3:40 P.m.

reaDy To roll

The Bobcats are restedand are the prohibitiveavorites today in Utah.

The Daily Chronicle is

predicting a rout I 6

InsIDe

searchInG For

ansWersReeling Weber State

riding six-game losing

streak into todays game

against No. 5 Bobcats I 2

canT make ITTo uTah?

The Chronicle sports staf

has you covered. For all o

the latest updates and

analysis and to join the

discussion on the Bobcats

battle with Weber State, visit

dailychronicle.com/live

starting at 3:40 p.m. today.

Also be sure and ollow

@jmaletz and

@kylesample_bdc

on Twitter.

Weber State

running back

Bo Bolen

By JON MALETZ

Chronicle Sports Editor

Story lines and staggeringstatistics abounded onthat late-Saturday after-

noon in Grand Forks, N.D.Decorated Montana State

quarterback DeNarius McGheeshocked many with hisrapid return from a separatedshoulder, and then surprisedno one by helping spearhead a586-yard offensive explosion.Veteran tailback Cody Kirkset a program record with fiverushing touchdowns in thefirst half, no less. The Bobcatsproduced five scoring drives of55 or more yards and 42 pointsin the first 30 minutes.

The effort was so efficient, sounequivocally dominant, thatmany North Dakota fans were

ambling toward the exits beforethe first half had even expired.

Yet when Rob Ash steppedto the podium in the AlerusCenters Oriole Room afterhis squads 63-20, conference-opening triumph Sept. 28, itwas something else that drewthe most praise from theseventh-year head coach.

It was the number zero.In the days leading up to

their trip east, Bobcats play-ers and coaches raved about

dynamic North Dakota widereceiver Greg Hardin. Theydiscussed both the importanceand the challenge of keepingone of the Big Skys most dy-namic playmakers at bay.

They ultimately pulled thatoff and much more.

Hardin, who many believecould have an NFL future likely as a slot receiver becauseof his slight build was avirtual non-factor against MSU.In fact, the Bobcats became the

first opponent ever to hold theprolific senior without a catch.

That result was the by-product of a collective effort

from sound game planning tothe dominance of the visitorsfront seven, which relentlesslyhounded North Dakotas youngquarterbacks, forcing a slew oferrant passes.

There was also the near-flawless play of No. 37.

Boundary cornerbackDeonte Flowers drew the unen-viable assignment of shadowingHardin for much of the contest.The junior acquitted himselfquite well, repeatedly cloggingpassing lanes and not allowingHarding to gain separation ondeep routes.

Flowers clearly was up to the

challenge.

ADRIAN SANCHEZ-GONZALEZ/CHRONICLE

Montana State cornerback Deonte Flowers has seven pass breakups and 25 solo tackles through six games.

Junior Deonte Flowers establishing himself as one of Big Skys best cornerbacks

Hes a joy to be around, a highenergy guy and

a very spiritual person. Its so good to know that

there are still guys out there in college football that

you know have that kind of character and that youknow will do whatever it takes to succeed.

bnon Noh, MSU secondary coach on Deonte Flowers

More FLOwErs I 5


2/6

By JON MALETZ

Chronicle Sports Editor

When asked to describethe current state of hisfootball program, WeberState head coach Jody Searslaunches into an explanationso common these days itseems rehearsed.

The challenge for us isto continue to grow andcontinue to press forward,get forward score-wise andrecord-wise, Sears saidTuesday. A lot of footballcoaches want instant results,and obviously the fans andthe outside people lookingin want success right now,but its a process.

Its hard to say that wereimproving, but when weturn on the film weve got abunch of young guys that arefighting and scratching.

That effort has not trans-lated into much on-fieldsuccess. The Wildcats (1-6,0-3 Big Sky) won a 50-40shootout against Stephen

F. Austin in their seasonopener but have dropped sixconsecutive games since all by alarmingly lopsidedmargins. During the stretch,which included 70-7 and70-6 blowouts at the handsof in-state Football BowlSubdivision squads Utahand Utah State, Weber Stateis surrendering an average

of more than 50 points whilescoring just six.

While the Wildcats returnhome after playing three oftheir past four on the road the last a 47-0 defeat atCal Poly in which the Wild-cats could do little to slow anefficient Mustangs triple-option attack an alreadydemanding schedule willget no easier. Fifth-rankedMontana State (4-2, 2-0), ateam against which WeberState has dropped 10 of thepast 11 and has not beaten atStewart Stadium since 1996,comes calling this afternoon.

Losses arent the onlythings mounting in Ogden.According to a recent articlein Utahs Standard-Examineroutlining the parameters of athree-year contract agreed tolast year after his one seasonas an interim coach, Searsmust win at least four gamesin 2013 or six in 2014 orrisk being released without

further compensation.The Wildcats have won

just three of 18 games thepast two seasons.

You like to see (sometangible results) sooner thanit has, but Ive been in thissituation a couple differenttimes and your hope is that,again, you stay the course,Sears said. Were not mak-ing excuses for our youth orinjuries or things out of ourcontrol. We just need to getbetter, stay committed toeach other and keep movingforward.

Todays matchup features

two squads heading in oppo-site directions. The Bobcats,buoyed by a resurgent rush-ing attack and a suffocatingdefense, are riding theirfirst two-game win streakof the season and should bewell rested; the bye allowedailing key contributors likeDeNarius McGhee, CodyKirk, Brad Daly and Michael

Foster to rest and another,safety Steven Bethley, toundergo surgery to repairtorn ligaments in his rightthumb.

Weber State, meanwhile,has been beset by injuriesand is grooming a younggroup of players 26 fresh-men played against Cal Poly,Sears said that includes aninexperienced quarterback.Freshman Austin Chipo-letti has been pressed intoduty because of the sudden

departure of Jordan Adam-czyk, who opted to leavethe program after a careerderailed by knee injuries.

The Wildcats offense hasbeen held to seven or fewerpoints five times. They mus-tered just 173 total yards including 53 on 32 carries against Cal Poly, which piledup 580 against a beleagueredWSU defense that was miss-ing its top three tacklers,including middle linebackerAnthony Morales.

The senior, who is averag-ing more than eight tackles

per game, has missed twocontests with a hamstringinjury and is listed as ques-tionable.

Hes been our main bellcow, so to speak, in terms ofhis leadership and energy.Hes been absolutely fabu-lous, Sears said of Morales.

ByKYLE SAMPLE

Chronicle Sports Writer

Could the third week of the Big Skyseason already present make-or-breakscenarios?

For some teams, yes. SacramentoState, Northern Arizona and Montana,all with one Big Sky loss, must avoidupset bids to remain viable challengersto Cal Poly, Montana State and EasternWashington in the conference title race.

For others, like the Bobcats andEagles, the week should prove to be areferendum of the grasp theyve had on

the conferences top spot. If recent his-tory has any say, the Cats shouldnt facemuch of a challenge in Ogden, Utah,while Eastern could face a very stiff testfrom a team from Utah.

Southern Utah, despite a surprisingloss to UC Davis on Oct. 5, stabilizedits position in the conference with a17-7 win over Portland State last weekto move to 2-1 in the league. TheThunderbirds have relied on one of theleagues stingiest defenses to balanceout an offense that has yet to scoremore than 27 points against a DivisionI opponent.

Cal Poly at N. 10 MoNtaNa,

1:35 P.M.: In what could be thegame of the week what happens inCheney, Wash., could figure into thatdiscussion, too Cal Poly could makea very large statement with a win inWashington-Grizzly Stadium against

No. 10 Montana.But the raucous setting is likely not

an ideal one for Cal Poly quarterbackDano Graves second career start.Graves, who was serviceable in the

Mustangs 47-0 win over Weber Statelast week, will be facing arguably theleagues best defense; Montana leadsthe conference in points allowed (17.5),yards allowed (337) and is second inturnovers forced (15).

Montana (5-1, 2-1 Big Sky), led bya ground game that has produced 238yards per contest and a quarterback,Jordan Johnson, who has yet to throwan interception, will be the first rankedopponent Cal Poly (3-3, 2-0) has facedthis season.

The game will mark a matchup of theconferences top rushing offense in CalPolys triple-option attack versus theconferences top rush defense. Mon-

tana is allowing just 114 yards on theground.

SoutherN utah at N. 4eaSterN WaShiNgtoN, 5:05 P.M.:This game should go a long way to

proving just how good the Thunder-birds really are.

Southern Utah, despite a win overFBS South Alabama, has yet to dazzleanybody. They own a win over Sacra-mento State though it didnt counttoward the T-birds conference record but had to go to overtime to get itand later dropped a home contest toUC Davis, 21-3.

It has been Southern Utahs offensethat is holding the Thunderbirds (5-2,2-1) back. Averaging just 22 points and294 yards per game, the unit has had torely on the defense for wins.

Eastern Washington (4-2, 2-0), un-

doubtedly the conferences most testedsquad, should provide SUUs ball-hawking defense with its toughest chal-lenge. Led by dual-threat quarterbackVernon Adams, Eastern is averaging 37points per game and nearly 500 yardsof offense.

Adams, a viable Walter Payton Awardcandidate, is leading the conference intotal offense and passing efficiency.

Southern Utah handed Eastern itslone conference defeat last season.

idaho State at No. 19NortherN arizoNa, 4:05P.M.: This week should provide theLumberjacks a chance to catch their

breath after a deflating loss to MontanaState on Oct. 5 and a wild 39-38, come-from-behind win over SacramentoState last week.

bozeman daily chronicle2 | Saturday, October 19, 2013BOBCATS GAME DAY

No. 5 Montana State at Weber State

3:40 p.m., Ogden, Utah

Sn BfnrcsNo. 7 Montana State 4-2, 2-0 Big SkyWeber State 1-6, 0-3

Ss50th meeting, Montana State leads 28-20-1

W fcsSunny, 59 degrees

CwStewart Stadium (17,312)

tVROOT SPORTS (Tom Glasgow, Robb Akey, JenMueller)

rKXLB-FM (100.7) (Tyler Wiltgen, Dan Davies, Riley

Corcoran)

Ccs

ScsWeBer State

Ag. 31 stephen f. Austin W, 50-40

s. 7 ua L, 70-7

s. 14 @ ua sa L, 70-6

s. 21 Mcn sa L, 43-6

Oc. 28 sACRAMentO stAte L, 31-3

Oc. 5 ear Wago L, 41-19

Oc. 12 @ Cal poly L, 47-0

Oc. 19 MOntAnA stAte 3:40 .m.

no. 2 @ porlad sa 2 .m.

no. 9 sOutheRn utAh 1 .m.

no. 16 Moaa noo

no. 23 iDAhO stAte 1 .m.

MoNtaNa State

Ag. 29 MOnMOuth W, 42-24

s. 7 sor Mod L, 31-30

s. 14 COLORADO MesA W, 26-0

s. 21 s f. A L, 52-38

s. 28 nor Dakoa W, 63-20

Oc. 5 nORtheRn ARizOnA W, 36-7

Oc. 19 Wbr sa 3:40 .m.

Oc. 26 uC DAvis 2 .m.

no. 2 norr Colorado 1:35 .m.

no. 9 ear Wago 1 .m.

no. 16 sOutheRn utAh 4 .m.

no. 23 MOntAnA noo

Ps wcWb S

WR Erik Walker: The senior hauled in a c areer-high

eight receptions or 55 yards in last weeks loss to

Cal Poly. The Wildcats top receiver, Walker has 32

receptions or 343 yards and one touchdown this

season.

Mnn S

RB Shawn Johnson: The junior was tabbed as the

FCS national special teams player o the week ater

returning a third-quarter kicko or 100 yards against

Northern Arizona. He fnished the aternoon with

246 all-purpose yards, including 92 rushing and

another score a 27-yard scamper on the Bobcats

opening possession. Johnsons 924 all-purpose

yards are second in the conerence and 10th in the

Football Championship Subdivision and comes on 92attempts.

in pWeBer State

ou ssn: WR Kela Marciel, LB Ryan Tuiasoa

ou infnil: LB Luke King, WR Shaydon Kehano

Qusinbl: LB Anthony Morales, S Chris Wheeler

MoNtaNa State

ou ssn: LB Naa Moeakiola (shoulder), WR Kurt

Davis (knee), LB Wyatt Christensen (knee)

ou infnil: WR Tanner Roderick (hand), DL Zach

Hutchins (undisclosed), C Christian Williams (eye)

Pbbl: S Eryon Barnett (shoulder), DE Preston Gale

(knee)

Qck sn Montana State averages 3.2 sacks per g ame, which

is frst in the Big Sky and 16th in the FCS.

n Bobcats linebackers have intercepted fve passes,

while deensive backs and lineman have logged two

and one, respectively.

nThe Bobcats turnover ratio (minus-1) is second in

the Big Sky

nSenior tailback Cody Kirk leads the conerence with

11 touchdowns and an average o 11.3 points per

game.

nTanner Bleskins 170th career catch in the NAU

game, which came rom brother and backup

quarterback Jake, moved the senior wide receiver

into frst place on the programs all-time list.

nSenior Brad Dalys 50 tackles or loss is tied or fth

in school history with Jason Hicks one behind

Dane Fletcher.

nJunior Shawn Johnson has produced the Big

Skys longest rush and kick return and is tied or the

longest punt return.

roB aShMSU, 7th year

34th year overall

54-24 at MSU

230-123-5 overall

jody SearSWSU, 2nd year

2nd year overall

3-15 overall

Tough test for reeling Weber State

AP

Eastern Washington linebacker Cody McCarthy brings down Weber State receiver Cody Raymond during the first half of Oct. 5s game

in Cheney, Wash. The Wildcats fell to the Eagles, 41-19, and have dropped six straight heading into todays game with MSU.

A lot of football coaches want instant

results, and obviously the fans and the

outside people looking in want success right

now, but its a process. Its hard to say that

were improving, but when we turn on the

film weve got a bunch of young guys that

are fighting and scratching.

j Ss, Weber State head coach

Pvotal thd eek ahead n B Sky

More wEBEr I 5

More Big SKY I 6


3/6

bozeman daily chronicle Saturday, October 19, 2013 | 3

2013 MONTANA STATE UNIVERSITY

#33 // Running Back

Shawn Johnson


4/6

bozeman daily chronicle4 | Saturday, October 19, 2013

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bozeman daily chronicle Saturday, October 19, 2013 | 5

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BOBCATS GAME DAY



Im glad you mentionedthat. To me, thats the mostremarkable thing that hap-pened today with all the talkabout everything else, Ashsaid afterward. (Hardin is)a fabulous player; one of thetop players in the whole con-ference. That was a fabulousperformance.

Ask him about that day,about neutralizing Hardinand being largely responsiblefor holding North Dakotasignal callers Ryan Bar-tels and Joe Mollberg to acombined 85 yards passingand just eight completionson 21 attempts, and Flowerswill politely dodge the ques-tion with a heaping dose of

humility that comes spillingout like water from an over-turned 10-gallon jug.

It was just one game. Ijust went out there and didmy job, the San Diego nativeinsisted Tuesday. Thatsabout it. I dont really thinkmuch of it, to be honest withyou. Its just a win, and Imthankful for that win.

Brandon North suggestedit might be something muchmore, however. Perhaps thatwas the moment when thelight switch went off, as theMSU secondary coach likes

to call it.Perhaps that was the mo-ment when a hard workerand a three-year starterofficially established himselfas a game-changer; as one ofthe Big Skys top shutdowncorners.

Hes finding that area towhere hes comfortable outthere and the game seemsto be slowing down in hismind, North said. Whenthe deep ball is going up, hesnot panicking; hes stayingpatient in his press techniqueand doing an outstanding

job.Added senior safety StevenBethley, Hes definitelygrown as a player to the pointwhere now he basically shutsdown one whole side of thefield. Myself and other teamscontinue to challenge him,and hes stepped up to theoccasion every single time.Its great to see that, and Ilove being able to play withsomebody like that.

While many thought theMorse High School productwas too slender and too slowto make an impact at thecollege level, former Bobcatssecondary coach and as-sistant defensive coordinatorNoah Joseph saw great po-tential in the lightly recruitedFlowers, Ash said.

Talent and work ethichelped the affable youngstermake a strong first impres-sion and earn a starting spotas a true freshman.

Hes a hard worker and agreat person. Everybody onthe team likes Deonte, Northsaid. Hes a joy to be around,a high-energy guy and a veryspiritual person. Its so goodto know that there are still

guys out there in college foot-ball that you know have thatkind of character and thatyou know will do whatever it

takes to succeed.Flowers logged 39 tackles,

including three for loss, in2011. He tied for the teamlead with eight pass break-ups, and his 57-yard inter-ception return helped theBobcats secure a signaturewin over reigning national

champion Eastern Washing-ton.Flowers started 12 of 13

games as a sophomore andled all defensive backs with52 tackles.

Now, hes become oneof the pillars of a thin buttalented secondary that isbeginning to assert itself aftersome early season inconsis-tency.

We saw this comingpretty much all along, butyou just have to be patient,North said. Its kind of likewatching a young kid grow

up. You see him runningaround with other kids, andyou can spot him out and say,Oh, hes going to be special.

Added Ash, Hes got-ten stronger, added someweight, and has gotten a lotmore confident. Hes morecoachable this year. It wasntan intentional situation in thepast where he wasnt going tobe coachable; hed just revertback to playing with pureathletic ability, especially ingames, when he just couldnttransfer what he learned inpractice. Now, hes morecomfortable.

As a result, MSU is thriv-ing.

The Bobcats are second inthe Big Sky in pass-efficiencydefense and third in passyards allowed (207.2). MSUhas held three of its last fouropponents to less than 200yards passing and two ofthose to less than 100.

Flowers broke up threepasses in Oct. 5s 36-7 winover Northern Arizona,bringing his season tally toseven along with 25 solotackles. Lumberjacks quar-terback Kyren Poe threw for

168 yards and averaged just3.8 per completion for an of-fense that was held scoreless.

While his statistics are

modest, Flowers contribu-tions cannot be understated,North said.

We always talk aboutthese guys being leaders.Its not always about goingout and getting five or sixinterceptions but makingplays when the time comes,

he added. Deonte and (fel-low cornerback) Sean Gords,their competitive natures are

just off the charts. Theyrehigh-intensity guys that dontwant to get beat and dontwant to let down the rest ofthe defense.

Any time a deep ball goesup youre always kind ofholding your breath a littlebit, but I feel very comfort-able when I look out on theedge and see No. 37 and No.3. You know theyre goingto compete. Theyre humbleand theyre hungry, and Im

grateful I get to coach them.The increased attention and being named CollegeSports Madness top defen-sive player by virtue of hissterling performances againstNorth Dakota and NAU islargely insignificant, Flowerssaid. Its time to forge ahead,not rest on laurels.

There is film to watch andtechniques to fine tune.

The sole focus is WeberState.

Ill always remember whatSonny Holland said at theNAU game about integrity ofpreparation. Doing wellthe last few games is nice, butthat means nothing when itcomes to Weber State, Flow-ers said. You have to keepworking hard and you haveto keep preparing the sameway.

The seasons going wellfor me right now thatsreally all I can say. Im justplaying football and havingfun, playing for God and formy teammates. Im so blessedto play this game, and Imgoing to do everything I canto make the most of thisopportunity.

Jon Maletz can be reachedat [email protected] or 582-2601. Follow himon Twitter @jmaletz.

It really hurts not hav-ing him.

Weber State is last in theBig Sky in scoring offense(13 points per game), scor-ing defense (48.9), totaloffense (255.9) and total

defense (545.6). In addi-tion, it surrenders the mostpassing (286) and rushingyards (259.6) among the 13conference teams.

By comparison, the Bob-cats rank in the top fivein all of those categoriesexcept for passing offense(242.8, seventh).

An MSU win may seemlike a foregone conclusiontoday in the 50th matchupbetween the two programs.Dont tell that to Bobcatshead coach Rob Ash or hisstaff, however.

I see a young team whois getting better each week,MSU linebackers coachKane Ioane said of theWildcats.

Added Ash, Weber

State always plays us tough.Theyre a very physicalteam on both sides of theball. Theyve had a terribleschedule, a brutal schedule,and had some difficul-ties with injuries that can

happen to any team. Imwaiting for them to justbreak out here and have agreat football game one ofthese days. Hopefully notthis weekend.

Ashs squad trailed 24-20after 30 minutes duringits last matchup with theWildcats in November2011. Then-No. 2 rankedMSU responded with 24unanswered in the finalhalf, and on the strengthof a 310-yard, three-touch-down effort from McGhee,

rolled to a 44-24 win.Morales logged 13

tackles and one sack in thatgame, and Josh Bookerrushed for 121 yards andtwo scores. He and fellowrunning back and formerAll-Big Sky second-teamerBo Bolen, who missed thepast two seasons while onan LDS church mission,likely will need big gamesto both keep the offense onthe field and Weber Statein todays game.

Theyre big, physicaland fast all three aspects

you look for in a back,MSU linebacker AlexSingleton remarked.

Theyre a good team,fast and physical. I thinkitll be fun.

Weber/fom 2 Thyv had atib schdu, a

buta schdu, ad

had som difficutis

with ijuis that ca

ha to ay tam.

Im waitig fo thm

to just bak out had hav a gat

footba gam o of

ths days. Hofuy

ot this wkd.

Rob Ash

Flowers/fom 1

EUGENE, Ore. (AP) One ofthe most notable numbers in Oregonquarterback Marcus Mariotas stat lineis 0. Thats the number of intercep-

tions he has thrown in the first half ofthe season.The sophomore who has become a

top contender for the Heisman Trophyhasnt had an interception in 233 at-tempts dating to last year, an ongoingPac-12 record.

Overall, Mariota has completed 100passes for 1,724 yards and 17 touch-downs for second-ranked Oregon thisseason. He also has run for 426 yardsand eight more TDs.

Coach Mark Helfrich joked whenasked if he remembered the last timeMariota threw a pick.

Um, I dont know. I dont off thetop of my head, he told reporters,then added: There was one in prac-tice today.

Marcus does a great job good,bad or indifferent of just kind ofmoving on and playing the next play,Helfrich said.

For the record, Mariotas last inter-ception came in then-No. 1 Oregons17-14 loss to Stanford last Nov. 17 thatdashed the Ducks hopes for a shot atthe BCS title game.

The streak of 233 attempts toppedUSCs Brad Ottons string of 216 in1994-95.

This season the mobile 6-foot-4quarterback from Hawaii is averag-ing 287.3 yards passing a game and71 yards rushing for 10.4 yards per

carry. Hes ranked sixth nationallywith an average of 358.3 yards in totaloffense a game, and No. 5 in passingefficiency at 182.40.

He has scored at least one touch-down via both the run and the pass inevery game this season.

Known for his composure on thefield, he also is trying to keep a levelhead about all the attention thats beencoming his way off it.

I wouldnt say Im unaware, butI do my best not to pay attention. Ifocus on coming into the facility andjust working out and doing the bestthat I can and getting better every day,he said.

Entering last season, Mariota wasa redshirt freshman who earned thestarters job over Bryan Bennett after afall camp competition that was mostly

a mystery because the Ducks keeppractices closed.

He went on to set the teams single-season record with 38 touchdowns (32

passing, 5 rushing, 1 receiving). Thefirst freshman selected to the Pac-12sall-conference first team in 23 years,Mariota completed a school-record68.5 percent of his passes.

Last weekend completed 24 of 31passes for 366 yards and three touch-downs in Oregons 45-24 victory at No.16 Washington. He also ran 88 yardsfor a TD, earning Pac-12 Player of theweek honors.

He was similarly honored the weekbefore when he set a school recordwith 42 points in Oregons 57-16 winat Colorado. He passed for 355 yardsand five touchdowns, while runningfor 43 yards and two scores. The seventotal touchdowns matched the Pac-12record.

You have to make great decisionsnot to turn the ball over and then youhave to be really accurate with yourthrows and real careful with the ball,Oregon offensive coordinator ScottFrost said. You can be careful andnot turn the ball over but then yourenot being productive either. So thecombination of productivity and hisability to take care of the football hasbeen impressive.

The Ducks (6-0, 3-0 Pac-12) are thelast undefeated team in the Pac-12North after Stanford was upset byUtah last weekend. UCLA is the onlyundefeated team in the Pac-12 South.

Oregon will host Washington State(4-3, 2-2). The Cougars are comingoff a 52-24 loss to Oregon State lastweekend in Pullman.

This week in a practice the Cou-gars scout team used receiver DrewLoftus in at quarterback, which mostassumed was a tactic for simulatingMariotas mobility.

Helfrich was asked whether hewould be involved in an Oregon cam-paign to push Mariota for the Heis-man this season.

I think the best thing that anybodycan do is play well as a team, Helfrichsaid. I think he understands that, andour team understands that. All those

accolades and honors come as theresult of that. Our best service to himand to our team is to prepare great,and then it allows him to play well.

Setting the standard

Ogo QB has yt to thow a itctio

CHrOnICle FIle pHOTO

Cobacks Sa Gods, ft, Fows ad Motaa Stat a

scod i th Big Sky i ass-fficicy dfs.Ap

Ogo quatback Macus Maiota sits i fo a touchdow duig th fist quat

of Oct. 5s gam agaist Cooado i Boud, Coo.


6/6

bozeman daily chronicle6 | Saturday, October 19, 2013BOBCATS GAME DAY



Depthcharts

Montana State

OffenseLEFT TACKLE

55 John Weidenaar 6-7/280 So

76 Marshall Womack 6-5/280 Fr

LEFT GUARD

63 Kyle Godecke 6-5/315 So

72 Charles Lee 6-3/280 Jr

CENTER

74 Matthew Devereux 6-3/300 So

70 Joel Horn 6-4/295 So

RIGHT GUARD

75 JP Flynn 6-5/304 Fr

72 Charles Lee 6-3/280 Jr

RIGHT TACKLE

79 Quinn Catalano 6-4/300 Jr64 Andy Austin 6-3/285 Sr

QUARTERBACK

9 DeNarius McGhee 6-0/212 Sr

2 Jake Bleskin 6-1/195 So

RUNNING BACK

25 Cody Kirk 5-10/213 Sr

33 Shawn Johnson 5-9/175 Jr

X RECEIVER

86 Tanner Bleskin 6-3/218 Sr

83 Manny Kalfell 6-3/193 So

F/Y RECEIVER

4 Jon Ellis 5-10/175 Sr

12 David Dash 5-7/174 Jr

Z RECEIVER84 Brian Flotkoetter 6-2/211 Jr

13 Mitch Griebel 5-11/193 So

TIGHT END

80 Tiai Salanoa 6-3/257 Sr

93 Lee Perkins 6-2/240 Jr

KICKER

18 Rory Perez 6-3/185 Sr

DefenseEND

7 Preston Gale 6-3/254 Sr

10 Odin Coe 6-3/250 So

TACKLE

47 Taylor Dees 6-2/273 Jr

92 Nate Bignell 6-2/273 So

NOSE TACKLE

50 Craig Ashworth 6-1/280 Sr

90 Taylor Sheridan 6-3/280 So

BANDIT

41 Brad Daly 6-1/240 Sr

46 Hayden Vick 6-3/236 Jr

SAM LINEBACKER

16 Cole Moore 6-2/220 Jr

34 Blake Braun 6-1/225 Fr

MIKE LINEBACKER

51 Michael Foster 6-1/228 So

58 Rhett Young 6-0/215 Jr

WILL LINEBACKER

43 Alex Singleton 6-2/240 Jr

29 Feao Vunipola 5-10/222 Fr

BOUNDARY CORNER

37 Deonte Flowers 5-11/183 Jr

36 Brad Nordahl 5-11/172 Jr

ROVER

5 Robert Marshall 6-0/200 Jr

22 Eryon Barnett 6-2/200 Sr

FREE SAFETY

1 Steven Bethley 5-11/210 Sr

26 James Nelson 5-11/199 Jr

FIELD CORNER

3 Sean Gords 5-10/193 Sr

26 James Nelson 5-11/199 Jr

PUNTER

18 Rory Perez 6-3/185 Sr

THE EDGEMontana stateatWeber state

Montana State head coach Rob Ash admitted

earlier this week that he is concerned about

whether the bye will quell all the momentum his

squad generated with impressive wins over North

Dakota and Northern Arizona to open Big Sky play.

Sometimes ater a bye you come out a little at

because you dont have that timing, that schedule,

that routine that youve always been

in, Ash conceded. We should have

momentum I would think, (but) we

just dont know.The coach may be a bit uncertain

at least outwardly but were not. By

any measure, todays game is a colossal

mismatch.

The Weber State deense is the worst

in the Big Sky thus ar. The Wildcats

surrender an average o 49 points per game and

more than 545 yards o total oense 256 on the

ground and 289 through the air.

This is a team that surrendered 70 points in

back-to-back games against in-state FBS oes Utah

and Utah State; a team that has been outscored

119-22 in three Big Sky games; a team that last

week made the triple-option attack o Cal Poly

look like that o Nebraska in the mid-90s.The Mustangs rushed or 365 yards, piled up

580 o total oense and rolled to a 47-0 victory,

handing the Wildcats their sixth consecutive loss.

Remember MSUs trip to Grand Forks, N.D.?

Three weeks ago, the Bobcats rushed or 332 yards

and scored 42 in the opening hal. Shawn Johnson

and Cody Kirk combined or 238 on just 25 carries,

and Kirk set the program record or rushing

touchdowns in a game (fve) and needed just

30 minutes to do it.

Todays game should look very

amiliar.

Quarterback DeNarius McGhee has

been used sparingly in the two gamessince his return and should be well

rested and primed to shoulder more

o the oensive load. That can wait or

a ew weeks, however. The Cats wont

need him much today.

Weber State has struggled to stop

anybody it had to score 50 to pull out a win in

its season opener against Stephen F. Austin and

could be without star linebacker Anthony Morales

or a third consecutive week. The senior logged

13 tackles and a sack when these teams last met

in 2011 but has been slowed by a balky hamstring

this season.

Morales is questionable or the game, and

coaches could opt to sit him with a bye weeklooming. A little advice: I you are watching rom

the sideline today, Anthony, you might want to

cover your eyes. This one is going to get ugly.

WHEN MONTANA STATE HAS THE BALL

This is seemingly as one-sided as it gets in Big

Sky play.

Weber States oense, save or a 50-point

explosion in its opening-weekend win over Ste-

phen F. Austin, is not good. The Wildcats have av-

eraged just seven points in their past

six games. Guess what the outcomeso those games were.

Weber dropped them all. Not a di-

icult guess, right?

Last week against Cal Poly, the

Wildcats were pretty tame, scoring

zero points and mustering 173 yards

o oense.

When this tragic oensive production will

stop, nobody is quite sure. Weber State head

coach Jody Sears said earlier this week that it

is tough to say his team is improving and new

oensive coordinator Robin Plugrad didnt

sound too upbeat about the implementation o

his spread oense in comments he made to the

Daily Chronicle in early October.

It also doesnt bode well or Weber that Mon-

tana States deense, resh o two consecutive

impressive victories, should be just

that resh.The Cats are coming o a bye that

allowed deensive ends Brad Daly

and Preston Gale, linebacker Michael

Foster and saety Steven Bethley to

deal with nagging injuries.

It has certainly seemed that

Montana States deense has begun

to round into shape the past ew weeks.

Though uther answers to the question o just

how good this deense is probably wont be

answered today, MSUs deense should have a

relatively easy time.

WHEN WEBER STATE HAS THE BALL

We couldnt fgure out how many points

the Bobcats were going to score this week, so

we threw up a ew pieces

o paper on the wall, tied

blindolds over our eyes

and tossed a ew darts. On

those papers were numbers

(3,472, 52, 67, 43, 200 and

147) representing what we

thought were possible fnal

tallies or the Bobcats.

Most o the darts landed

on 52.We kidding, o course, but Montana State is

not going to encounter many issues today in

Ogden, Utah.

The young Wildcats

Weber played 26 reshmen

in last weeks 47-0 deeat to

Cal Poly are completely

overmatched in this contest.

Perhaps the only

legitimate question is how

long DeNarius McGhee will

play. Rob Ash let him in

late against NAU, and this

promises to get even moreout o hand than that rout.

52 7

EDGE

EDGE

THE BOTTOM LINE

Weber State

DefenseLEFT END

90 Danny Mullarkey 6-3/245 Sr

53 Dustin Martin 6-3/255 Jr

TACKLE

91 James Washington 6-5/280 Jr

97 Colton Paulhus 6-2/270 Jr

TACKLE

92 Connor Myers 6-0/270 Jr

99 Mene Perese 6-2/250 Fr

RIGHT END

45 Obi Owoh 6-2/245 So

94 Jalin Ames 6-3/245 So

STRONGSIDE LINEBACKER

50 Roman Valenzuela 6-0/220 So33 Karl Finai 5-11/245 Jr

MIDDLE LINEBACKER

44 Anthony Morales 6-0/230 Sr

48 Spencer Unga 5-11/200 Fr

LEFT CORNERBACK

6 Robbie Diamond 6-1/170 Sr

21 A.J. Coney 5-8/170 Fr

W

37 Chris Wheeler 6-0/185 Sr

4 Chris Jones 5-11/190 Jr

FREE SAFETY

20 D.J. Bush 6-0/205 Jr

7 Josh Burton 6-1/175 Fr

ROVER28 Adam Padilla 5-7/185 So

23 Trevon Johnson 6-1/190 Fr

RIGHT CORNERBACK

2 Cordero Dixon 5-10/175 So

9 Jalen Fields 5-10/165 Fr

PUNTER

12 Tony Epperson 6-4/220 Sr

OffenseLEFT TACKLE

68 Shelton Robinson 6-3/285 Jr

70 Shane Oliverson 6-4/260 So

LEFT GUARD

55 Joe Hawkins 6-1/305 So

63 Tyrone Brown 6-2/290 Fr

CENTER

52 Tyson Tiatia 6-2/260 Sr

56 Dakota Jenkins-Baty 6-1/260 Fr

RIGHT GUARD

74 Cameron Young 6-3/305 Fr

76 Justin Turner 6-3/265 So

RIGHT TACKLE

51 Alex Land 6-4/280 Jr

75 A.J. Wilcox 6-5/275 Fr

QUARTERBACK

16 Austin Chipoletti 5-11/190 Fr

17 Jadrian Clark 6-3/215 Fr

RUNNING BACK

24 Josh Booker 6-0/210 Sr

8 Bo Bolen 5-9/200 Jr

TIGHT END

84 Jake Kahawaii 6-4/245 Jr

88 Helam Heimuli 6-3/225 Fr

X WIDE RECEIVER

81 Cameron Livingston 6-2/185 Fr

80 Gamal Fowler 6-0/180 So

F WIDE RECEIVER

83 Erik Walker 5-10/170 Sr

15 Braden Corpus 6-1/215 Fr

Z WIDE RECEIVER

86 Tyler Parson 6-0/185 So

19 Gabe Davis 5-11/205 Fr

KICKER

49 Shaun McClain 6-3/250 Sr

Following its impressive 34-16 win overMontana to start the conference slate, NAUappeared to be a legitimate championshipthreat. But a 36-7 loss in Bozeman broughtthe Lumberjacks (4-2, 2-1) back to earthand seemed to create a hangover for theJacks.

Against Sacramento State, NAU fellbehind by 17 twice in the third quarter. But

Jesse Brantleys 14-yard touchdown recep-tion with 1 minute, 10 seconds left in thequarter started a comeback that witnessedNAU score 18 unanswered points for themuch-needed win.

NAU turned to quarterback ChaseCartwright, who was named the Big Skysoffensive player of the week, in the victory.The Lumberjacks depth chart, however,shows NAU will give the starting nod toKyren Poe despite Cartwrights perfor-mance.

Idaho State (3-3, 1-2) snapped a 17-game losing streak against FCS opponentswith last weeks 40-26 win over NorthernColorado.

Though their overall record is skewed

by wins over two lower-division teams, theBengals have shown marked improvementin coach Mike Kramers second season.The Bengals are eighth in the conferencein both scoring offense (24.5) and scoringdefense (26 2)

SACRAMENTO STATE AT NORTHDAKOTA, 2:35 P.M.: Sacramento Stateis certainly one of the teams that faces amake-or-break situation this week.

A loss to North Dakota would drop theHornets, who started the season as a darkhorse title contender, to 2-2 in conference

with games against Montana and Cal Polyremaining.

The Hornets (3-4, 2-1) dropped a wild39-38 loss to NAU last week, but have aninviting opportunity to get over the loss this

k i t d f l N th D k t

Save for Weber State, North Dakota (2-4,1-2) is the Big Skys worst defense, allowingnearly 40 points per game. That should bea welcome sight for quarterback GarrettSafron and a Hornets attack that has beenlaboring for consistency.

Sacramento State is seventh in theconference in scoring at just more than 27

points per game as Safron sits fourth in theconference in total offense at 283 yards.

The matchup with Sacramento Statecontinues a brutal Big Sky slate for UND.North Dakota has already faced Montana,M t St t d E t W hi t

Its lone conference victory came in a 35-28defeat of Idaho State.

UC DAVIS AT NORTHERNCOLORADO, 1:35 P.M.: UC Davis hopesto rebound from a 42-7 loss to Montanalast week while Northern Colorado is justlooking for a positive sign.

The Aggies (2-5, 2-1) staked themselvesto an undefeated conference mark withwins over Idaho State and Southern Utahbut looked flat Oct. 12 against Montana in

a game they considered a benchmark.As quarterback Randy Wright was in-

cessantly pressured by the Grizzlies, Daviswas held to just 242 yards and didnt findthe end zone until the beginning of thethird quarter.

UC Davis has been hampered by itsoffense in the first year of a new system all season. The Aggies are virtually tiedwith Weber State for last place in the con-ference in scoring at 13 points per game.

Northern Colorado (1-6, 0-3), on theother hand, has been plagued by its last-placed rushing attack, among other issues.The Bears have been forced to the air bythe paltry run game and have displayeda propensity for falling behind early in

games.The matchup will feature the leagues

fourth best passing offense in terms ofyards in UNC (306) versus the Big Skysbest passing defense. Davis is allowing just188 ards thro gh the air

Big Sky/from 2

AP

Quarterback Vernon Adams and Eastern Washington host Southern Utah today.

Game Day - Weber State

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