Griz Game Day Nov. 28

By FRITZ NEIGHBORof the Missoulian

Six years ago football wasn’t the be-all, end-all for Steven Pfahler. He could take it or leave it.

Now, as he and his fellow Montana Grizzlies prepare for an FCS playoff game against South Dakota State, the game is different for Pfahler.

“I didn’t really like football,” the senior tight end says of his high school days. “I loved my coach – Coach (Tim) Racicot was just awesome – but I was planning on throwing the javelin from basically sophomore year on.”

Long Beach State was calling about track and field, and football was on the back burner. But by the time Pfahler had hauled in 24 career touchdown passes at Frenchtown High, the Griz were on the trail along with Washington State and some other schools.

Upheaval on the coaching staff at Long Beach State helped steer Pfahler more toward Missoula. He was told he’d have to put on pounds to play tight end in college, and that hard work was in store.

Steven took some convincing. But then, like his smokejumper brother Sam, he leaped in with both feet.

Not that football is his whole life; far from it. With 14 credits this semester and a goal to graduate in four years this coming spring, school pretty much takes up all of his time.

The Sprinturf on the floor of Washington-Grizzly Stadium is where he gets away.

“This year and last year were just, I don’t know, it’s been a lot of stress,” says Pfahler, who has 20 catches for 270 yards and

three touchdowns for the 11-0 Griz. “I’ve been trying to enjoy my senior year, but school and other things have brought stress.

“Coming to football practice is what’s gotten me through this semester. It gets me through the day.”

Jean Ann Pfahler met

her husband Tim when they both were in Big Timber: She graduated from Sweet Grass High School, Griz coach Bobby Hauck’s alma mater, in 1970; her

English teacher was the late Bob Hauck, Bobby’s father.

Tim Pfahler worked the family ranch. His stint in the Navy and Jean Ann’s nomadic college education – UM, then Montana State, then dental hygiene school in Sheridan, Wyo. – kept them apart for a time.

Now they have raised three boys: Sam, Scott – he played basketball at Montana Tech and is an engineer – and Steven. They seem to be three peas in a pod. They get after it, whether its

hunting or fishing or picking up a blitz or ... roping?

The Pfahlers lived in Big Timber for a time, and then moved to Helena, where the neighbors down the road were the Tryans. By the time the family moved to Frenchtown when Steven was in third grade, the youngest boy was roping with Chase Tryan, who now competes in rodeo for Montana State. Almost needless to say, Steven was good at it.

“I’m thinking if we’d stayed there, we’d be spending $50,000 on a dogging horse, something like that,” said Tim Pfahler.

In Frenchtown, Steven picked up a javelin and started throwing it over 200 feet. He picked up a basketball and helped the Broncs into the State A championship game. And now he’s had the rare effect of changing the Pfahler fall itinerary.

“We were more of a hunting family before,” Jean Ann said. “Now he’s pretty much turned everybody’s life around. Not too much hunting, now.”

On Saturday the Pfahlers will band together to watch the Griz take on the Jackrabbits. Sam’s young daughter Lucy will be there.

“We’ll ask, ‘Where’s Uncle Steve?’ ” Jean Ann says. “And she’ll point out at the field.”

There, big No. 88 could be showing off his excellent hands or sealing a linebacker, helping the Griz win yet another game. Pfahler is among 19 seniors on Montana who’ve won 48 of 53 games in their careers.

“It’s just fun to have him here, fun to have him with the Griz,” says his mom, who along with Tim thought UM football was the perfect fit. “I don’t think he had any idea how much he was going to love it.”

Pfahler weighed around 195 when his senior basketball season ended at Frenchtown. That he weighed 240 pounds six months later, when the Griz opened their 2006 season at Iowa, is nothing short of remarkable.

Not that he ever wants to go through that process again.

“Eating was just a job,” Pfahler said. “My summer was miserable. I basically wanted to throw up the whole time.”

“‘I told him I thought he’d look good at 240,” says Jean Ann, but 240 wasn’t even a rest stop. He kept gaining through the season, until he weighed 265 heading into his first winter conditioning. In a bit of irony, the teammate the Griz call “Beef” – linebacker Shawn Lebsock – started harping on him. Pfahler now stays in the 245-250 range.

It was like everything else he’s done: He sets a goal and gets after it.

“He’s got a plan and he doesn’t stray too far from it,” says his mom. “I’m not sure where he gets it; I don’t know that either one of us are that driven.”

To graduate in four years in exercise science is pretty rare for a football player. His life, not surprisingly, consists of class, practice, film, study, sleep, repeat. With a lot of carbs thrown in.

“These guys are all busy,” Hauck says. “They’ve got school, they’ve got weightlifting, they’ve got treatment, they’ve got practice and they’ve got studying.

“But he’s always been a real focused kid. He was unbelievable in that regard out of high school. He didn’t have to learn how to manage his time. Which is unusual.”

His work in the weight room

G2 – Missoulian, Saturday, November 28, 2009

GRIZZLY GAME DAY / Cover Story: Steven Pfahler

Going all inFrenchtown grad blows past many goals that he sets

See PfAhler, Page G22

TOM BAUER/Missoulian

heading into Saturday’s playoff game against South Dakota State, Steven Pfahler has 62 career catches for 552 yards and four touchdowns.

Missoulian, Saturday, November 28, 2009 – G3

MONTANA (11-0) Griz Opp

Scoring average 34.5 17.9Rushing yards 173.5 87.1Avg./Rush 4.2 3.0Passing 210-341-7 275-458-16Passing yards 431.7 341.2Average per pass 8.3 6.1Total offense 431.7 341.2Average per play 6.0 4.83rd-down conversions 79-165 59-168Time of possession 30:02 29:58Fumbles-lost 15-7 13-5Kick returns 34-23.1 59-18.8Punt returns 29-18.7 8-6.2Punting 39-40.3 65-37.2Sacks by-yards 15-85 12-81

Montana 39 123 87 124 7 – 380Opponents 50 46 38 63 0 – 197

Offensive leadersrushing

Chase Reynolds 251-1159 (4.6 ypc.), long 54, 15 TDsThomas Brooks-Fletcher 83-332 (4.0 ypc.), long 18, 2 TDsPeter Nguyen 24-148 (6.2 ypc.), long 57, 1 TDAndrew Selle 34-91 (2.7 ypc.), long 34, 0 TDsJustin Roper 20-78 (3.9 ypc.), long 22, 0 TDsGerald Kemp 15-67 (4.5 ypc.), long 15, 0 TDs

PassingAndrew Selle 140-221-3 for 1,941 yards, long 68, 18 TDsJustin Roper 70-118-3 for 899 yards, long 84, 8 TDsGerald Kemp 0-1-1 for 0 yards

receivingMarc Mariani 50-980 (19.6 ypc.), long 84, 9 TDsTyler Palmer 28-352 (12.6 ypc.), long 25, 3 TDsChase Reynolds 27-248 (9.2 ypc.), long 36, 2 TDsJabin Sambrano 23-370 (16.1 ypc.), long 57, 1 TDDan Beaudin 21-253 (12.0 ypc.), long 61, 3 TDsStephen Pfahler 20-270 (13.5 ypc.), long 33, 3 TDsSam Gratton 20-173 (8.6 ypc.), long 45, 2 TDsThomas Brooks-Fletcher 6-75 (12.5 ypc.), long 20, 1 TD

Defensive leadersTackles

LB Shawn Lebsock 73, 31 unassistedSS Erik Stoll 63, 25 unassistedLB Brandon Fisher 53, 19 unassistedFS Shann Schillinger 51, 22 unassistedLB Alex Shaw 48, 15 unassisted

DE Severin Campbell 46, 17 unassistedDT Austin Mullins 43, 9 unassistedCB Keith Thompson 35, 21 unassistedCB Trumaine Johnson 35, 20 unassistedDE Jace Palmer 29, 7 unassisted

Tackles for lossDE Severin Campbell 7.5-26DE Jace Palmer 6-21DT Tyler Hobbs 5-18DE Bobby Alt 3.5-7DE Ryan Fetherston 3-10CB Keith Thompson 3-10CB Trumaine Johnson 3-6

SacksDT Tyler Hobbs 3-15DE Severin Campball 2.5-14DE Jace Palmer 2.5-12DE Josh Harris 2-17DT Bryan Waldhauser 2-15

InterceptionsCB Trumaine Johnson 4-14, long 11, 0 TDsCB Andrew Swink 3-18, long 9, 0 TDsFS Shann Schillinger 2-0, 0 TDsDE Jace Palmer 1-57, 1 TDSS Erik Stoll 1-29, 0 TDsLB Brock Coyle 1-26, 0 TDs

fumbles forced-recoveredLB Jordan Tripp 0-2DT Tyler Hobbs 1-1DT Austin Mullins 1-1

Pass breakupsCB Trumaine Johnson 10DE Jace Palmer 5DT Austin Mullins 5FS Shann Schillinger 5

Special teams leadersPATs/field goals

Brody McKnight 45-46/11-20, long 54, 2 blocked, 78 points

PuntingSean Wren 36-39.7, long 60, 9 inside 20, 0 blocked

Punt returnsMarc Mariani 23-18.8, long 82, 1 TDSam Gratton 1-31, 0 TDsJabin Sambrano 1-26, 0 TDsPeter Nguyen 4-13.0, long 33, 0 TDs

Kickoff returnsJabin Sambrano 18-25.7, long 50, 0 TDs

SOuTh DAkOTA STATE (8-3) SDSU Opp

Scoring average 25.9 13.5Rushing yards 132.9 108.4Avg./Rush 3.8 3.2Passing 204-336-9 209-366-16Passing yards 209.9 172.0Average per pass 6.9 5.2Total offense 342.8 280.4Average per play 5.3 4.23rd-down conversions 64-156 58-167Time of possession 29:37 30:23Fumbles-lost 12-6 10-4Kick returns 34-23.2 41-16.9Punt returns 28-8.2 23-6.6Punting 54-40.6 66-36.6Sacks by-yards 26-183 18-102

South Dakota State 61 81 76 67 – 285Opponents 39 68 17 24 – 148

Offensive leadersrushing

Kyle Minett 235-1173 (5.0 ypc.), long 64, 14 TDsTyler Duffy 71-251 (3.5 ypc.), long 22, 2 TDsTyrel Kool 14-88 (6.3 ypc.), long 26, 0 TDsAdam Monke 7-31 (4.4 ypc.), long 19, 0 TDsJordan Paula 8-30 (3.8 ypc.), long 7, 1 TD

PassingThomas O’Brien 112-193-6 for 1250 yards, long 63, 8 TDsRyan Crawford 92-143-3 for 1059 yards, long 62, 6 TDs

receivingGlen Fox 60-718 (12.0 ypc.), long 63, 4 TDsMike Steffen 37-655 (17.7 ypc.), long 62, 4 TDsSaunders Montague 37-337 (9.1 ypc.), long 23, 2 TDSColin Cochart 22-212 (9.6 ypc.), long 37, 2 TDS

Defensive leadersTackles

LB Derek Domino 88, 40 unassistedDE Danny Batten 82, 38 unassistedSS Conrad Kjerstad 76, 43 unassistedLB Chris Johnson 71, 33 unassistedCB Cole Brodie 59, 31 unassistedLB Jimmy Rogers 59, 25 unassisted

Tackles for lossDE Danny Batten 17-88LB Derek Domino 8-38DE Jake Steffen 7.5-45

DE Antonio Thompson 5-20LB Jimmy Rogers 5-16DT Steven Bazata 4-17LB Isaiah Jackson 3.5-17

SacksDE Danny Batten 9-64DE Jake Steffen 3-22DT Steven Bazata 2.5-14DE Antonio Thompson 2.5-14

InterceptionsLB Derek Domino 5-8.4, long 22, 2 TDsSS Conrad Kjerstad 4-15.5, long 40, 0 TDsCB General Parnell 4-24.0, long 63, 0 TDs

Pass breakupsSS Conrad Kjerstad 4CB Rodkem Matthews 3CB Cole Brodie 3FS Anthony Wise 3

Special teams leadersPATs/field goals

Peter Reifenrath 20-20/9-11, long 34, 0 blocked, 47 pointsKyle Harris 11-11/7-14, long 49, 0 blocked, 32 points

PuntingDean Priddy 53-41.2, long 64, 17 inside 20, 0 blocked

Punt returnsSaunders Montague 24-9.0, long 49, 0 TDs

Kickoff returnsAdam Monke 10-20.1, long 44, 0 TDsCole Brodie 7-29.7, long 51, 0 TDsTyrel Kool 5-35.6, long 84, 0 TDs


GRIZZLY GAME DAY / Stat pack

BY ThE NuMBERSJACkRABBITS’ SChEDuLESept. 12 ........................ GA. SOUTHERN (W, 44-6)Sept. 19 ......................... INDIANA STATE (W, 41-0)Sept. 26 ............................. at Illinois State (W,38-7)Oct. 3 .....................................at Cal Poly (L, 14-21)Oct. 10 ........................ at Missouri State (W, 24-17)Oct. 17 ............NORTH DAKOTA STATE (W, 28-13)Oct. 24 ..................... NORTHERN IOWA (W, 24-14)Oct. 31 .................... at Youngstown State (W, 17-3)Nov. 7 .................. SOUTHERN ILLINOIS (L, 15-34)Nov. 14 .............................. at Minnesota (L, 13-16)Nov. 21 ........................ at Western Illinois (W, 27-7)

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GRIZZLY GAME DAY / Grizzly Q&A

Brock Coyle

No. 56Year:

FreshmanPosition:Linebackerheight:6-foot-2Weight:

215hometown:

Bozeman

Bozeman native makes quick impressionBy SCOTT JOHNSON

for the Missoulian

Montana linebacker Brock Coyle is providing another reason for Griz fans to be thankful for the future.

Coyle is one of five true freshman contributing for the top-ranked Grizzlies this season. The Bozeman native has 15 tackles in 10 games, including two in last Saturday’s 33-19 victory over Montana State.

Coyle also snared an interception against Portland State. He was well on his way to a lengthy return before a run-in with a teammate inadvertently jarred the ball loose.

“Andrew Swink gave me a nice strip drill,” said Coyle, who recovered the fumble 13 yards later. “He was running beside me and knocked it out. I landed on it. Bottom line is that I coughed it up.”

Cole said he and Swink were able to laugh about the play.

“Absolutely,” he said. “We had a good laugh about it. It was great we got that turnover and for our offense to get back on the field.”

Q: What is something from this

season that you are thankful for? A: As a whole I’m thankful we

had an undefeated regular season. We worked really hard for it. We have our sights set really high.

Q: What is something non-football related you’re thankful

for?A: That I’m at a great university

with a great fan base and it has a great campus. And that I’m in a town like Missoula and I get to spend four more years here.

Q: What’s your favorite part of a Thanksgiving meal?

A: Probably has to be the turkey. You can’t beat a turkey with gravy and mashed potatoes. And the stuffing of course.

Q: What are your plans for Thanksgiving?

A: My plans are to go home and spend the dinner with my family and come back and get ready for South Dakota State.

Q: What was you initial reaction when you found out the Griz would host South Dakota State in the opening round of the playoffs?

A: I was very excited. I knew whoever we were going get that we were in for a challenge. It’s my first year and we’re excited. We’re playing good football.

Q: What do you know about South Dakota State?

A: They seem like a good football team. They seem well-coached. They look like they have some good players.

Q: You’re a Bozeman native who played in your first Brawl of the Wild in your hometown last Saturday. What was that like?

A: It was really exciting. To go home in the stadium where I grew up watching Griz-Cat games was

amazing. I was really happy to be a part of it.

Q: Did you have a lot of people try to get tickets from you?

A: Just my family. I was really happy I was able to get tickets for them.

Q: Had you ever attended any Cat-Griz, or Griz-Cat if you prefer, games before as a fan?

A: I went to both stadiums to watch the games. Always a great atmosphere. It brings out the best of both teams. I loved being a part of that game. It’s one of the best feelings I’ve ever had.

Q: How many games had you seen in person as a fan?

A: I want to say about five.Q: Beside a misguided

appreciation for the colors blue and gold, what’s the biggest difference between your hometown Bozeman and Missoula?

A: I feel Missoula is a an awesome college town and also Missoula doesn’t get as much snow as the Bozeman area, which is also nice until ski season comes around.

Q: Are you a skier or a snowboarder?

A: I grew up skiing. I have skied all my life.

Q: What’s your favorite place to ski in Montana.

A: Big Sky. I’ve skied there since I was a little guy.

Q: Have you ever skied Snowbowl?

A: I used to ski in a lot races. I was up there for some races.

Q: You played running back in high school. If you had the option of playing running back or linebacker for the Griz, which would you prefer?

A: Linebacker hands down. It’s a fun position and I like being on the defensive end rather the offensive side. I like tackling rather than being tackled.

Q: When did you find out that you weren’t going to redshirt this year?

A: At the end of fall camp the coaches told me. I was thrilled and excited. That was big goal of mine to come in and compete and help this team win as much as possible.

Q: Has the transition from high school to college been easier than you expected?

A: The speed of the game and physical aspect has definitely increased, but you learn that it’s the same game you’ve been playing for the past four years. With good preparation and hard work, it’s been a good transition.

Q: You were a second-team, all-state selection at kicker during your junior year in high school. Did you kick as a senior?

A: I did, yeah. I think I was all-state second team as a senior too, but I can’t remember.

Q: Could you be counted on to fill in if Griz kicker Brody McKnight was unable to perform

See COYle, Page G22


WE’RE FANS TOO.


Montana

SDSU

Montana

SDSU

Montana

SDSU

Head coach Bobby Hauck, the Big Sky’s coach of the year, guided his Grizzlies to a seventh straight playoff appearance. The Jackrabbits are making just their second ever playoff appearance. I have a sneaky suspicion Hauck is in the running for the Eddie Robinson Award too.

Unless there’s a reincarnation of former Jacks’ kicker Adam Vinatieri on this year’s squad then the special teams nod goes to Montana in a big way. By the way, Vinatieri’s great-great grandfather Felix Vinatieri served as Gen. George Armstrong Custer’s bandmaster, though he was spared from the Battle of the Little Bighorn.

The Jackrabbits have the best pass efficiency defense in the nation and are No. 5 in yards allowed. I don’t foresee the Griz throwing it a bunch against these guys, so we’ll get to see how they are as run-stoppers.

First-team all-Missouri Valley Conference linebacker Derek Domino makes offensive players fall flat (he leads SDSU with 87 tackles), but so does first-team all-Big Sky ’backer Shawn Lebsock, whose 79 stops leads UM.

Not only does SDSU have Buck Buchanan candidate Danny Batten, but this front has gone up against some of the top-ranked rushing attacks in the country: Southern Illinois (4th), North Dakota State (8th), Northern Iowa (13th) and Cal Poly (19th).

Marc Mariani could have been the Big Sky Conference offensive MVP, but wasn’t. He had yet another two-TD game last week against the Cats. Mariani is third in the nation in yards per reception (19.6). That’s almost a fifth of the football field every time he catches the ball.

If you look at the eight FCS playoff games this weekend, only this one matches up two of the nation’s top 10 backs. It’s SDSU’s Kyle Minett (1,173 yards; 14 TDs) vs. UM’s Chase Reynolds (1,159 yards; 15 TDs). It’s too tough to tell.

South Dakota State and Montana both use the two-headed quarterback system. The Jackrabbits start freshman Thomas O’Brien, while senior Ryan Crawford waits in the wings. Juniors Andrew Selle and Justin Roper, the fifth-most efficient passers in the FCS, give the Grizzlies the better gunslingers though.

The big guys up front love to eat and it appears as though Montana’s front five will get some home-cooking this Thanksgiving weekend. South Dakota State’s big uglies will have to eat their cranberry sauce out of a to-go can.

Montana

SDSU

Montana

SDSU

Montana

SDSU

Montana

SDSU

Montana

SDSU

Montana

SDSU

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By NICK LOCKRIDGEof the Missoulian

Congratulations, Fritz. There I said it. Or at least I typed

it, which is easier than telling the guy to his face. The Neighbor-ator (like Terminator) destroyed the picks column competition this season and thus earned the title as the Missoulian’s best fooball prognosticator – Fritz’s first win since 2006, which was the last year he and Rial Cummings went cranium-to-cranium.

Fritz misfired on only eight picks this fall. That’s pretty impressive, especially when you consider the dude was seeing Tweety Birds seven weeks ago when he was hit in the head by a wayward pigskin after the Cal Poly game at Washington-Grizzly Stadium. Don’t believe me? Check out the Fritz Blitz video online to see for yourself.

Neighbor has been on fire since getting nailed in the noggin. He’s picked only four games wrong (24-4 overall) since then, while last year’s winner Bill Speltz went 23-5 over that same span to recover from an abysmal 24-7 start. Our rookie bookie Michael Heinbach went 22-6 down the stretch and finished second. On the other hand, I went 20-8 since

hitting Fritz with the football, err, I mean since he was hit.

I’m now 0-for-3 in years that I’ve competed in the picks column. My inability to correctly judge Portland State’s football program – as well as picking against the Griz a few times – has been my downfall. After a second straight soul-searching journey to Wibaux, I believe I’ll get it right next year.

Perhaps somebody will hit me in the head with a football. Any takers?

Something tells me Fritz is at the front of that line, too.

That wraps up this year’s edition of “How We See the Sky.” Without further ado, here are the postseason picks we’ve included just for fun. Happy Thanksgiving Griz Nation. Enjoy the playoffs.

The picksn No. 11 South Dakota State at No.

3 Montana: The Jackrabbits and Griz have some memorable regular season meetings. Now they meet for the first time in the playoffs. This one might not be so memorable for South Dakota State.

fritz: Griz 30, SoDak St. 10. Michael: Griz 24, SoDak St. 13. Nick: Griz 34, SoDak St. 17. Bill: Griz 28, SoDak St. 21.

n No. 13 eastern Washington at No. 12 Stephen f. Austin: I don’t think I’m alone on this, but I think Eastern received a good draw here. Maybe I just want to see another barnburner between EWU and UM, or a rematch of Taiwan Jones and Chase Reynolds. Can you blame me?

fritz: EWU 44, SFA 40. Michael: SFA 28, EWU 21. Nick: EWU 23, SFA 17. Bill: EWU 38, SFA 35

n No. 9 elon at No. 4 richmond: The defending national champs begin their march toward another title game appearance as they welcome in Elon University (Hint: it’s in Elon, North Carolina). If it sounds like a mismatch, that’s because it is.

fritz: Spiders 22, Elon 20. Michael: Spiders 30, Elon 12. Nick: Spiders 40, Elon 16. Bill: Spiders 21, Elon 10.

n No. 7 South Carolina State at No. 5 Appalachian State: South Carolina State is one of four teams in the FCS playoffs with only one loss on their record. But the Bulldogs didn’t have a fun trip to Boone, N.C., last year when they lost in the first round.

fritz: App State 38, SC State 22. Michael: App State 35, SC State 21. Nick: App State 37, SC State 13. Bill: App State 35, SC State 31.

n No. 17 holy Cross at No. 2 Villanova: Holy smokes this would be a huge upset if Holy Cross were to pull this one off. The Wildcats are a legitimate title contender. Holy Cross is a legitimate Brain Bowl contestant, though it did lose to Brown and Bucknell earlier this year.

fritz: Nova 48, Holy Cross 21. Michael: Nova 34, Holy Cross 12. Nick: Nova 46, Holy Cross 17. Bill: Nova 39, Holy Cross 24.

n No. 10 New hampshire at No. 8 McNeese State: I don’t know the Cowboys fanbase all that well, so I better tread lightly here, but I just find it funny how they say Mac-Neese rather than McNeese. That said ...

fritz: Mac-Neese 27, UNH 17. Michael: UNH 19, Mac-Neese 17. Nick: UNH 31, Mac-Neese 30. Bill: Mac-Neese 41, UNH 30.

n No. 19 eastern Illinois at No. 1 Southern Illinois: Anybody else confused as to which direction this game is going? That’s what I thought. I thought I saw Bill Speltz wearing a Salukis hat the other day, maybe he can help anybody that gets lost.

fritz: Salukis 33, EIU 16. Michael: Salukis 42, EIU 21. Nick: Salukis 43, EIU 13. Bill: Salukis 24, EIU 17.

n No. 15 Weber State at No. 6 William & Mary: The Big Sky Conference should be proud of getting three teams in the FCS playoffs. But as the only four-loss team in the field, Weber doesn’t appear to have the backing from our office like it did from the Big Sky’s.

fritz: Weber 27, Bill ’n Mary 14. Michael: Bill ’n Mary 24, Weber 21. Nick: Bill ’n Mary 36, Weber 23. Bill: Bill ’n Mary 31, Weber 21.

BILL SPELTZ

FRITZ NEIGhBOR

NICk LOCkRIDGE

hOW WE SEE ThE BIG SkY

Season record: Fritz 51-8, Bill 47-12, Nick 48-11, Michael 49-10

GRIZZLY GAME DAY / Big Sky picks


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GRIZZLY GAME DAY / Big Sky focus

n Team statisticsThrough Nov. 21

SCOrING OffeNSe G TD XP 2X DX fG Saf Pts AvgMontana 11 49 45 2 0 11 2 380 34.5EWU 11 52 47 0 0 4 0 371 33.7Weber 11 43 36 2 0 12 2 338 30.7NAU 11 39 36 2 0 17 1 327 29.7Sac State 11 34 30 1 0 12 1 274 24.9MSU 11 31 25 0 0 14 2 257 23.4PSU 11 25 22 1 0 18 2 232 21.1UNC 11 24 21 2 0 11 0 202 18.4ISU 11 16 15 1 0 9 1 142 12.9

rUShING OffeNSe G Att Yds Avg TD Yds/GMontana 11 454 1909 4.2 20 173.5MSU 11 413 1619 3.9 15 147.2EWU 11 356 1557 4.4 19 141.5NAU 11 360 1440 4.0 16 130.9Weber 11 368 1390 3.8 10 126.4Sac State 11 387 1341 3.5 14 121.9UNC 11 339 1190 3.5 12 108.2PSU 11 326 1184 3.6 8 107.6ISU 11 298 472 1.6 3 42.9

SCOrING DefeNSe G TD XP 2X DX fG S Pts AvgMontana 11 23 22 0 0 11 2 197 17.9Weber 11 27 19 1 0 13 0 222 20.2MSU 11 29 27 0 0 13 2 244 22.2EWU 11 35 27 2 0 12 4 285 25.9UNC 11 37 34 0 0 10 1 288 26.2NAU 11 40 38 1 0 15 1 327 29.7Sac 11 49 46 2 0 9 0 371 33.7PSU 11 49 45 2 0 9 1 372 33.8ISU 11 51 48 0 0 22 2 424 38.5

rUShING DefeNSe G Att Yds Avg TD Yds/GMSU 11 377 907 2.4 2 82.5Montana 11 320 958 3.0 6 87.1NAU 11 363 1377 3.8 13 125.2PSU 11 401 1455 3.6 18 132.3EWU 11 394 1545 3.9 17 140.5Sac State 11 378 1608 4.3 27 146.2Weber 11 405 1647 4.1 10 149.7UNC 11 425 1902 4.5 16 172.9ISU 11 408 2331 5.7 27 211.9

PASS OffeNSe G Att Cp Int Pct. Yds Avg TD P/GEWU 11 393 261 5 66.4 3394 8.6 30 308.5NAU 11 420 276 8 65.7 3394 8.1 23 308.5WSU 11 423 275 17 65.0 3228 7.6 31 293.5UM 11 341 210 7 61.6 2840 8.3 26 258.2PSU 11 384 210 23 54.7 2723 7.1 14 247.5Sac 11 361 209 14 57.9 2509 7.0 18 228.1UNC 11 398 237 7 59.5 2506 6.3 11 227.8MSU 11 372 214 10 57.5 2359 6.3 14 214.5ISU 11 413 215 15 52.1 2178 5.3 13 198.0

TOTAl OffeNSe G run Pass Plays Yds Avg TD P/GEWU 11 1557 3394 749 4951 6.6 49 450.1NAU 11 1440 3394 780 4834 6.2 39 439.5UM 11 1909 2840 795 4749 6.0 46 431.7Weber 11 1390 3228 791 4618 5.8 41 419.8MSU 11 1619 2359 785 3978 5.1 29 361.6PSU 11 1184 2723 710 3907 5.5 22 355.2Sac 11 1341 2509 748 3850 5.1 32 350.0UNC 11 1190 2506 737 3696 5.0 23 336.0ISU 11 472 2178 711 2650 3.7 16 240.9

PASS DefeNSe G Att Cp Int Pct. Yds Avg TD P/GUNC 11 352 217 12 61.6 2264 6.4 21 205.8Weber 11 322 165 11 51.2 2455 7.6 13 223.2ISU 11 407 246 11 60.4 2727 6.7 18 247.9UM 11 458 275 16 60.0 2795 6.1 17 254.1MSU 11 423 242 13 57.2 2876 6.8 27 261.5NAU 11 395 241 10 61.0 2970 7.5 25 270.0EWU 11 430 264 14 61.4 3034 7.1 17 275.8PSU 11 373 210 5 56.3 3090 8.3 28 280.9Sac 11 402 269 10 66.9 3155 7.8 20 286.8

TOTAl DefeNSe G run Pass Plays Yds Avg TD P/GMontana 11 958 2795 778 3753 4.8 23 341.2MSU 11 907 2876 800 3783 4.7 29 343.9Weber 11 1647 2455 727 4102 5.6 23 372.9UNC 11 1902 2264 777 4166 5.4 37 378.7NAU 11 1377 2970 758 4347 5.7 38 395.2PSU 11 1455 3090 774 4545 5.9 46 413.2EWU 11 1545 3034 824 4579 5.6 34 416.3Sac 11 1608 3155 780 4763 6.1 47 433.0ISU 11 2331 2727 815 5058 6.2 45 459.8

KICKOff reTUrNS G ret Yds TD AvgWeber State 11 36 863 0 24.0Portland State 11 60 1432 1 23.9Montana 11 34 786 0 23.1Sacramento State 11 48 1085 0 22.6Idaho State 11 68 1425 0 21.0Northern Arizona 11 43 888 0 20.7Northern Colorado 11 38 742 0 19.5Eastern Washington 11 50 938 0 18.8Montana State 11 43 789 0 18.3

PUNT reTUrNS G ret Yds TD AvgWeber State 11 20 407 2 20.4Montana 11 29 542 1 18.7Northern Arizona 11 16 123 0 7.7Portland State 11 12 91 0 7.6Northern Colorado 11 22 152 0 6.9Eastern Washington 11 17 110 0 6.5Montana State 11 20 111 1 5.6Sacramento State 11 16 76 0 4.8Idaho State 11 21 71 0 3.4

PUNTING No. Yds Avg Pr Avg TB NetWeber 44 1818 41.3 31 0.7 2 39.7Montana 39 1572 40.3 50 1.3 2 38.0ISU 79 3339 42.3 419 5.3 3 36.2PSU 49 1825 37.2 80 1.6 5 33.6EWU 54 2130 39.4 203 3.8 6 33.5UNC 61 2346 38.5 148 2.4 8 33.4MSU 60 2452 40.9 365 6.1 6 32.8Sac State 53 2067 39.0 281 5.3 3 32.6NAU 52 1914 36.8 211 4.1 1 32.4

PASS effICIeNCY G Att Cp Pct Int Yds TD efficEWU 11 393 261 66.4 5 3394 30 161.6Montana 11 341 210 61.6 7 2840 26 152.6NAU 11 420 276 65.7 8 3394 23 147.9Weber 11 423 275 65.0 17 3228 31 145.3Sac State 11 361 209 57.9 14 2509 18 125.0UNC 11 398 237 59.5 7 2506 11 118.0MSU 11 372 214 57.5 10 2359 14 117.8PSU 11 384 210 54.7 23 2723 14 114.3ISU 11 413 215 52.1 15 2178 13 99.5

TUrNOVer MArGIN Gained lost G fum Int Tot fum Int Tot Mar P/GEWU 11 14 14 28 10 5 15 +13 1.18Montana 11 5 16 21 7 7 14 +7 0.64NAU 11 8 10 18 7 8 15 +3 0.27UNC 11 7 12 19 9 7 16 +3 0.27Weber 11 8 11 19 5 17 22 -3 -0.27ISU 11 15 11 26 16 15 31 -5 -0.45MSU 11 5 13 18 14 10 24 -6 -0.55Sac State 11 7 10 17 11 14 25 -8 -0.73PSU 11 9 5 14 11 23 34 -20 -1.82

PASS DefeNSe effICIeNCY G Att Cp Int Pct Yds TD efficMontana 11 458 275 16 60.0 2795 17 116.6Weber 11 322 165 11 51.2 2455 13 121.8ISU 11 407 246 11 60.4 2727 18 125.9EWU 11 430 264 14 61.4 3034 17 127.2UNC 11 352 217 12 61.6 2264 21 128.5MSU 11 423 242 13 57.2 2876 27 129.2NAU 11 395 241 10 61.0 2970 25 140.0Sac State 11 402 269 10 66.9 3155 20 144.3PSU 11 373 210 5 56.3 3090 28 148.0

fIrST DOWNS G rush Pass Pen TotalWeber State 11 77 145 17 239E. Washington 11 79 143 15 237Montana 11 94 126 15 235Northern Arizona 11 78 140 16 234Montana State 11 94 101 23 218Sacramento State 11 87 107 12 206Northern Colorado 11 73 110 16 199Portland State 11 66 103 16 185Idaho State 11 36 97 25 158

3rD-DOWN CONVerSIONS G Conv Att PctMontana 11 79 165 47.9Weber State 11 82 172 47.7Eastern Washington 11 62 146 42.5Northern Colorado 11 66 161 41.0Sacramento State 11 62 156 39.7Northern Arizona 11 60 156 38.5Portland State 11 52 151 34.4Montana State 11 54 164 32.9Idaho State 11 35 161 21.7

OPPONeNT 1ST DOWNS G rush Pass Pen TotalWeber State 11 84 102 19 205Montana 11 63 131 12 206No. Arizona 11 68 129 13 210

No. Colorado 11 102 97 18 217Montana State 11 73 126 18 217Portland State 11 77 127 23 227E. Washington 11 84 134 18 236Sac State 11 89 141 17 247Idaho State 11 116 119 19 254

OPP 3rD-DOWN CONVerSIONS G Conv Att PctWeber State 11 46 147 31.3Montana State 11 55 169 32.5Montana 11 59 168 35.1Eastern Washington 11 62 167 37.1Idaho State 11 59 149 39.6Northern Colorado 11 71 165 43.0Sacramento State 11 62 142 43.7Portland State 11 76 170 44.7Northern Arizona 11 77 169 45.6

SACKS BY G Sacks YardsMontana State 11 31 185Eastern Washington 11 26 170Portland State 11 24 161Weber State 11 22 132Sacramento State 11 22 136Northern Arizona 11 19 115Northern Colorado 11 18 121Montana 11 15 85Idaho State 11 8 54

SACKS AGAINST G Sacks YardsMontana 11 14 87Weber State 11 17 104Montana State 11 18 125Northern Arizona 11 18 122Northern Colorado 11 19 124Sacramento State 11 21 139Eastern Washington 11 27 137Portland State 11 28 165Idaho State 11 31 213

PeNAlTIeS G No Yds AvgSacramento State 11 64 531 48.3Montana State 11 63 552 50.2Northern Arizona 11 55 573 52.1Weber State 11 75 658 59.8Idaho State 11 88 699 63.5Eastern Washington 11 77 702 63.8Northern Colorado 11 83 718 65.3Portland State 11 74 727 66.1Montana 11 76 821 74.6

OPPONeNT PeNAlTIeS G No Yds Avg/GSacramento State 11 12 13 .923Montana State 11 14 18 .778Northern Arizona 11 17 24 .708Portland State 11 18 26 .692Idaho State 11 9 13 .692Northern Colorado 11 11 16 .688Weber State 11 12 20 .600Montana 11 11 20 .550Eastern Washington 11 4 8 .500

TIMe Of POSSeSSION G Total Time AvgWeber State 11 349:15 31:45Sacramento State 11 330:22 30:02Montana 11 330:18 30:01Northern Arizona 11 328:00 29:49Portland State 11 323:16 29:23Montana State 11 321:28 29:13Eastern Washington 11 319:48 29:04Northern Colorado 11 310:18 28:12Idaho State 11 308:42 28:03

KICKOff COVerAGe G No. Yds Avg retn TB NetISU 11 36 2401 66.7 412 17 45.8Weber 11 65 4170 64.2 1098 11 43.9Montana 11 69 4273 61.9 1107 7 43.9Sac State 11 56 3429 61.2 845 8 43.3PSU 11 53 3472 65.5 1058 6 43.3MSU 11 57 3599 63.1 878 14 42.8UNC 11 44 2744 62.4 772 7 41.6NAU 11 67 4187 62.5 1122 17 40.7EWU 11 70 4242 60.6 1267 14 38.5

Individual statistics rUShING G Att Yds Avg TD lg AvgHenderson,NAU 11 253 1166 4.6 12 69 106.0Reynolds, UM 11 251 1159 4.6 15 54 105.4TJones, EWU 11 147 1095 7.4 14 96 99.5TSmith, Weber 10 221 979 4.4 7 49 97.9Mason, MSU 9 128 618 4.8 5 26 68.7Harris, UNC 11 145 646 4.5 7 45 58.7

Palmer, MSU 11 115 510 4.4 5 31 46.4Knickrehm, ISU 10 140 434 3.1 2 31 43.4Bolen, Weber 11 88 442 5.0 3 35 40.2McClintock,PSU 11 87 420 4.8 2 27 38.2

INTerCePTIONS G Int Yds TD lg Int/GMJohnson, EWU 11 6 58 1 33 0.55TJohnson, UM 8 4 35 0 14 0.50Schrader, Sac 11 4 78 0 24 0.36Rider, MSU 11 4 12 0 12 0.36Bignell, MSU 10 3 3 0 3 0.30Askew, UNC 11 3 112 1 88 0.27Brown, Weber 11 3 65 0 34 0.27Hewitt, UNC 11 3 54 0 39 0.27Shead, PSU 11 3 49 1 31 0.27Hatch, EWU 11 3 0 0 0 0.27Retoriano, MSU 10 2 53 0 53 0.20

PASSING YArDS Att Cp Int Pct. Yds TD P/GNichols, EWU 382 255 5 66.8 3369 30 306.3Herrick, NAU 407 270 8 66.3 3356 22 305.1Higgins, WSU 414 268 16 64.7 3154 30 286.7Waggener,NC 385 231 7 60.0 2410 9 219.1Selle, UM 221 140 3 63.3 1941 18 176.5Smith, Sac 247 142 9 57.5 1707 12 170.7Iddins, MSU 195 113 6 57.9 1217 5 135.2Kempt, MSU 173 100 4 57.8 1108 9 123.1Roper, UM 118 70 3 59.3 899 8 89.9B-Thmpsn,Sac 110 64 5 58.2 746 4 82.9

PASS effICIeNCY Att Cp Int Pct. Yds TD eff.Nichols, EWU 382 255 5 66.8 3369 30 164.1Selle, UM 221 140 3 63.3 1941 18 161.3Herrick, NAU 407 270 8 66.3 3356 22 149.5Higgins, WSU 414 268 16 64.7 3154 30 144.9Roper, UM 118 70 3 59.3 899 8 140.6Smith, Sac 247 142 9 57.5 1707 12 124.3Kempt, MSU 173 100 4 57.8 1108 9 124.1B-Thmpsn,Sac 110 64 5 58.2 746 4 118.1Waggener,NC 385 231 7 60.0 2410 9 116.7Iddins, MSU 195 113 6 57.9 1217 5 112.7

TOTAl OffeNSe G run Pass Plays Tot P/GNichols, EWU 11 85 3369 444 3454 314.0Herrick, NAU 11 -75 3356 438 3281 298.3Higgins, Weber 11 -95 3154 444 3059 278.1Waggener,NC 11 61 2410 446 2471 224.6Selle, UM 11 91 1941 255 2032 184.7Smith, Sac 10 -73 1707 277 1634 163.4Iddins, MSU 9 18 1217 234 1235 137.2Kempt, MSU 9 84 1108 203 1192 132.4Hendersn, NAU 11 1166 0 253 1166 106.0Reynolds, UM 11 1159 0 251 1159 105.4

PUNT reTUrNS ret Yds TD long AvgToone, Weber 18 382 2 95 21.2Mariani, Montana 23 433 1 82 18.8Lutz, NC 21 146 0 24 7.0Richardson, Sac 16 76 0 15 4.8 KICK reTUrNS ret Yds TD long AvgJ. Hendershott, Sac 14 366 0 43 26.1Sambrano, Montana 18 463 0 50 25.7Woods, PSU 53 1314 1 97 24.8Bolen, Weber 32 790 0 67 24.7Nguyen, Montana 12 296 0 61 24.7McCowan, Sac 18 414 0 75 23.0Shanks, NAU 28 599 0 57 21.4Gilbert, MSU 23 478 0 39 20.8T. Jones, EWU 27 557 0 52 20.6Ponciano, ISU 36 741 0 46 20.6

reCeIVING G rec Yds TD lg Avg P/GBerry, NAU 11 75 1075 7 81 14.3 97.7Toone, Weber 11 77 1058 10 52 13.7 96.2Mariani, UM 11 50 980 9 84 19.6 89.1Fry, PSU 11 67 904 3 56 13.5 82.2Thompson, NC 11 71 864 7 80 12.2 78.5Meadows, NAU 11 72 843 4 78 11.7 76.6Davis, EWU 11 67 833 1 50 12.4 75.7Reed, Sac 10 46 731 7 48 15.9 73.1Phillips, Weber 10 37 676 6 80 18.3 67.6Kirven, PSU 11 37 660 5 91 17.8 60.0

PUNTING No. Yds lg AvgVanderwielen, ISU 74 3308 76 44.7Fisher, MSU 46 1958 77 42.6Snoy, Weber 44 1818 66 41.3Wren, Montana 39 1572 65 40.3Zuber, EWU 37 1477 64 39.9Kaman, NC 60 2344 66 39.1Heath, Sac 53 2067 57 39.0Duyndam, PSU 44 1693 65 38.5Rauschert, NAU 52 1914 54 36.8

All PUrPOSe YArDS G run rcv Pr Kr Yds P/GTJones, EWU 11 1095 493 0 557 2145 195.0Woods, PSU 11 -2 535 82 1314 1929 175.4Toone, Weber 11 2 1058 382 69 1511 137.4Henderson,NAU 11 1166 315 0 0 1481 134.6Bolen, Weber 11 442 242 0 790 1474 134.0Mariani, UM 11 0 980 433 21 1434 130.4Ponciano, ISU 9 11 393 15 741 1160 128.9Reynolds, UM 11 1159 248 0 0 1407 127.9TSmith, Weber 10 979 270 0 0 1249 124.9Gilbert, MSU 11 151 556 10 478 1195 108.6

SCOrING G TD XPT fG 2XP Pts P/GTJones, EWU 11 18 0 0 0 108 9.8Reynolds, UM 11 17 0 0 0 102 9.3Myers, NAU 11 0 36 17 0 87 7.9Henderson, NAU 11 14 0 0 0 84 7.6McKnight, UM 11 0 45 11 0 78 7.1Brown, PSU 11 0 21 18 0 75 6.8Cunningham,MSU 10 0 25 14 0 67 6.7Overbay, EWU 11 12 0 0 0 72 6.5Toone, Weber 11 12 0 0 0 72 6.5Snoy, Weber 11 0 32 12 0 68 6.2 fIelD GOAlS G fG fGA Pct. P/GBrown, PSU 11 18 25 72.0 1.64Myers, NAU 11 17 24 70.8 1.55Cunningham, MSU 10 14 18 77.8 1.40York, NC 10 11 16 68.8 1.10Diniz, Sac State 11 12 13 92.3 1.09Snoy, Weber 11 12 18 66.7 1.09McKnight, Montana 11 11 20 55.0 1.00Huk, ISU 11 9 13 69.2 0.82Jarrett, EWU 11 4 8 50.0 0.36

TACKleS (All positions) G Pos Solo Ast Tot P/G SackSherritt, EWU 11 LB 65 89 154 14.0 0.0Storms, ISU 11 LB 58 62 120 10.9 0.0Arias, ISU 11 LB 36 77 113 10.3 0.0Schrader, Sac 11 DB 49 53 102 9.3 0.0Sedillo, Weber 11 LB 34 65 99 9.0 0.0MJohnson,EWU 11 DB 49 43 92 8.4 1.0King, NC 11 LB 39 52 91 8.3 3.0JBrown, Weber 11 DB 39 51 90 8.2 0.0Borden, EWU 10 LB 26 50 76 7.6 0.0Holmesly,ISU 11 DB 38 44 82 7.5 0.0Fletcher, MSU 9 DE 41 25 66 7.3 6.5Tew, ISU 11 DB 46 34 80 7.3 1.0Buck, Sac 11 LB 39 41 80 7.3 1.0Bignell, MSU 10 LB 27 44 71 7.1 2.5Estrada, NAU 11 DB 47 31 78 7.1 0.0Thomas, NAU 11 LB 34 41 75 6.8 1.0Hewitt, NC 11 DB 38 36 74 6.7 0.0Askew, NC 11 CB 47 27 74 6.7 0.0Lebsock, UM 11 LB 31 42 73 6.6 1.0Julio, NAU 11 DB 35 38 73 6.6 0.0Rau, PSU 11 LB 34 38 72 6.5 4.0Hadley, Weber 11 DB 38 33 71 6.5 0.0Rider, MSU 11 DB 40 31 71 6.5 0.0Gordan, Sac 11 DB 39 29 68 6.2 0.0Zabel, NC 11 LB 21 46 67 6.1 0.0Michon, NC 11 DB 38 28 66 6.0 1.0GJohnson, Sac 10 LB 25 34 59 5.9 0.0Stoll, UM 11 DB 25 38 63 5.7 0.0Owens, MSU 11 LB 29 32 61 5.5 0.5Worthen, PSU 11 DB 32 27 59 5.4 0.0Fisher, UM 10 LB 19 34 53 5.3 0.0Linehan, Weber 11 DE 26 31 57 5.2 6.5Hatch, EWU 11 DB 30 27 57 5.2 0.0Pedersen, PSU 11 LB 32 25 57 5.2 4.0Craney, MSU 11 DB 31 26 57 5.2 0.0Pleasant, ISU 11 DB 22 35 57 5.2 1.0Washburn,EWU 11 LB 17 40 57 5.2 0.0

SACKS G Pos Solo Ast Yds Tot P/GClark, Sac 11 DL 10 0 64 10.0 0.91Bond, NAU 11 DE 8 1 47 8.5 0.77Fletcher, MSU 9 DE 5 3 50 6.5 0.72Williams, EWU 11 DL 6 1 58 6.5 0.59Linehan, Weber 11 DE 6 1 47 6.5 0.59Vance, NAU 11 DE 6 0 35 6.0 0.55Ogden, Weber 11 DL 4 3 27 5.5 0.50Hernon, NC 11 DE 4 2 25 5.0 0.45Kragt, EWU 11 DE 4 1 20 4.5 0.41Rau, PSU 11 LB 4 0 26 4.0 0.36

TACKleS fOr lOSS G Pos Solo Ast Yds Tot P/GFletcher, MSU 9 DE 13 8 73 17.0 1.89Clark, Sac 11 DL 14 3 75 15.5 1.41Linehan, Weber 11 DE 12 1 67 12.5 1.14Williams,EWU 11 DL 10 3 72 11.5 1.05Sherritt, EWU 11 LB 9 5 20 11.5 1.05Bond, NAU 11 DE 9 4 56 11.0 1.00Rau, PSU 11 LB 7 6 38 10.0 0.91RPederson,PSU 11 LB 9 1 33 9.5 0.86Jacobs, PSU 11 DT 8 3 29 9.5 0.86Ogden, MSU 11 DL 6 4 34 8.0 0.73

Final Big Sky Conference statistics


MONTANA ROSTERNo. Name Pos hgt Wgt Year hometown2 – Trumaine Johnson CB 6-3 197 So. Stockton, Calif.3 – Andrew Swink CB 5-9 175 Sr. Rowland Heights, Calif.4 – Erik Stoll S 6-2 203 Jr. Sandpoint, Idaho5 – Donny Lisowski CB 5-11 195 So. Seattle6 – Aaron Roberts WR 5-11 170 Fr. Spokane, Wash.7 – Jeff Larson WR 6-4 210 Jr. Cut Bank8 – Sam Gratton WR 6-0 197 Fr. Billings9 – Mike McCord S 6-0 195 So. Phoenix10 – Shawn Lebsock LB 6-0 225 Sr. Billings11 – Brandon Dodson CB 5-8 170 Jr. Tulare, Calif.12 – Andrew Selle QB 6-2 219 Jr. Billings13 – Josh Pelczar CB 5-9 180 Fr. Billings14 – D.J. Zapata QB 6-3 175 Fr. San Marcos, Calif.14 – Steven Rominger S 5-10 185 Fr. Missoula15 RETIRED IN HONOR OF DAVE DICKENSON16 – Jabin Sambrano WR 5-11 170 So. Oceanside, Calif.17 – Gerald Kemp QB 6-2 215 Fr. San Diego18 – Justin Roper QB 6-6 215 Jr. Buford, Ga.19 – Sean Murray CB 6-1 190 Fr. Corona, Calif.20 – Nick Haynes CB 5-10 180 So. Butte21 – Keith Thompson CB 5-9 175 Sr. Porterville, Calif.22 RETIRED IN HONOR OF TERRY DILLON23 – Levi Buckles WR 6-2 215 Fr. Post Falls, Idaho24 – Thomas Brooks-Fletcher RB 5-10 210 Sr. Bellevue, Wash.25 – Brandon Fisher SLB 5-10 205 Sr. Franklin, Tenn.26 – Russell Schey K 6-1 190 So. Billings27 – Tel Reynolds RB 6-0 190 Fr. Drummond28 – Peter Nguyen RB 5-8 175 Fr. Seattle29 – Bryce Carver WR 6-1 170 Fr. Dillon30 – Mike Cummings SS 6-1 200 So. Scottsdale, Ariz.31 – Tim Anderson SS 6-0 205 Sr. Missoula32 – Alex Shaw LB 6-1 232 So. Spokane, Wash.33 – Cole Lockwood SLB 6-1 215 So. Missoula34 – Chase Reynolds RB 6-0 195 Jr. Drummond35 – Dan Moore RB 5-11 225 So. Tucson, Ariz.36 – Sean Connors S 6-0 185 Fr. Seattle37 – Carson Bender DT 6-4 280 Jr. Deer Lodge38 – Ryan Nelson SS 5-11 200 Sr. Wright, Wyo.39 – Shann Schillinger FS 6-1 199 Sr. Baker40 – Caleb McSurdy LB 6-1 245 So. Boise, Idaho41 – Kurt Stoll RB 5-11 180 So. Sandpoint, Idaho42 – Jace Palmer DE 6-3 240 Sr. Missoula43 – Brooks Nuanez DB 6-2 205 Fr. Missoula44 – Jordan Tripp LB 6-2 210 Fr. Missoula45 – Beau Donaldson RB 6-1 233 So. Missoula46 – Clay Pierson S 6-3 212 Fr. Twin Bridges47 – Severin Campbell DE 6-4 210 Jr. Denver49 – Kevin Klaboe FB 6-2 225 Sr. Billings50 – Bryan Waldhauser DT 6-4 242 So. Huntley Project51 – Chris Bradford DT 6-2 255 Fr. San Bernardino, Calif.52 – Ty Timmer LB 6-2 205 Fr. Great Falls53 – Josh Stuberg SLB 6-2 216 Fr. Helena54 – Austin Mullins DT 6-2 273 Sr. Great Falls55 – Ethan Tweet OG 6-2 270 Fr. Fort Benton56 – Brock Coyle LB 6-2 215 Fr. Bozeman57 – Charles Burton OG 6-5 310 So. Long Beach, Calif.58 – Andrew Glueckert DE 6-3 225 Fr. Helena60 – Blake Lebeau C 6-5 285 Fr. Union City, Calif.61 – Jake Raynock OG 6-2 255 Fr. Billings63 – Brett Brauer G 6-2 260 Fr. Missoula65 – Ty Rogers G 6-2 240 Fr. Missoula66 – Russell Piette G 6-4 310 Jr. Vancouver, Wash.70 – David Arndt OT 6-5fi 280 So. Highlands Ranch, Colo.71 – Alex Verlanic C 6-2 282 Jr. Drummond72 – Levi Horn OT 6-7 315 Sr. Spokane, Wash.73 – Bob DeBruycker OL 6-5 235 Fr. Choteau74 – Jon Opperud G 6-7 305 So. Portland, Ore.75 – Chris Dyk OT 6-8 297 Sr. Dillon77 – Terran Hillesland G 6-7 320 Sr. Sidney78 – Kyle Kmet C 6-5 271 Fr. Bonita, Calif.79 – Kyle Hoffman OT 6-4 280 Fr. Orcas Island, Wash.80 – Marc Mariani WR 6-0 185 Sr. Havre81 – Tyler Palmer WR 6-3 210 Sr. Missoula82 – Jacob Haas TE 6-5 225 Fr. Portland, Ore.83 – Brody McKnight K 6-0 194 So. Vancouver, B.C.84 – Bobby Hirsch TE 6-4 210 Fr. Belgrade85 – Connor Smith WR 6-3 198 Fr. Missoula86 – Greg Hardy TE 6-5 245 Fr. Fairview87 – Dan Beaudin TE 6-5 252 Sr. Noxon88 – Steven Pfahler TE 6-5 246 Sr. Frenchtown89 – Robert Overton TE 6-6 240 Jr. San Leandro, Calif.90 – Ryan Fetherston DE 6-4 218 So. Helena91 – Bobby Alt DE 6-3 260 So. Ontario, Calif.92 – George Mercer DE 6-3 241 Sr. Libby93 – Braydon Schilling DT 6-2 270 So. Gillette, Wyo.94 – Sean Wren P 6-6 210 So. Yorba Linda, Calif.95 – Ray DeBruycker DE 6-4 210 Fr. Choteau96 – Josh Harris DE 6-5 231 Fr. Kalispell97 – Mike Sylvestre DT 6-2 275 Fr. Phoenix98 – Brett Hutter DT 6-3 260 So. Ontario, Calif.99 – Tyler Hobbs DT 6-4 265 Jr. Spokane, Wash.

GAME DAY MATChuPS

DE 54 Danny Batten

WR 17 Glen fox

CB 21 Cole Brodie

STARTING OFFENSEMONTANA

TE 88 Steven Pfahler

WR 81 Tyler Palmer

K 83 Brody McKnight

WR 80 Marc Mariani

RT 75 Chris Dyk

RG 77 Terran hillesland

LG 74 Jon Opperud

LT 72 levi horn

QB 12 Andrew Selle

RB 34Chase reynolds

C 71Alex

Verlanic

STARTING DEFENSEMONTANA

DE 42 Jace Palmer

DE 47 Severin Campbell

CB 3 Andrew

Swink

DT 99 Tyler hobbs

WLB 32 Alex Shaw

MLB 10Shawn

lebsock

SLB 25 Brandon fisher

SS 4 erik Stoll

FS 39 Shann Schillinger

P 94 Sean Wren

DT 54 Austin Mullins

OFFENSIVE BACkuPS QB 17 Gerald KempWR 23 levi BucklesWR 7 Jeff larsonWR 8 Sam GrattonLT 70 David ArndtLG 57 Charles Burton

C 18 Justin roperRG 66 russell PietteRT 79 Kyle hofmannRB 24 T. Brooks-fletcherTE 87 Dan Beaudin

DEFENSIVE BACkuPS DE 91 Bobby AltLB 56 Brock CoyleDT 37 Carson BenderDE 90 ryan fetherstonMLB 40 Caleb McSurdySLB 53 Josh Stuberg

WLB 44 Jordan TrippCB 21 Keith ThompsonCB 11 Brandon DodsonFS 9 Mike McCordSS 30 Mike Cummings

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SOuTh DAkOTA STATE ROSTERNo. Name Pos hgt Wgt Year hometown1 – Eric Koehlmoos DB 6-0 195 Fr. Pierce, Neb.2 – Mike Whittier QB 6-2 210 Fr. St. Louis3 – Jimmy Rogers LB 5-10 200 Sr. Chandler, Ariz. 4 – Thomas O’Brien QB 6-2 205 Fr. Winona, Minn.5 – Aaron Rollin WR 6-3 210 Fr. Lee’s Summit, Mo.6 – Joseph Blackman DB 5-11 185 Sr. Pittsburg, Calif.7 – CoreyJeske DB 6-1 200 Jr. Buffalo, Minn. 8 – Pat Brown DB 6-0 180 Fr. Bettendorf, Iowa9 – Teddy Shonka WR 6-2 205 So. Cedar Rapids, Iowa 10 – Josh Jones DB 6-1 175 Fr. Kansas City, Mo. 11 – Erich Feller LB 6-2 200 So. Charles City, Iowa12 – Ryan Crawford QB 6-2 215 Sr. Oro Valley, Ariz.13 – General Parnell DB 5-11 185 Jr. San Bernardino, Calif. 14 – Lee Mondol QB 6-1 200 Jr. Ventura, Calif. 15 – Brad Iverson WR 6-5 188 So. Sioux Falls, S.D.17 – Glen Fox WR 6-2 200 Sr. Fairfax, Iowa18 – Conrad Kjerstad DB 6-0 200 Jr. Wall, S.D.19 – Bo Helm DB 5-10 190 Fr. Childress, Texas20 – Julian Wagner DB 5-10 175 Fr. Fort Worth, Texas21 – Cole Brodie DB 5-10 185 Jr. Dacula, Ga.22 – Anthony Wise DB 6-2 190 So. The Colony, Texas23 – Jordan Miranda LS 6-2 195 Sr. El Paso, Texas24 – Matt Hylland WR 5-10 175 Jr. Sioux Falls, S.D. 25 – Tyler Duffy RB 5-10 195 Jr. Brookings, S.D.26 – Dominique Clare RB 6-0 220 So. Delano, Minn.27 – Mason Winterboer RB 5-11 190 Fr. Brookings, S.D.28 – Rodkem Matthews DB 6-0 175 So. Kansas City, Mo.29 – Kyle Harris PK 5-10 160 So. Florissant, Mo.30 – Kyle Minett RB 5-10 205 Jr. Ruthton, Minn.31 – Tyrel Kool RB 5-10 190 Fr. Yankton, S.D.32 – Brett Tigges DB 6-1 205 Fr. Ringsted, Iowa32 – Walker Woods RB 6-0 190 Fr. Waukee, Iowa33 – Adam Monke RB 5-9 180 Sr. Nickerson, Neb.34 – Jordan Paula RB 6-3 225 Sr. Brookings, S.D.35 – Kyle VanVoorst LB 5-11 200 Fr. Inwood, Iowa36 – Isaiah Jackson LB 6-2 225 Sr. Chandler, Ariz.37 – Skyler Luxa DB 6-0 210 Fr. Blair, Neb.38 – Chris Tracy LB 6-2 225 Fr. Larchwood, Iowa39 – Derek Domino LB 6-3 210 Jr. Spring Lake Park, Minn.40 – Jake Weiss LB 6-3 210 Fr. Sioux Falls, S.D.41 – Casey Cuppy WR 6-3 195 So. Harrold, S.D.42 – R.C. Kilgore LB 6-2 210 Fr. Cottage Grove, Minn.43 – Chris Johnson LB 6-2 230 Sr. Council Bluffs, Iowa44 – Ross Shafrath LB 6-0 220 Fr. Hampton, Iowa45 – Michael Lien LB 6-1 220 So. Castaic, Calif.46 – Jake Steffen DL 6-5 240 So. Mount Vernon, S.D.47 – Kyle Sheehan TE 6-4 260 Jr. Grayson, Ga.48 – Dirk Kool LB 6-3 225 So. Fairfield, Iowa49 – Anthony Peete LB 6-4 215 Fr. Olathe, Kan.50 – Mao Lefiti DL 6-3 215 Jr. Kaneohe, Hawaii51 – Dean Priddy P 6-3 205 Jr. Eden Prairie, Minn.52 – Andy Mink DL 6-3 255 Fr. Greenwood, Neb.53 – Chase Douglas DL 6-4 245 Fr. Brandon, S.D.54 – Danny Batten DL 6-4 250 Sr. Gilbert, Ariz.55 – Josiah Fitzsimmons DL 6-3 230 Fr. Ames, Iowa58 – Malik Humphries DL 6-2 200 Fr. Perris, Calif.60 – Ryan McKnight OL 6-2 280 Jr. Sioux Falls, S.D.62 – Alex Olinger OL 6-4 270 Fr. Ames, Iowa63 – Tyler Luethje OL 6-5 260 Fr. Gladbrook, Iowa64 – Josh Kage OL 6-4 255 Fr. Omaha, Neb.65 – Alex Parker OL 6-5 270 Fr. Brookings, S.D.67 – Jonathan Fick OL 6-6 295 RFr. Doon, Iowa70 – Casey Knips OL 6-8 300 Sr. Adrian, Minn.72 – Jacob Ludemann OL 6-6 290 Sr. Norfolk, Neb.73 – Nate Koskovich OL 6-4 320 Sr. Kingsley, Iowa74 – Zach Buchner OL 6-5 285 So. Coon Rapids, Minn.76 – Bryan Witzmann OL 6-8 255 Fr. Houlton, Wis.77 – Casey Bender OL 6-6 285 Sr. Lindsay, Neb.78 – Will Castle OL 6-4 295 RFr. Brandon, S.D.80 – Justin Mitchell WR 6-1 190 Jr. Saukville, Wis.81 – Saunders Montague WR 6-1 190 Sr. Gilbert, Ariz.82 – Mike Steffen WR 6-4 200 Sr. Mount Vernon, S.D.83 – Brandon Gant WR 5-10 170 So. Olathe, Kan.84 – Trevor Tiefenthaler WR 5-11 170 Fr. Sioux Rapids, Iowa85 – Dan Schmidt WR 6-5 190 RFr. Brookings, S.D.86 – Seth Daughters TE 6-5 230 RFr. Hamill, S.D.87 – Colin Cochart TE 6-5 245 Jr. Kewaunee, Wis.88 – Sam Kavanagh TE 6-5 230 So. DeGraff, Minn.89 – Alex Beyer TE 6-3 245 Jr. Neenah, Wis.90 – Gianni Parker-Washington DL 6-3 200 Fr. Lake View Terrace, Calif.91 – Antonio Thompson DL 6-3 255 Jr. Sioux Falls, S.D.92 – Eric Wood DL 6-3 220 So. Flower Mound, Texas93 – Vince Benedetto TE 6-4 225 Fr. Crystal Lake, Ill.94 – Brian Fischer DL 6-2 255 Jr. Ashton, Iowa95 – Steven Bazata DL 6-5 285 Sr. Howells, Neb.96 – Jared Crumly DL 6-3 230 Jr. Hartington, Neb.97 – Simote Moala DL 6-0 300 Fr. Perris, Calif.98 – Ross Basham DL 6-1 265 Jr. Bridgeport, Texas99 – Peter Reifenrath PK 5-11 195 Jr. Decorah, Iowa

GAME DAY MATChuPSSOuTh DAkOTA STATE

STARTING DEFENSE

DE 54 Danny Batten

CB 28 rodkem Matthews

DT 95 Steven Bazata

DE 46 Jake Steffen

LB 39 Derek Domino

MLB 43 Chris Johnson

FS 22 Anthony Wise

P 51 Dean PriddyNT 98 ross

Basham

STARTING OFFENSESOuTh DAkOTA STATE

TE 87 Colin Cochart

TE 89 Alex Beyer

K 99 Peter reifenrath

WR 82 Mike Steffen

LT 70 Casey Knips

LG 73 Nate Koskovich

RG 77 Casey Bender

RT 67 Jon fick

QB 4 Thomas O’Brian RB 30

Kyle Minett

C 60 ryan McKnight

CB 21 Cole Brodie

LB 3 Jimmy rogers

SS 18 Conrad Kjerstad

WR 16 Jabin Sambrano

STARTING OFFENSEMONTANA

TE 88 Steven Pfahler

WR 81 Tyler Palmer

K 83 Brody McKnight

WR 80 Marc Mariani

RT 75 Chris Dyk

RG 77 Terran hillesland

LG 74 Jon Opperud

LT 72 levi horn

QB 12 Andrew Selle

RB 34Chase reynolds

C 71Alex

Verlanic

STARTING DEFENSEMONTANA

DE 42 Jace Palmer

DE 47 Severin Campbell

CB 3 Andrew

Swink

DT 99 Tyler hobbs

WLB 32 Alex Shaw

MLB 10Shawn

lebsock

SLB 25 Brandon fisher

SS 4 erik Stoll

FS 39 Shann Schillinger

P 94 Sean Wren

DT 54 Austin Mullins

OFFENSIVE BACkuPS QB 17 Gerald KempWR 23 levi BucklesWR 7 Jeff larsonWR 8 Sam GrattonLT 70 David ArndtLG 57 Charles Burton

C 18 Justin roperRG 66 russell PietteRT 79 Kyle hofmannRB 24 T. Brooks-fletcherTE 87 Dan Beaudin

DEFENSIVE BACkuPS DE 91 Bobby AltLB 56 Brock CoyleDT 37 Carson BenderDE 90 ryan fetherstonMLB 40 Caleb McSurdySLB 53 Josh Stuberg

WLB 44 Jordan TrippCB 21 Keith ThompsonCB 11 Brandon DodsonFS 9 Mike McCordSS 30 Mike Cummings

Antonio Thompson 91 DE Andy Mink 52 DT Brian fischer 94 NT eric Wood 92 DE Dirk Kool 48 LB

DEFENSIVE BACkuPS

Isaiah Jackson 36 LB erich feller 11 LB Julian Wagner 20 CB Skyler luxa 37 SS Corey Jeske 7 FS Joseph Blackman 6 CB

ryan Crawford 12 QB Tyler Duffy 30 RB Saunders Montague 81 WR Brandon Gant 83 WR Matt hylland 24 WR

OFFENSIVE BACkuPS

Seth Daughters 86 TE

Kyle Sheehan 47 TE Tyler luethje 63 LT Jacob ludemann 72 LG Will Castle 78 C

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No. 11 South Dakota St. (8-3) at No. 3 Montana (11-0)

radio: KVWE FM 101.5; KGVO AM 1290; KERR AM 750.

TV: KPAXKickoff: 12:05

p.m.Venue:

Washington-Grizzly Stadium (25,200)

forecast: Cloudy with a high of 38 and 30 percent chance of precipitation.

The matchup: The teams have one common opponent. Montana beat Cal Poly in Missoula, 35-23, on Oct. 10. South Dakota State lost to Cal Poly, 21-13, on Oct. 3 in San Luis Obispo, Calif. ... Montana ranks ninth in the nation in total offense (431.8 ypg) and South Dakota State ranks 57th (352.8 ypg) ... South Dakota State is first in the nation in pass efficiency defense and fifth in scoring defense (13.5 ppg) ... Montana ranks 19th in scoring defense (17.9 ppg) ... The Griz are averaging 34.6 points per game and the Jacks 25.9 ... Montana enters the playoffs as the only undefeated team in the FCS ... The Grizzlies have a perfect 6-0 record against South Dakota State ... The Jackrabbits are making their first FCS playoff appearance. They finished second in the Missouri Valley Conference, earning

one of the eight at-large bids ... Besides Cal Poly, the Jacks lost to Southern Illinois (34-15) and Minnesota (16-13) ... Montana and South Dakota State played each other most recently in 2005 and 2006 with both games in Missoula. Montana won the 2005 game, 7-0, and the 2006 contest, 36-7 ... Montana junior running back Chase Reynolds has 1,159 yards rushing and 15 touchdowns this season ... Kyle Minett has rushed for 1,173 yards and 14 touchdowns for

the Jacks ... Griz quarterback Andrew Selle ranks sixth in the FCS in passing efficiency (161.29) ... SDSU has two quarterbacks who have thrown for over 1,000 yards, including Thomas O’Brien (1,250) and Ryan Crawford (1,059) ... Montana coach Bobby Hauck is 8-6 in the playoffs with championship game appearances in 2004 and 2008 and a semifinal appearance in 2006 ... South Dakota State coach John Stiegelmeier is 83-59 in his 13th season ... Montana

is 4-3 against Missouri Valley teams in the playoffs ... Montana is 24-6 in playoff games at Washington-Grizzly Stadium. Five of the losses have come in the first round, including 2003, 2005 and 2007 … Montana has won 116 games this decade, more than any team in NCAA Division I football.

No. 13 E. Washington (8-3) at No. 12 Stephen F. Austin (9-2)

Kickoff: 1 p.m. (MST)Venue: Homer Bryce Stadium

(14,575), Nacogdoches, Texasforecast: Partly cloudy, high of 67.The matchup:

Eastern Washington enters the playoffs on a four-game winning streak ... SFA leads the nation in passing (346.1 ypg). Eastern is first in passing efficiency ... The teams have no common opponents, however SFA lost to Texas State, 28-7. Texas State lost to Southern Utah, 38-16, and Eastern beat Southern Utah, 41-28 … The Lumberjacks are 5-0 at home this season. The Eagles are 4-2 on the road … SFA quarterback Jeremy


GRIZZLY GAME DAY / FCS playoff capsules

Playoff pictureCompiled by BILL SPELTZ/Missoulian


Montana quarterback Andrew Selle scrambles for yards against Montana State last Saturday at Bobcat Stadium.

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Moses has thrown for 3,488 yards and 36 touchdowns with 14 interceptions … Eastern quarterback Matt Nichols has thrown for 3,369 yards with 30 touchdowns and five interceptions. He needs 53 passing yards to become the Big Sky’s all-time leader. He enters the game with 12,155 … The Lumberjacks beat Texas College, 92-0, on Sept. 12 … The Eagles’ J.C. Sherritt leads the league in tackles at 14 per game … The Lumberjacks claimed the automatic bid from the Southland Conference. SFA’s losses came from SMU and Texas State ... The Lumberjacks lead the series, 2-1 ... Stephen F. Austin is 5-15 all-time against Big Sky teams ... Eastern Washington coach Beau Baldwin is 14-8 in his second season ... Jacks coach J.C. Harper is 13-21 in his third season. SFA went 0-11 in his first season and 4-8 in his second.

No. 15 Weber St. (7-4) at No. 6 William & Mary (9-2)

Kickoff: 11:05 (MDT)

Venue: Zable Field (12,259), Williamsburg, Va.

forecast: Sunny with a high of 56.

The matchup: William & Mary leads the nation in rushing defense, is third in total defense and seventh in scoring defense ... The Tribe also ranks second in the nation in sacks per game

at 3.55 … Weber State is sixth in the nation in passing offense and 13th in total offense. Quarterback Cameron Higgins has thrown for 3,154 yards and 30 touchdowns … Weber running back Trevyn Smith needs 21 rushing yards to reach 1,000 for the fourth straight season … William & Mary’s Adrian Tracy is tied for eighth in the nation in sacks and is fifth in tackles for loss per game … The Wildcats have won five of their last six games … Weber State’s Tim Toone has exactly 200 career catches, which ranks 10th in Big Sky history ... The Wildcats earned one of the eight at-large bids to the playoffs. Weber opened the season with back-to-back losses to Wyoming and Colorado State of the

Great West Conference. It also lost at home to Montana State and on the road at Montana ... Weber is in the playoffs for the second straight season ... William & Mary is one of three Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) teams to earn an at-large bid in the field. Its losses came to playoff teams Villanova and Richmond ... William & Mary opened the season with a 26-14 win over Virginia of the ACC.

No. 7 South Carolina St. (10-1) at No. 5 Appalachian St.

(9-2)TV: ESPNU/ESPNUHDKickoff: 10 a.m. (MST)

Venue: Kidd Brewer Stadium (21,650), Boone, N.C.

forecast: Partly cloudy with a high of 45.

The matchup: The Mountaineers enter the postseason with nine straight victories that followed back-to-back five-point losses to East Carolina and McNeese State to open the campaign ... The Bulldogs’ only loss of the season was a 38-14 setback at the hands of South Carolina on Oct. 3 in Columbia, S.C. ... Last year, Appalachian defeated S.C. State, 37-21, in an opening-round matchup at Kidd Brewer Stadium. ASU was paced by Armanti Edwards’ school-record 433 passing yards in the win while SCSU’s William Ford ran for 117 yards in the loss. The contest was close throughout but the Mountaineers pulled away by scoring 13 unanswered points in the final 7:21 of the ballgame ... Edwards sat out last week’s 19-14 home win over Western Carolina with a knee injury. Despite playing in only nine regular-season games due to injuries, he led the SoCon in total offense (342.1 ypg), passing efficiency (163.3), passing yardage (278.2 ypg), rushing touchdowns (16) and scoring (10.7 ppg). He became the first player in Division I history (FCS or FBS) with 9,000 passing yards and 4,000 rushing yards in a career and the first starting quarterback in SoCon history to lead his team to four conference championships ... Although Kidd Brewer Stadium seats just over 21,000 fans, the Mountaineers drew over 30,000 for last

PlayoffsContinued from Page G14

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Weber State’s Bo Bolen (8) breaks away from Cal Poly defenders during their game in Ogden, Utah, last Saturday.


week’s game ... South Carolina State has averaged 32 ppg while holding the opposition to 15.2 ppg ... Ford leads SCSU with 1,066 yards rushing. Quarterback Malcolm Long has thrown for 2,314 yards and 20 touchdowns.

No. 9 Elon (9-2) at No. 4 Richmond (10-

1)

Kickoff: 11 a.m. (MST)

Venue: Richmond Stadium (21,319), Richmond, Va.


The matchup: The Spiders and Phoenix have met twice previously, with Richmond winning at Elon in 1934 and again at Elon last season, 28-10 ... Richmond is the only team in the FCS to reach the semifinals in each of the last two seasons ... With 15 tackles

for a loss and 6.5 sacks, junior defensive tackle Martin Parker leads a Spider defense that ranks third in the nation against the run (70.2 ypg) ... Richmond senior quarterback Eric Ward, who is 6-1 in the playoffs, holds every major career passing record for the Spiders, including 8,627 total yards ... The Spiders have 16 interceptions in 2009, with 15 coming in the last seven games ... Elon is in the FCS bracket for the first time in its history and making its first football postseason appearance since winning the 1981 NAIA National Championship ... Elon quarterback Scott Riddle has thrown for 3,036 yards and 22 touchdowns with just seven interceptions in 11 starts ... Phoenix receiver Terrell Hudgins 1,466 receiving yards and 15 TD catches.

No. 17 holy Cross (9-2) at No. 2 Villanova

(10-1)

Kickoff: 10 a.m. (MST)

Venue: Villanova Stadium (12,500),

Philadelphiaforecast: Partly cloudy with a high of

49.The matchup: Villanova handed the

defending FCS champion Richmond Spiders their only loss in Richmond on Nov. 7, 21-20 ... Villanova is led by an offense that averages 222.2 rushing yards per game. Individually, the Wildcats have three players with over 450 rushing yards this season, led by junior quarterback Chris Whitney with 728 yards ... Whitney finished with the top passer efficiency rating in the CAA with a mark of 155.94. He is 123-for-185 for 1,413 yards with 16 touchdowns and a mere three interceptions ... Villanova is forcing more than two turnovers per game and has garnered 23 turnovers for the year, including 17 interceptions and six fumble recoveries ... Holy Cross senior quarterback Dominic Randolph has thrown for 13,108 yards and 114 scores in his career. Earlier this season, he broke the Holy Cross and Patriot League records for career passing yards, while becoming the first player in school or conference history to throw for over 10,000 career yards ... The Crusaders have averaged 32.5 points and 437.3 yards of total offense per game on the year. ... Holy Cross is making its first playoff appearance in 26 seasons.

No. 10 New hampshire (9-2) at No. 8

McNeese State (9-2)

Kickoff: 1 p.m. (MST)

Venue: Cowboy Stadium (17,410), Lake Charles, La.

forecast: Partly cloudy with a high of 68.

The matchup: McNeese State has won six straight games to end the regular season, not including a 40-35 win over Appalachian State in early September ... The Cowboys are led at quarterback by Derrick Fourroux, who has passed for 20 touchdowns and run for five more. He has completed 64 percent of his passes and passed for an average of 209.7 yards per game ... At running back, McNeese State’s Todd Pendland checks in with 17 rushing touchdowns and he is averaging just about 100 yards per contest ...



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Villanova quarterback Chris Whitney (17) eludes a tackle by Richmond’s Pierre Turner during their game on Nov. 7 in Richmond Va.


MARK GORMUS/Associated Press




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McNeese spreads the field and has had nine different receivers score touchdowns, led by Corday Clark with five ... New Hampshire has a less than impressive record of 4-7 in the FCS playoffs ... The Wildcats led the CAA in points per game this season with an average of 32.5. That mark is also good for 14th in the nation ... New Hampshire defeated FBS Ball State earlier this season, 23-16 ... The Wildcats led the CAA with 20 pickoffs. Leading the team in interceptions are junior corner Dino Vasso and senior safety Terrence Klein with five interceptions each ... New Hampshire will be playing McNeese for the first time in the program’s history.

No. 19 Eastern Illinois (8-3) at No. 2 Southern

Illinois (10-1)

Kickoff: Noon (MST)

Venue: McAndrew Stadium (17,324), Carbondale, Ill.


The matchup: The Salukis, ranked No. 1 in the Sports Network Poll, enter the playoffs on a 10-game winning streak ... This contest matches up the Panthers, who only lost once on the road (at Penn State), with the Salukis, who have a 40-5 record at home since 2003 ... Saluki senior running back Deji Karim leads the nation with 1,512 rushing yards and he has scored 16 rushing touchdowns. But the Panthers have allowed an average of only

119.2 rushing yards per game and have not allowed a 100-yard rusher all season long ... Eastern Illinois averages 25.0 points per game and puts up an average of 326.5 yards of total offense. Senior quarterback Jake Christensen has thrown for 2,191 yards this season with 19 touchdowns and 10 interceptions ... Christensen spreads the ball out well, with six different receivers who have caught 19 or more passes ... Southern Illinois is making its seventh-straight playoff appearance, which is the second longest streak in the nation behind Montana’s 17 consecutive postseason trips ... Southern Illinois coach Dale Lennon is making his seventh straight playoff appearance and he enters the 2009 postseason with a 14-8 career playoff record as a head coach. Five of those postseason berths came when he was at North Dakota. In six of the previous seven postseasons, his squads made it at least to the


Southern Illinois’ Brandon Williams intercepts a pass in front of Missouri State’s Jermaine Saffold during their game on Nov. 14 in Carbondale, Ill. Williams returned the interception for a touchdown.

PAUL NEwTON/Associated Press


GRIZZLY GAME DAY / Grizzlies smack Cats, 33-19

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Montana’s Marc Mariani pulls in a pass as Montana State’s Kevin Retoriano defends last Saturday at Bobcat Stadium in Bozeman.


GRIZZLY GAME DAY / Grizzlies smack Cats, 33-19

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Montana’s Andrew Swink, Josh Stuberg and George Mercer, from left, tackle Montana State receiver Everett Gilbert last Saturday at Bobcat Stadium in Bozeman.


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VISIT US IN THE BITTERROOT!

has also been singular. Hauck would like to ban the term, “over-training,” but Pfahler tends to bring it back into the vernacular.

“It applies to him,” Hauck said. “You have to keep an eye on him so he doesn’t overdo it.”

Only one thing has slowed

Pfahler, and that was a bout with the H1N1 virus in early November. He was for once inert, while around him was a flurry of anti-bacterial wipe-downs and roommate quarantines (quarterback Andrew Selle was quickly, and temporarily, relocated).

“My mom,” he says. “She was just in there every night cooking for me. Two or three trips from Frenchtown to Missoula a day. I just hung out in my chair and didn’t move.”

It gave him time to think, perhaps. His only stated regret about his career at UM is the

lack of family time. If he had more time, he says, he’d have learned to fly a helicopter: Tim is a “retired” inspector pilot. If he could, he’d spend more time with his brothers and their kids.

“I’m kind of spoiled,” he adds. “My dad would do anything for me, and he just loves the football, and loves trying to be part of everything. I’ve got it pretty good.”

By extension, so do the Griz. They struggled mightily in Pfahler’s absence at Idaho State, needing a last-second field goal to beat the then-winless Bengals. Call it coincidence if you like.

“I didn’t think it was going to be that exciting of a game,” he said with a laugh. “But I just really wished I could’ve been there with the team, celebrating.”

All this from a guy who didn’t care for football, and whose first experience with a Griz-Cat game came in 2006 – when he played in it.

Now he’s been in four of them, all wins. He’s built friendships with the Palmer twins, and

Lebsock, and Selle.“The team joke is we’re Tony

Romo and Jason Whitten,” said Pfahler of his QB housemate. “I don’t know what that’s about.”

Then came a sobering thought.

“We had our senior banquet the other day, and yesterday we had our team banquet,” he said Monday. “If you have four more games or one more game, it’s coming to an end pretty quick.”

What will he do? Study some more, perhaps. Train for a possible shot in the NFL. “If I stay healthy and things go right, we’ll see what happens,” Pfahler says.

The trick is to enjoy the moment, even if it’s 7-on-7 or “inside zone.” He’s done that. And then soon it’ll be Saturday, the day Pfahler loves the most.

“It never gets old, running out of the tunnel,” he says. “It actually gets better and better, every time.”

Fritz Neighbor can be reached at 523-5247 or at [email protected].

his kicking duties?A: You know, Brody is an

unbelievable kicker. If we lost him to an injury, Russell Schey is a good backup.

Q: (interrupting) OK, my bad. No disrespect intended for Russell. Let’s say both of them suddenly had torn hamstrings or something.

A: I haven’t kicked since senior season. I played soccer for a good eight years. I guess if they needed me I could go in and do the best I could possibly do.

Q: Speaking as a former kicker, how impressive was it when UM student Matthew Brenner kicked two 45-yard field goals to win $10,000?

A: It’s pretty cool. Watching the fan come down out of the stands to make those kicks was impressive. To do that with all that pressure and money at stake is impressive.

Q: Has anyone ever told

you your name sounds like you should be an athlete?

A: No, no one has.Q: You’re name totally

sounds like someone who plays linebacker.

A: That’s good. I wouldn’t want it to sound like any other position.

Q: What’s your favorite restaurant in Bozeman?

A: Montana Ale Works. Q: What’s your favorite

class?A: Anthropology.Q: What do you like to do in

your free time?A: I’ve grown up in Montana,

so I’ve grown up hunting and fishing. I like to go out in the woods hunting and getting on the river fly fishing.

Q: If you had access to a time machine, what would you do with it?

A: I would hold on to it until I absolutely need to use it.

Q: What do you see yourself doing in 10 years?

A: I see myself in a career that I love with a family that I love.

PfahlerContinued from Page G2

CoyleContinued from Page G5

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Griz TriviaWho caught Dave Dickenson’s 42-yard touchdown pass to cap UM’s come-from-behind, 52-48 win over South Dakota State in 1993?

a) Mike Erhardtb) Nate Dolanc) Scott Gurnseyd) Billy Cockhill

Who set a UM school record for punt return yards in one game in the Grizzlies’ 36-7 win over South Dakota State in 2006?

a) Tuff Harrisb) Rob Schultec) Marc Marianid) Reggie Bradshaw

Who had the lone touchdown in UM’s 7-0 win over SDSU in 2005, which set a Washington-Grizzly Stadium record for fewest points in one game?

a) Jon Talmageb) Rob Schultec) Lex Hilliardd) Cole Bergquist

Answers: c, a (142) and c.


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Griz Game Day Nov. 28

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Transcript of Griz Game Day Nov. 28