Bobcats Top EWU in Thriller
11/9/2002 12:00:00 AM | Football
lateral, special teams ace Willy Jacobson had six tackles and two pass breakups in his firststart at cornerback since the 2000 season opener, and Montana State won a 25-14 thrillerover Eastern Washington on a blustery afternoon in Bozeman on Saturday. The Bobcats heldEastern to just 277 total yards, 179 yards below their league-leading average, and 15 firstdowns. Eastern was at the Bobcat 24-yard line with 1:08 to play when Blankenship threw alateral pass to Eric Kemble. Cordeiro picked up the ball on a bounce, and raced for theclinching touchdown. Freshman quarterback Travis Lulay was 21-for-33 passing for 227yards for MSU. Bobcat running back Ryan Johnson rushed for 142 yards, and had 57receiving yards.
Post-Game Quotes from
Montana State’s Mike Kramer
"It was pretty obvious that our defense was not giving up the big play. They did a good job all
day. It was a masterful job by (defensive coordinator) Pete Kwiatkowski and the defense,
holding one of hte nation’s best offenses to just one long drive for a touchdown. They just kept
playing and stuck to the game plan. In this conference, turnovers rule the roost. We know that
as long as we don’t provide the other team opportunities, we can play with anybody."
On the fumble return by Adam Cordeiro: "It was fun to watch one of the fastest players on the
team run downfield. He can fly. Adam hasn’t had the marquee numbers that people expect
from him this year, but has has played very solid football at his position. He and (Jon) Montoya
are playing very well right now."
On MSU’s rebuilt secondary, which featured Willy Jacobson and CJ Adkins in the absence of
Joey Thomas and Kahiam Hunter: "Everybody’s hurt at this time of year. You have to credit
Jay Hackett and CJ Adkins and Willy Jacobson. This was Willy Jacobson’s first start since
Humboldt State (in 2000). You never know as a football player when it’s going to come back
to you. Willy Jacobson’s play today was a testimony to perseverance."
On the state of the team: "This team has a reservoir of resolve that is vastly underestimated.
We’re playing so well and playing within ourselves. The players are taking coaching and
applying coaching. The kids are showing tremendous resolve. They’re playing together and
playing for each other, and that’s the mark of a good team."
MSU Defensive Lineman Adam Cordeiro
On the touchdown return: "Normally they call that incomplete. I caught it and started jogging,
and then I saw the referee on the opposite side take off so I ran. I came outside and saw the
guy inside not come outside. He threw it down, and it bounced up just like a basketball. I just
picked it up and ran."
MSU Running Back Ryan Johnson
"That was a struggle to get through. My knee is really banged up, but I wanted to stay in the
game. You have to stay in a game like that. The O-line, it’s the best they’ve played all year.
They pushed htem downfield. I was just moving and reacting."
MSU Quarterback Travis Lulay
On whether he wanted a chance to run another two-minute drill: "Coach actually said to me
(when EWU was driving), ‘I hope they score so we can come from behind again.’ But no, I’m
happy with how it turned out."
On the offensive line: "Hats off to the offensive line. They were incredible today. They’ve
improved steadily every week."
Post-Game Quotes from
Eastern Washington Coach Paul Wulff
"We got in long situations a lot, second and long and third and long. That makes it a lot harderto be precise on third down. We were hoping to have the wind in the fourth quarter, but wejust never got anything going. Give their defense a lot of credit, and give our offense no creditfor getting anything done."
On Adam Cordeiro’s touchdown: "It was a nice little quick throw. It was a lateral, I guess.That play changed the game."
Post-Game Quotes from
Montana State’s Mike Kramer
"It was pretty obvious that our defense was not giving up the big play. They did a good job all
day. It was a masterful job by (defensive coordinator) Pete Kwiatkowski and the defense,
holding one of hte nation’s best offenses to just one long drive for a touchdown. They just kept
playing and stuck to the game plan. In this conference, turnovers rule the roost. We know that
as long as we don’t provide the other team opportunities, we can play with anybody."
On the fumble return by Adam Cordeiro: "It was fun to watch one of the fastest players on the
team run downfield. He can fly. Adam hasn’t had the marquee numbers that people expect
from him this year, but has has played very solid football at his position. He and (Jon) Montoya
are playing very well right now."
On MSU’s rebuilt secondary, which featured Willy Jacobson and CJ Adkins in the absence of
Joey Thomas and Kahiam Hunter: "Everybody’s hurt at this time of year. You have to credit
Jay Hackett and CJ Adkins and Willy Jacobson. This was Willy Jacobson’s first start since
Humboldt State (in 2000). You never know as a football player when it’s going to come back
to you. Willy Jacobson’s play today was a testimony to perseverance."
On the state of the team: "This team has a reservoir of resolve that is vastly underestimated.
We’re playing so well and playing within ourselves. The players are taking coaching and
applying coaching. The kids are showing tremendous resolve. They’re playing together and
playing for each other, and that’s the mark of a good team."
MSU Defensive Lineman Adam Cordeiro
On the touchdown return: "Normally they call that incomplete. I caught it and started jogging,
and then I saw the referee on the opposite side take off so I ran. I came outside and saw the
guy inside not come outside. He threw it down, and it bounced up just like a basketball. I just
picked it up and ran."
MSU Running Back Ryan Johnson
"That was a struggle to get through. My knee is really banged up, but I wanted to stay in the
game. You have to stay in a game like that. The O-line, it’s the best they’ve played all year.
They pushed htem downfield. I was just moving and reacting."
MSU Quarterback Travis Lulay
On whether he wanted a chance to run another two-minute drill: "Coach actually said to me
(when EWU was driving), ‘I hope they score so we can come from behind again.’ But no, I’m
happy with how it turned out."
On the offensive line: "Hats off to the offensive line. They were incredible today. They’ve
improved steadily every week."
Post-Game Quotes from
Eastern Washington Coach Paul Wulff
"We got in long situations a lot, second and long and third and long. That makes it a lot harderto be precise on third down. We were hoping to have the wind in the fourth quarter, but wejust never got anything going. Give their defense a lot of credit, and give our offense no creditfor getting anything done."
On Adam Cordeiro’s touchdown: "It was a nice little quick throw. It was a lateral, I guess.That play changed the game."
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