Bobcats Pitch Shutout Against St. Mary's
10/5/2003 12:00:00 AM | Football
But MSU definitely rang "The Bells of St. Mary's" Saturday.
The Bobcats unveiled new players at new positions on offense and a different kicking game, but it was the same old dominating defense that led MSU to a 40-0 throttling of the Gaels at St. Mary's Stadium.
"Thorough, quality, solid, but not without fault," Montana State coach Mike Kramer said of the victory. "It was a strong performance by our team on both sides of the ball."
Dominating is right, as MSU outgained the Gaels 421-163 in total yards and corrected a problem that had been haunting the Bobcats in their three losses so far this year -- scoring in the red zone.
The 'Cats were a perfect 5-for-5 inside their opponent's 20-yard line with sophomore quarterback Travis Lulay throwing for one score and running for another while Bruce Molock rushed for two.
Lulay is well known to Bobcat fans but it was Molock, starting his first game for MSU, that set the tone early.
The senior transfer from Cal State Northridge got MSU going, rushing the ball five times for 61 yards in the 'Cats opening drive. Molock also scored the Bobcat's first touchdown from a yard out to cap off a seven-play drive that covered 57 yards in just one minute, 21 seconds.
But it was the extra point that raised a few eyebrows for the 1,525 fans that filed into the stadium for the Gaels homecoming game.
Instead of kicking the extra point, MSU lined up to go for a 2-point conversion try, but with a twist. Senior cornerback Joey Thomas lined up in the shotgun at quarterback instead of Lulay.
Thomas handed off to linebacker Roger Cooper, who had been inserted into the lineup as a running back. Cooper then hurdled the surprised Gaels to put the Bobcats up 8-0.
"We are trying to bring an element of fun to what we do, other than just the drudgery of just offense and defense," Kramer said. "Getting some defensive guys involved in the kicking game was fun."
Thomas and Cooper weren't the only two Bobcats to get involved in the kicking game as Lulay lined up as the punter three times with spectacular results.
The first time he went back to punt, he fired a perfect strike to strong safety Kane Ioane that resulted in a 44-yard gain down to the SMC 8-yard line. Lulay finished the drive with a two-yard scamper that put MSU up 15-0 with 3:42 left in the opening quarter.
Lulay also booted a running 40-yard punt in the second quarter and ran for a first down on a pitch from Thomas - the upback - in the third.
"I did this stuff in high school so it wasn't real new to me," Lulay said. "I think it spiced up the special teams and loosened everybody up a little bit."
Molock finished up the first half scoring with a 20-yard TD run with 8:05 to play in the second quarter. Thomas added the 2-point conversion after faking to fullback Ryan Elliott and scampering into the end zone to make it 23-0 at halftime.
Molock ran the ball 14 times in the first half for 122 yards and two scores and finished with 150 yards despite seeing limited action in the second half.
"It feels good," Molock said. "We're pretty frustrated after losing a couple of games we thought we should win. Today we just wanted to go out and establish that we're still a good team."
Montana State put the game away in the third quarter with a seven-play, 75-yard drive on its first possession that culminated with Scott Turnquist catching a 25-yard strike from Lulay to make it 30-0.
Ioane intercepted backup QB Parker Magnum's pass on the next series and ran untouched 59 yards for the game's final touchdown two minutes later.
Ioane's pick was only the second interception by the Bobcats this year and the first by the MSU secondary.
"It's huge for (the secondary)," Ioane said. "We've been getting razzed a little bit in practice. Coach Kramer and (defensive secondary) coach Frank Robinson have been getting on us. We can't have a defensive end (Clive Lowe) leading the team in picks."
Cornerback DeAngelo Walls added another interception at the start of the final stanza.
Asked if this game was important going into next Saturday's Big Sky Conference opener against Idaho State at Bobcat Stadium, Cooper said: "We needed a game where it all came together. We're on a roll now."
The Bobcats unveiled new players at new positions on offense and a different kicking game, but it was the same old dominating defense that led MSU to a 40-0 throttling of the Gaels at St. Mary's Stadium.
"Thorough, quality, solid, but not without fault," Montana State coach Mike Kramer said of the victory. "It was a strong performance by our team on both sides of the ball."
Dominating is right, as MSU outgained the Gaels 421-163 in total yards and corrected a problem that had been haunting the Bobcats in their three losses so far this year -- scoring in the red zone.
The 'Cats were a perfect 5-for-5 inside their opponent's 20-yard line with sophomore quarterback Travis Lulay throwing for one score and running for another while Bruce Molock rushed for two.
Lulay is well known to Bobcat fans but it was Molock, starting his first game for MSU, that set the tone early.
The senior transfer from Cal State Northridge got MSU going, rushing the ball five times for 61 yards in the 'Cats opening drive. Molock also scored the Bobcat's first touchdown from a yard out to cap off a seven-play drive that covered 57 yards in just one minute, 21 seconds.
But it was the extra point that raised a few eyebrows for the 1,525 fans that filed into the stadium for the Gaels homecoming game.
Instead of kicking the extra point, MSU lined up to go for a 2-point conversion try, but with a twist. Senior cornerback Joey Thomas lined up in the shotgun at quarterback instead of Lulay.
Thomas handed off to linebacker Roger Cooper, who had been inserted into the lineup as a running back. Cooper then hurdled the surprised Gaels to put the Bobcats up 8-0.
"We are trying to bring an element of fun to what we do, other than just the drudgery of just offense and defense," Kramer said. "Getting some defensive guys involved in the kicking game was fun."
Thomas and Cooper weren't the only two Bobcats to get involved in the kicking game as Lulay lined up as the punter three times with spectacular results.
The first time he went back to punt, he fired a perfect strike to strong safety Kane Ioane that resulted in a 44-yard gain down to the SMC 8-yard line. Lulay finished the drive with a two-yard scamper that put MSU up 15-0 with 3:42 left in the opening quarter.
Lulay also booted a running 40-yard punt in the second quarter and ran for a first down on a pitch from Thomas - the upback - in the third.
"I did this stuff in high school so it wasn't real new to me," Lulay said. "I think it spiced up the special teams and loosened everybody up a little bit."
Molock finished up the first half scoring with a 20-yard TD run with 8:05 to play in the second quarter. Thomas added the 2-point conversion after faking to fullback Ryan Elliott and scampering into the end zone to make it 23-0 at halftime.
Molock ran the ball 14 times in the first half for 122 yards and two scores and finished with 150 yards despite seeing limited action in the second half.
"It feels good," Molock said. "We're pretty frustrated after losing a couple of games we thought we should win. Today we just wanted to go out and establish that we're still a good team."
Montana State put the game away in the third quarter with a seven-play, 75-yard drive on its first possession that culminated with Scott Turnquist catching a 25-yard strike from Lulay to make it 30-0.
Ioane intercepted backup QB Parker Magnum's pass on the next series and ran untouched 59 yards for the game's final touchdown two minutes later.
Ioane's pick was only the second interception by the Bobcats this year and the first by the MSU secondary.
"It's huge for (the secondary)," Ioane said. "We've been getting razzed a little bit in practice. Coach Kramer and (defensive secondary) coach Frank Robinson have been getting on us. We can't have a defensive end (Clive Lowe) leading the team in picks."
Cornerback DeAngelo Walls added another interception at the start of the final stanza.
Asked if this game was important going into next Saturday's Big Sky Conference opener against Idaho State at Bobcat Stadium, Cooper said: "We needed a game where it all came together. We're on a roll now."
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