Youngsters Take Center Stage Saturday
8/20/2005 12:00:00 AM | Football
On an afternoon built for backups, Montana State's new and young players showed well during a 70-play scrimmage in Bobcat Stadium.
Running back Michael Bass, a senior transfer from Hawai'I, carried 11 times for 45 yards, and returning starter Justin Domineck, carried five times for 33 yards and caught a six-yard touchdown pass to lead the offense. The starters spent only three series on the field.
"It was absolutely fun," said MSU coach Mike Kramer. "We got out of it what we needed. We got 14 crisp plays from the ones, we got good execution from the defense and pretty solid execution from our first team offense. We got a good long look at the twos."
Montana State's sixth-year head coach lauded his offensive line and running backs for their work on the ground, except for Bass' fumble as the twos neared the goal line. "Our run game was working," he said. "Michael Bass got going and showed that he's a debonair talent. He's going to push Justin for more than backup playing time. He's going to compete to be a starter. Michael did OK except that he fumbled in the red zone, and that's egregarious. You can not drop the rock. To do that down there is tantamount to missing class, it's just a mistake you can not make."
Kramer said he was pleased with the 55 or so plays from scrimmage run by the second and third units. "All I really wanted to do today was get an extended practice and get a heck of a practice from our twos and our threes," he said. "We accomplished that. I'm not excited about watching our ones in a full-contact situation right now."
Cory Carpenter managed the offense efficiently, completing 8 of 14 passes with the second offense on the field, and finishing 8-for-19 with 112 yards and an interception on the day. Travis Lulay was 3-for-7 for 13 yards and one touchdown.
With an extensive scrimmage under the belt for most non-starters, Kramer continues to evaluate his team's depth. "I can't give a positive or negative answer," he said. "I thought it was exciting to see that we played penalty-free for a long period of time, which means that our twos were paying attention. We weren't misaligned very often, we didn't mishandle the ball very often. This was a pretty substantial opportunity for the twos and the threes."
Kicker Jeff Hastings, a recent junior college transfer, nailed five of his seven field goal attempts, hitting tries from 36, 39, and 42 (three times) yards. "When Hastings banged it in from the right hash I almost stopped the scrimmage," Kramer said. "That's exactly what I wanted to see today. We have never, since I have been here, had such an extensive kicking game in the first scrimmage. That shows how much quality we have on our team, to be that advanced in the kicking game at this point."
Several young pass-catchers caught Kramer's eye. Billings freshman Toby Rundle caught three balls for 26 yards, while Michael Brown had two catches for 38 yards and rookie tight end caught three balls for 18 yards. Brandon Roosevelt, in his first game-like action since injuring his knee at Idaho State last fall, had a pair of catches for 33 yards.
Montana State resumes its fall camp on Monday, and scrimmages next Thursday afternoon in Bobcat Stadium.
SCRIMMAGE STATISTICS
Rushing: Justin Domineck 5-33, Michael Bass 11-45, Evin Groves 6-59, Cory Carpenter 4-1, Michael Brown 1-3, Isaiah Taito 6-30.
Passing: Travis Lulay 7-3-0, 13, 1 TD; Cory Carpenter 19-8-1, 112, 0.
Receiving: Toby Rundle 3-26; Justin Domineck 2-8-1; Michael Brown 2-38-1; Tyler Lulay 1-12; Joe Schreibeis 3-18; Brandon Roosevelt 2-33; Derek Green 1-9.
Defense: Sacks-Dane Fletcher, 2; Fumble Recovery-Daryl Rogers, 1; Pass Breakups-Wes Mauia, Ryan Force, Luke Holden, 1 each; Tackle for loss-Nick Marudas, 1.
Field Goals: Jeff Hastings 5-7, Tyler Bolton 2-3, Eric Fisher 1-2.
Running back Michael Bass, a senior transfer from Hawai'I, carried 11 times for 45 yards, and returning starter Justin Domineck, carried five times for 33 yards and caught a six-yard touchdown pass to lead the offense. The starters spent only three series on the field.
"It was absolutely fun," said MSU coach Mike Kramer. "We got out of it what we needed. We got 14 crisp plays from the ones, we got good execution from the defense and pretty solid execution from our first team offense. We got a good long look at the twos."
Montana State's sixth-year head coach lauded his offensive line and running backs for their work on the ground, except for Bass' fumble as the twos neared the goal line. "Our run game was working," he said. "Michael Bass got going and showed that he's a debonair talent. He's going to push Justin for more than backup playing time. He's going to compete to be a starter. Michael did OK except that he fumbled in the red zone, and that's egregarious. You can not drop the rock. To do that down there is tantamount to missing class, it's just a mistake you can not make."
Kramer said he was pleased with the 55 or so plays from scrimmage run by the second and third units. "All I really wanted to do today was get an extended practice and get a heck of a practice from our twos and our threes," he said. "We accomplished that. I'm not excited about watching our ones in a full-contact situation right now."
Cory Carpenter managed the offense efficiently, completing 8 of 14 passes with the second offense on the field, and finishing 8-for-19 with 112 yards and an interception on the day. Travis Lulay was 3-for-7 for 13 yards and one touchdown.
With an extensive scrimmage under the belt for most non-starters, Kramer continues to evaluate his team's depth. "I can't give a positive or negative answer," he said. "I thought it was exciting to see that we played penalty-free for a long period of time, which means that our twos were paying attention. We weren't misaligned very often, we didn't mishandle the ball very often. This was a pretty substantial opportunity for the twos and the threes."
Kicker Jeff Hastings, a recent junior college transfer, nailed five of his seven field goal attempts, hitting tries from 36, 39, and 42 (three times) yards. "When Hastings banged it in from the right hash I almost stopped the scrimmage," Kramer said. "That's exactly what I wanted to see today. We have never, since I have been here, had such an extensive kicking game in the first scrimmage. That shows how much quality we have on our team, to be that advanced in the kicking game at this point."
Several young pass-catchers caught Kramer's eye. Billings freshman Toby Rundle caught three balls for 26 yards, while Michael Brown had two catches for 38 yards and rookie tight end caught three balls for 18 yards. Brandon Roosevelt, in his first game-like action since injuring his knee at Idaho State last fall, had a pair of catches for 33 yards.
Montana State resumes its fall camp on Monday, and scrimmages next Thursday afternoon in Bobcat Stadium.
SCRIMMAGE STATISTICS
Rushing: Justin Domineck 5-33, Michael Bass 11-45, Evin Groves 6-59, Cory Carpenter 4-1, Michael Brown 1-3, Isaiah Taito 6-30.
Passing: Travis Lulay 7-3-0, 13, 1 TD; Cory Carpenter 19-8-1, 112, 0.
Receiving: Toby Rundle 3-26; Justin Domineck 2-8-1; Michael Brown 2-38-1; Tyler Lulay 1-12; Joe Schreibeis 3-18; Brandon Roosevelt 2-33; Derek Green 1-9.
Defense: Sacks-Dane Fletcher, 2; Fumble Recovery-Daryl Rogers, 1; Pass Breakups-Wes Mauia, Ryan Force, Luke Holden, 1 each; Tackle for loss-Nick Marudas, 1.
Field Goals: Jeff Hastings 5-7, Tyler Bolton 2-3, Eric Fisher 1-2.
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