Cats Come Up Short Again
9/23/2006 12:00:00 AM | Football
Not enough.
Bobcat defensive end Clive Lowe, a senior captain, used that phrase time and again to describe his team's effort on Saturday, Mike Kramer landed on the concept several times, and in the end it proved a fitting tagline to Montana State's 19-10 loss to Eastern Washington at home on Saturday.
The loss was the third on MSU's current three-game homestand, one which began with tremendously high hopes after a season-opening win over Colorado. And while the Bobcats muddled through "those two debacles" in the last two weeks, as Kramer referred to the Chadron State (35-24) and UC Davis (45-0) defeats, Saturday's game was different.
"This was not a debacle today," Kramer said. "This was a well-played ball game by both teams. Both teams had opportunities to win. They made more plays than we did in the second half when they kept drives alive and scored touchdowns. We were unable to generate touchdowns in the fourth quarter. I’m unhappy, but I’m not discouraged.”
Most of the 12,847 in attendance were discouraged on the day's first play from scrimmage, when Bobcat running back Isaiah Taito squirted through a hole for three yards before the ball squirted out of his hands. Eastern recovered, and seven plays later Brett Bergstrom hit the first of his four field goals to give Eastern a 3-0 lead.
The game changed dramatically in the second quarter, when Tyler Bolton pinned Eastern at its own one with a 45-yard punt. On a third-and-10, EWU quarterback Matt Nichols found Tony Davis for 35 yards right down the middle seam for a huge first down, and a huge lift.
"I think we had them pinned in Belgrade, and they made a nice throw and a nice catch," Kramer said. "That happened to us a little bit later on in the second half. Those third downs are something we’ll have to play at and have to work at."
Third downs plagued the Bobcat defense all day. Eastern converted seven of their 15 third downs. The Eagles accumulated 113 of their 301 yards on their 15 third-down plays, a statistic that was even skewed by the interception Nichols threw on a third-down play.
That drive, kept alive by the long third-down pass from the shadow of their own goal post, gave Eastern plenty of steam, particularly after Bergstrom nailed a 53-yard field goal to give Eastern a 6-0 lead. Bergstrom hit another three-pointer to close the first half.
MSU responded early in the third quarter. Marcosus LeBlanc picked off Nichols at the MSU 20, and Jefferson hauled in a short pass for a 14-yard touchdown to give MSU life. Eastern responded with a touchdown drive of its own that essentially ended the game.
In an extremely efficient game, Cory Carpenter mastered that concept. In his fourth career start, Carpenter was 19-for-23 passing, with an interception and a touchdown. "We've just gotta find something," the third-year junior said. "It felt like our offense was so close."
MSU hits the road for only the second time this season next weekend, playing at Northern Arizona on Saturday at 4 pm MDT.
Bobcat defensive end Clive Lowe, a senior captain, used that phrase time and again to describe his team's effort on Saturday, Mike Kramer landed on the concept several times, and in the end it proved a fitting tagline to Montana State's 19-10 loss to Eastern Washington at home on Saturday.
The loss was the third on MSU's current three-game homestand, one which began with tremendously high hopes after a season-opening win over Colorado. And while the Bobcats muddled through "those two debacles" in the last two weeks, as Kramer referred to the Chadron State (35-24) and UC Davis (45-0) defeats, Saturday's game was different.
"This was not a debacle today," Kramer said. "This was a well-played ball game by both teams. Both teams had opportunities to win. They made more plays than we did in the second half when they kept drives alive and scored touchdowns. We were unable to generate touchdowns in the fourth quarter. I’m unhappy, but I’m not discouraged.”
Most of the 12,847 in attendance were discouraged on the day's first play from scrimmage, when Bobcat running back Isaiah Taito squirted through a hole for three yards before the ball squirted out of his hands. Eastern recovered, and seven plays later Brett Bergstrom hit the first of his four field goals to give Eastern a 3-0 lead.
The game changed dramatically in the second quarter, when Tyler Bolton pinned Eastern at its own one with a 45-yard punt. On a third-and-10, EWU quarterback Matt Nichols found Tony Davis for 35 yards right down the middle seam for a huge first down, and a huge lift.
"I think we had them pinned in Belgrade, and they made a nice throw and a nice catch," Kramer said. "That happened to us a little bit later on in the second half. Those third downs are something we’ll have to play at and have to work at."
Third downs plagued the Bobcat defense all day. Eastern converted seven of their 15 third downs. The Eagles accumulated 113 of their 301 yards on their 15 third-down plays, a statistic that was even skewed by the interception Nichols threw on a third-down play.
That drive, kept alive by the long third-down pass from the shadow of their own goal post, gave Eastern plenty of steam, particularly after Bergstrom nailed a 53-yard field goal to give Eastern a 6-0 lead. Bergstrom hit another three-pointer to close the first half.
MSU responded early in the third quarter. Marcosus LeBlanc picked off Nichols at the MSU 20, and Jefferson hauled in a short pass for a 14-yard touchdown to give MSU life. Eastern responded with a touchdown drive of its own that essentially ended the game.
In an extremely efficient game, Cory Carpenter mastered that concept. In his fourth career start, Carpenter was 19-for-23 passing, with an interception and a touchdown. "We've just gotta find something," the third-year junior said. "It felt like our offense was so close."
MSU hits the road for only the second time this season next weekend, playing at Northern Arizona on Saturday at 4 pm MDT.
Wednesday, June 10
Friday, March 27
Monday, March 23
Friday, March 13
