Bobcats Overcome Turnovers, Penalties to Edge Dixie State
9/12/2009 5:51:47 PM | Football
Mark Iddins threw for 305 yards, Aaron Mason rushed for 112, and Montana State overcame four turnovers and nine penalties in a 23-20 win over Dixie State on Saturday.
The victory was narrow, but no one associated with the Bobcat program cared about anything but the victory. "A win's a win," said MSU linebacker Clay Bignell, who intercepted two passes. "Any time you play this game the bottom line is getting the win. Those guys (Dixie State) came up here for the same reason we came here, to win a football game."
MSU coach Rob Ash echoed Bignell. "When you come to a football game, the bottom line is who wins and who loses. There is no asterisk next to the final score."
While the final score came out in Montana State's favor, the game was never easy for MSU. Iddins was intercepted on the game's first drive at the Dixie State 13-yard line, but on MSU's next possession Iddins connected with freshman receiver Everett Gilbert for an 18-yard touchdown.
The Bobcats appeared poised to take control on the team's next possession, but CJ Palmer fumbled at the Dixie State 25, thwarting a scoring chance. The Red Storm drove deep into Bobcat territory early in the second quarter, but Bignell's first interception in the end zone turned Dixie State away.
After the teams traded punts, Jason Cunningham gave MSU a 10-0 lead with a 44-yard field goal. Michael Rider's interception on Dixie State's next drive gave MSU the ball near midfield, but Iddins was picked off on MSU's second play, and two plays into the ensuing Dixie State drive DSC scored on a 49-yard pass by Judd Thompson to Nash Fowler.
Cunningham capped the first half scoring with a 25-yard field goal with 2:44 to play in the second quarter. "I thought Jason Cunningham had a very good day in the wind," Ash said.
On the initial drive of the second half, Dixie faced a punting situation, and freshman Brad Daly blocked Mike Langston's punt. But Langston was able to snag the ball and race for a first down. Two plays later, facing a second-and-25, Dixie benefited from a defensive holding call, and those two plays helped Dixie State convert the driving into a touchdown when Thompson his Skyler Ence on a 12-yard scoring strike.
That gave Division II Dixie State a 14-13 second half lead over the Bobcats, to the surprise of no one on the visiting sideline. "They (acted) like they expected to be leading," DSC coach Ron Haun said of his team's behavior after taking the lead. "They were not disrespectful, they were not smack-talking, they acted like they've been here before."
Montana State ran into more trouble on the next possession, when Derek Green fumbled at the Dixie State 20. The Red Storm drove to the Bobcat 22, before Rider made his second interception. Iddins then moved the Bobcats down the field and connected with Kyle Begger on a 32-yard touchdown pass to give MSU a lead it would not relinquish. Dixie State added a late touchdown, but MSU recovered the on-side kick to seal the win.
