Saturday, October 1
Bozeman, MT
1:35 PM
Montana State University
31
vs
21
SACRAMENTO STATE (HOMECOMING)
Elvis Akpla's 174 receiving yards paced the Bobcats to a 31-21 win over Sac State
Photo by: R. Dean Hendrickson
Fourth-ranked Bobcats Scrape Past #25 Sacramento State
10/1/2011 8:19:00 PM | Football
MSU uses strong individual efforts to put away talented Hornets
In a game filled with dazzling individual plays, a short pass from a punter to all-conference receiver may have made the difference.
Clinging to a 17-14 lead early in the second half and facing a fourth-and-one situation, Montana State's outstanding sophomore Rory Perez flipped a four-yard pass to Elvis Akpla out of punt formation. The first down extended a drive that would culminate with a one-yard Cody Kirk run and give MSU its first double-digit lead of the game.
“That was a huge play,” said Bobcat coach Rob Ash. “They really do a great job blocking kicks, and they do it by just coming after you. One way to defend against that is the fake punt. It was fourth-and-one so I thought we could complete the pass, but because it was fourth-and-one they had a few guys lay back.”
While the completion was the first of Perez's career, it was part of another huge game for Akpla. The senior caught six passes for 174 yards and two touchdowns. Sophomore running back Cody Kirk rambled for 134 yards and also scored twice. DeNarius McGhee, MSU's sophomore quarterback, completed 15 of his 25 pssses for 242 yards, and was on the delivery end of Akpla's two scores.
Jason Cunningham opened the scoring midway through the first quarter for MSU, connecting on a 26-yard field goal. Bryan Hilliard answered on the ensuing drive, scoring on a 15-yard run to give Sac State a 7-3 lead.
Early in the second quarter, Akpla and McGhee combined to make history. On a third-and-10 from the MSU five-yard line, Akpla snuck behind the Hornet secondary and McGhee hit him in stride for a 95-yard touchdown. That stands as the longest pass play in school history, provided more than half of Akpla's career-high receiving total, and gave the Bobcats a 10-7 advantage.
“That's what we love,” Akpla said of finding one-on-one matchups and connecting with McGhee. “We take pride in it. The line picks up (the blitz), DeNarius makes a great throw, and it's history.”
MSU's lead didn't last long. On the kickoff after Akpla's long touchdown catch, John Hendershott found a seam in the MSU kickoff coverage and raced 91 yards for a touchdown, momentarily silencing the raucous school-record crowd of 18,847.
While Montana State's offense provided much of the day's fireworks, the Bobcat defense posted a solid effort in holding Sacramento State's explosive offense in check most of the day. The team that upended both Oregon State and Montana this season managed just 326 yards against the Bobcats, including only 106 on the ground. Quarterback Jeff Fleming led the Hornets with 52 rushing yards, while standout running back Bryan Hilliard rushed for just 51.
“Our goal was to stop the run,” said MSU linebacker Clay Bignell, “and force them to pass. They're a good overall team. We wanted to take one thing away, and we decided to try to stop the run today.”
Trailing 14-10, McGhee and Akpla again hooked up to turn the tide. Akpla caught a 41-yard touchdown pass with 6:12 to play before halftime to give MSU a 17-14 lead, which it would not relinquish. Cody Kirk gave MSU control in the second half, scoring on one-yard and 10-yard runs. Brandyn Reed's touchdown catch brought Sac State within 31-21, but MSU's defense allowed the Hornets to get no closer.
The significance of defeating a top-25 team for the second straight week was not lost on Ash, who said his team continues to focus on the task at hand. “Any time you win a game and there's still a zero in your loss column, that's huge.”
The Bobcats raised their record to 4-1 on Saturday, 2-0 in Big Sky play, while the Hornets fall to 2-3 overall, 1-2 in the league.
Clinging to a 17-14 lead early in the second half and facing a fourth-and-one situation, Montana State's outstanding sophomore Rory Perez flipped a four-yard pass to Elvis Akpla out of punt formation. The first down extended a drive that would culminate with a one-yard Cody Kirk run and give MSU its first double-digit lead of the game.
“That was a huge play,” said Bobcat coach Rob Ash. “They really do a great job blocking kicks, and they do it by just coming after you. One way to defend against that is the fake punt. It was fourth-and-one so I thought we could complete the pass, but because it was fourth-and-one they had a few guys lay back.”
While the completion was the first of Perez's career, it was part of another huge game for Akpla. The senior caught six passes for 174 yards and two touchdowns. Sophomore running back Cody Kirk rambled for 134 yards and also scored twice. DeNarius McGhee, MSU's sophomore quarterback, completed 15 of his 25 pssses for 242 yards, and was on the delivery end of Akpla's two scores.
Jason Cunningham opened the scoring midway through the first quarter for MSU, connecting on a 26-yard field goal. Bryan Hilliard answered on the ensuing drive, scoring on a 15-yard run to give Sac State a 7-3 lead.
Early in the second quarter, Akpla and McGhee combined to make history. On a third-and-10 from the MSU five-yard line, Akpla snuck behind the Hornet secondary and McGhee hit him in stride for a 95-yard touchdown. That stands as the longest pass play in school history, provided more than half of Akpla's career-high receiving total, and gave the Bobcats a 10-7 advantage.
“That's what we love,” Akpla said of finding one-on-one matchups and connecting with McGhee. “We take pride in it. The line picks up (the blitz), DeNarius makes a great throw, and it's history.”
MSU's lead didn't last long. On the kickoff after Akpla's long touchdown catch, John Hendershott found a seam in the MSU kickoff coverage and raced 91 yards for a touchdown, momentarily silencing the raucous school-record crowd of 18,847.
While Montana State's offense provided much of the day's fireworks, the Bobcat defense posted a solid effort in holding Sacramento State's explosive offense in check most of the day. The team that upended both Oregon State and Montana this season managed just 326 yards against the Bobcats, including only 106 on the ground. Quarterback Jeff Fleming led the Hornets with 52 rushing yards, while standout running back Bryan Hilliard rushed for just 51.
“Our goal was to stop the run,” said MSU linebacker Clay Bignell, “and force them to pass. They're a good overall team. We wanted to take one thing away, and we decided to try to stop the run today.”
Trailing 14-10, McGhee and Akpla again hooked up to turn the tide. Akpla caught a 41-yard touchdown pass with 6:12 to play before halftime to give MSU a 17-14 lead, which it would not relinquish. Cody Kirk gave MSU control in the second half, scoring on one-yard and 10-yard runs. Brandyn Reed's touchdown catch brought Sac State within 31-21, but MSU's defense allowed the Hornets to get no closer.
The significance of defeating a top-25 team for the second straight week was not lost on Ash, who said his team continues to focus on the task at hand. “Any time you win a game and there's still a zero in your loss column, that's huge.”
The Bobcats raised their record to 4-1 on Saturday, 2-0 in Big Sky play, while the Hornets fall to 2-3 overall, 1-2 in the league.
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