In his first start, Jake Bleskin threw for 305 yards and two touchdowns
Photo by: R. Dean Hendrickson
Bobcats shut down Colorado Mesa, 26-0
9/14/2013 4:33:00 PM | Football, General
Jake Bleskin passes the test.
Jake Bleskin, a redshirt sophomore making his first career start for the Bobcats, threw two touchdown passes to Brian Flotkoetter to spark a hard-fought 26-0 win over Colorado Mesa on a sun-dappled Saturday in Bozeman.
In front of a sellout crowd of 17,847, Bleskin completed 26 of 35 passes for 305 yards. The product of Great Falls CMR was the first Montanan to start at quarterback since Mark Desin of Billings Senior in 2008.
Bleskin, who entered the game having completed five of eight career passes, was called upon to bark signals after four-year starter DeNarius McGhee was injured on the final play of last week's 31-30 loss at Southern Methodist in Dallas. The timetable for McGhee's return is still uncertain.
Bleskin's numbers were good, but overall MSU totaled just 403 yards, averaging 2.39 yards per rushing play. Cody Kirk led the Bobcats (2-1) with 55 yards on 14 carries.
While the offense was taking care of business, the Bobcat defense was suffocating in tossing its first shutout since a 14-0 beating of Portland State in 2006. Junior linebacker Alex Singleton sparked the third-ranked Bobcats with a 23-yard interception return for a first-quarter touchdown, sophomore tackle Taylor Sheridan exploded for 11 tackles and senior end Brad Daly sacked the Mesa quarterbacks four times to increase his season total to six. Junior linebacker Cole Moore also collected an interception.
Overall Mesa (1-1) gained 168 total yards, 127 coming on the ground. The Mavericks struggled all day passing the ball. Quarterback Kyle Duran completed his first toss, but then missed on his next eight. Mesa completed only five of 20 passes for 41 yards. Mesa's lone bright spot on offense was running back Jake Cimolino who gained 92 yards on 15 totes.
MSU's offense was kept out of the endzone by the Division II Mavericks until Bleskin found Flotkoetter down the right sideline from 18 yards out late in the first half to make it 19-0. The duo combined for another 18-yard score in the third quarter when the Laurel receiver caught a pass over the middle and beat the defense to the goal line for the game's final score.
Flotkoetter hauled in five balls for 80 yards, but it was Tanner Bleskin, the elder by two years, who was open the most. The senior collected 10 passes for 96 yards. Another popular target for Jake Bleskin was Jon Ellis who collected on a 44-yard gain on the first play of Bleskin's first career start. Ellis finished with 110 yards on seven catches.
Rory Perez's 26-yard field goal in the first quarter gave MSU an early 3-0 lead.
The Bobcats return to Texas next week to face Stephen F. Austin and on Sept. 28 they're at North Dakota. MSU's next home game is slated for Oct. 5 against Northern Arizona.
In front of a sellout crowd of 17,847, Bleskin completed 26 of 35 passes for 305 yards. The product of Great Falls CMR was the first Montanan to start at quarterback since Mark Desin of Billings Senior in 2008.
Bleskin, who entered the game having completed five of eight career passes, was called upon to bark signals after four-year starter DeNarius McGhee was injured on the final play of last week's 31-30 loss at Southern Methodist in Dallas. The timetable for McGhee's return is still uncertain.
Bleskin's numbers were good, but overall MSU totaled just 403 yards, averaging 2.39 yards per rushing play. Cody Kirk led the Bobcats (2-1) with 55 yards on 14 carries.
While the offense was taking care of business, the Bobcat defense was suffocating in tossing its first shutout since a 14-0 beating of Portland State in 2006. Junior linebacker Alex Singleton sparked the third-ranked Bobcats with a 23-yard interception return for a first-quarter touchdown, sophomore tackle Taylor Sheridan exploded for 11 tackles and senior end Brad Daly sacked the Mesa quarterbacks four times to increase his season total to six. Junior linebacker Cole Moore also collected an interception.
Overall Mesa (1-1) gained 168 total yards, 127 coming on the ground. The Mavericks struggled all day passing the ball. Quarterback Kyle Duran completed his first toss, but then missed on his next eight. Mesa completed only five of 20 passes for 41 yards. Mesa's lone bright spot on offense was running back Jake Cimolino who gained 92 yards on 15 totes.
MSU's offense was kept out of the endzone by the Division II Mavericks until Bleskin found Flotkoetter down the right sideline from 18 yards out late in the first half to make it 19-0. The duo combined for another 18-yard score in the third quarter when the Laurel receiver caught a pass over the middle and beat the defense to the goal line for the game's final score.
Flotkoetter hauled in five balls for 80 yards, but it was Tanner Bleskin, the elder by two years, who was open the most. The senior collected 10 passes for 96 yards. Another popular target for Jake Bleskin was Jon Ellis who collected on a 44-yard gain on the first play of Bleskin's first career start. Ellis finished with 110 yards on seven catches.
Rory Perez's 26-yard field goal in the first quarter gave MSU an early 3-0 lead.
The Bobcats return to Texas next week to face Stephen F. Austin and on Sept. 28 they're at North Dakota. MSU's next home game is slated for Oct. 5 against Northern Arizona.
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