Dakota Prukop threw for 269 yards on Saturday against North Dakota.
Photo by: Kelly Gorham
Freshmen lift Bobcats past UND
9/27/2014 7:12:00 PM | Football
While looking to the past, Montana State got a good view of its future while beating North Dakota 29-18 on Saturday.
At halftime, the Bobcats introduced members of the 1984 national championship team. While the crowd of 19,477 showed its appreciation for what happened 30 years ago, the real celebration took place on the field where a handful of youngsters sparked MSU to the Big Sky Conference-opening victory.
Freshman kicker Luke Daly connected on field goals of 34, 38 and 32 yards, but the game's key contribution came from fellow classmate Khari Garcia's interception return for a touchdown early in the second quarter. And just before halftime, freshman wide receiver Mitchell Herbert reached the end zone for the first time in his career, hauling in a 26-yard scoring pass from Dakota Prukop. Together, the three underclassmen accounted for 23 of MSU's 29 points.
The Bobcats dressed like it was 1984, wearing uniforms from that season that featured "Cats" in script across blue helmets, gold pants with white stripes, and blue jerseys with gold numbers.
The colors seemed to spark 13th-ranked MSU (3-2 overall, 1-0 in conference) as it opened the scoring on a Daly field goal, making it 3-0 after one quarter. Garcia, who hails from Covina, Calif., put the game seemingly out of reach when he stepped in front of an errant pass thrown into a stiff breeze early in the second quarter and returned the ball 45 yards to make it 10-0. The Bobcats were well in control moments later when senior Shawn Johnson galloped 16 yards for a 16-0 lead.
UND linebacker Will Ratelle returned a fumble 21 yards to make it 16-7, but MSU didn't skip a beat as Eugene, Ore.-product Herbert scored and another field goal from the Billings kicker made it 26-7 at the half.
The Bobcats dominated the first half statistics with 186 total yards and 12 first downs while holding UND to 80 yards and just four first downs. In the second half, the numbers were not as lopsided. The Bobcats finished with 16 first downs and 329 total yards, but only 62 came via the ground attack. Johnson was MSU leading carrier with 75 yards on 15 totes. Prukop, a sophomore, had another nice day passing, completing 17 of 24 tosses for 269 yards.
Two other freshmen receivers added to the catch-passing action. Justin Paige, out of Katy, Texas, led all Bobcats with four receptions and Jayshawn Gates from Palo Alto, Calif., matched Herbert's total with three catches and a team-high 67 yards. Regular receivers Tanner Roderick, Manny Kalfell and Brian Flotkoetter sat out with injuries suffered in last week's last-second loss to Eastern Washington.
UND (2-3, 0-1) finished with 293 total yards and 17 first downs. Quarterback Joe Mollberg ended the day 22 of 37 for a season-best 222 yards. Kyle Norberg topped North Dakota with 73 yards rushing on 19 carries. R.J. McGill led the UND receiving corps with seven catches for 63 yards and a fourth quarter touchdown that capped the scoring.
Besides Garcia, MSU's other defensive standouts were senior linebacker Alex Singleton with eight tackles and two pass breakups and junior Taylor Sheridan with seven tackles and a sack. In addition, junior Odin Coe sacked Mollberg two times.
After spending the month of September in Bozeman, the Bobcats travel to California for back-to-back games in October, starting the 4th at Sacramento State and the 11th at UC-Davis. They return home to face Weber State on Oct. 18. UND plays host to Montana this week.
At halftime, the Bobcats introduced members of the 1984 national championship team. While the crowd of 19,477 showed its appreciation for what happened 30 years ago, the real celebration took place on the field where a handful of youngsters sparked MSU to the Big Sky Conference-opening victory.
Freshman kicker Luke Daly connected on field goals of 34, 38 and 32 yards, but the game's key contribution came from fellow classmate Khari Garcia's interception return for a touchdown early in the second quarter. And just before halftime, freshman wide receiver Mitchell Herbert reached the end zone for the first time in his career, hauling in a 26-yard scoring pass from Dakota Prukop. Together, the three underclassmen accounted for 23 of MSU's 29 points.
The Bobcats dressed like it was 1984, wearing uniforms from that season that featured "Cats" in script across blue helmets, gold pants with white stripes, and blue jerseys with gold numbers.
The colors seemed to spark 13th-ranked MSU (3-2 overall, 1-0 in conference) as it opened the scoring on a Daly field goal, making it 3-0 after one quarter. Garcia, who hails from Covina, Calif., put the game seemingly out of reach when he stepped in front of an errant pass thrown into a stiff breeze early in the second quarter and returned the ball 45 yards to make it 10-0. The Bobcats were well in control moments later when senior Shawn Johnson galloped 16 yards for a 16-0 lead.
UND linebacker Will Ratelle returned a fumble 21 yards to make it 16-7, but MSU didn't skip a beat as Eugene, Ore.-product Herbert scored and another field goal from the Billings kicker made it 26-7 at the half.
The Bobcats dominated the first half statistics with 186 total yards and 12 first downs while holding UND to 80 yards and just four first downs. In the second half, the numbers were not as lopsided. The Bobcats finished with 16 first downs and 329 total yards, but only 62 came via the ground attack. Johnson was MSU leading carrier with 75 yards on 15 totes. Prukop, a sophomore, had another nice day passing, completing 17 of 24 tosses for 269 yards.
Two other freshmen receivers added to the catch-passing action. Justin Paige, out of Katy, Texas, led all Bobcats with four receptions and Jayshawn Gates from Palo Alto, Calif., matched Herbert's total with three catches and a team-high 67 yards. Regular receivers Tanner Roderick, Manny Kalfell and Brian Flotkoetter sat out with injuries suffered in last week's last-second loss to Eastern Washington.
UND (2-3, 0-1) finished with 293 total yards and 17 first downs. Quarterback Joe Mollberg ended the day 22 of 37 for a season-best 222 yards. Kyle Norberg topped North Dakota with 73 yards rushing on 19 carries. R.J. McGill led the UND receiving corps with seven catches for 63 yards and a fourth quarter touchdown that capped the scoring.
Besides Garcia, MSU's other defensive standouts were senior linebacker Alex Singleton with eight tackles and two pass breakups and junior Taylor Sheridan with seven tackles and a sack. In addition, junior Odin Coe sacked Mollberg two times.
After spending the month of September in Bozeman, the Bobcats travel to California for back-to-back games in October, starting the 4th at Sacramento State and the 11th at UC-Davis. They return home to face Weber State on Oct. 18. UND plays host to Montana this week.
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