BOBCATS BY THE NUMBERS: 98 Days to the Gold Rush Game
5/24/2018 12:00:00 PM | Football
Beau Clark was a great football player for the Bobcats, and is now a great rodeo coach
Bobcat by the Numbers takes a look at current and past Bobcats whose jersey numbers correspond to the number of days remaining before Montana State opens the 2018 football season against Western Illinois in Bobcat Stadium's annual Gold Rush game on August 30.
#98
Elu Leota, DT: A cousin of former Montana State great Na'a Moeakiola, Elu Leota arrived in Bozeman late in the summer and emerged as an immediate contributor. He joined the rotation in the interior defensive line and also played as a blocking back, earning the loving nickname Cheeks for the view he offered players who lined up behind him. Leota enters the summer months as a key component in MSU's front seven.
Spotlight: A 27-game starter over his final three seasons as a Bobcat, stout defensive tackle Alex Silicz anchored some solid Bobcat defenses in the late '90s. The Shafter, California, product logged one sack as both a senior and sophomore, and two as a junior in 1998 when the Bobcats won seven games.
Chronology: Bart McCool (1980-83), Kip Halvorson (1984-86), Monty Peretto (1988-92), Jamie Roark (1993-94), Alex Silicz (1995-99), Beau Clark (2000-04), Matt Peebles (2005-06), Casey Dennehy (2007), Christian Keli'i (2008-11), Kris Cooper (2012), Luke Halliburton (2012-13), Riley Griffiths (2015), Austin Barrette (2016), Elu Leota (2017-)
Other 98 Notes: Beau Clark wore 98 during his brilliant career from 2000-04, when the Belgrade High grad played a number of positions for the Bobcats. In the years after he helped lead Montana State's football revival Clark turned to rodeo to keep his competitive fires stoked. That led to a career in coaching, and after a period of success as the head rodeo coach at Laramie County Community College he took the same post at the University of Wyoming this spring.
#98
Elu Leota, DT: A cousin of former Montana State great Na'a Moeakiola, Elu Leota arrived in Bozeman late in the summer and emerged as an immediate contributor. He joined the rotation in the interior defensive line and also played as a blocking back, earning the loving nickname Cheeks for the view he offered players who lined up behind him. Leota enters the summer months as a key component in MSU's front seven.
Spotlight: A 27-game starter over his final three seasons as a Bobcat, stout defensive tackle Alex Silicz anchored some solid Bobcat defenses in the late '90s. The Shafter, California, product logged one sack as both a senior and sophomore, and two as a junior in 1998 when the Bobcats won seven games.
Chronology: Bart McCool (1980-83), Kip Halvorson (1984-86), Monty Peretto (1988-92), Jamie Roark (1993-94), Alex Silicz (1995-99), Beau Clark (2000-04), Matt Peebles (2005-06), Casey Dennehy (2007), Christian Keli'i (2008-11), Kris Cooper (2012), Luke Halliburton (2012-13), Riley Griffiths (2015), Austin Barrette (2016), Elu Leota (2017-)
Other 98 Notes: Beau Clark wore 98 during his brilliant career from 2000-04, when the Belgrade High grad played a number of positions for the Bobcats. In the years after he helped lead Montana State's football revival Clark turned to rodeo to keep his competitive fires stoked. That led to a career in coaching, and after a period of success as the head rodeo coach at Laramie County Community College he took the same post at the University of Wyoming this spring.
Players Mentioned
DT
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