Photo by: R. Dean Hendrickson
BOBCAT FOOTBALL SUNDAY NOTEBOOK #1: Tristan Bailey Makes History for Cats in Opener
9/2/2018 6:16:00 PM | Football
Troy Andersen becomes first Cat to rush for two TDs in Gold Rush game since 2014
Bobcat Football Sunday Notebook
Montana State 26, Western Illinois 23 * August 30, 2018 * Bozeman, MT
Football Media Schedule This Week: Jeff Choate's weekly press conference begins at 11:45 am in Room 122 of Brick Breeden Fieldhouse's north tunnel. Pre-arranged out-of-town interviews occur at 11 am MT on Mondays (contact MSU Sports Information), prior to the press conference. MSU Volleyball Coach Daniel Jones' weekly interview is Monday at 11:30 am. Bobcat offensive players conduct interviews in the Fieldhouse at 3:30 pm Tuesday and defensive players at the same time on Wednesday (as class schedules allow). After Wednesday, the next interview opportunity is post-game. Practice this week is closed to the media and public.
PLAYER OF THE WEEK NOMINATIONS
OFFENSE: none
DEFENSE: Bryce Sterk, DE (6-5, 250, Jr, Lynden, WA)
Bryce Sterk's Bobcat debut was impactful, as the junior Buck logged eight tackles, all solo, with two sacks and two others behind the line of scrimmage, in Montana State's 26-23 win over Western Illinois. Sterk saved his signature moments for the game's most important moments. With just over six minutes remaining and WIU facing third down at its own 21-yard line, Sterk sacked quarterback Sean McGuire to force a punt on what would be the Leathernecks' penultimate possession. With just over a minute remaining and WIU facing fourth-and-four at the MSU 47, Sterk sacked McGuire again to seal the Bobcat victory.
SPECIAL TEAMS: Tristan Bailey, K (6-1, 220, Jr, Colorado Springs, CO)
Tristan Bailey became the first Bobcat since 2011 to kick four field goals in a game, and the first since 2015 to hit a 50-yarder, accounting for more than half of Montana State's points – in the Bobcats' 26-23 win over Western Illinois on Saturday. Bailey opened the scoring for MSU with a 21-yard field goal late in the first quarter, and closed the first half with a 47-yard field goal as time expired. His 50-yarder tied the game 23-23 with 8:26 remaining, and he added a 35-yard kick to give the Bobcats the final margin of victory with 4:02 to play. He added two PATs to run his total to 6-for-6 kicking on the night. He also produced touchbacks on three of his six kickoffs, and on two of the other three pinned Western Illinois inside the 25-yard line. Bailey's 50-yard field goal was the longest ever by a Bobcat making his MSU debut.
POST-GAME NEWS & NOTES
Injury Report: Out Indefinitely – LB Josh Hill, WR Jabarri Johnson, RB Logan Jones.
• Tristan Bailey's 50-yard field goal vs. Western Illinois is the longest ever by a Bobcat making his debut, was MSU's first 50-yarder since Luke Daly on November at Idaho State in 2015 (when he made two from 50 or more), and was the program's first four field goal game since Jason Cunningham drilled five at Eastern Washington in 2011.
• Troy Andersen's 145 rushing yards vs. WIU was the third-highest by a Bobcat in any of the program's 12 Gold Rush games (MSU's home openers since 2007), behind 178 by Dakota Prukop against Black Hills State in 2014 and Cody Kirk against UC Davis in 2011.
• Andersen is the first Bobcat to rush for two touchdowns in a Gold Rush game since Dakota Prukop did so three times against Black Hills State in 2014.
• The win Thursday was Jeff Choate's first under the lights as a head coach.
• Montana State is now 4-5 against the Missouri Valley Football Conference, 3-0 against Western Illinois (which belonged to the MVFC during all three of the meetings in this series). The win snapped a three-game losing streak vs. the MVFC, with a showdown against South Dakota State at Brookings looming this week.
• Of Montana State's six coaches in the Division I era that spent more than one season at MSU, only Mike Kramer (five) faced a Division I opponent in his team's home opener more than Jeff Choate (three seasons, three DI home openers).
Montana State 26, Western Illinois 23 * August 30, 2018 * Bozeman, MT
Football Media Schedule This Week: Jeff Choate's weekly press conference begins at 11:45 am in Room 122 of Brick Breeden Fieldhouse's north tunnel. Pre-arranged out-of-town interviews occur at 11 am MT on Mondays (contact MSU Sports Information), prior to the press conference. MSU Volleyball Coach Daniel Jones' weekly interview is Monday at 11:30 am. Bobcat offensive players conduct interviews in the Fieldhouse at 3:30 pm Tuesday and defensive players at the same time on Wednesday (as class schedules allow). After Wednesday, the next interview opportunity is post-game. Practice this week is closed to the media and public.
PLAYER OF THE WEEK NOMINATIONS
OFFENSE: none
DEFENSE: Bryce Sterk, DE (6-5, 250, Jr, Lynden, WA)
Bryce Sterk's Bobcat debut was impactful, as the junior Buck logged eight tackles, all solo, with two sacks and two others behind the line of scrimmage, in Montana State's 26-23 win over Western Illinois. Sterk saved his signature moments for the game's most important moments. With just over six minutes remaining and WIU facing third down at its own 21-yard line, Sterk sacked quarterback Sean McGuire to force a punt on what would be the Leathernecks' penultimate possession. With just over a minute remaining and WIU facing fourth-and-four at the MSU 47, Sterk sacked McGuire again to seal the Bobcat victory.
SPECIAL TEAMS: Tristan Bailey, K (6-1, 220, Jr, Colorado Springs, CO)
Tristan Bailey became the first Bobcat since 2011 to kick four field goals in a game, and the first since 2015 to hit a 50-yarder, accounting for more than half of Montana State's points – in the Bobcats' 26-23 win over Western Illinois on Saturday. Bailey opened the scoring for MSU with a 21-yard field goal late in the first quarter, and closed the first half with a 47-yard field goal as time expired. His 50-yarder tied the game 23-23 with 8:26 remaining, and he added a 35-yard kick to give the Bobcats the final margin of victory with 4:02 to play. He added two PATs to run his total to 6-for-6 kicking on the night. He also produced touchbacks on three of his six kickoffs, and on two of the other three pinned Western Illinois inside the 25-yard line. Bailey's 50-yard field goal was the longest ever by a Bobcat making his MSU debut.
POST-GAME NEWS & NOTES
Injury Report: Out Indefinitely – LB Josh Hill, WR Jabarri Johnson, RB Logan Jones.
• Tristan Bailey's 50-yard field goal vs. Western Illinois is the longest ever by a Bobcat making his debut, was MSU's first 50-yarder since Luke Daly on November at Idaho State in 2015 (when he made two from 50 or more), and was the program's first four field goal game since Jason Cunningham drilled five at Eastern Washington in 2011.
• Troy Andersen's 145 rushing yards vs. WIU was the third-highest by a Bobcat in any of the program's 12 Gold Rush games (MSU's home openers since 2007), behind 178 by Dakota Prukop against Black Hills State in 2014 and Cody Kirk against UC Davis in 2011.
• Andersen is the first Bobcat to rush for two touchdowns in a Gold Rush game since Dakota Prukop did so three times against Black Hills State in 2014.
• The win Thursday was Jeff Choate's first under the lights as a head coach.
• Montana State is now 4-5 against the Missouri Valley Football Conference, 3-0 against Western Illinois (which belonged to the MVFC during all three of the meetings in this series). The win snapped a three-game losing streak vs. the MVFC, with a showdown against South Dakota State at Brookings looming this week.
• Of Montana State's six coaches in the Division I era that spent more than one season at MSU, only Mike Kramer (five) faced a Division I opponent in his team's home opener more than Jeff Choate (three seasons, three DI home openers).
Players Mentioned
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K
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LB
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WR
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RB
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DE
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Monday, May 19
Wednesday, May 03
Wednesday, May 03
