BOBCATS BY THE NUMBERS: A Lot of Good D-Linemen Have Worn #90 for the Cats
6/2/2019 2:00:00 PM | Football
Only 90 days remain until Montana State opens the 2019 season at Texas Tech
June 2: In addition to a quick look at players wearing the jersey number corresponding to the number of days remaining until Montana State's season opener at Texas Tech on August 31, Bobcats by the Numbers brings you another tidbit or two aligning with that number.
#90
Marcus Wehr, DL: For Jeff Choate, Marcus Wehr checks a lot of boxes for a defensive lineman. Athleticism? Check. Length (meaning long arms and legs which allows a player to cover an optimal amount of land and air space)? Check. Toughness? The native pride bred into prep football players in the Treasuer State? Check and check. Wehr helped Billings Central to the Class A state crown last fall, earning all-state honors twice. He was also a standout in the shot put.
90 – Montana State's membership in the Rocky Mountain Conference provided the Bobcats many opportunities to punch above their weight class, with the Cats regularly meeting the three (at the time) Utah schools, Colorado, and Wyoming, among others. By the 1920s the Bobcats had an appetite to see what else was on the horizon. Montana State's season-ending 34-0 win at New Mexico to close 1923 season took the Cats out of the region, but it wasn't until a 1927 trip to Purdue (a 39-7 loss) that the Bobcats faced a true national power. MSC ventured to the Midwest again in 1928 to face Nebraska, and it provided one of Montana State's most memorable pre-World War II moments. Trailing the Cornhuskers 13-0, with Nebraska again on the march, NU quarterback Clair Sloan fumbled on the Bobcat 10-yard line, and Max Worthington scooped up the ball. Estimates of the distance vary. The Omaha World-Herald called it a 97-yard run, but the Exponent and Montanan both called it 90 yards. (The World-Herald also credited the touchdown to Worden, but all Montana accounts – and a conversation with the great Max Worthington years later – confirm it was Montana State's star.) From the World-Herald: "Broadstone, the bulky Husker left tackle, led the chanse for the speeding Bobcat and cast himself at the fleeing pair of legs when (Worthington) was about 10 yards from home. But he missed and the Montana State eleven achieved what might be termed a 'moral victory' by crossing the Husker goal."
Other #90 Notes: Rod Lyman spent only one season on the Bobcat football team, wearing #90 in 1979, but his contributions in the Blue and Gold weren't limited to the gridiron. Lyman starred on the Bobcat rodeo team for four years before earning nearly two million dollars on the pro rodeo circuit. The Great Falls bulldogger won championship buckles throughout the West, including the Calgary Stampede and Cheyenne Frontier Days… Taylor Sheridan registered 18.5 tackles-for-loss and eight sacks from 2013-15, earning Second Team All-Big Sky honors twice… as a junior and senior, Dan Ogden rang up 31 tackles-for-loss and 18 sacks... John Taylor started a string of strong 21st Century play from #90 by earning First Team All-Big Sky honors in 1990.
Chronology: Gerry Albinger (1974), Larry Kolbe (1975), Tom Powell (1976-78), Rod Lyman (1979), Tim Ellinghouse (1982-83), Bob Oyster (1984), Dan Frazier (1985), David Worstell (1986-87), Robert Zsidisin (1988-89), Ryan Springer (1991), Walter Robinson (1993-97), Jonathan Taylor (1998-2001), Ryan Cogley (2002-04), Brandon Hoffenbacker (2006-07), Evan Morris (2008), Dan Ogden (2009-10), Taylor Sheridan (2011-15), Fou Polataivao (2016-17), Treyton Pickering (2018-), James Williams (2018), Marcus Wehr (2019-)
#90
Marcus Wehr, DL: For Jeff Choate, Marcus Wehr checks a lot of boxes for a defensive lineman. Athleticism? Check. Length (meaning long arms and legs which allows a player to cover an optimal amount of land and air space)? Check. Toughness? The native pride bred into prep football players in the Treasuer State? Check and check. Wehr helped Billings Central to the Class A state crown last fall, earning all-state honors twice. He was also a standout in the shot put.
90 – Montana State's membership in the Rocky Mountain Conference provided the Bobcats many opportunities to punch above their weight class, with the Cats regularly meeting the three (at the time) Utah schools, Colorado, and Wyoming, among others. By the 1920s the Bobcats had an appetite to see what else was on the horizon. Montana State's season-ending 34-0 win at New Mexico to close 1923 season took the Cats out of the region, but it wasn't until a 1927 trip to Purdue (a 39-7 loss) that the Bobcats faced a true national power. MSC ventured to the Midwest again in 1928 to face Nebraska, and it provided one of Montana State's most memorable pre-World War II moments. Trailing the Cornhuskers 13-0, with Nebraska again on the march, NU quarterback Clair Sloan fumbled on the Bobcat 10-yard line, and Max Worthington scooped up the ball. Estimates of the distance vary. The Omaha World-Herald called it a 97-yard run, but the Exponent and Montanan both called it 90 yards. (The World-Herald also credited the touchdown to Worden, but all Montana accounts – and a conversation with the great Max Worthington years later – confirm it was Montana State's star.) From the World-Herald: "Broadstone, the bulky Husker left tackle, led the chanse for the speeding Bobcat and cast himself at the fleeing pair of legs when (Worthington) was about 10 yards from home. But he missed and the Montana State eleven achieved what might be termed a 'moral victory' by crossing the Husker goal."
Other #90 Notes: Rod Lyman spent only one season on the Bobcat football team, wearing #90 in 1979, but his contributions in the Blue and Gold weren't limited to the gridiron. Lyman starred on the Bobcat rodeo team for four years before earning nearly two million dollars on the pro rodeo circuit. The Great Falls bulldogger won championship buckles throughout the West, including the Calgary Stampede and Cheyenne Frontier Days… Taylor Sheridan registered 18.5 tackles-for-loss and eight sacks from 2013-15, earning Second Team All-Big Sky honors twice… as a junior and senior, Dan Ogden rang up 31 tackles-for-loss and 18 sacks... John Taylor started a string of strong 21st Century play from #90 by earning First Team All-Big Sky honors in 1990.
Chronology: Gerry Albinger (1974), Larry Kolbe (1975), Tom Powell (1976-78), Rod Lyman (1979), Tim Ellinghouse (1982-83), Bob Oyster (1984), Dan Frazier (1985), David Worstell (1986-87), Robert Zsidisin (1988-89), Ryan Springer (1991), Walter Robinson (1993-97), Jonathan Taylor (1998-2001), Ryan Cogley (2002-04), Brandon Hoffenbacker (2006-07), Evan Morris (2008), Dan Ogden (2009-10), Taylor Sheridan (2011-15), Fou Polataivao (2016-17), Treyton Pickering (2018-), James Williams (2018), Marcus Wehr (2019-)
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