BOBCATS BY THE NUMBERS: Only 50 Days Left! Here's a Look at Chase Benson and a Memorable Play
7/12/2019 2:59:00 PM | Football
The Washington State team that hung 50 first-half points on the Cats in 1985 was pretty good
July 12: 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.
#50
Chase Benson, DT: Everyone knows about Montana State's spectacular goal-line stand to beat the Grizzlies in Missoula last season, one of the most thrilling conclusions in series history. And any Bobcat fan knows that Tucker Yates and Grant Collins collaborated on the hit that jarred the ball loose, and that Derek Marks jumped on it to seal the improbable win. But where things really started happening on that play was right after the snap, when Bobcat defensive tackle Chase Benson's initial strike off the line of scrimmage created a gap that the Cats poured through. His steady progress since arriving at Montana State has led him to a projected starting role at the nose entering 2019, and gives the Bobcats a chance to match the incredible production Yates and Wright provided on the interior of the line together for three seasons. And circling back to the goal-line stand, one of the low-key beautiful elements of that play is that all four Bobcats primarily involved – Yates, Collins, Marks and Benson – hail from the Treasure State. Four Montanans, four Bobcats, made the play to beat the Grizzlies. It was a beautiful, made-in-Montana thing.
50 – Points by Washington State in the first half on November 16, 1985
Washington State's first half point total in a 64-10 win to close the 1985 season set a record for points in a half allowed by the Bobcats. In the first half alone, the Cougars – led by Marky Rypien and Rueben Mayes – scored on five touchdown runs (four by Mayes), a sack for a safety, and a blocked punt returned for a TD. Rypien threw only four passes, but Mayes rushed for 151 yards.
Chronology: Val Glynn (1926), Richard Gould (1948), Frank Dorsey (1949), Bruce Richards (1950), Ron Warzeka (1953-55), Sonny Holland (1956-57), Bob Schmitz (1958), Dan Costello (1959), Dan Costello (1960), Gary Cine (1961), Dave Nostrant (1964-66), Tucker Hughes (1967), Jack McGuiness (1970), Ron Ueland (1971-73), Kelly Darr (1974), Bert Markovich (1975-76), Dave Semmelbeck (1977-80), Larry Shea (1982-83), Jason Hartford (1984-85), Joe Crowell (1986-87), Charles Jackson (1988-92), Jason Leep (1993), Mike Pokorski (1994), Ryan Maastrocchio (1997), Eric Axlund (1999-00), Billy Griffin (2001), Zach Wolf (2002-04), Reyshawn Bobo (2006-07), John Laidet (2008), Leo Davis (2009-11), Craig Ashworth (2011-13), Nate Bignell (2014-15), Chase Benson (2016-)
Bonus #50 Notes: The Bobcat family lost a treasured member with Ron Ueland's passing in the spring, and as a tribute Ueland's former jersey number, 50, remained unoccupied throughout the 2018 season. Montana State football's fortunes dipped slightly around the turn of the 1970s, when three men in five years served as head coach. Sonny Holland faced some work when he took over before the 1971 season, returning to his alma mater from Western Montana College, and he was never shy about crediting Ueland for getting things turned around. Holland plugged in the former Butte Central star in at middle linebacker during his first season, and for three years Ueland quarterbacked MSU's outstanding defenses that featured other stars such as Bill Kollar and Brad Daws. The Cats won the 1972 Big Sky Championship, and Holland always maintained that Ueland's presence helped usher in a glorious decade-and-a-half that featured two national championships and five Big Sky crowns. But Ueland's impact reached far beyond football, and for the remainder of his life and beyond he remained emblematic of how Montanans apply skills and instincts honed on the football field and in the classrooms at MSU (and other schools) into careers and lives that benefit their communities and the state. Ueland was a successful businessman who never really left his roots in agriculture and, particularly, Butte… One of the legendary figures in Montana State University history, Val Glynn was an athletics star on the Bozeman campus to the extent that he was presented a special gold 'M' award upon his graduation in 1927. He was a first team All-Rocky Mountain Conference choice in football in 1924 and '26, and landed first team honors on the hardwood as a senior as well. His arrival was trumpeted during his freshman season in 1923-24, drawing notice for excellent play when coach Ott Romney led the Cats in a split of an important two-game set against a Utah State team coached by Ott's brother Dick Romney. Glynn's best sport may have been baseball. He pitched professionally in the years following his Bobcat career, twirling for the Logan Collegians in 1927 a three-season run pitching for the San Francisco Seals of the Pacific Coast League and the Salt Lake City Bees. He combined for an 18-14 record with the Class C Logan and Salt Lake City, but was 2-9 with the Seals. He compiled a 1.29 ERA in 21 innings in the PCL in 1928. Glynn was a Montana native, having been born 200 miles east of Bozeman at Fort Keogh on the banks of the Yellowstone River in 1903, to Irish immigrants William Henry Glynn, a soldier, and his wife Delia Agnes Garvey. The Glynns, who lived around the world at various times, eventually moved to Salt Lake City where Val matriculated through what Bozeman attorney and historian Paul Wylie called 'venerable East High.' Val Glynn starred for his future Bobcat coach Ott Romney at East, before Romney recruited him to Bozeman in the early '20s. Two-and-a-half decades later, in 1947, Glynn returned to his alma mater as Dean of Men. In the ensuing years he positively impacted many lives, and his popularity was reflected in the 1947 Montanan, which proclaimed: "If the day ever comes when your house burns down, your family is stricken with Black Death, your fiance marries your best friend, your teeth fall out, your checking account evaporates, and you hit yourself on the thumb with a forty pound sledge hammer, go see Val Glynn. If he can't do anything else, he'll at least sympathize with you. And if it's a situation that calls for a little more sympathy, you'll get cooperation with a capital 'C'. He can pull more wires than a marionette director."
#50
Chase Benson, DT: Everyone knows about Montana State's spectacular goal-line stand to beat the Grizzlies in Missoula last season, one of the most thrilling conclusions in series history. And any Bobcat fan knows that Tucker Yates and Grant Collins collaborated on the hit that jarred the ball loose, and that Derek Marks jumped on it to seal the improbable win. But where things really started happening on that play was right after the snap, when Bobcat defensive tackle Chase Benson's initial strike off the line of scrimmage created a gap that the Cats poured through. His steady progress since arriving at Montana State has led him to a projected starting role at the nose entering 2019, and gives the Bobcats a chance to match the incredible production Yates and Wright provided on the interior of the line together for three seasons. And circling back to the goal-line stand, one of the low-key beautiful elements of that play is that all four Bobcats primarily involved – Yates, Collins, Marks and Benson – hail from the Treasure State. Four Montanans, four Bobcats, made the play to beat the Grizzlies. It was a beautiful, made-in-Montana thing.
50 – Points by Washington State in the first half on November 16, 1985
Washington State's first half point total in a 64-10 win to close the 1985 season set a record for points in a half allowed by the Bobcats. In the first half alone, the Cougars – led by Marky Rypien and Rueben Mayes – scored on five touchdown runs (four by Mayes), a sack for a safety, and a blocked punt returned for a TD. Rypien threw only four passes, but Mayes rushed for 151 yards.
Chronology: Val Glynn (1926), Richard Gould (1948), Frank Dorsey (1949), Bruce Richards (1950), Ron Warzeka (1953-55), Sonny Holland (1956-57), Bob Schmitz (1958), Dan Costello (1959), Dan Costello (1960), Gary Cine (1961), Dave Nostrant (1964-66), Tucker Hughes (1967), Jack McGuiness (1970), Ron Ueland (1971-73), Kelly Darr (1974), Bert Markovich (1975-76), Dave Semmelbeck (1977-80), Larry Shea (1982-83), Jason Hartford (1984-85), Joe Crowell (1986-87), Charles Jackson (1988-92), Jason Leep (1993), Mike Pokorski (1994), Ryan Maastrocchio (1997), Eric Axlund (1999-00), Billy Griffin (2001), Zach Wolf (2002-04), Reyshawn Bobo (2006-07), John Laidet (2008), Leo Davis (2009-11), Craig Ashworth (2011-13), Nate Bignell (2014-15), Chase Benson (2016-)
Bonus #50 Notes: The Bobcat family lost a treasured member with Ron Ueland's passing in the spring, and as a tribute Ueland's former jersey number, 50, remained unoccupied throughout the 2018 season. Montana State football's fortunes dipped slightly around the turn of the 1970s, when three men in five years served as head coach. Sonny Holland faced some work when he took over before the 1971 season, returning to his alma mater from Western Montana College, and he was never shy about crediting Ueland for getting things turned around. Holland plugged in the former Butte Central star in at middle linebacker during his first season, and for three years Ueland quarterbacked MSU's outstanding defenses that featured other stars such as Bill Kollar and Brad Daws. The Cats won the 1972 Big Sky Championship, and Holland always maintained that Ueland's presence helped usher in a glorious decade-and-a-half that featured two national championships and five Big Sky crowns. But Ueland's impact reached far beyond football, and for the remainder of his life and beyond he remained emblematic of how Montanans apply skills and instincts honed on the football field and in the classrooms at MSU (and other schools) into careers and lives that benefit their communities and the state. Ueland was a successful businessman who never really left his roots in agriculture and, particularly, Butte… One of the legendary figures in Montana State University history, Val Glynn was an athletics star on the Bozeman campus to the extent that he was presented a special gold 'M' award upon his graduation in 1927. He was a first team All-Rocky Mountain Conference choice in football in 1924 and '26, and landed first team honors on the hardwood as a senior as well. His arrival was trumpeted during his freshman season in 1923-24, drawing notice for excellent play when coach Ott Romney led the Cats in a split of an important two-game set against a Utah State team coached by Ott's brother Dick Romney. Glynn's best sport may have been baseball. He pitched professionally in the years following his Bobcat career, twirling for the Logan Collegians in 1927 a three-season run pitching for the San Francisco Seals of the Pacific Coast League and the Salt Lake City Bees. He combined for an 18-14 record with the Class C Logan and Salt Lake City, but was 2-9 with the Seals. He compiled a 1.29 ERA in 21 innings in the PCL in 1928. Glynn was a Montana native, having been born 200 miles east of Bozeman at Fort Keogh on the banks of the Yellowstone River in 1903, to Irish immigrants William Henry Glynn, a soldier, and his wife Delia Agnes Garvey. The Glynns, who lived around the world at various times, eventually moved to Salt Lake City where Val matriculated through what Bozeman attorney and historian Paul Wylie called 'venerable East High.' Val Glynn starred for his future Bobcat coach Ott Romney at East, before Romney recruited him to Bozeman in the early '20s. Two-and-a-half decades later, in 1947, Glynn returned to his alma mater as Dean of Men. In the ensuing years he positively impacted many lives, and his popularity was reflected in the 1947 Montanan, which proclaimed: "If the day ever comes when your house burns down, your family is stricken with Black Death, your fiance marries your best friend, your teeth fall out, your checking account evaporates, and you hit yourself on the thumb with a forty pound sledge hammer, go see Val Glynn. If he can't do anything else, he'll at least sympathize with you. And if it's a situation that calls for a little more sympathy, you'll get cooperation with a capital 'C'. He can pull more wires than a marionette director."
Players Mentioned
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