BOBCATS BY THE NUMBERS: 33 Days Until Kickoff!
7/29/2019 8:00:00 AM | Football
A look at a recent arrival to the program who brings physicality to the middle of the Bobcat defense
July 29: 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.
#33
Blake Flovin, LB: Blake Flovin followed a winding path to Bozeman, from the Bay area to Worcester, Massachusetts, and back to the Bay area. His willingness to crisscross the continent twice, then come partway back again, brings a physical presence to the inside linebacker positions, an old-school thumper in the middle of the Bobcat defense. He redshirted at Holy Cross in 2016 before logging to solid seasons at Foothill. He logged 56 tackles last fall, with a sack and two picks. He enters the fall in competition for time at the Mike spot.
33 – Number of ties all-time in Bobcat history
As prevalent as ties were in football's early days, Montana State's first one didn't come until its sixth season of football, a 5-5 deadlock with the Butte Athletic Club on October 24, 1902. By the time the program reconvened after World War I and the influenza epidemic of 1918 Montana State had played to more than one-third of the ties it would all-time (13). The Big Sky Conference made Division I football history by establishing overtime periods to eliminate the possibility of tie scores back in 1981, but MSU's last tie was quite a while before then – a 21-21 game against Weber State on Homecoming, 1971. Schubert Dyche, "the maestro of Montana coaches" as an edition of the Exponent called him in 1938, coached for 12 years and seven of his 96 games finished in dead heats. Five of John McIntosh's 20 games as Montana State's head coach ended in ties, while Fred Bennion (1914-17) tied five times in 23 games. No other Montana State coach experienced more than two tie games.
Chronology: Francis Cashmore (1927), Ray Buzzetti (1930), Kenneth Freese (1931), Hugh Paris (1937), Jim Montforten (1940), Wm. Musselman (1941), Dick Ball (1946-48), Bill Leary (1949), Bob Graham (1950), Tom Parac (1953), Ed Conaughton (1954), Glenn Flatt (1955), Jim Landon (1956), Rocco Perciavalle (1958-59), Mark Dasinger (1960-61), Bob Senden (1964-66), Gary Hughes (1968-69), Monte Boston (1970-72), Len Kelly (1973-76), Jeff Muri (1977-79), Mike Shill (1980), Toby Petty (1981-82), David Pandt (1983-85), Pat Dringman (1986), Greg Liebelt (1987-88), Brad Kimball (1990-91), Tyler Sharp (1992-93), Albert Smith (1994), Jarrod Beekley (1996), Travis Hille (1997), Kyle Ecker (1998-2001), Mac Mollohan (2002-05), Brandon Grimsley (2006), Blayde Beckstead (2007-2010), Shawn Johnson (2011-13), Matt Stewart (2014), Jessie Clark (2015-16), Coy Steel (2017-18), Blake Flovin (2019-)
Notes on #33: Shawn Johnson had two of the most dazzling all-purpose seasons in Bobcat history, with the distinction of wearing a different number in each. He exploded for 1,757 combined yards as a junior wearing number 33, and a year later, number 4, piled up 1,478 total yards. In that time he earned some flavor of Big Sky Player of the Week, All-Big Sky and All-America honors as a return specialist and as a running back, and without question had to be accounted for during every snap he was on the field. His electrifying presence on the field belied a shy kid, quiet and earnest, who had overcome incredible adversity during his formative years, in part thanks to the family of USC quarterback Cody Kessler and in large part due to his own ability to persevere. He grew and matured into a confident kid who took the right things seriously during his time at MSU, is currently working toward the process of becoming a law enforcement office in Montana.
#33
Blake Flovin, LB: Blake Flovin followed a winding path to Bozeman, from the Bay area to Worcester, Massachusetts, and back to the Bay area. His willingness to crisscross the continent twice, then come partway back again, brings a physical presence to the inside linebacker positions, an old-school thumper in the middle of the Bobcat defense. He redshirted at Holy Cross in 2016 before logging to solid seasons at Foothill. He logged 56 tackles last fall, with a sack and two picks. He enters the fall in competition for time at the Mike spot.
33 – Number of ties all-time in Bobcat history
As prevalent as ties were in football's early days, Montana State's first one didn't come until its sixth season of football, a 5-5 deadlock with the Butte Athletic Club on October 24, 1902. By the time the program reconvened after World War I and the influenza epidemic of 1918 Montana State had played to more than one-third of the ties it would all-time (13). The Big Sky Conference made Division I football history by establishing overtime periods to eliminate the possibility of tie scores back in 1981, but MSU's last tie was quite a while before then – a 21-21 game against Weber State on Homecoming, 1971. Schubert Dyche, "the maestro of Montana coaches" as an edition of the Exponent called him in 1938, coached for 12 years and seven of his 96 games finished in dead heats. Five of John McIntosh's 20 games as Montana State's head coach ended in ties, while Fred Bennion (1914-17) tied five times in 23 games. No other Montana State coach experienced more than two tie games.
Chronology: Francis Cashmore (1927), Ray Buzzetti (1930), Kenneth Freese (1931), Hugh Paris (1937), Jim Montforten (1940), Wm. Musselman (1941), Dick Ball (1946-48), Bill Leary (1949), Bob Graham (1950), Tom Parac (1953), Ed Conaughton (1954), Glenn Flatt (1955), Jim Landon (1956), Rocco Perciavalle (1958-59), Mark Dasinger (1960-61), Bob Senden (1964-66), Gary Hughes (1968-69), Monte Boston (1970-72), Len Kelly (1973-76), Jeff Muri (1977-79), Mike Shill (1980), Toby Petty (1981-82), David Pandt (1983-85), Pat Dringman (1986), Greg Liebelt (1987-88), Brad Kimball (1990-91), Tyler Sharp (1992-93), Albert Smith (1994), Jarrod Beekley (1996), Travis Hille (1997), Kyle Ecker (1998-2001), Mac Mollohan (2002-05), Brandon Grimsley (2006), Blayde Beckstead (2007-2010), Shawn Johnson (2011-13), Matt Stewart (2014), Jessie Clark (2015-16), Coy Steel (2017-18), Blake Flovin (2019-)
Notes on #33: Shawn Johnson had two of the most dazzling all-purpose seasons in Bobcat history, with the distinction of wearing a different number in each. He exploded for 1,757 combined yards as a junior wearing number 33, and a year later, number 4, piled up 1,478 total yards. In that time he earned some flavor of Big Sky Player of the Week, All-Big Sky and All-America honors as a return specialist and as a running back, and without question had to be accounted for during every snap he was on the field. His electrifying presence on the field belied a shy kid, quiet and earnest, who had overcome incredible adversity during his formative years, in part thanks to the family of USC quarterback Cody Kessler and in large part due to his own ability to persevere. He grew and matured into a confident kid who took the right things seriously during his time at MSU, is currently working toward the process of becoming a law enforcement office in Montana.
Players Mentioned
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