BOBCATS BY THE NUMBERS: 54 Days Until Kickoff, Chad Kanow Hopes for a Healthy 2019
7/8/2019 3:00:00 PM | Football
Montana State backs rushed for 100 yards in a game 54 times under head coach Rob Ash
July 8: 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.
#54
Chad Kanow, LB: Chad Kanow has been equally parts brilliant and star-crossed during his two seasons at Montana State. The good news for Kanow in 2018 was that he played good football in four mid-season games, logging 19 tackles, including a career-high eight against Weber State. The better news is that four games is a total that allows him to claim it as a redshirt season and retain his sophomore eligibility status in 2019. He led the Cats with six special teams tackles in 2018, an excellent marker in terms of future success. The bad news is that he suffered injuries that forced a late start and early end to his season in 2018, and battled injuries in 2017. He enters this season battling for starting honors at the Will linebacker position. If healthy, Kanow is a near-certainty to positively impact the Bobcat defense.
54 – Total number of individual 100-yard rush games during the Rob Ash era
Rob Ash wrote a book on the passing game, talked about it passionately as a component of building an offense, and, in fact, played quarterback himself in a fine small-college football career. But when things got down to business, he knew one truth – teams need to run the football. It began with a powerful, diminutive back, Demetrius Crawford, who was the first recruit Ash inked when he arrived in the summer of 2007. Crawford He rambled for 128 yards against Dixie State, his and Ash's second game in the Blue and Gold. In his two seasons, Crawford rumbled for over 100 yards in nine times. He capped his career with a brilliant 203-yard effort against the Grizzlies. Nine different players combined for those 154 100-yard games between 2007 and 2015.
Chronology: Ernest Mares (1926), Earl Semingsen (1927), Ted Wirak (1937), Mike Zunchich (1954), Jim Rogers (1955), Gary Giannini (1960-61), Bob Seiler (1965), Jim Kutzman (1966-67), Larry McCormick (1968), Rick Larsen (1969), Rick Larsen (1970), Dave Myers (1971-73), Dan Sweeney (1974), Kelly Darr (1975), Brian McFaul (1976-78), Larry Rubens (1979-80), Ted Modena (1982), Gary Sturm (1984), Ernie Ratzburg (1985), Greg Guza (1986), Stacy Coffin (1987), Todd Graves (1988-90), Dino Sparaco (1991-92), Brawn Lausen (1992-93), Chris Sobonya (1994), Jerry Vekved (1995), Matt Smith (1996-97), Walter Glover (1998-99), Mailo Fulutisi (2000), Matt Yocam (2001), Brandon Olson (2002), Chris Young (2003), Bobby Daly (2004-08), Aleksei Grosulak (2009), Josh Curry (2011), Wyatt Christensen (2013), Austin Oldenburger (2014-), Monte Folsom (2015-16), Chad Kanow (2017-)
Bonus Note for #54: Dino Sparaco was a tough, hard-working linebacker for the Cats in the early '90s, arriving as an unheralded junior college transfer and working his way into more progressively important roles in 1991 and '92. By his senior season he was a reserve linebacker and key special teams contributor… Montana State's football teams from the 1984 National Championship until the stirrings of the late 1990s occupy kind of a blind spot when discussing the Bobcat program's legacy, and that's too bad. The Cats compiled only one winning season from 1985 and 1995, but the program continued to produce excellent players, especially on defense. If a parade is ever thrown with that in mind, Todd Graves could be the banner bearer. A two-time All-Big Sky choice (second team as a senior, first team as a junior), he formed the heart of an excellent defense with Corey Widmer, Jason Hakert, Morgan Ryan, Ernie Boyd, Sean Hill… some really outstanding players. And Graves led the team in tackles as a junior and senior, racking up 273 total in those two seasons.
