BOBCATS BY THE NUMBERS: 30 Days and Counting!
8/1/2019 9:00:00 AM | Football
A look at Montana State's excellent long snapper...
August 1: 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.
#30
Logan MacDonald, LS: The old truism about noticing certain positions in football only when mistakes are made certainly applies to long snappers. In Logan MacDonald's first season as MSU's long snapper he was barely noticed at all. The Moraga, California product snapped for 19 field goals and 43 extra points a season ago, and hit his target on 95% of those snaps. He enters his sophomore season as the team's primary long snapper.
30 – 100-yard rushing games during Jeff Choate's three seasons
When Jeff Choate took control of the Bobcats in December, 2015, one of his earliest proclamations was the standard line that his teams would run the ball and stop the run. The first part of that mission has certainly been accomplished. The Cats led the Big Sky in rushing in 2017 and finished third in 2018, and in Choate's 35 games as Montana State's head coach 30 Bobcats have surpassed the 100-yard rushing plateau. In the team's final eight games of 2018, including the two playoff contests, either Troy Andersen or Isaiah Ifanse cracked the 100-yard mark. Interestingly, between Andersen and Chris Murray, 19 of those 30 100-yard games were recorded by quarterbacks
Chronology: Ole Hendrickson (1931), Jack Baltzell (1934), David Mikkelson (1937), Leonard Stone (1940), Bill Leary (1941), Ben Kampf (1946-47), John Calcaterra (1948), Bill Zeleny (1949), Don Hammer (1950), Sid Griffith (1953), Moe Embleton (1954-55), Rocco Perciavalle (1956-57), Chuck Springer (1959), Dick Shanahan (1961-63), John McMeekin (1964), Hank Urza (1965-67), Kip Gjerde (1969-71), Greg Gates (1973), Kipp Adams (1974), Tommy Gray (1975-77), Mike Doerfler (1978-79), Darren Cooley (1980), Junior Fulp (1982-84), Toby Petty (1984-86), Grant Spoklie (1987-88), Darren Svendsen (1989-92), Kirby Senden (1993), Jonathan Hoffman (1996), Jake Headlee (1997), Jay Hackett (1999), James Yancey (2000), Michael McGuinness (2003-04), Denis Speights (2005-07), Tate Switzer (2008), Mackey Nolan (2009), David Dash (2010), Trevor Bolton (2011-15), West Wilson (2013-14), Ty Robbie (2015-16), Sean Opland (2016-17), Todd Payne (2018), Logan MacDonald (2019-)
Other #30 Notes: The phrase value-added wasn't around in the early 1990s, but had it benn Darren Svendsen would have been its embodiment. A product of Loveland, Colorado, Svendsen came to MSU as a running back in the fall of 1989. He showed promise in that capacity immediately, rushing for 186 yards and averaged 4.9 yards a carry in his first fall at MSU, but he also came out of nowhere to win the team's punting job. He averaged 39.4 yards a punt as a true freshman, and held that job throughout his time in the Blue and Gold. Svendsen rushed for 398 yards in his three seasons as a running back, but battled injuries toward the end of his career… To a certain generation of Bobcat fans, Don Hammer is beloved as the gentleman who would drive most of the night to lead MSU fans in his trademark "Give me a B! Give me an O! …" cheer at the long-departed and much-lamented Booster Breakfast at the Elks Club, and would repeat that routine in section B of Reno H. Sales Stadium that afternoon. Hammer was a legendary football coach at Conrad High for 26 years, and also coached the school's basketball and track teams. His 148 wins as the Cowboys' head grid mentor was at the time the most in state history, and he also led Conrad to state titles in the other two sports. He was an initial inductee into the Montana Coaches Association Hall of Fame. But to earlier generations of Bobcat fans he was a football standout at Montana State from 1948-51, struggling through the program's lean years that led to Tony Storti's arrival and the birth of a dynasty. Hammer was a Sigma Chi, and was President of the M Club as a senior, an honor among student-athletes. His daughter Sue Schmitt and her husband Ben remain active in Bobcat Athletics. Hammer worked as an assistant AD at MSU in the 1980s.
#30
Logan MacDonald, LS: The old truism about noticing certain positions in football only when mistakes are made certainly applies to long snappers. In Logan MacDonald's first season as MSU's long snapper he was barely noticed at all. The Moraga, California product snapped for 19 field goals and 43 extra points a season ago, and hit his target on 95% of those snaps. He enters his sophomore season as the team's primary long snapper.
30 – 100-yard rushing games during Jeff Choate's three seasons
When Jeff Choate took control of the Bobcats in December, 2015, one of his earliest proclamations was the standard line that his teams would run the ball and stop the run. The first part of that mission has certainly been accomplished. The Cats led the Big Sky in rushing in 2017 and finished third in 2018, and in Choate's 35 games as Montana State's head coach 30 Bobcats have surpassed the 100-yard rushing plateau. In the team's final eight games of 2018, including the two playoff contests, either Troy Andersen or Isaiah Ifanse cracked the 100-yard mark. Interestingly, between Andersen and Chris Murray, 19 of those 30 100-yard games were recorded by quarterbacks
Chronology: Ole Hendrickson (1931), Jack Baltzell (1934), David Mikkelson (1937), Leonard Stone (1940), Bill Leary (1941), Ben Kampf (1946-47), John Calcaterra (1948), Bill Zeleny (1949), Don Hammer (1950), Sid Griffith (1953), Moe Embleton (1954-55), Rocco Perciavalle (1956-57), Chuck Springer (1959), Dick Shanahan (1961-63), John McMeekin (1964), Hank Urza (1965-67), Kip Gjerde (1969-71), Greg Gates (1973), Kipp Adams (1974), Tommy Gray (1975-77), Mike Doerfler (1978-79), Darren Cooley (1980), Junior Fulp (1982-84), Toby Petty (1984-86), Grant Spoklie (1987-88), Darren Svendsen (1989-92), Kirby Senden (1993), Jonathan Hoffman (1996), Jake Headlee (1997), Jay Hackett (1999), James Yancey (2000), Michael McGuinness (2003-04), Denis Speights (2005-07), Tate Switzer (2008), Mackey Nolan (2009), David Dash (2010), Trevor Bolton (2011-15), West Wilson (2013-14), Ty Robbie (2015-16), Sean Opland (2016-17), Todd Payne (2018), Logan MacDonald (2019-)
Other #30 Notes: The phrase value-added wasn't around in the early 1990s, but had it benn Darren Svendsen would have been its embodiment. A product of Loveland, Colorado, Svendsen came to MSU as a running back in the fall of 1989. He showed promise in that capacity immediately, rushing for 186 yards and averaged 4.9 yards a carry in his first fall at MSU, but he also came out of nowhere to win the team's punting job. He averaged 39.4 yards a punt as a true freshman, and held that job throughout his time in the Blue and Gold. Svendsen rushed for 398 yards in his three seasons as a running back, but battled injuries toward the end of his career… To a certain generation of Bobcat fans, Don Hammer is beloved as the gentleman who would drive most of the night to lead MSU fans in his trademark "Give me a B! Give me an O! …" cheer at the long-departed and much-lamented Booster Breakfast at the Elks Club, and would repeat that routine in section B of Reno H. Sales Stadium that afternoon. Hammer was a legendary football coach at Conrad High for 26 years, and also coached the school's basketball and track teams. His 148 wins as the Cowboys' head grid mentor was at the time the most in state history, and he also led Conrad to state titles in the other two sports. He was an initial inductee into the Montana Coaches Association Hall of Fame. But to earlier generations of Bobcat fans he was a football standout at Montana State from 1948-51, struggling through the program's lean years that led to Tony Storti's arrival and the birth of a dynasty. Hammer was a Sigma Chi, and was President of the M Club as a senior, an honor among student-athletes. His daughter Sue Schmitt and her husband Ben remain active in Bobcat Athletics. Hammer worked as an assistant AD at MSU in the 1980s.
Players Mentioned
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