BOBCAT CALENDAR: Travis Lulay's Career Took A Subtle but Important Turn Today in 2003
10/4/2020 10:00:00 AM | Football
Cliff Hysell's Bobcats earned a big win over Eastern Washington in 1997
A day-by-day look at Bobcat football history...
October 4
SPOTLIGHT: There's not much that stands out about Montana State's 40-0 win at Saint Mary's on this day in 2003. The Bobcats steamrolled a once-prominent school that, it turns out, was just months away from discontinuing its football program. It was a day when MSU's stars shone brightly. Bruce Molock rambled for 150 yards, Scott Turnquist caught a big 25-yard touchdown pass that pretty much sealed the Bobcat victory, Kane Ioane ran an interception back 59 yards for a score, and the Cats completely stifled the SMC offense. The 163 yards allowed was the second-lowest total by an MSU opponent all season.
Amidst this, quarterback Travis Lulay displayed his normal level of efficiency, completing 13 of his 22 passes for 187 yards and a touchdown. But it was not his arm or feet that draws a second look at this game. It is his right leg.
Montana State entered the Saint Mary's game with a 1-3 record, scoring only 10 points the week before in a home loss to Division II Northern Colorado. Bobcat coach Mike Kramer knew his offense needed an infusion, and decided that would come on fourth down.
To that end, Kramer approached his sophomore quarterback during the week and casually asked, "You punted in high school, didn't you?" Lulay answered in the affirmative, and after a charade of a tryout Lulay was secretly installed as the team's punter. The move proved brilliant in both the short and long term. On that sunny day in Moraga, California, he converted his first opportunity into a first down, tossing a pass to Ioane, whose 44-yard reception set up a first quarter touchdown that extended MSU's lead to 14-0. His first punt sailed 40 yards, and he gained 11 yards out of punt formation in the second quarter to extend what would be another touchdown drive. It was a marvelous day and a desperately-needed win.
Fourth down offense, indeed.
But for Lulay's punting career, it was just the beginning. Lulay ended the season with a team-high 41 punts, averaging 36.7 yards with 12 of those resulting in opponent drives that began inside the 20. Lulay was Montana State's regular punter for the remainder of his career, and never, ever, received enough credit for the success he had kicking the ball or for the attention opposing teams had to pay to the red-head receiving long snaps.
As many first downs as he picked up from deep punt formation, and as many times as he pinned opponents deep with his rugby-style roll punt, his most memorable punt came in an enormous moment for the Bobcats at the end of the 2003 season. Clinging to a 27-20 lead with just seconds remaining in the 2003 Cat-Griz game, Lulay readied to punt in front of a frenzied Bobcat Stadium crowd of over 15,000. As the last play of the game, everyone in the capacity crowd knew that Um would come after Lulay, and everyone knew successfully executing the punt would likely end the game. Lulay calmly received the snap and directed the punt down the field. it bounded around the south end of the field, was downed at the Grizzly one-yard line, and the clocked ticked to zeroes. The Cats had beaten their ancient, hated rivals on their home field for the first time since 1985. The goal posts made their way down Willson Avenue, and delirium reigned.
Punt to win.
But the story of Lulay's career as a punter doesn't end at Bobcat Stadium. He spent the next couple of years chasing professional football opportunities, catching on with the Seahawks and Saints for moments of time and also playing in NFL Europe. In 2009 he moved north of the border, trying out with the BC Lions of the CFL. In the process of competing for a spot on the roster, head coach Wally Buono asked him to confirm that he'd punted at Montana State, and Lulay's affirmation helped him secure a spot as a backup quarterback, which eventually led to a long, successful career in BC. Lulay is still with the organization in an administrative role.
BONUS: Montana State's football history with Eastern Washington has not produced an abundance of Bobcat wins, but that it has produced some amazing, memorable performances. One of those came in 1997, when the Cats their Big Sky home schedule with a 17-7 win over Mike Kramer's EWU Eagles. Trailing 7-0 coming out of the locker room for the second half, the Cats caught a break. Eastern fumbled a punt after forcing what appeared to be a three-and-out, and MSU's Geoff Groshelle kicked a 35-yard field goal to get on the board.
When Eric Kinnaman fumbled inside the Eagle 10 late in the third quarter, the team's best scoring chance to that point had evaporated, and when the Cats forced a punt it was fumbled at the EWU 15 and doubt was settling in.
But the Bobcats forced a punt, and Rob Compson passes to Craig Galle (17 yards) and Kinnaman (33 yards) gave the Cats a goal-to-go situation. On third down from the two, Compson found Terence Crump out of the backfield for a touchdown, and MSU had the lead with 14:01 to play. Then came the game's turning point. Groshelle was roughed on the ensuing PAT, which was good, and on the kickoff from midfield future MSU assistant coach and current Washington Huskies top man Jimmy Lake was pinned deep at the EWU 13. On the second play of the next drive, Harry Leons was intercepted by Bobcat linebacker Jeff Alexander, who found the end zone for a 17-7 Bobcat lead. After forcing an EWU punt, MSU chewed up nearly 10 minutes of game clock, with a 20-yard run on a reverse by Kenyatte Morgan the big play. The Cats gave EWU the ball back with 2:20 to play, and the Bobcat defense forced a turnover on downs. Montana State's 17-7 win was the seventh of Cliff Hysell's nine wins against ranked opponents.
DOUBLE BONUS: Montana State's first game played on October 4 was a 1930 contest against Regis University from Denver, and was the Dedication Game for the permanent iteration of Gatton Field.
This is a good place to take a quick look at the early history of Montana State football fields. When the Bobcats began playing football games against outside teams in 1897 the team played on Butler Field, which was in the vicinity of what is now 11th and College streets. That land was not within the campus boundaries at that point, and was considered the only ground that was available near campus. The field ran north and south, and the team heading north was working uphill for most of the field. Tom Donovan's book Montana's Greatest Rivalry cites an anecdote from the UM Kaimin that proposed that the UM team secure land on the slope of Missoula's Mt. Sentinel so the College team would feel at home during the 1900 Thanksgiving Day game.
The Cats played at Butler Field (the meaning of the name is lost to history) or College Field through the 1902 season. Until the last of those there was no seating, fans circled the field on foot, often standing on straw to provide a buffer between the cold earth. In 1903 Montana State played its games at the Fairgrounds on what was a dirt field converted from farmland, but in 1904 played its one game back at College Field. Both of the team's games in 1905 occurred at College Field, including the November 10 tilt against the Utah Agricultural College (Utah State) that marked the first out-of-state team to ever visit Bozeman for a football game.
Football was discontinued by faculty decree in 1906 and 1907, but when play returned in 1908 the Aggies, as they were then known, played at the Fairgrounds. That was true until 1915, when coach Fred Bennion decided that playing on campus would offer his team an advantage. The College team staked out property near the original playing grounds but plotted a field that ran east and west. The school's Barracks were built in 1917, and adjacent to the west end zone of what was sometimes referred to as Brewer Field in honor of long-time professor William Fiske Brewer, an early proponent and organizer of the school's football program. All Bobcat - the school adopted that moniker for its athletic teams in 1914 - home games were played at this version of College Field until World War II.
In the aftermath of World War II community members in Bozeman decided that a large-scale rodeo event would draw attention and growth to the town, and hurriedly built Roundup Stadium to host an annual event to rival Cheyenn's Frontier Days and the Calgary Stampede. Roundup Stadium hosted the 1919 Cat-Griz game in order to accommodate a large crowd, and 1,500 fans took advantage of the opportunity. The team played all four of its home games at Roundup Stadium in 1920, but after fire destroyed the structure the team moved back to campus permanently.
Simultaneously, a movement among Montana State students to name its playing field for Cy Gatton, a popular Gallatin County High grad who played for the Bobcats from 1914-16. He was a beloved member of the campus community, even after he and fellow hometown product Punk Taylor transferred to Wisconsin for the 1917 academic year (they both played on the freshman team there before heading into the service for World War I). Beginning in 1921 College Field was called Gatton Field, and before the 1923 season the field was moved the across the street closer to the campus core. It ran east and west, beginning at the southeast corner of the Barracks (which stood on land now occupied by the parking lost next to Langford Hall) to 8th Avenue, a new boulevard leading from the west edge of town to campus. The Bobcats played there through the 1929 season.
In 1930 work was completed on Gatton Field, just south of Grant Street from the school's new Gymnasium (which would in the future be named for Ott Romney, a star player with Cy Gatton in 1914 who returned to Montana State in 1922 as the head football and basketball coach. Gatton Field was dedicated on October 4, 1930, with the former star's mother and sisters in attendance. His mother donated the cost of the field's signature gate, which still stands just near Grant Street across from Romney Hall. The permanent iteration of Gatton Field was Montana State's home stadium through the 1971 season.
The Cats played the 1972 campaign in Van Winkle Stadium at Bozeman High while the new stadium was completed as the southern-most structure on campus. To great fanfare, Reno H. Sales Stadium was opened in 1973. Sales, a world-renowned geologist who was a member of the school's first football teams and an early graduate, was the benefactor whose generosity made the new stadium possible. He was also one of Butte's finest sportsmen during his years in that city, playing baseball in the mining league and helping form the Butte Country Club, among his many other civic activities.
In 1996 and 1997, construction on the north end zone and west grandstand converted the structure into Bobcat Stadium, a much more modern facility. Artificial turf was added in 2008, while the Sonny Holland End Zone rose from where wooden bleachers once stood in the south end zone in 2011.
(Information on the locations of Montana State's early playing fields gleaned from Montana's Greatest Rivalry by Tom Donovan, The Divide War: Montana's Golden Treasure by Pat Kearney, editions of The Exponent at MSU and The Kaimin at UM, and archived photographs collected by the MSU Library. Any corrections or clarifications are welcome, particularly if accompanied by photographs.)
GAMES ON TODAY'S DATE
2014 - MSU 59, at Sacramento State 56
2008 - MSU 33, at Idaho St 21
2003 - MSU 40, at Saint Mary's 0
1997 - MSU 17, Eastern Washington 7
1986 - Boise State 31, MSU 14
1980 - at Weber State 12, MSU 7
1975 - at Boise State 35, MSU 34
1969 - at Northern Arizona 35, MSU 0
1958 - MSU 31, at San Diego 6
1952 - MSU 16, Eastern Washington 6
1947 - MSU 32, at Northern Colorado 13
1941 - MSU 0, Colorado Mines 0
1930 - MSU 26, Regis 19 - Gatton Field Dedication
October 4
SPOTLIGHT: There's not much that stands out about Montana State's 40-0 win at Saint Mary's on this day in 2003. The Bobcats steamrolled a once-prominent school that, it turns out, was just months away from discontinuing its football program. It was a day when MSU's stars shone brightly. Bruce Molock rambled for 150 yards, Scott Turnquist caught a big 25-yard touchdown pass that pretty much sealed the Bobcat victory, Kane Ioane ran an interception back 59 yards for a score, and the Cats completely stifled the SMC offense. The 163 yards allowed was the second-lowest total by an MSU opponent all season.
Amidst this, quarterback Travis Lulay displayed his normal level of efficiency, completing 13 of his 22 passes for 187 yards and a touchdown. But it was not his arm or feet that draws a second look at this game. It is his right leg.
Montana State entered the Saint Mary's game with a 1-3 record, scoring only 10 points the week before in a home loss to Division II Northern Colorado. Bobcat coach Mike Kramer knew his offense needed an infusion, and decided that would come on fourth down.
To that end, Kramer approached his sophomore quarterback during the week and casually asked, "You punted in high school, didn't you?" Lulay answered in the affirmative, and after a charade of a tryout Lulay was secretly installed as the team's punter. The move proved brilliant in both the short and long term. On that sunny day in Moraga, California, he converted his first opportunity into a first down, tossing a pass to Ioane, whose 44-yard reception set up a first quarter touchdown that extended MSU's lead to 14-0. His first punt sailed 40 yards, and he gained 11 yards out of punt formation in the second quarter to extend what would be another touchdown drive. It was a marvelous day and a desperately-needed win.
Fourth down offense, indeed.
But for Lulay's punting career, it was just the beginning. Lulay ended the season with a team-high 41 punts, averaging 36.7 yards with 12 of those resulting in opponent drives that began inside the 20. Lulay was Montana State's regular punter for the remainder of his career, and never, ever, received enough credit for the success he had kicking the ball or for the attention opposing teams had to pay to the red-head receiving long snaps.
As many first downs as he picked up from deep punt formation, and as many times as he pinned opponents deep with his rugby-style roll punt, his most memorable punt came in an enormous moment for the Bobcats at the end of the 2003 season. Clinging to a 27-20 lead with just seconds remaining in the 2003 Cat-Griz game, Lulay readied to punt in front of a frenzied Bobcat Stadium crowd of over 15,000. As the last play of the game, everyone in the capacity crowd knew that Um would come after Lulay, and everyone knew successfully executing the punt would likely end the game. Lulay calmly received the snap and directed the punt down the field. it bounded around the south end of the field, was downed at the Grizzly one-yard line, and the clocked ticked to zeroes. The Cats had beaten their ancient, hated rivals on their home field for the first time since 1985. The goal posts made their way down Willson Avenue, and delirium reigned.
Punt to win.
But the story of Lulay's career as a punter doesn't end at Bobcat Stadium. He spent the next couple of years chasing professional football opportunities, catching on with the Seahawks and Saints for moments of time and also playing in NFL Europe. In 2009 he moved north of the border, trying out with the BC Lions of the CFL. In the process of competing for a spot on the roster, head coach Wally Buono asked him to confirm that he'd punted at Montana State, and Lulay's affirmation helped him secure a spot as a backup quarterback, which eventually led to a long, successful career in BC. Lulay is still with the organization in an administrative role.
BONUS: Montana State's football history with Eastern Washington has not produced an abundance of Bobcat wins, but that it has produced some amazing, memorable performances. One of those came in 1997, when the Cats their Big Sky home schedule with a 17-7 win over Mike Kramer's EWU Eagles. Trailing 7-0 coming out of the locker room for the second half, the Cats caught a break. Eastern fumbled a punt after forcing what appeared to be a three-and-out, and MSU's Geoff Groshelle kicked a 35-yard field goal to get on the board.
When Eric Kinnaman fumbled inside the Eagle 10 late in the third quarter, the team's best scoring chance to that point had evaporated, and when the Cats forced a punt it was fumbled at the EWU 15 and doubt was settling in.
But the Bobcats forced a punt, and Rob Compson passes to Craig Galle (17 yards) and Kinnaman (33 yards) gave the Cats a goal-to-go situation. On third down from the two, Compson found Terence Crump out of the backfield for a touchdown, and MSU had the lead with 14:01 to play. Then came the game's turning point. Groshelle was roughed on the ensuing PAT, which was good, and on the kickoff from midfield future MSU assistant coach and current Washington Huskies top man Jimmy Lake was pinned deep at the EWU 13. On the second play of the next drive, Harry Leons was intercepted by Bobcat linebacker Jeff Alexander, who found the end zone for a 17-7 Bobcat lead. After forcing an EWU punt, MSU chewed up nearly 10 minutes of game clock, with a 20-yard run on a reverse by Kenyatte Morgan the big play. The Cats gave EWU the ball back with 2:20 to play, and the Bobcat defense forced a turnover on downs. Montana State's 17-7 win was the seventh of Cliff Hysell's nine wins against ranked opponents.
DOUBLE BONUS: Montana State's first game played on October 4 was a 1930 contest against Regis University from Denver, and was the Dedication Game for the permanent iteration of Gatton Field.
This is a good place to take a quick look at the early history of Montana State football fields. When the Bobcats began playing football games against outside teams in 1897 the team played on Butler Field, which was in the vicinity of what is now 11th and College streets. That land was not within the campus boundaries at that point, and was considered the only ground that was available near campus. The field ran north and south, and the team heading north was working uphill for most of the field. Tom Donovan's book Montana's Greatest Rivalry cites an anecdote from the UM Kaimin that proposed that the UM team secure land on the slope of Missoula's Mt. Sentinel so the College team would feel at home during the 1900 Thanksgiving Day game.
The Cats played at Butler Field (the meaning of the name is lost to history) or College Field through the 1902 season. Until the last of those there was no seating, fans circled the field on foot, often standing on straw to provide a buffer between the cold earth. In 1903 Montana State played its games at the Fairgrounds on what was a dirt field converted from farmland, but in 1904 played its one game back at College Field. Both of the team's games in 1905 occurred at College Field, including the November 10 tilt against the Utah Agricultural College (Utah State) that marked the first out-of-state team to ever visit Bozeman for a football game.
Football was discontinued by faculty decree in 1906 and 1907, but when play returned in 1908 the Aggies, as they were then known, played at the Fairgrounds. That was true until 1915, when coach Fred Bennion decided that playing on campus would offer his team an advantage. The College team staked out property near the original playing grounds but plotted a field that ran east and west. The school's Barracks were built in 1917, and adjacent to the west end zone of what was sometimes referred to as Brewer Field in honor of long-time professor William Fiske Brewer, an early proponent and organizer of the school's football program. All Bobcat - the school adopted that moniker for its athletic teams in 1914 - home games were played at this version of College Field until World War II.
In the aftermath of World War II community members in Bozeman decided that a large-scale rodeo event would draw attention and growth to the town, and hurriedly built Roundup Stadium to host an annual event to rival Cheyenn's Frontier Days and the Calgary Stampede. Roundup Stadium hosted the 1919 Cat-Griz game in order to accommodate a large crowd, and 1,500 fans took advantage of the opportunity. The team played all four of its home games at Roundup Stadium in 1920, but after fire destroyed the structure the team moved back to campus permanently.
Simultaneously, a movement among Montana State students to name its playing field for Cy Gatton, a popular Gallatin County High grad who played for the Bobcats from 1914-16. He was a beloved member of the campus community, even after he and fellow hometown product Punk Taylor transferred to Wisconsin for the 1917 academic year (they both played on the freshman team there before heading into the service for World War I). Beginning in 1921 College Field was called Gatton Field, and before the 1923 season the field was moved the across the street closer to the campus core. It ran east and west, beginning at the southeast corner of the Barracks (which stood on land now occupied by the parking lost next to Langford Hall) to 8th Avenue, a new boulevard leading from the west edge of town to campus. The Bobcats played there through the 1929 season.
In 1930 work was completed on Gatton Field, just south of Grant Street from the school's new Gymnasium (which would in the future be named for Ott Romney, a star player with Cy Gatton in 1914 who returned to Montana State in 1922 as the head football and basketball coach. Gatton Field was dedicated on October 4, 1930, with the former star's mother and sisters in attendance. His mother donated the cost of the field's signature gate, which still stands just near Grant Street across from Romney Hall. The permanent iteration of Gatton Field was Montana State's home stadium through the 1971 season.
The Cats played the 1972 campaign in Van Winkle Stadium at Bozeman High while the new stadium was completed as the southern-most structure on campus. To great fanfare, Reno H. Sales Stadium was opened in 1973. Sales, a world-renowned geologist who was a member of the school's first football teams and an early graduate, was the benefactor whose generosity made the new stadium possible. He was also one of Butte's finest sportsmen during his years in that city, playing baseball in the mining league and helping form the Butte Country Club, among his many other civic activities.
In 1996 and 1997, construction on the north end zone and west grandstand converted the structure into Bobcat Stadium, a much more modern facility. Artificial turf was added in 2008, while the Sonny Holland End Zone rose from where wooden bleachers once stood in the south end zone in 2011.
(Information on the locations of Montana State's early playing fields gleaned from Montana's Greatest Rivalry by Tom Donovan, The Divide War: Montana's Golden Treasure by Pat Kearney, editions of The Exponent at MSU and The Kaimin at UM, and archived photographs collected by the MSU Library. Any corrections or clarifications are welcome, particularly if accompanied by photographs.)
GAMES ON TODAY'S DATE
2014 - MSU 59, at Sacramento State 56
2008 - MSU 33, at Idaho St 21
2003 - MSU 40, at Saint Mary's 0
1997 - MSU 17, Eastern Washington 7
1986 - Boise State 31, MSU 14
1980 - at Weber State 12, MSU 7
1975 - at Boise State 35, MSU 34
1969 - at Northern Arizona 35, MSU 0
1958 - MSU 31, at San Diego 6
1952 - MSU 16, Eastern Washington 6
1947 - MSU 32, at Northern Colorado 13
1941 - MSU 0, Colorado Mines 0
1930 - MSU 26, Regis 19 - Gatton Field Dedication
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