BOBCAT CALENDAR: Montana State's Only Win on November 12 Came in 2016, When the Cats Set Up a Big Finish with a Senior Day Win Over UC Davis

Chad Newell

Photo by: Adrian Sanchez-Gonzalez

BOBCAT CALENDAR: Montana State's Only Win on November 12 Came in 2016, When the Cats Set Up a Big Finish with a Senior Day Win Over UC Davis

11/12/2020 9:00:00 AM | Football

Chad Newell led the way with 132 rushing yards in his final Bobcat Stadium appearance

By: Bill Lamberty

A day-by-day look at Bobcat football history...

November 12
SPOTLIGHT: You'd think that a football program with 508 all-time wins stretching over near a century and a quarter wouldn't have many calendar dates without wins, but that was the case when the Bobcats woke up today in 2016.

Montana State faced Senior Day without ever logging a win on November 12, but there was urgency that day that had nothing to do with what happened in years past. The Bobcats stood 2-7 entering that game, struggling through a disappointing season under first-year head coach Jeff Choate, but throughout the week of the team's final home game of 2016 those inside the program talked about progress, about a feeling of coming together and getting on the right track.

There was proof, too. Montana State showed some fight two weeks earlier against third-ranked Eastern Washington, and competed in a road loss at Southern Utah. UC Davis was no one's idea of a championship contender during the 2016 campaign, either, and the Aggies' also brought a 2-7 record into Bobcat Stadium.

Anyone hoping for the Bobcats to get control of the game early were surely disappointed. While MSU took a couple of three-and-outs before settling for a field goal early in the second quarter, UC Davis turned a long march into a first quarter touchdown, then answered the Bobcat field goal with one of its own.

It took a while, but eventually senior running back Chad Newell took command of the game. After UC Davis went up 10-3, Newell carried three times before capping Montana State's first touchdown drive with a 10-yard run. And on MSU's next drive Newell carried three times for 33 yards, leading to a Kevin Kassis touchdown pass to Cam Sutton. The Bobcats took a 17-13 lead into the intermission.

After a scoreless third quarter, the Bobcats scored on a Gabe Peppenger field goal early in the fourth quarter to take a 20-13 lead. Then, like a lightning strike, Mac Bignell delivered the day's biggest blow. The junior linebacker hit Joshua Kelly to force a fumble, which Bignell recovered at the Aggies' 37. On the fourth play of the drive, freshman quarterback Chris Murray dashed 22 yards for a touchdown to put the Bobcats in firm control, 27-13.

Even with more than 11 minutes remaining, it felt like time in this game was running short. Quarterback Ben Scott drove the Aggies down the field, but the drive's counter-productive deliberate nature worked as much for the Bobcats as against them. UCD rammed the ball down the field to the Bobcat seven, but on fourth-and-goal from the 14 Scott's pass for future NFL standout Keelan Doss was incomplete and MSU took over with five minutes to play.

After UC Davis proved its ability to dominate the ball and dwindle time remaining with an 18-play, 67-yard drive that chewed up 6:50, the Cats proved their mettle as a ball control team. Newell carried for two, then 10, then three, then three more. Facing a third-and-14, Murray scampered 19 yards for a first down that all but ended the game. After two kneel-downs the formalities were dispatched, and Montana State had its third win of the season.

During his last game in Bobcat Stadium, Newell was magnificent. The senior who joined the MSU program as a walk-on after a devestating injury during his high school years carried 23 times on this day for 132 yards and a touchdown. Newell always claimed to love snowy, cold days for football, but he didn't get his wish on this unusually balmy 63 degree afternoon. In other important ways, it was an afternoon beautifully suited for the Billings Senior grad. His longest run was 16 yards, and he averaged less than six yards per carry, but he wasn't stopped for a loss and in the game's most crucial moments Newell was taking handoffs.

Murray, an audacious freshman from California, also impacted the afternoon. He only completed seven passes for 66 yards, bt he also carried 14 times for 98 yards and a touchdown. Bryson McCabe logged nine tackles for the Cats, while Fletcher Collins and Bignell each added eight. Grant Collins' six tackles included 2.5 behind the line of scrimmage.

The game was a fitting Senior Day sendoff for some terrific players who had survived both good times and gad in the Blue and Gold. In addition to Newell, grad transfer offensive lineman Patrick Carroll capped his career, as did All-america guard JP Flynn. Gunnar Brekke would have a great moment a week later, but he was a tremendous Bobcat as an all-purpose player. Matt Brownlow, Jessie Clark and John Walker all chipped in on the defensiveside of the ball.

Getting back in the win column, gathering some positive vibes, felt important on that day. A week later that all felt more important and completely inconsequential all at once, when the Bobcats beat the Grizzlies for the first time since 2012 by winning in Missoula.

GAMES ON TODAY'S DATE
2016 - MSU 27, UC Davis 13
2005 - at EWU 35, MSU 14
1988 - at Weber St 59, MSU 35
1966 - at Tulsa 13, MSU 10
1949 - at Utah St 19, MSU 14
1938 - UM 13, at Butte 0
1921 - UM 14, MSU 7
1912 - at UM 39, MSU 3

FINIS: Chad Newell and Gunnar Brekke followed disparate paths to the Bobcat backfield, but once there were marvelously productive players - and people. Newell's high school injury put him on the walk-on path, but he had displayed Division I talent. A tough, hard-nosed runner, he contributed early as a power back and on kick teams. Newell finished his career with 2,111 rushing yards, now 12th-most in Bobcat history.

Brekke was a highly-touted recruit who played a fair amount just months after graduating from Helena Capital - he played as a true freshman, while Newell redshirted - and played in 11 games in 2013. The next year Brekke gained 424 yards on the ground but also caught 21 passes for 204 yards and added 732 kick return yards. As a junior he rushed for 293 yards but added 352 receiving and 326 on kick returns. As a senior he rushed for 474 yards with 101 receiving. All told he accounted for 3,039 all-purpose yards as a Bobcat, just 50 away from the school's all-time top 10.