BOBCATS BY THE NUMBERS: 95 Days Until Kickoff, and a Look Back at an All-Time Bobcat
6/2/2020 4:01:00 PM | Football
Derek Marks hands No. 95 off to Sebastian Valdez, but the lifelong Bobcat leaves behind an amazing legacy
June 2: Bobcats by the Numbers takes a look at current and past Bobcats whose jersey numbers correspond to the number of days remaining before Montana State opens the 2020 football season against Long Island Post in Bobcat Stadium's annual Gold Rush game in September.
#95
Sebastian Valdez, DL: A defensive line prospect who joins the Bobcat program and his former prep teammate Blake Schmidt, Sebastian Valdez brings an explosive presence to the front four. He was a two-time all-conference selection at Monte Vista High in California.
95 – No Bobcat has worn jersey No. 95 better than Derek Marks, who hung it up for the final time just before Christmas, 2019. Marks was a solid contributor early in and throughout his career, came off the bench and made a position change that would to some degree stifle his personal stats and profile, and he did it all with a smile on his face and a quiet intensity that let everyone know that he meant business. Marks grew up in Belgrade, and spent some good days of his youth in Bobcat Stadium, cheering for the Bobcats. His grandfather, the late Harry Huntsinger, played football at MSU, and wearing the Blue and Gold held and holds special meaning for him. Derek Marks, for the rest of his life, will be able to say he never lost to the Grizzlies, and he played a special, unique role in the last two of those four victories. He recovered the fumble to close Montana State's Miracle in Missoula in 2018, then recovered the fumble on the very first play from scrimmage in the Bobcats' avalanche win over UM in 2019.
You don't always know what you have, conventional wisdom tells us, until it's gone. For Bobcat football fans in the early 2010s, though, that wasn't the case. Every fan that filed into Bobcat Stadium, all those loyal to the Blue and Gold following the team throughout the western half of the U.S., knew something special was happening. At the center of that four-year was quarterback DeNarius McGhee, but among those who make that period so memorable was mercurial receiver Elvis Akpla. McGhee and Akpla accounted for 1,827 yards through the air, including a memorable play in October, 2011. No. 4 Montana State hosted 25th-ranked Sacramento State in a key early-season conference clash, and with the Bobcats trailing 10-7 early in the second quarter McGhee dropped into his own end zone on a third-and-10 and launched a pass that appeared to threaten the still-new Sonny Holland End Zone. Akpla caught the ball in stride, and the result was a 95-yard scoring strike, the longest play from scrimmage in Bobcat history. "That's what we love," Akpla said after the game, and there was more to love just after halftime. Akpla's 41-yard touchdown catch later in the second quarter pushed MSU back into the lead after a Sac State touchdown, and on a fourth-and-one from the Bobcat 21 midway through the third quarter he turned a short pass from Rory Perez out of punt formation into a first down that extended a scoring drive. Akpla finished that day with 174 yards receiving, and the Bobcats secured an important 31-21 win on the way to a Big Sky title.
#95 Notes: Elliott Barnhart scored the first points of the Rob Ash era wearing #95, catching a touchdown pass at Texas A&M's Kyle Field… Jon Montoya earned All-America and Academic All-America honors for the Bobcats in 95, and was inducted into the Bobcat Athletics Hall of Fame in 2019… Kevin Donovan, who remains one of the program's most loyal supporters, went on to a brilliant career in cinematic and television production, was a two-year starting defensive end in #95.
Chronology: Don Wilson (1974-75), Chip Young (1976-77), Kevin Donovan (1978-80), Jim Huggins (1983), Joel Grace (1984-88), Scott Casagranda (1990), Danny Pickett (1991-92), Garry Smith (1993), Aaron Binns (1994), Colin Anderson (1995), Jerry Vekved (1996-98), Jon Montoya (1999-2003), Elliott Barnhart (2004-07), Kevin Steiner (2008-11), Zach Hutchins (2012-14), Joe Naotola (2015), Derek Marks (2016-19), Sebastian Valdez (2020-).
#95
Sebastian Valdez, DL: A defensive line prospect who joins the Bobcat program and his former prep teammate Blake Schmidt, Sebastian Valdez brings an explosive presence to the front four. He was a two-time all-conference selection at Monte Vista High in California.
95 – No Bobcat has worn jersey No. 95 better than Derek Marks, who hung it up for the final time just before Christmas, 2019. Marks was a solid contributor early in and throughout his career, came off the bench and made a position change that would to some degree stifle his personal stats and profile, and he did it all with a smile on his face and a quiet intensity that let everyone know that he meant business. Marks grew up in Belgrade, and spent some good days of his youth in Bobcat Stadium, cheering for the Bobcats. His grandfather, the late Harry Huntsinger, played football at MSU, and wearing the Blue and Gold held and holds special meaning for him. Derek Marks, for the rest of his life, will be able to say he never lost to the Grizzlies, and he played a special, unique role in the last two of those four victories. He recovered the fumble to close Montana State's Miracle in Missoula in 2018, then recovered the fumble on the very first play from scrimmage in the Bobcats' avalanche win over UM in 2019.
You don't always know what you have, conventional wisdom tells us, until it's gone. For Bobcat football fans in the early 2010s, though, that wasn't the case. Every fan that filed into Bobcat Stadium, all those loyal to the Blue and Gold following the team throughout the western half of the U.S., knew something special was happening. At the center of that four-year was quarterback DeNarius McGhee, but among those who make that period so memorable was mercurial receiver Elvis Akpla. McGhee and Akpla accounted for 1,827 yards through the air, including a memorable play in October, 2011. No. 4 Montana State hosted 25th-ranked Sacramento State in a key early-season conference clash, and with the Bobcats trailing 10-7 early in the second quarter McGhee dropped into his own end zone on a third-and-10 and launched a pass that appeared to threaten the still-new Sonny Holland End Zone. Akpla caught the ball in stride, and the result was a 95-yard scoring strike, the longest play from scrimmage in Bobcat history. "That's what we love," Akpla said after the game, and there was more to love just after halftime. Akpla's 41-yard touchdown catch later in the second quarter pushed MSU back into the lead after a Sac State touchdown, and on a fourth-and-one from the Bobcat 21 midway through the third quarter he turned a short pass from Rory Perez out of punt formation into a first down that extended a scoring drive. Akpla finished that day with 174 yards receiving, and the Bobcats secured an important 31-21 win on the way to a Big Sky title.
#95 Notes: Elliott Barnhart scored the first points of the Rob Ash era wearing #95, catching a touchdown pass at Texas A&M's Kyle Field… Jon Montoya earned All-America and Academic All-America honors for the Bobcats in 95, and was inducted into the Bobcat Athletics Hall of Fame in 2019… Kevin Donovan, who remains one of the program's most loyal supporters, went on to a brilliant career in cinematic and television production, was a two-year starting defensive end in #95.
Chronology: Don Wilson (1974-75), Chip Young (1976-77), Kevin Donovan (1978-80), Jim Huggins (1983), Joel Grace (1984-88), Scott Casagranda (1990), Danny Pickett (1991-92), Garry Smith (1993), Aaron Binns (1994), Colin Anderson (1995), Jerry Vekved (1996-98), Jon Montoya (1999-2003), Elliott Barnhart (2004-07), Kevin Steiner (2008-11), Zach Hutchins (2012-14), Joe Naotola (2015), Derek Marks (2016-19), Sebastian Valdez (2020-).
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