BOBCATS BY THE NUMBERS: 90 Days Until Kickoff!
6/7/2020 3:00:00 PM | Football
A 90-yard dash by Max Worthington emerges from the Bobcat history books...
June 7: 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 in Bobcat Stadium's annual Gold Rush game in September!
#90
Marcus Wehr, DL: For Jeff Choate, Marcus Wehr checks a lot of boxes for a defensive lineman. Athleticism? Check. Length (meaning long arms and legs which allows a player to cover an optimal amount of land and air space)? Check. Toughness? The native pride bred into prep football players in the Treasuer State? Check and check. Wehr helped Billings Central to the Class A state crown during his senior season, earning all-state honors twice. He was also a standout in the shot put. Wehr impressed during his redshirt season in the Bobcat program, and is expected to contribute this fall as a redshirt freshman.
90 – Montana State's membership in the Rocky Mountain Conference provided the Bobcats many opportunities to punch above their weight class, with the Cats regularly meeting the three (at the time) Utah schools, Colorado, and Wyoming, among others. By the 1920s the Bobcats had an appetite to see what else was on the horizon. Montana State's season-ending 34-0 win at New Mexico to close 1923 season took the Cats out of the region, but it wasn't until a 1927 trip to Purdue (a 39-7 loss) that the Bobcats faced a true national power. MSC ventured to the Midwest again in 1928 to face Nebraska, and it provided one of Montana State's most memorable pre-World War II moments. Trailing the Cornhuskers 13-0, with Nebraska again on the march, NU quarterback Clair Sloan fumbled on the Bobcat 10-yard line, and Max Worthington scooped up the ball. Estimates of the distance vary. The Omaha World-Herald called it a 97-yard run, but the Exponent and Montanan both called it 90 yards. (The World-Herald also credited the touchdown to Worden, but all Montana accounts – and a conversation with the great Max Worthington years later – confirm it was Montana State's star who made that stirring run.) From the World-Herald: "Broadstone, the bulky Husker left tackle, led the chase for the speeding Bobcat and cast himself at the fleeing pair of legs when (Worthington) was about 10 yards from home. But he missed and the Montana State eleven achieved what might be termed a 'moral victory' by crossing the Husker goal."
90 – Rod Lyman spent only one season on the Bobcat football team, wearing #90 in 1979, but his contributions in the Blue and Gold weren't limited to the gridiron. Lyman starred on the Bobcat rodeo team for four years before earning nearly two million dollars on the pro rodeo circuit. The Great Falls bulldogger won championship buckles throughout the West, including the Calgary Stampede and Cheyenne Frontier Days… Taylor Sheridan registered 18.5 tackles-for-loss and eight sacks from 2013-15, earning Second Team All-Big Sky honors twice… as a junior and senior, Dan Ogden rang up 31 tackles-for-loss and 18 sacks.
Chronology: Gerry Albinger (1974), Larry Kolbe (1975), Tom Powell (1976-78), Rod Lyman (1979), Tim Ellinghouse (1982-83), Bob Oyster (1984), Dan Frazier (1985), David Worstell (1986-87), Robert Zsidisin (1988-89), Ryan Springer (1991), Walter Robinson (1993-97), Jonathan Taylor (1998-2001), Ryan Cogley (2002-04), Brandon Hoffenbacker (2006-07), Evan Morris (2008), Dan Ogden (2009-10), Taylor Sheridan (2011-15), Fou Polataivao (2016-17), Treyton Pickering (2018-), James Williams (2018), Marcus Wehr (2019-)
Spotlight: It's become a familiar path, a Bobcat defensive lineman moving from end to tackle and, while sacrificing some personal statistics, boosting the team's fortunes. Shaun Ross did it before him and Adam Cordeiro was among the many who did it after, but Jonathan Taylor helped put the Cats on the path to two Big Sky championships in the next five seasons by transitioning from end to tackle. He racked up 21 tackles-for-loss, 11.5 sacks, during his sophomore and junior seasons combined, and as a senior playing inside still came up with 11 tackles and 4.5 sacks. He was among MSU's top 10 in career sacks when his career ended, and the productivity earned him a couple of seasons with the Detroit Lions. JT returned to MSU as an academic counselor, transitioning recently to a position in Bozeman with Edward Jones, and while he never received the individual accolades he deserved he improves every organization he joins.
There were times, right in the middle of a Bobcat game, when you'd have thought Dan Ogden's time on this earth had expired. The explosive, brilliant defensive tackle could lay motionless on MSU's new artificial surface, apparently lifeless, for minutes. But then he would spring to life, jog jauntily off the field, and return one play later to dominate another helpless Big Sky offensive line. Ogden also sported a unique flair off the field, occasionally carrying a boom box around the Fieldhouse (often needing to explain to younger people what it was) looking alternatively like he'd just arrived from a beach party or a construction site. All of this only made Ogden's ability on the field seem more spectacular. One of the top wrestlers in the state coming out of Flathead High, Ogden played in all 11 games in 2007 as a true freshman, intercepting a Dixie State pass and returning it 62 yards for a touchdown. He was First Team All-Big Sky as a junior and senior, piling up 31 tackles-for-loss and 18 sacks, ridiculous totals for a nose tackle. He was part-and-parcel of a 2010 defense that helped spur the Cats to the Big Sky title. After graduating from MSU, Dan became a teacher in Kalispell.
#90
Marcus Wehr, DL: For Jeff Choate, Marcus Wehr checks a lot of boxes for a defensive lineman. Athleticism? Check. Length (meaning long arms and legs which allows a player to cover an optimal amount of land and air space)? Check. Toughness? The native pride bred into prep football players in the Treasuer State? Check and check. Wehr helped Billings Central to the Class A state crown during his senior season, earning all-state honors twice. He was also a standout in the shot put. Wehr impressed during his redshirt season in the Bobcat program, and is expected to contribute this fall as a redshirt freshman.
90 – Montana State's membership in the Rocky Mountain Conference provided the Bobcats many opportunities to punch above their weight class, with the Cats regularly meeting the three (at the time) Utah schools, Colorado, and Wyoming, among others. By the 1920s the Bobcats had an appetite to see what else was on the horizon. Montana State's season-ending 34-0 win at New Mexico to close 1923 season took the Cats out of the region, but it wasn't until a 1927 trip to Purdue (a 39-7 loss) that the Bobcats faced a true national power. MSC ventured to the Midwest again in 1928 to face Nebraska, and it provided one of Montana State's most memorable pre-World War II moments. Trailing the Cornhuskers 13-0, with Nebraska again on the march, NU quarterback Clair Sloan fumbled on the Bobcat 10-yard line, and Max Worthington scooped up the ball. Estimates of the distance vary. The Omaha World-Herald called it a 97-yard run, but the Exponent and Montanan both called it 90 yards. (The World-Herald also credited the touchdown to Worden, but all Montana accounts – and a conversation with the great Max Worthington years later – confirm it was Montana State's star who made that stirring run.) From the World-Herald: "Broadstone, the bulky Husker left tackle, led the chase for the speeding Bobcat and cast himself at the fleeing pair of legs when (Worthington) was about 10 yards from home. But he missed and the Montana State eleven achieved what might be termed a 'moral victory' by crossing the Husker goal."
90 – Rod Lyman spent only one season on the Bobcat football team, wearing #90 in 1979, but his contributions in the Blue and Gold weren't limited to the gridiron. Lyman starred on the Bobcat rodeo team for four years before earning nearly two million dollars on the pro rodeo circuit. The Great Falls bulldogger won championship buckles throughout the West, including the Calgary Stampede and Cheyenne Frontier Days… Taylor Sheridan registered 18.5 tackles-for-loss and eight sacks from 2013-15, earning Second Team All-Big Sky honors twice… as a junior and senior, Dan Ogden rang up 31 tackles-for-loss and 18 sacks.
Chronology: Gerry Albinger (1974), Larry Kolbe (1975), Tom Powell (1976-78), Rod Lyman (1979), Tim Ellinghouse (1982-83), Bob Oyster (1984), Dan Frazier (1985), David Worstell (1986-87), Robert Zsidisin (1988-89), Ryan Springer (1991), Walter Robinson (1993-97), Jonathan Taylor (1998-2001), Ryan Cogley (2002-04), Brandon Hoffenbacker (2006-07), Evan Morris (2008), Dan Ogden (2009-10), Taylor Sheridan (2011-15), Fou Polataivao (2016-17), Treyton Pickering (2018-), James Williams (2018), Marcus Wehr (2019-)
Spotlight: It's become a familiar path, a Bobcat defensive lineman moving from end to tackle and, while sacrificing some personal statistics, boosting the team's fortunes. Shaun Ross did it before him and Adam Cordeiro was among the many who did it after, but Jonathan Taylor helped put the Cats on the path to two Big Sky championships in the next five seasons by transitioning from end to tackle. He racked up 21 tackles-for-loss, 11.5 sacks, during his sophomore and junior seasons combined, and as a senior playing inside still came up with 11 tackles and 4.5 sacks. He was among MSU's top 10 in career sacks when his career ended, and the productivity earned him a couple of seasons with the Detroit Lions. JT returned to MSU as an academic counselor, transitioning recently to a position in Bozeman with Edward Jones, and while he never received the individual accolades he deserved he improves every organization he joins.
There were times, right in the middle of a Bobcat game, when you'd have thought Dan Ogden's time on this earth had expired. The explosive, brilliant defensive tackle could lay motionless on MSU's new artificial surface, apparently lifeless, for minutes. But then he would spring to life, jog jauntily off the field, and return one play later to dominate another helpless Big Sky offensive line. Ogden also sported a unique flair off the field, occasionally carrying a boom box around the Fieldhouse (often needing to explain to younger people what it was) looking alternatively like he'd just arrived from a beach party or a construction site. All of this only made Ogden's ability on the field seem more spectacular. One of the top wrestlers in the state coming out of Flathead High, Ogden played in all 11 games in 2007 as a true freshman, intercepting a Dixie State pass and returning it 62 yards for a touchdown. He was First Team All-Big Sky as a junior and senior, piling up 31 tackles-for-loss and 18 sacks, ridiculous totals for a nose tackle. He was part-and-parcel of a 2010 defense that helped spur the Cats to the Big Sky title. After graduating from MSU, Dan became a teacher in Kalispell.
Players Mentioned
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