Defense Shines as No. 9 Bobcats Defeat No. 18 Wildcats in Ogden

Friday, October 15

Ogden, UT

8 p.m.

Montana State University

6-1 , 4-0

Weber State

2-4 , 1-2

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Montana State

Weber State

Troy Andersen

Photo by: Garrett Becker

Defense Shines as No. 9 Bobcats Defeat No. 18 Wildcats in Ogden

10/15/2021 11:45:00 PM | Football

Box Score

After allowing a 97-yard touchdown drive on Weber State’s opening possession, Montana State’s defense clamped down to hold the Wildcats to just 172 yards the rest of the contest and held on late for a 13-7 victory at Stewart Stadium on Friday

By: Andrew Pedersen

OGDEN, Utah – After allowing a 97-yard touchdown drive on Weber State's opening possession, Montana State's defense clamped down to hold the Wildcats to just 172 yards the rest of the contest and held on late for a 13-7 victory at Stewart Stadium on Friday. The Bobcat football team improved to 6-1 overall and 4-0 in Big Sky Conference play with the win.

It took Weber State a little over 4 minutes into the game to go up 7-0 after a nine-play drive ended with a 9-yard rushing touchdown by Josh Davis. However after a 3-and-out on its opening drive, the MSU offense drove 78 yards in 10 plays and capped off an over 5-minute stretch with a Matthew McKay 4th-and-goal sneak into the end zone.

The end of the first quarter saw a score of 7-7 and it remained that way through the entirety of the first half. Both defenses controlled the line of scrimmage, with MSU's Ty Okada coming up with a critical fourth down pass breakup as Weber State drove into MSU territory at the start of the second quarter.

It was a tale of defensive strength again in the second half, but Montana State's side was opportunistic and took advantage of turnovers.

The Wildcats worked their way into Bobcat territory following MSU's first possession of the third quarter, but MSU's Daniel Hardy stripped the ball out of the hands of WSU quarterback Bronson Barron on a 3rd-and-long play. Linebacker Troy Andersen ended up plucking the recovery out of the air and gave MSU the ball at the 50.

A McKay completion to Treyton Pickering moved the chains once before the MSU offense stalled. Blake Glessner came on and converted on a 46-yard field goal to put the Bobcats ahead 10-7 with 7:35 remaining in the third quarter.

The next possession again saw Montana State take advantage. Weber State fumbled the ball on its first play of the ensuing drive and Callahan O'Reilly recovered it at the Wildcat 33-yard line. Two Isaiah Ifanse carries completed a first down for MSU before bringing Glessner back out. He would knock in a 32-yard attempt and the Bobcats edge increased to 13-7 with 3:50 to go in the quarter.

Montana State's defense continued to bring pressure and eventually forced three consecutive punts. The fourth quarter saw the Wildcats move ball to MSU's 31, but a fourth down pass was covered up by Tyrel Thomas and Tre Webb to force a turnover on downs. An MSU 3-and-out would lead to another Weber State opportunity, but the Wildcats' drive stalled out and a dropped pass finished off a back-to-back turnover on downs.

The Wildcats had a final opportunity as they took over after a Bobcat turnover on downs at their own 47-yard line with 2:20 remaining. A sack by Sebastian Valdez and Hardy moved WSU back to open the drive, WSU then had an incomplete pass, and finally a third down solo sack by Hardy forced the home side to punt despite less 2 minutes left on the clock.

MSU eventually sealed the game as McKay completed a 14-yard rush on second down to move the chains and Weber State ran out of timeouts.

Weber State out-gained Montana State 269-222 in total yards, but the Bobcats took care of the ball as MSU took advantage of WSU's two fumbles lost in the contest.

Ty Okada finished with a Bobcat-high 11 tackles and Andersen followed with 10. Hardy wound up with three sacks, while Valdez and Amandre Williams had 0.5 sacks apiece. Okada, Thomas and O'Reilly each registered a pass breakup. Brody Grebe and Ben Seymour each recorded tackles for loss.

MSU did most of its work on the offensive side on the ground as the Bobcats outgained the Wildcats 146-54. Ifanse led the Bobcats with 81 yards rushing.

The Bobcats return to Bobcat Stadium next Saturday, Oct. 23, for the first of their final two home games of the season. MSU will be hosting Idaho State with kickoff set for 1 p.m. All tickets for the final two home games are just $25 at msubobcats.com/tickets by using the promo code GOCATSGO over this weekend (Oct. 16-17).