BOBCATS BY THE NUMBERS: 55 Days Until Kickoff
7/11/2021 2:00:00 PM | Football
A look at the number 55 in Bobcat football history...
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 2021 football season at Wyoming on September 4.
#55
Tua Areta, DT: The first thing you notice is the size. Tua Areta is a 6-3 defensive lineman whose weight has been close to 400 lbs (it's less than that now). He's massive. But Areta is an intelligent and friendly kid who moves well inside. He is a talented defensive tackle who missed much of the spring with an injury, but when healthy he can be a dominating force in the middle of the line of scrimmage.
55 Yards: It was a big play in a big game, the 2019 Gold Rush Game against a nationally-ranked Southeast Missouri team, and the Bobcats were locked in a battle. Tied 10-10 at halftime, MSU used an early third quarter spurt to create a little distance, with DeMareus Hosey and Troy Andersen crossing the goal line to give MSU a 24-10 lead. Then lightning struck. Receiver Travis Jonsen, a former star quarterback who frequently lined up behind the center, flipped the ball to running back Logan Jones for a 55-yard touchdown, and even with more than 20 minutes to play the game was essentially over. Jonsen and Jones were each seniors in 2019, and played their roles on the team brilliantly. Jonsen was a team captain from southern California, and Jones was unquestionably a leader, a Montana kid who had gone through considerable tribulations in his career, but who came out the other end and made an enormous impact on the program. It was a big play in the course of that game, and a really cool play symbolically in the evolution of Bobcat football.
Spotlight: For anyone who thought jumping out of an airplane must be a lonely feeling, consider the plight of Tim Hanson. The Bitterroot Valley resident launched himself from high above the Hellgate Canyon on University of Montana football Saturdays for a number of years as part of the Silvertip Skydivers, joining his mates in landing at midfield in a traditional element of Grizzly football game days. The lonely feeling had to set in upon landing, however. Originally from Spokane, Hanson played football for the Bobcats, anchoring the offensive line as a center from 1991-93. He earned First Team All-Big Sky honors in 1993, helping lead the Bobcats to a 7-4 mark, the team's first sinning record in nine seasons and tied for its best mark between the 1984 National Championship season and the team's Big Sky title and the 2010 Big Sky championship season.
Chronology: Ed Ritt (1954-55), Bob Allen (1960), Dick Vollmer (1961), Dave Kenworthy (1963-64), Dan Duff (1965-67), Jerry McCormick (1968), Walt Kelly (1969-71), Joe Johnson (1972-74), Bill Hansen (1975-77), Larry Rubens (1978), John Janosko (1979), Brent Mackie (1980), Robb Fellows (1981-84), Rick Hilder (1985-86), Andy Holmlund (1987), Jon Skelton (1988-90), Tim Hanson (1991-93), Brawn Lausen (1994-95), Quinn Taylor (1996), Max Seppi (1997), Charles Joe (1999), Bo Espinoza (2000-01), Travis Nellermoe (2003-04), Michael Rogers (2005), Josh Peterson (2006-07), Andrew Verlanic (2008), Shonquille Dorsey (2009-10), John Weidenaar (2012-15), Dylan Mahoney (2016-17), Bryce Barker (2018-19), Tua Areta (2020-).
Bonus for #55: John Weidenaar didn't travel far to become a Bobcat, coming to MSU from his family's potato farm in the Amsterdam-Manhattan area, but he traveled light years once arriving at MSU. Weidenaar set a Bobcat record by starting all 49 games in his career, earning All-America honors as a senior.
#55
Tua Areta, DT: The first thing you notice is the size. Tua Areta is a 6-3 defensive lineman whose weight has been close to 400 lbs (it's less than that now). He's massive. But Areta is an intelligent and friendly kid who moves well inside. He is a talented defensive tackle who missed much of the spring with an injury, but when healthy he can be a dominating force in the middle of the line of scrimmage.
55 Yards: It was a big play in a big game, the 2019 Gold Rush Game against a nationally-ranked Southeast Missouri team, and the Bobcats were locked in a battle. Tied 10-10 at halftime, MSU used an early third quarter spurt to create a little distance, with DeMareus Hosey and Troy Andersen crossing the goal line to give MSU a 24-10 lead. Then lightning struck. Receiver Travis Jonsen, a former star quarterback who frequently lined up behind the center, flipped the ball to running back Logan Jones for a 55-yard touchdown, and even with more than 20 minutes to play the game was essentially over. Jonsen and Jones were each seniors in 2019, and played their roles on the team brilliantly. Jonsen was a team captain from southern California, and Jones was unquestionably a leader, a Montana kid who had gone through considerable tribulations in his career, but who came out the other end and made an enormous impact on the program. It was a big play in the course of that game, and a really cool play symbolically in the evolution of Bobcat football.
Spotlight: For anyone who thought jumping out of an airplane must be a lonely feeling, consider the plight of Tim Hanson. The Bitterroot Valley resident launched himself from high above the Hellgate Canyon on University of Montana football Saturdays for a number of years as part of the Silvertip Skydivers, joining his mates in landing at midfield in a traditional element of Grizzly football game days. The lonely feeling had to set in upon landing, however. Originally from Spokane, Hanson played football for the Bobcats, anchoring the offensive line as a center from 1991-93. He earned First Team All-Big Sky honors in 1993, helping lead the Bobcats to a 7-4 mark, the team's first sinning record in nine seasons and tied for its best mark between the 1984 National Championship season and the team's Big Sky title and the 2010 Big Sky championship season.
Chronology: Ed Ritt (1954-55), Bob Allen (1960), Dick Vollmer (1961), Dave Kenworthy (1963-64), Dan Duff (1965-67), Jerry McCormick (1968), Walt Kelly (1969-71), Joe Johnson (1972-74), Bill Hansen (1975-77), Larry Rubens (1978), John Janosko (1979), Brent Mackie (1980), Robb Fellows (1981-84), Rick Hilder (1985-86), Andy Holmlund (1987), Jon Skelton (1988-90), Tim Hanson (1991-93), Brawn Lausen (1994-95), Quinn Taylor (1996), Max Seppi (1997), Charles Joe (1999), Bo Espinoza (2000-01), Travis Nellermoe (2003-04), Michael Rogers (2005), Josh Peterson (2006-07), Andrew Verlanic (2008), Shonquille Dorsey (2009-10), John Weidenaar (2012-15), Dylan Mahoney (2016-17), Bryce Barker (2018-19), Tua Areta (2020-).
Bonus for #55: John Weidenaar didn't travel far to become a Bobcat, coming to MSU from his family's potato farm in the Amsterdam-Manhattan area, but he traveled light years once arriving at MSU. Weidenaar set a Bobcat record by starting all 49 games in his career, earning All-America honors as a senior.
Players Mentioned
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