Isaiah Ifanse rushed for 162 yards and 2 scores on Friday against William & Mary.
Bobcats put William & Mary on ice
12/9/2022 11:26:00 PM | Football, General
Mellott acounts for 4 scores
Tommy Mellott ran for three touchdowns and threw for a fourth as Montana State dominated in every phase of the game Friday night, defeating William & Mary 55-7 in a FCS quarterfinal playoff game.
As good as the fourth-seeded Bobcats (12-1) were on offense, their defense nearly pitched its first shutout since beating Western Oregon 55-0 in 2016. Six days after the death of Bobcat legend Sonny Holland, MSU outgained the Tribe 473-197. Isaiah Ifanse was the Bobcats top rusher, finishing with 162 yards on just 11 carries including touchdown runs of 68 and 9 yards, the latter coming after Marqui Johnson opened the third quarter with an 87-yard kickoff return. Ifanse, playing in just his second game all season due to a knee injury suffered in last season's FCS national championship game, became MSU's alltime leader in career rushing yardage passing Ryan Johnson who last played in 2002.
Blake Glessner kicked field goals of 30 and 50 and set a new single-season scoring record, breaking Troy Andersen's mark set in 2018. His 50-yarder is the longest in MSU playoff history.
With a game-time temperature of 19 degrees, fifth-seeded William & Mary of the Colonial Athletic Association never got its offense thawed out. MSU got an interception by Simeon Woodard and a team-high seven tackles by Callahan O'Reilly and six more by Ben Seymour. The Bobcats also got on the board thanks to a 79-yard punt return by Taco Dowler in the third quarter. The freshman's second punt return for a score this season was MSU's final visit to the endzone. Overall, the Tribe (11-2) punted 10 times while a season-low in points and total yards.
In front of 14,367 hardy Bobcat fans, Mellott had running scores of 22, 8 and 1 yards. In the third quarter, he hit Clevan Thomas for a 17-yard score. Thomas was the Bobcats' top receiver catching three balls for 34 yards as the Bobcats won their 20th consecutive game at home. Overall, Mellott connected on seven of nine passes for 106 yards.
The Bobcats next game is a semifinal contest against either South Dakota State (11-1) or Holy Cross (12-0) who face off on Saturday at SDSU.
As good as the fourth-seeded Bobcats (12-1) were on offense, their defense nearly pitched its first shutout since beating Western Oregon 55-0 in 2016. Six days after the death of Bobcat legend Sonny Holland, MSU outgained the Tribe 473-197. Isaiah Ifanse was the Bobcats top rusher, finishing with 162 yards on just 11 carries including touchdown runs of 68 and 9 yards, the latter coming after Marqui Johnson opened the third quarter with an 87-yard kickoff return. Ifanse, playing in just his second game all season due to a knee injury suffered in last season's FCS national championship game, became MSU's alltime leader in career rushing yardage passing Ryan Johnson who last played in 2002.
Blake Glessner kicked field goals of 30 and 50 and set a new single-season scoring record, breaking Troy Andersen's mark set in 2018. His 50-yarder is the longest in MSU playoff history.
With a game-time temperature of 19 degrees, fifth-seeded William & Mary of the Colonial Athletic Association never got its offense thawed out. MSU got an interception by Simeon Woodard and a team-high seven tackles by Callahan O'Reilly and six more by Ben Seymour. The Bobcats also got on the board thanks to a 79-yard punt return by Taco Dowler in the third quarter. The freshman's second punt return for a score this season was MSU's final visit to the endzone. Overall, the Tribe (11-2) punted 10 times while a season-low in points and total yards.
In front of 14,367 hardy Bobcat fans, Mellott had running scores of 22, 8 and 1 yards. In the third quarter, he hit Clevan Thomas for a 17-yard score. Thomas was the Bobcats' top receiver catching three balls for 34 yards as the Bobcats won their 20th consecutive game at home. Overall, Mellott connected on seven of nine passes for 106 yards.
The Bobcats next game is a semifinal contest against either South Dakota State (11-1) or Holy Cross (12-0) who face off on Saturday at SDSU.
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