Blocking, not record, excites Segars the most most
By ANDREW HINKELMAN
The Daily Inter Lake
Montana's Levander Segars broke the Division I-AA punt career return record Saturday with his 124th, but you'd never know by asking him.
" It doesn't feel any different," he said Saturday. "I didn't even know I had broken it.
"It's nice, but I have to give all the credit to the defense."
After the Griz defeated Idaho State 24-22, Segars was more eager to talk about his downfield blocking than his new place in history.
He was able to spring Jefferson Heidelberger in the third quarter for a 27-yard touchdown pass and had a key block an a 39-yard catch-and-run by Lex Hilliard in the fourth.
"Oh man!" Segars exclaimed when his block for Heidelberger was brought up. "I was in a slant on the backside, Craig threw to Jefferson and I was thinking 'if he cuts back, I've got two of them.'
"He cut, and I got two of them," Segars said with a big grin and a laugh.
"I was excited. I probably made a fool of myself, but that's OK, I'll take it."
Segars, Jon Talmage and Justin Green - just to name a few - have all made impressive hustle plays downfield in recent weeks to make blocks and get more yardage.
"He (Segars) and Justin Green and Colt Palmer, they get more fired up about throwing a good block than they do a catch or a run," UM coach Bobby Hauck said Saturday. "They're very unselfish, team guys. Levander had one catch today and all he wants to talk about is not why he didn't have more catches, but the great blocks he had on two good plays.
"That's the way he is."
Segars displaced Chuck Calhoun from the top of the I-AA punt return list. Calhoun had 123 returns for Southwest Missouri State from 1990-93.
- PACKING 'EM IN: Montana has played to crowds over 23,000 in each of its first four home games this year. In 2003, all seven of the Grizzlies home games broke the 23,000-mark.
In contrast, the Griz have played to a combined audience of 18,080 in their two road games.
- FOUL PLAY: Montana and Idaho State combined for 24 penalties for 256 yards, which is ugly enough in itself, but even more unsettling was the number of major penalties - personal fouls, unsportsmanlike conducts and pass interference.
There were 11 accepted, three declined and two offsetting major penalties in the game, including an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on Bengals coach Larry Lewis for protesting a pass interference call two plays earlier.