Griz O produces 3 scores, defense scores once in scrim
The Griz earned a day off today.
The University of Montana football team's offense started the first scrimmage of fall camp with a bang Saturday morning in Missoula, then the defense ended the event with another bang.
Senior quarterback Josh Swogger hit junior wide receiver Ryan Bagley of Great Falls on the first play of the scrimmage on a 25-yard touchdown pass in Washington-Grizzly Stadium. Then junior linebacker Tom Martin of Columbus intercepted a pass on the final play of the scrimmage and looked like he could have gone for a 95-yard touchdown had the play not been whistled dead.
Those weren't the only scores of the 36-play scrimmage.
True freshman quarterback Andrew Selle, who guided Billings West to the Class AA state championship, hit true freshman tight end Robert Overton of California on a 26-yard scoring strike in the waning minutes of the scrimmage and then redshirt freshman running back Thomas Brooks-Fletcher of Bellevue, Wash., scored on a 10-yard run on the ensuing offensive possession.
Fourth-year Griz head coach Bobby Hauck was happy with his team's performance.
"The players did a good job considering how tired they are," he said. "We didn't make many mental mistakes, which is difficult when you're a tired team - which most teams in the country are right now after 10 or 11 straight days of practice.
"They earned their day off."
Although the Griz did have three offensive scoring plays, the box score indicates the defense may have overshadowed the O.
Swogger - the 6-foot-5, 244-pound senior QB who transferred from Washington State and was heavily recruited out of high school in Ohio - completed only four of 12 passes (25 percent). Sophomore QB Cole Bergquist of San Clemente, Calif. - who was 5-3 as a starter last season for the Griz - was just 4-for-10.
"We showed a lot of blitz packages today, which is good for the defense as well as the offense," Hauck said. "It's good for the defense to learn blitz tempo. It's good for the offense to learn how to react to the blitz - not only from a blocking standpoint for our linemen, but also for our skill guys because they have to make faster adjustments on their assignments and follow the quarterback's lead."
Five defensive players had three tackles apiece to lead the way: sophomore defensive end Karl Pitcher of Anaconda; sophomore defensive tackle Paul LaMantia, who transferred from Boise State University; junior transfer cornerback Qwenton Freeman, who came from the University of Arizona; true freshman linebacker Severin Campbell, from Colorado; and redshirt freshman Brandon Fisher, from Tennessee. LaMantia, originally from California, also had a sack.
Senior running back Brady Green had the most carries in the absence of Lex Hilliard. The 6-0, 192-pounder from Brighton, Utah, had eight carries for 14 yards. Junior transfer Greg Coleman, who came from Iowa State, and Brooks-Fletcher each had four carries. Brooks-Fletcher tied Green for the team lead with 14 yards. Coleman had just four yards.
Brooks-Fletcher, who was injured last year in fall drills and redshirted, was a first-team All-Seattle Area all-purpose back as a junior and senior. He rushed for 1,282 yards and had 50 catches for 611 yards and 18 touchdowns his senior year.
Coleman's fellow Division I-A junior transfer Reggie Bradshaw, who came from Louisville, played - and dropped a screen pass - but did not have a carry.
True freshman Chase Reynolds, the seemingly all-world player from Drummond who is the first prep player in Montana history to rush for 5,000 yards, had three carries but was stuck behind the line of scrimmage for all of them and ended up with minus-5 yards. Sophomore Andrew Schmidt of Bozeman had two carries for four yards.
Big true freshman tight end Robert Overton (6-6, 240) was the team's leading receiver. The San Leandro, Calif., native had three catches for 36 yards and the touchdown. Sophomore wide receiver Rob Schulte of Great Falls was next with two catches for 33 yards. The six other guys had one catch apiece: sophomore Mike Ferriter from Helena, redshirt freshman Ty Palmer from Missoula, redshirt freshman TE Dan Beaudin from Noxon, true freshman TE Steven Pfahler from Frenchtown and junior transfer from the University of Washington Craig Chambers.
Nos. 3 and 4 quarterbacks Clint Stapp, a redshirt frosh from Colorado, and Selle each went 2-for-3.
The Griz will hold their second and final fall scrimmage Thursday morning in Washington-Grizzly Stadium. UM's annual Great Griz Encounter is also slated for Thursday at Caras Park. The team's 2006 All-American and honors candidates will be introduced at 6:30 p.m. Then from 6:50-8:30 p.m. the team will sign autographs. Griz merchandise and food vendors will be on hand, and free raffle prizes will given away at 7:30 p.m.
The Griz have registered 20 consective winning seasons, dating back to 1986. They have won 22 playoff games since 1989. They need two more playoff victories to move into second place on the all-time I-AA list. They are 81-15 in Big Sky games since 1993.
RUSHING - Thomas Brooks-Fletcher 4-14 (TD), Brady Green 8-14, Clint Stapp 1-9, Andrew Schmidt 2-4, Greg Coleman 4-4, Cole Bergquist 2-(-1), Chase Reynolds 3-(-5).
PASSING - Josh Swogger 4-12-0-41, Bergquist 4-10-0-46, Stapp 2-3-0-11, Andrew Selle 2-3-1-26.
RECEIVING - Robert Overton 3-36 (TD), Rob Schulte 2-33, Ryan Bagley 1-25 (TD), Mike Ferriter 1-12, Ty Palmer 1-12, Dan Beaudin 1-3, Steven Pfahler 1-1, Craig Chambers 1-1.
- Box score courtesy of Fritz Neighbor, of the Missoulian