Statement game for Coyle, Montana

BOZEMAN — With Montana State needing to make a statement to earn a playoff bid, it was another Bozeman product that put on a show.

Montana linebacker, and Bozeman native, Brock Coyle forced two fumbles and had a team-high 12 tackles with two tackles for loss and a sack, willing the Grizzlies (10-2 overall, 6-2 Big Sky Conference) to a 28-14 victory over Montana State (7-5, 5-3) on Saturday in the 113th meeting of the in-state rivals.

“Growing up, my whole goal in life was to play college football, wanting to be a Grizzly,” Coyle said.

“To come down here, I’ve never lost in Bozeman. I just couldn’t be more proud of these guys. We’re such a close team. I’m proud of the way we’ve overcome so much adversity and we came out on top. It means everything to me and I know it means everything to the guys. It’s great.”

The Montana defense suffocated MSU all game, holding the Bobcats offense to 123 total yards through the first three quarters. Outside of a 92-yard scoring drive in the fourth quarter, the Griz kept MSU relatively harmless, no small feat considering the talent the Bobcats hold on that side of the ball.

MSU finished with 277 total yards, and the Griz sacked Bobcats quarterback DeNarius McGhee four times, holding him to only 57 yards rushing and 160 yards passing. They also grounded running back Cody Kirk, holding him to 49 yards. Coyle forced a fumble on each player.

“People will tell you, the best pass defense is a pass rush,” Coyle said. “Our guys up front just overwhelmed their offensive line all day.

“We covered really well today and I think it got to (McGhee). We put a couple hits on him. He’s a tough kid, though. I’ve got a lot of respect for him. I told him after the game, I grew up in Bozeman and he’s got to be probably one of the best Bobcats of all time.

“I couldn’t be more proud of the guys. We knew the offense runs through him and we shut him down pretty good today.”

The defense righted itself from down performances against its last two meetings against ranked teams. The Griz lost to No. 3 Eastern Washington and then-No. 22 Northern Arizona.

“We had some struggles in the middle of the season and we said, ‘Guys we’ve worked too hard for this,’” Coyle said. “We worked too hard. We came together as a group and we performed to our potential like we knew we could. I, again, couldn’t be more proud of the defense and this team. Hey man, we got that trophy back in Missoula.”

For Montana, the performance couldn’t come at a better time. It had its own case to prove to the playoff committee, hoping to earn a bye in first week of the FCS playoffs, which begin next week.

“That’s all I want,” Griz defensive tackle Alex Bienemann said.

“That’d be huge. I think we’re all beat up a little bit. I was sick coming into this game. I know a couple other guys have been sick this week. Just to be able to kick your feet up, eat a home-cooked meal. I didn’t even think about that. If I can go home and eat my mom’s Thanksgiving, that would be the perfect end to the regular season.”

The end to the regular season was bittersweet on the other side of the field. Four career leaders — McGhee, Kirk, receiver Tanner Bleskin and defensive end Brad Daly — exited the field for the Bobcats unceremoniously, having lost the last game of their fantastic college careers.

“It’s amazing when you think about it,” MSU coach Rob Ash said. “I mean these are career leaders. Guys that are playing their position as well as it ever has been played, all in the same class. No wonder we won a few games.

“Every year you lose great seniors. Last year we lost the Buck Buchanan Award winner (Caleb Schreibeis) and the player of the year, Jody Owens, and a guy who went to the NFL (Chicago Bears’ Zach Minter). Those are three pretty big losses and we still had a reasonable performance with the guys here. Hopefully these guys’ legacies will live on.”

For all the heartbreak in Bozeman, there is one team leaving the field happy.

Montana will be playing at least one more week. And there’s plenty to celebrate.

“It’s huge,” Bienemann said. “It’s everything towards the end of the season.

“Coming into this week, obviously we knew that everything was still ahead of us. We had a bunch of goals.

“As far as our ultimate goal of playing into the beginning of January, we knew that it all had to happen today. The way the set up, the bracketing, everything had to go through Bozeman. We had to go through the Cats to get where we wanted to be.

“It’s Cat Week. You’ve got to catch everything, make every tackle, make big plays. To come here, play the way we did, have the offense rolling in the second half, I mean, it’s awesome. It’s everything.”

“Then to see that trophy on top of the O-linemen’s shoulders, it’s heaven. That’s what it’s all about.”