Bobcats host Norfolk State in intersectional matchup

BOZEMAN — Jeff Choate is impressed with what he’s seen of Norfolk State, from several key performers to the Spartans’ 18 seniors to the big-picture view of how veteran coach Latrell Scott has patiently and purposefully built his program. But Choate always returns to one factor.

“They’re really athletic,” he says, “with great team speed.”

Norfolk State brings its athletic, veteran squad to Bobcat Stadium Saturday for Montana State’s first-ever contest with the Spartans, a school from Virginia, or a MEAC opponent. This is also NSU’s first trip to the Rocky Mountains or Northwest (the team played a neutral site game in San Diego in 2001), and its first contest against a Big Sky Conference foe.

Past schedules won’t matter Saturday when the Spartans are led into Bobcat Stadium by quarterback Juwan Carter, who Choate says may cut a familiar figure for Bobcat fans. “I told our guys (on Sunday that) he’s kind of a shorter Chris Murray,” he said, referencing the former Bobcat quarterback who led the team in rushing in 2016 and ’17. “He creates outside the offense. He’s a problem. We haven’t played a guy like that this year. We have to be disciplined in stopping the run and in knowing where that guy’s at.”

While lauding the team’s “athletic” offensive line that “can get out and run a little bit,” top pass-catcher Da’Kendall James who “is a big receiver, …a really good player,” and trio of running backs that blend power and speed, Choate says that in Norfolk State’s offense “everything goes through (Carter). He’s their leading passer, their leading rusher, in the red zone and in short yardage and goal line situations you’ll have to defend him, and that’s whether the play breaks down or it’s quarterback runs. It really doesn’t matter.”

Defensively, veteran coordinator Joe Tresey has assembled a defense that Choate calls “really sound and fundamental. They basically play post safety defense the whole time, they’re based out of a four-down front, they rarely if ever blitz, less than five percent of the time are they going to bring pressure, they keep things in front of them, they make you earn it,” he said. “A lot of teams end up kicking field goals in the red zone instead of getting touchdowns, and you can just tell that’s their philosophy. ‘Hey, you’re going to get some yards here and there but we’re not going to give up explosive plays and when you get in the red zone we’re going to tighten up.’ It’s basically four under, three deep coverage, with some man free concepts in there. Not a lot of movement (or) a lot of twists unless you’re in extra-long passing downs, hardly any pressure, but very sound, good tacklers.”

The Spartans enter today’s game with a 1-2 record, coming off a loss that Scott calls “probably one of the worst team performances that we’ve had.” While calling the Bobcats “very big and physical on both the defensive and offensive lines” with “good skill,” he called controlling the line of scrimmage a key factor for his squad. “We’ve got to be able to stay on the field on offense. The first two weeks we were able to help our defense by staying on the field. By us not staying on the field this last week, that hurt us. We’ve got to be able to control the game with our run game, and stop the run.”

Montana State’s ability to do just that the last two weeks led to wins against then-No. 12 Southeast Missouri in Bobcat Stadium in week two and at Missouri Valley rival Western Illinois last Saturday. With starting running back Isaiah Ifanse shelved with an injury, senior Logan Jones exploded into the feature back role with 167 rushing yards and two touchdowns. Included in that was an 87-yard touchdown run, the third-longest on record in school history. “He was awesome,” Choate said. “He showed his speed a couple different times. He’s got a lot of ability, he’s taking care of his body better, he’s matured. I think he’s really maximizing this opportunity he’s got to go one more ride. He’s dynamic.”

The Cats rushed for 194 yards last week, controlling the game in the second half with the rushing attack. Against their two FCS opponents average 230 yards on the ground.

Defensively the Bobcats offer what Scott calls “the best front seven we’ve played all season,” which includes a pair of FBS foes. Senior Bryce Sterk paces the Bobcat defense, leading the Big Sky with five sacks. He led the league during the regular season with 8.5 in 2018. The Bobcat defense took the ball away twice (with another coming on a muffed punt). Senior cornerback Damien Washington snagged his first career interception, and Brayden Konkol recovered a fumble that Chase Benson caused.

After winning a road game that Choate called “sloppy” and “unattractive” against a solid Western Illinois squad, Choate said this Bobcat team has shown a couple of characteristics he admires. “The thing I was impressed with about our guys is they kept their poise,” he said. “They never flinched.”

Saturday’s game kicks off at 1 pm. The game is televised around Montana on ABC stations except in Billings, where it airs on KULR8 NBC.