Special teams roar again for Griz

The Montana Grizzlies won the turnover battle 5-0 Saturday, rushed for over 200 yards, got 10 tackles from Marcus Welnel and got a sack and interception from Patrick O’Connell.

There was a lot to like about the Grizzlies’ 47-0 takedown of Northwestern (La.) State, and we haven’t mentioned Big Sky player of the week Braxton Hill — or the special teams.

“I was a little worried about the kicking game going in,” Montana coach Bobby Hauck said. “They had veteran players and we had nobody who had punted, kicked or snapped in a college game. I thought those young fellas did a nice job, particularly Pat Rohrbach.

“I mean, I think we averaged 45 yards a punt or something (it was 44.7, on three punts). Downed a couple inside the 20. Fired up for him.”

Rohrbach is a true freshman out of Glacier High who also shared kickoff duties for the Grizzlies. The place-kicking job went to Camden Capser, a redshirt freshman out of Billings Central who was a surprise starter in place of Cal transfer Nico Ramos.

Casper missed two field goals from 36 and 32 yards, putting a couple blemishes on a banner special teams day.

“We’ve got to do some things better,” Hauck, who is a renowned special teams coach, said afterward. “We had some yards come back via penalty. We were reaching — we had chances to get their quarterback down and didn’t. We let them generate too many first downs.

“Gave up a punt return, gave up a (40-yard) kick return. Missed some kicks. We’ve got a lot of things to work on this week.”

Back to the good parts: Levi Janacaro came in to block a Demons punt near the end of the first half, and teammate Tyler Flink scooped and scored from 32 yards to put his team up 26-0.

“It was still 19-nothing at that time,” Demons coach Brad Laird noted. “Not to say that was the turning point of the game, but that was a big momentum booster for them going into halftime.”

It was Janacaro’s second blocked punt at UM — he had one he scored on last season, when the Griz blocked three overall. Saturday’s came via mid-game adjustment.

“We just kind of made a switch,” said the sophomore. “All my teammates took on their blocks and it parted like the Red Sea, and I was the one lucky enough to put a hand on it.”

“We didn’t practice that at all this week, or last,” Hauck said. “We just dialed it up on the sidelines. So we have smart guys, they can handle some adjustments.”

Flink and Janacaro are former Missoula Big Sky teammates.

“Flink has been my best friend for 10-plus years,” Janacaro said. “It was awesome to see him reach the end zone; it was surreal.”

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Gold Rushed

Montana State coach Brent Vigen echoed Hauck following his team’s 47-20 win over McNeese State Saturday.

“Plenty of good, but a lot of mistakes,” Vigen said Monday. “Self-inflicted things we need to clean up. Not a lot of penalties, but some inopportune penalties.”

Huntley Project product Lane Sumner had a huge game (24 carries, 176 yards) and that’s after having a long touchdown and another 30-yard burst called back by penalty in the first quarter.

A third-quarter pick-6 by Callahan O’Reilly was also called back.

The Bobcats still rolled up 359 rushing yards and Tommy Mellott continued to drop dimes on MSU’s constant sideline routes. McNeese tied the game 10-10 in the first half, then wilted in the Bozeman heat in the annual “Gold Rush Game.”

Both Mellott and Sumner lost fumbles, but Sumner also had a 50-yard catch and run after his miscue. Mellott turned a broken play into a 17-yard scoring run for the game’s final points, showing why — though Wyoming transfer Sean Chambers was brought in to play QB in goal-line situations — he’s still the guy.

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Seasoned Coyotes

Hauck noted that Saturday’s Griz opponent, South Dakota, returns nine starters on offense, including four offensive linemen.

“This week is obviously a big weekend for us,” he said. “We’ve got a playoff team from last year from the Missouri Valley Conference coming in to challenge us.

“I like their defensive line. They didn't get knocked off the ball by Kansas State last weekend. They held up really well. Their corners can cover. Sound is the key word.”

The Coyotes played up a level and gave up 247 rushing yards in a 34-0 loss to K-State. On offense, sophomore Carson Camp has started every game since he hit USD campus: counting a 2021 Covid-19 spring schedule, that’s 17 games.

Montana counters with Lucas Johnson, the San Diego State transfer who was 15-for-24 passing for 208 yards and four TDs in his first game as a Griz.

“It was amazing,” Johnson said. “Like nothing I’ve ever been a part of before.”

“I didn't tell him this, but first quarter he threw a couple really nice passes, and then took off and ran for a first down and it was like, ‘Man, we’ve got the right guy,’ “ said Hauck, who while at SDSU recruited Johnson. “I hadn’t seen him play a live game since high school — probably his junior year in high school. So it’d been a long time, and I’m glad he’s with us.”

Nothing changed on UM’s two-deep this week, including at running back, where Xavier Harris is slated to start and fellow sophomore Nick Ostmo is the backup.

It’s unknown if Capser will stay as place-kicker; Ramos is still listed first. Asked why Ramos didn’t kick against the Demons, Hauck said, “He was unavailable.”

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Sumner moves up

Sumner is listed as the starter at tailback for MSU this week, after starting last week’s game ahead of Kaegun Williams (neck), whose status is questionable.

He and MSU’s offensive line will take on Morehead (Ky.) State of the Pioneer (Football) League, a far-flung FCS conference that doesn’t award athletic scholarships.

Vigen noted that the Eagles threw for 350 yards a game last year, but that was with all-league quarterback Mark Pappas and all-league receiver BJ Beard. Both graduated.

In a 63-13 to No. 23 Mercer, the Eagles gave up 359 rushing yards (9.1 a carry) and 625 overall. Three QBs played, and Grady Cramer was 16 of 24 passing for 95 yards.

Morehead State is the only public school in the Pioneer, which has an auto bid to the postseason and is 2-9 all-time in the FCS playoffs. Davidson won the league last year and lost 48-21 to Kennesaw State in the first round.