Bobcat notes: Touchdown Tommy's craziest TD yet

Montana State quarterback Tommy Mellott (4) hurdles a defender on a 41-yard touchdown run in the third quarter during an FCS semifinal game against South Dakota at Bobcat Stadium on Saturday, Dec. 21. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
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Montana State wide receiver Taco Dowler (14) catches a 34-yard touchdown reception in the first quarter during an FCS semifinal game against South Dakota at Bobcat Stadium on Saturday, Dec. 21. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
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Montana State quarterback Tommy Mellott (4) heads to the end zone on a 41-yard touchdown run in the third quarter during an FCS semifinal game against South Dakota at Bobcat Stadium on Saturday, Dec. 21. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
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Montana State linebacker McCade O'Reilly (43) tackles South Dakota running back Travis Theis (5) on a run in the second half during an FCS semifinal game at Bobcat Stadium on Saturday, Dec. 21. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
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Montana State defensive end Kenneth Eiden IV (11) sacks South Dakota quarterback Aiden Bouman (2) in the second quarter during an FCS semifinal game against South Dakota at Bobcat Stadium on Saturday, Dec. 21. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
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Montana State fans celebrate on the field with the Bobcats after a 31-17 win over South Dakota in an FCS semifinal game at Bobcat Stadium on Saturday, Dec. 21. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
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Montana State's Lonyatta Alexander Jr. (2), Scottre Humphrey (22) and Ryan Lonergan (87) celebrate after Humphrey's 1-yard touchdown run in the second quarter during an FCS semifinal game against South Dakota at Bobcat Stadium on Saturday, Dec. 21. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
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Montana State fans cheer on the Bobcats during an FCS semifinal game against South Dakota at Bobcat Stadium on Saturday, Dec. 21. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
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Montana State quarterback Tommy Mellott (4) drops back to pass in the second quarter during an FCS semifinal game against South Dakota at Bobcat Stadium on Saturday, Dec. 21. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
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Montana State running back Adam Jones (23) picks up yardage on a run in the second quarter during an FCS semifinal game against South Dakota at Bobcat Stadium on Saturday, Dec. 21. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
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Montana State quarterback Tommy Mellott (4) scores a touchdown on a 5-yard run in the first quarter of an FCS semifinal game against South Dakota at Bobcat Stadium on Saturday, Dec. 21. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
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by FRITZ NEIGHBOR
Daily Inter Lake | December 22, 2024 12:00 AM

BOZEMAN — The comment to fourth-year Montana State Brent Vigen was that he’s seen a lot of Tommy Mellott highlights, so maybe that 41-yard touchdown scamper in the third quarter Saturday wasn’t the craziest.

Vigen seemed to be pretty sure it was.

The touchdown was instrumental to MSU’s 31-17 FCS semifinal win over South Dakota, turning it into a three-score game at 10:30 of the third quarter. The Coyotes would keep some pressure on but managed just one field goal the rest of the game.

The third-and-1 play began with Mellott knocking down an errant snap and ended with him cruising into the south end zone — the Sonny Holland Zone, as they call it at Bobcat Stadium.

“Just a little bit out of my reach there,” Mellott said. “Scottre (Humphrey) was actually close to the ball and he did a good job continuing to play, and he got a huge block on the backside. There was a huge hole there, and I just made a play.”

Earlier in the drive Mellott scrambled for 24 yards, but other than that the yards came tough against the Coyote defense. Then the gate swung open, perhaps because of the ball being on the ground.

“Any time something like that happens, everybody reacts like they shouldn’t when it comes to the defensive call,” Vigen said. “To have the sense about him to just go forward — that's the only way. He knew we needed a yard.”

The Long Road Back

In 2021 Mellott was named the surprise starter for Montana State’s opening round playoff game against Tennessee-Martin. The Cats proceeded to win three playoff games, including a 31-17 semifinal win over South Dakota State, to get to the title game.

There, Mellott was shelved by an ankle injury early in a 38-10 loss to North Dakota State — the Cats’ championship opponent in January.

A semifinal loss in 2022 at eventual champion South Dakota State came in 2022; last year the Bobcats were stunned at home by NDSU, 35-34 in overtime.

That was then.

“Beating South Dakota doesn’t guarantee us anything,” Vigen noted. “But again I do think we’re in a different place than we were in ‘22, and ‘21 for that matter.”

If 2021 was a surprise, this is not. The Cats are 15-0.

“We're a different team in large because of that team,” Vigen said. “We’ve had plenty of ups but those downs put us in a position where this group is not going to leave a stone unturned.”

“It’s absolutely a blessing to keep playing football into January,” Mellott said. “That’s what we’re about there at Montana State and it’s what we’ve been about for four years. We’re back to where we belong.”

Explosive Early

South Dakota showed it was for real by gashing the Bobcats twice for long scoring runs: 55 by Travis Theis and then 45 by Charles Pierre, Jr.

“They’ve got good players,” MSU defensive end Brody Grebe said. “They had explosive runs early. We knew we had to get those out and besides those, they didn’t have a ton of success.”

Of Pierre’s run Vigen said. “We had a pressure on, and so we were moving. It was a pretty challenging fit for Drew (Polidor), is what I would say. Drew is the free safety and the big hitter in that situation and I’d say angle-wise, he didn’t really fit.

“We gave up that run, and certainly the 55-yarder to Theis. ... and they ended up with 135. I think we sorted through some things.”

The Coyotes actually gained 168 yards on the ground but lost 17 yards due to two sacks (by Grebe and Kenneth Eiden IV) and 16 on two errant shotgun snaps that got away from QB Aidan Bouman.

Both bad snaps came on fourth-quarter drives that ended on downs deep in MSU territory.

Hall Comes Up Big

When the Bobcats were stalling on offense in the fourth quarter, they unleashed another weapon: Brendan Hall, who boomed punts of 61, 57 and 57 yards to keep the Coyotes set up with long fields.

The defense bent, but didn’t break, from there.

“He has a bazooka for a leg,” Mellott said of Hall, who averaged 54 yards on five punts. “We see it every single day in practice. The entire country got to see today what he’s all about, when he lets it go.”

QUICK KICKS: Polidor and linebacker McCade O’Reilly led MSU with seven tackles each. ... Coyote D-end Ma’Quise Grace didn’t get to Mellott but was good against the run, and had five tackles. ... Taco Dowler had four catches for a game-high 94 yards for MSU, while Theis had seven for 80 for USD. ... Mellott was 0-for-2 passing the second half, and lost 15 rushing yards for intentional grounding.

Montana State fans cheer on the Bobcats during an FCS semifinal game against South Dakota at Bobcat Stadium on Saturday, Dec. 21. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
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