Bobcats find triumph on the turf

Even though classes are already underway, for many students it doesn’t feel like school has really started until they are packed into Bobcat Stadium for the first football game of the season. This year, the 16th annual Gold Rush was no exception.

Catalyzed by a roaring sea of gold, the ‘Cats coasted their way to the first victory of the 2023 MSU season this past Saturday with a 63-20 win over Utah Tech (UT).

The energy in the stadium was palpable prior to the game as the community showed up in near record setting numbers, with the 21,967 person crowd — a figure that comes second only to last year's Cat-Griz game. Prior to kickoff, former MSU star running back Wayne Edwards presented current running back Lane Sumner with a State of Montana flag to commemorate the 50-year anniversary of Bobcat Stadium.

The Bobcat offense was shorthanded with two projected starting wide receivers and an offensive lineman joining assistant coach Taylor Housewright as unavailable for the first game of the season. Despite that, the team cruised to their first win of the season behind powerful plays from freshman running backs Scottre Humprey and Jared White.

The Bobcats opened the season with a drive down the field all the way to the Utah Tech two yard line, only for the UT defense to make four goal line stops in a row and kept MSU from opening the scoring tally for the season.

“Any time we had a negative play, we were able to make a play,” Head Coach Brent Vigen said. "Not scoring that first drive was disappointing, very disappointing.”

A dominant display from the MSU defense forced UT to go three and out on the resulting drive. The Bobcat offense, behind a 47-yard run from Scottre Humphrey, marched down the field and found themselves back in the same position as the previous drive. This time, freshman running back Humphrey found a hole and broke the seal for the Bobcats, scoring the first touchdown of the season and the first of what appears to be a promising career.

It was a sign of what was to come for Humphrey, who wound up with three touchdowns and 114 ground yards in his first game in front of a crowd this size. “It's something I’ve never experienced in my life right there. It was beautiful, man. The fans came out to support us, I was pretty ecstatic,” Humphreys said of the Gold Rush crowd.

The run game was dominant all night, with the offense providing 407 rushing yards and second touchdowns on the ground.

The Bobcat defense also did their part to set the tone early. After the first Bobcat score, the defense sent the offense right back on the field through an interception snagged by senior defensive end David Alston after UT quarterback Boone Abbot fired off a screen pass that was deflected upwards.

“That was awesome, especially in my first game back.  To make a play like that early in the game — it was really cool,” Alston said.

Alston’s first career collegiate interception gave the Bobcats favorable field position and was the first of three interceptions for the Bobcat defense on the night. Quarterback Sean Chambers punched in a rushing touchdown five plays later, pushing the lead to 14-0 for the Bobcats.

UT showed signs of life on the next drive, with Boone finding receiver Beau Sparks with a 60-yard strike down the right sideline.  From there, the MSU defense held strong in the final minutes of the opening quarter and forced the Trailblazers to settle for a 32-yard field goal, cutting the lead to 14-3 in MSU’s favor.

The Second Quarter opened with quite a bang, courtesy of Tommy Mellot and Jared White. Pressure came quickly on Mellot after the snap, forcing him to roll to his right. Letting it go down the side-line, he connected with Jared White, who capped off the spectacular effort with a trot into the endzone for a 47-yard score.

Mere minutes later, the Cats struck again as Humphrey found a gap and his second touchdown of the night on a 29 yard run that saw him enter the endzone untouched.

“The holes were there, I just try [sic] to run through them,” Humphrey said in regard to the performance of the offensive line after the game. “I love those guys up front, they work hard.”

Later in the quarter, UT finally responded, piecing together a trip to the paydirt, closing the gap to 28-10. However, MSUhit back in the closing seconds of the quarter with junior running back Julius Davis forcing his way into the endzone for a hard-fought eightyard touchdown, leaving a 35-10 tally at the half.

The second half brought more of the same, with a dominant run game and stifling defense serving as the clear identity of the Bobcat football squad, just as they have in seasons past. The only touchdown in the third quarter came courtesy of Humphrey, his third and final touchdown of his stellar debut game.

The fourth quarter saw three more Bobcat touchdowns, including an electric 79 yard run from White as he broke multiple tackles on his way to his second score of the evening. UT answered with a fourth quarter field goal and a 16 yard touchdown through the air — but it wasn’t enough to silence the home crowd as the Bobcats cruised to a 63-20 win to open the season.

Besides being a strong start to the season, Gold Rush also provides Bobcat fans with their first chance to see the results of the team's hard work in fall training camp. “I expect them to win every damn game,” senior Kaden Johnstone said. “I think they’ll win a lot of their games. I got the privilege to watch some of their practices a little bit, as well as saw some of the stats on paper and I think this is a team people need to look out for, especially [with] how our running offense is.”

The Gold Rush performance also turned heads nationally due to Scottre Humphrey earning Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) National Freshman Player of the Week honors for his stellar debut. The large win left fans feeling good about the team before they head to South Dakota State University this weekend in a rematch of last year’s semi-finals game.

“Everyone is just excited to start the season and see how far they can go,” junior Keilen Rausch said after the game. “They have the whole student section behind them and we will support them no matter the outcome.”