Throughout 2022, Skyline Sports will feature the work of its talented photo staff by posting photo galleries following pivotal Big Sky Conference contests.
On Saturday, North Dakota State won its ninth FCS national title in the last 10 fall seasons by defeating Montana State 38-10 in Frisco, Texas.
Blake Hempstead covered either the Bobcats or the Grizzlies 13 times during the 2021 season, catching all of MSU’s playoff games, home and away, including the final game games this season as the Bobcats finished 12-3, including its first trip to the national championship game for the first time since 1984.
Montana Governor Greg Gianforte and United States Senator Steve Daines before the FCS national championship game in Frisco, Texas/ by Blake HempsteadThe Montana State Spirit of the West Marching Band is a top-tier unit. The MSU faithful helped fundraise $200,000 to send the group to Frisco, Texas for the 2021 FCS National Championship game/ by Blake HempsteadMontana State freshman quarterback Tommy Mellott took the FCS by storm in December, moving into the starting lineup and leading MSU to three consecutive playoff wins. In Montana State’s first national championship game in 37 years, Mellott threw a first down strike (pictured here) on his first throw of the game. He was knocked out minutes later and did not return/ by Blake HempsteadMontana State junior running back Isaiah Ifanse, pictured here getting tackled by North Dakota State senior safety Dawson Grove, finished his junior year with record-setting numbers. The first-team All-American led the Big Sky Conference and set Montana State’s single-season record with 1,623 yards. That mark surpasses the record set by Ryan Johnson (1,537 in 2001). Ifanse also notched eight 100-yard games in 2021, giving him 17 for his decorated career, tying Johnson’s program mark. The former Washington Gatorade Player of the Year out of Bellevue enters his senior year with 3,461 rushing yards, 185 yards short of Johnson’s career record/ by Blake HempsteadNorth Dakota State game-breaking senior wide receiver Christian Watson, a former sprint champion from Tampa Bay, caught four passes for 61 yards against Montana State. Despite battling a hamstring injury, Watson ended the season with 43 catches for 801 yards and seven touchdowns. He ended up with 105 catches, 2,140 yards and 14 touchdowns. He averaged 20.4 yards per catch and 16.5 yards from scrimmage per touch in his NDSU career /by Blake HempsteadMontana State senior Lance McCutcheon caught five passes for 105 yards in the national title game and a 28-yard touchdown with 5:28 left in the game. McCutcheon finished his senior year with one of the best statistical lines by a receiver in program history. He caught 61 passes for 1,168 yards, eight touchdowns. The yardage total breaks Joe Bignell’s record that has stood since 1984/ by Blake Hempstead
Montana State freshman defensive lineman Brody Grebe, who switched from No. 10 to No. 14 toward the end of the 2021 season, is pictured here tackling North Dakota State sophomore quarterback Cam Miller. Grebe, a former six-man star and one of the most prolific basketball scorers in Montana prep basketball history out of Melstone, has accelerated his development as much as any Bobcat. In his first season of action, the 6-2, 232-pounder rolled up 27 tackles, including 5.5 sacks and 6.5 tackles for loss/ by Blake HempsteadNorth Dakota State quarterback Quincy Patterson, a former Virginia Tech transfer, came to NDSU and split time with Miller. The 6-foot-3, 246-pounder rushed 11 times for 98 yards against Montana State and finished his first season at NDSU with 660 yards plus seven touchdowns on the ground/ by Blake HempsteadNorth Dakota State fullback Hunter Luepke (44) explodes through the hole as NDSU senior offensive lineman Nash Jensen (66) battles Montana State senior defensive tackle Byron Rollins (94) with MSU linebacker Troy Andersen (15) awaiting a collision. Luepke rushed for 82 yards and three first-half touchdowns on the way to earning the game’s Most Outstanding Player honors/ by Blake HempsteadNorth Dakota State junior running back Kobe Johnson, pictured here celebrating his 76-yard touchdown early in the second quarter that staked NDSU to a 21-0 lead, helped the Bison roll up 380 yards rushing in the win over Montana State/ by Blake HempsteadDuring his four seasons at the helm, Jeff Choate – pictured here with his wife, Janet, along with former Montana linebacker Kendrick Van Ackeren (front left) who was a grad assistant under Choate – Montana State posted a 29-25 record that included playoff appearances in 2018 and 2019. Following a run to the semifinals of the FCS Playoffs in 2019 (MSU’s first since 1984), Choate coached MSU throughout 2020 despite no games being played. In January of 2021, he took a position as the co-defensive coordinator on Steve Sarkisian’s staff at Texas. His son, Jory Choate, is a junior linebacker for the Bobcats/ by Blake HempsteadMatt Entz served as the defensive coordinator at North Dakota State from 2014 until 2018, helping the Bison to four national titles in five seasons. When Chris Klieman took the head job at Kansas State, Entz took over. In 2019, his first at the helm, NDSU went 16-0 and won the national title. After a 7-3 finish during the most recent spring season, Entz helped the Bison go 14-1, including claiming their ninth national title since 2011. He is 37-4 as NDSU’s head coach/ by Blake HempsteadAlthough Hunter Luepke (44) was named the 2021 FCS National Title game Most Outstanding Player, NDSU senior offensive tackle Cordell Volson (67) was the best player in the game, perhaps the best player on the team and certainly one of the best players in the country. The three-time FCS All-American is the younger brother of current Los Angeles Chargers OL Tanner Volson and likely will be playing on Sundays next fall. He helped pave the way for an offense that averaged 281 rushing yards per game/by Blake Hempstead
Colter Nuanez is the co-founder and senior writer for Skyline Sports. After spending six years in the newspaper industry with stops at the Missoulian, the Ellensburg Daily Record and the Bozeman Daily Chronicle, the former Washington Newspaper Association Sportswriter of the Year and University of Montana Journalism School graduate ('09) has cultivated a deep passion for sports journalism during his 13-year career covering the Big Sky Conference. In August of 2014, Colter and brother Brooks merged their passions of writing and art to found Skyline Sports.
