Andersen settles in, new additions come up big as Bobcats outlast Leathernecks

BOZEMAN — For the first 30 minutes of the annual ‘Gold Rush’ football game at Bobcat Stadium, the Bobcats looked like they direly missed Chris Murray.

Immediately after coming out of the halftime locker room however, Troy Andersen settled in while simultaneously cranking up the tempo, a pair of Jeff Choate’s heralded off-season additions broke out and Montana State did what Choate has wanted the Bobcats to do for two full seasons.

MSU dragged Western Illinois into deep water on Thursday night under the lights. For most of Choate’s first two seasons, MSU has trademarked itself as a tough-nosed, try-hard team that seemed to come up short.

But with Andersen in a second-half groove under center, Bryce Sterk and MSU’s defensive line relentlessly wearing out the Leathernecks’ offensive front and Tristan Bailey confidently banging field goals, the Bobcats emerged as the victor in a hard-fought affair.

Andersen scored a pair of second half touchdowns, Bailey nailed four field goals including two in the final eight minutes, and Sterk beat Western Illinois right tackle Austin Hopp for the game-sealing sack with less than a minute to play to secure a gritty 26-23 victory in front of 18,507 fans strewn in gold on Thursday night.

“We have to finish and this is a good team,” Choate said. “This was an eight-win team with a lot of the core guys they had from a year ago. This was a big win for our program because we hadn’t tasted that moment of success in some of these really tight contests. I think this can be a jumping off point for us. But one game doesn’t a season make. That’s just the way it is.”

The dominant story lines during the off-season at Montana State centered upon Murray’s academic struggles and the potential of the additions Choate and his staff added to the roster. Despite one of those acquisitions being former 4-star quarterback Travis Jonsen as a junior college transfer by way of Oregon and another highly regarded true freshman Casey Bauman, Andersen somehow rose to the top of the depth chart at his third different collegiate position just one game into his sophomore season.

Among the other transfers MSU’s coaching staff hoped could make an immediate impact included Sterk, a freakish 6-foot-5, 255-pound defensive end who started his career at Washington and Bailey, a portly kicker with a strong leg who started his career at Wyoming before earning a second chance at Coffeyville Junior College.

Thursday, Sterk brought the sellout crowd to its feet over and over again with his disruptive abilities off the edge. His length and range combined with the pure power of senior Tyrone Fa’anono at the other end of Montana State’s unyielding defensive front kept Western Illinois senior quarterback Sean McGuire under duress all night.

“Those guys, they earned their money tonight,” Choate said. “Tristan was a huge impact player for us in this game, not just his ability to make the kids we did but after we gave up the one kickoff, he did a great job spotting the ball, had great hang time so we didn’t have to play on a short field.

“I thought Bryce found out what he was capable of because I think he was still easing into it a little bit,” Choate said. “When he turns it up man, he’s something. But I think the guy for us who really held it together was Tyrone Fa’anono with his leadership and his energy and his play-making ability at critical moments in the game.”

MSU ended the night with five sacks, including three from Sterk and another from Fa’anono. MSU had 10 tackles for loss and at least 12 quarterback hurries.

“We could tell by the o-line’s stance, they kind of jumped at the beginning so we knew if they were passing or not,” Fa’anono said. “Having Sterk come off the edge and me try to hold it, it was pretty nice. Sacks haven’t been our thing the last two years so it was good to see us get after the quarterback.”

Western Illinois’ first touchdown game after a botched punt by Jered Padmos that gave the Leathernecks just 40 yards of real estate and a foolish penalty by MSU junior cornerback Damien Washington on what would’ve been a fourth down stop.

On their third possession, Andersen and the Bobcats engineered their first substantive drive as Andersen himself rushed for most of the 52-yard march capped by Bailey’s first field goal, a 20-yarder.

WIU’s second touchdown drive marked the most impressive of the night for McGuire and the visitors. The 6-foot-5, 240-pound three-year starter hit Clint Ratkovich for a 40-yard gain and Steve McShane for two more catch-and-runs resulting in 30 yards, the final completion an 18-yard touchdown that gave Western a 13-3 lead.

Following WIU’s final touchdown, the Bobcat defense locked in. Junior Jahque Alleyne, a former Virginia Tech standout who would suffer a left knee injure later on, snared MSU’s first interception of the season. Junior safety Brayden Konkol, a Belgrade native back in his natural element after starting at inside linebacker last season, picked off McGuire with 43 seconds left in the half, leading to Bailey’s 47-yard field goal to help the Bobcats close the half trailing 13-6 despite notching just two first downs.

“We went to our mayday field goal and we operated that, were able to get points,” Choate said. “That made it a one-score game at halftime, which was huge.”

The Bobcat offense emerged from the locker room with the look of a completely different unit. Redshirt freshman Willie Patterson gained 17 yards on a screen pass on the first play of the second half, nearly tripling the seven passing yards Andersen managed in an inconsistent first 30 minutes. That screen was the first of four straight completions as the Bobcat offense kicked up the tempo, marching 81 yards in eight plays and just two minutes, six seconds to tie the game.

“Troy is a high strung kid and I think he did a nice job of calming down and taking what was available after halftime,” Choate said. “He calmed down. We got into tempo, which he is most comfortable with. We got some quick, easy throws for him which built confidence. And once he gets in the open field, he’s something.”

The rest of the action seesawed back and forth. McShane’s third touchdown, a controversial two-yard touchdown catch that appeared to hit the ground, gave WIU a 20-13 lead with four minutes left in the third quarter.

Bobcat junior captain Kevin Kassis answered with a 69-yard kick return into WIU territory. Three plays later, Andersen ripped off a 24-yard touchdown run to tie the game.

“He’s a very talented, very talented young man,” WIU first-year head coach Ryan Elliott said of Andersen. “He runs the ball with authority. You can tell he’s a very gifted athlete, tough, physical. Guys like that are hard to contain.”

Western Illinois defensive back Izaiah Fuller snared an interception one of the few times Andersen threw the ball down the field, helping lead to the final scoring drive for the visitors, a nine-play drive capped by a 38-yard field goal from Sam Crosa.

The MSU offense sputtered during its 11-play ensuing possession before Bailey bailed them out. His third field goal was his most impressive as he split the uprights from 50 yards with plenty of room to spare to tie the game for the third time in the second half.

Sterk’s second of three sacks resulted in a five-yard loss on third down and forced a punt. Kassis came up big again, returning the boot 32 yards to the WIU 26. Three plays later, Bailey kicked the go-ahead field goal to give MSU its first lead.

“It’s all mental and it’s the preparation leading up,” Bailey said. “It’s not about physical ability. I know I have the physical ability. It’s all about the mental preparation aspect. You have to have positive thoughts the whole time, know you can do it and I had confidence I could.

“You can’t put too much pressure on a kick at the end of a game. You have to just make it and keep everything the same. It’s positive mental aspirations you have to give yourself to keep it positive.”

But McGuire, McShane and the visitors still had four minutes to play. Jared Drake’s seven-yard reception with 1:18 left brought up Elliot’s second timeout call. On second down, a pressured McGuire threw incomplete. On third down, junior Walker Cozzie, making his first career start with inside linebackers Grant Collins, Josh Hill and Chad Kanow all on the shelf with injuries, tackled Max Norris for a loss to set up a fourth down for the game.

“Everyone comes here to play and it was their time to shine,” Choate said. “One thing I take from this is we had a lot of really good players that did not play tonight that we will be getting back. We have to be smart with them, get to conference play and turn those guys loose when they are ready to roll.”

On the final WIU play of the evening, Sterk used his tremendous leverage and hip flexibility to blow past Hopp once again, notching his third sack and fifth tackle for loss to sew up the victory.

“The front seven of Montana State is really good,” Elliott said. “They were able to apply pressure on us and make our guy feel uncomfortable sitting in the pocket.”

The victory marks the first in a season-opener for Montana State since the 2015 Gold Rush game against Division II Fort Lewis. The win also marks a pivotal moment as MSU enters its third season under Choate, a triumph over a team that has qualified for the FCS playoffs two of the last three seasons.

“This is a huge win,” Andersen siad. “We’ve had a lot of close games over the years and it seems like we have been on the wrong side of them. For this to be a close game and come out on the other side with a win, it’s huge.”

Photos by Brooks Nuanez. All Rights Reserved. 

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