Awards

Ifanse writing name in Bobcat record book as junior season winds down

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What can you say about Montana State running back Isaiah Ifanse that hasn’t already been said?

Just a junior with at least three games (two regular season and one playoff) remaining in the season, the former Washington state Gatorade Player of the Year is assaulting the Bobcat record book. The running back currently sits fourth all-time in rushing yards, just 17 yards behind Steve Kracher for third place.

He has 2,962 career yards and is 684 yards away from breaking the school record, but perhaps more impressive are his running style and his average per carry. 

It’s rare to see the Bellevue native tackled by just one player and even rarer to see him stopped in his tracks. A typical Ifanse run starts out looking like a shark feeding frenzy as defenders and his teammates whirl around and attach themselves to him.

Then the mass of churning bodies starts moving forward until the 5-foot-10, 203-pound tailback finally succumbs to the weight of what looks like more than half the players on the field.

Running back attempts are often referred to as carries. It has a dual meaning with Ifanse.  Sure, he’s carrying a football, but he’s almost always carrying a defender or two on his back or shoulders or hips or legs.

The superlatives have rained in from all over the Big Sky for Ifanse.

“Guy keeps his leg moving, I mean, gosh dang,” Idaho State head coach Rob Phenicie said after Ifanse piled up 164 yards in MSU’s 27-9 win over Idaho State. “He’s big and he’s powerful but he doesn’t come down on first contact and he’s been doing that for seems like forever.

“He’s a tough runner and he keeps going and has a low center of gravity and he’s a really, really good Big Sky running back.”

“He doesn’t go down, his legs are always moving, he has a lot of forward lean and he has a great profile,” Eastern Washington coach Aaron Best said after Ifanse ran for 217 yards against the Eagles this past Saturday. 

“I think Ifanse has been one of the top running backs in the league for a few years now,” Weber State eighth-year head coach Jay Hill said. “And he continues to get better. That’s scary for everybody else.”

Montana State running back Isaiah Ifanse (22) tackled by group of Eastern Washington defenders/by Bridget Mayfield – for Skyline Sports

Ifanse has amassed his nearly 3,000 yards on just over 500 carries.  Of all ball carriers at MSU that have over 250 carries, only Kracher (1972-75) has a better average.  Ifanse is at 5.86 to Kracher’s 6.06. No other backs among the elite runners in MSU history are over 5.5. 

Record holder Ryan Johnson (1999-2002) was good for an impressive 4.6 per rush, but that pales in comparison to Kracher and Ifanse.

Another very strong trait is his ability to rise to the occasion for the Bobcats.  In his five playoff games and two Cat-Griz games he’s rushed for over 100 yards three times – 171 against Incarnate Word in 2018; 196 versus Austin Peay and 171 vs Montana in 2019. He has 743 yards on 132 carries in those seven games combined.

Throw this past Saturday’s game against then No. 5 Eastern Washington and he has 960 yards on 164 carries – an average of 5.9 yards.  He scored six touchdowns, threw for a TD, and blocked a punt in those games.

For the season Ifanse has 1,124 yards on 182 carries. He is just 75 yards from catching Paul Schafer, who ran for 1,199 yards in 1968, and entering the top ten for single season rushing yards. Ifanse is averaging over 100 yards per game and if he averages at least that over the next three games it’ll move into third place.

One more touchdown and he’ll be tied for ninth with Chris Murray 2016-17) and Delmar Jones (1975-78) in career TDs with 22.  His 14 100-yard rushing games is already the fifth most all-time, but he’s just three away from matching Johnson, a feat he could accomplish by the end of this season.

“He’s a beast,” MSU quarterback Matt McKay said. “I think we all know that. It’s undeniable. I’m proud of that guy for sure.”

About Thomas Stuber

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