So many unexpected players made so many unexpected plays on Saturday afternoon in Montana State’s lop-sided 63-13 win over Morehead State that, well, that’s just a fact.
In a game that had your head spinning in the first quarter when MSU scored 28 points with 14 coming off touchdown passes (pop passes), MSU was entertaining in what was an uncontested game against a lesser opponent.
Two Bobcat’ ball carriers averaged over 15 yards per carry, but neither are running backs. A backup tight end led the team in receiving yards. A backup quarterback led the team in rushing yards. The leading tackler was a backup defensive end.
Quarterback Sean Chambers filled two of those spots with 18.1 yards per carry and a game-high 127 yards. Tight end Treyton Pickering, from tiny Sunburst, Mont. led the receivers with 98 yards. He was followed closely by Ravi Alston who had 96 yards. Marqui Johnson, a wide receiver who transferred from MSU in the off-season from Sac State, was second in rushing yards with 61 yards, including two touchdowns on just four carries.
Freshman Kenneth Eiden, jr, a backup defensive end, had a team-high seven tackles, including 1.5 sacks. He also broke up a pass.
Despite all that, it was Sebastian Valdez, a player lost in the sea of defensive talent last year, who had a coming out party of sorts with a forced fumble and fumble recovery – on separate plays – a sack and a pass breakup all in the first half.
“He had a tremendous off-season, tremendous winter first of all,” MSU head coach Brent Vigen said. “He was just on a mission, and I think that’s showing up. He’s added a bunch of weight and strength to really quick feet and everything, so I think he’s a guy who’s going to continue to be a force.”
Valdez is part of a defensive line that has been harassing opposing quarterbacks for two straight years. With Chase Benson, Daniel Hardy and Amandre Williams all graduated, and despite being just a sophomore, he’s the main man in that unit.
“Every week we’re getting better,” Valdez said. “I think playing fast is a big thing. I really know the defense and I’m comfortable in it. I feel like I know job inside and out. That allows my teammates, especially the d-line to play really fast.”
The Bobcats all but cleared their bench as players into the third string we able to find the field. Freshman Paul Brott was in on a sack with Eiden. Safety Tyson Pottenger had three tackles and blew up a pass play in the flat that was destined to go nowhere. Fellow backup cornerback Jackson Harmon made a pair of nice open field tackles as did Dru Polidore filling in for the injured Simeon Woodard at cornerback.
Another sight that fans may end up becoming very familiar was the first hookup on a pass play between Montana Gatorade Players of the Year Tommy Mellott (2019) and Taco Dowler (2021). They connected on a seven-yard pass play in the third quarter. The next play Mellott hit Willie Patterson with a pass in the flat that Patterson took to the house.
Chambers scored twice with both plays standing out in their own right. The first was a 55-yard jaunt that featured his speed as he outran three Morehead State defensive backs to the end zone despite carrying 232 pounds on 6-foot-3 frame. The next was perhaps more impressive as he sprinted up field for the 10 yards, then plowed through two Morehead State defenders to get the last four yards of a 14-yard touchdown run.
