Saturday, December 27, 2025
19.0°F

No. 3/3 Montana St. at No. 1/1 South Dakota St. Capsules

FRITZ NEIGHBOR | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 3 years AGO
by FRITZ NEIGHBOR
Daily Inter Lake | December 15, 2022 10:55 PM

No. 3/3 Montana St. at No. 1/1 South Dakota St.

When: Saturday, 2 p.m.: TV — ESPN2; Web — ESPN+; Radio — Bobcat Radio Network.

Where: Dana J Dykhouse Stadium (19,340, AstroTurf)

Records: Both teams are 12-1.

When the Bobcats have the ball: It starts with sophomore quarterback Tommy Mellott, who is up to 1,118 rushing yards; continues with fellow QB Sean Chambers, who has rushed for 850 yards and 18 touchdowns; and now includes running Isaiah Ifanse, who has run for 100-plus yards in both his games back from knee surgery. Mellott has thrown for 1,521 yards and 10 scores; he and Chambers have combined for 2,136 yards and 18 TDs passing. Willie Patterson continues to be the top receiver — nine of his 39 catches (for 568 yards) have gone to the house.

When the Jackrabbits have the ball: Sophomore Mark Gronowski is back at QB after missing 2021 with injuries; he’s thrown for 2,555 yards and 21 touchdowns and run for 10 scores. His main targets are twins Jaxon (54 catches, 723 yards, seven TDs) and Jadon Janke (45-695, 6 TDs) and Tucker Kraft. Kraft missed the first six games of 2022 and has 21 catches for 249 yards and two scores, but is rated an NFL-caliber tight end. He had 65 catches a year ago. Isaiah Davis (1,190 yards and 13 touchdowns rushing) has filled in capably for the graduated Pierre Strong, and Amar Johnson backs up Davis.

Notable: As of Thursday the temperature at kickoff is expected to be 11 degrees. … Ifanse has averaged 109.5 rushing yards over seven FCS playoff games. … The Cats’ only previous trip to Dykhouse Stadium was a 45-14 loss in the 2018 preseason, and the Jacks are 124-34 at home all-time under Coach Steigelmeier. … SDSU is 4-4 against Big Sky foes in the playoffs, including a 1-1 mark against MSU and an 0-2 record against Montana. … Four SDSU kickers have combined to convert 122 PATs. … SDSU lost 2021 coordinators Jason Eck (offense; Idaho) and Brian Bergstrom (co-defense; Winona St.) to head coaching gigs. … Home teams are 18-2 in the 2022 FCS playoffs.

The Pick: Cats 28-14.

ARTICLES BY FRITZ NEIGHBOR

December 27, 2025 9:20 a.m.

Pretty much the same thing over and over

Most people would celebrate their team’s 13-2 season, as they should, but man did the Bobcats knock some shine off that record.

December 23, 2025 11 p.m.

Bigfork's Jantzen wins heavyweight at Bob Kinney

The Bigfork wrestling teams went their separate ways the weekend of Dec. 12-13, with one Viking climbing atop the podium at Superior’s Bob Kinney Classic.

Back-to-back Cats
December 20, 2025 11:05 p.m.

Back-to-back Cats

BOZEMAN — Montana State made history Saturday, winning the Super Brawl with a superb finish that pushed the Bobcats into another FCS title game.