grizzlyjournal

Big Sky Football Wrapup: Week 5

It's a simple matter of perspective. Quotes from around the Big Sky Conference, September 29.

SACRAMENTO STATE 38, NORTHERN ARIZONA 9

Northern Arizona coach JEROME SOUERS: “The big plays, particularly right before the half, absolutely killed us.” Quote from the Sacramento Bee. "It was one of those games that whatever could go wrong, did go wrong. I was really disappointed in our offensive team execution in the first half. We looked like a team without direction.” Quote from the Arizona Sun.

PORTLAND STATE 28, at EASTERN WASHINGTON 21

Portland State coach JERRY GLANVILLE: "When we came out (of the locker room), we let the two lines come out first – because they had to win the game. If the lines didn't play, we had no chance." Quote from the Spokesman Review. "We're just getting better all the time. Brian White made some nice plays. He was the key. He made some good plays." Quote from the Portland Oregonian.

Eastern Washington coach PAUL WULFF: "Our offense couldn't relieve our defense. We weren't stringing anything together and it put a lot of pressure on our defense – and eventually, against that (PSU Vikings) offense, you're going to break down. We just didn't execute all night long and we never got in sync. We were really flat." Quote from the Spokesman Review. "I thought our defense played well in a lot of situations. It was just a frustrating game. We had a lot of injuries throughout the game, more than I've seen in a ballgame. It kind of put us out of sync and it just continued to escalate during the game." Quote from the Portland Oregonian.

at MONTANA STATE 40, IDAHO STATE 20

Idaho State Coach JOHN ZAMBERLIN: ''It's hard to be pleased when you lose. 'The biggest thing is, I believe, we made strides, made improvements. If we can stick together and stay together, we're going to win football games. It just takes time to build that foundation.'' Quote from the Idaho State Journal. “They played well that second half and made some plays,”  “And there's the difference.” Quote from the Bozeman Chronicle.

Montana State coach ROB ASH: “What I liked is that our football team stayed calm, we made some good adjustments at halftime. When you can win going away like we did, it kind of eases the frustration of the first half.” Quote from the  Bozeman Chronicle

at MONTANA 18, WEBER STATE 10

Weber State coach RON MCBRIDE: "For me to get this program where we want to go, we can't just play a good game. We've got to win." Quote from the Great Falls Tribune. “Basically, I liked how hard we played as a football team. I think our team left everything they had out there. I didn't like the way we played mentally, at times.” Quote from the Missoulian.

Montana quarterback COLE BERQUIST: "There is a ton of stuff the offense can do better. I gave the ball up twice, and that's unacceptable. And our receivers have to step up and make big plays." Quote from the Great Falls Tribune.

Montana running back GREG COLEMAN: “Coach Bobby (Hauck) told us before the game it was going to be like this. They're just a real aggressive team. They were out on a mission to stop our run game. It was just a hard-fought game.” Quote from the Missoulian.

Montana coach BOBBY HAUCK: “It was what we knew it would be. They consider it their rivalry game and they played like it.” Quote from the Missoulian.

at CAL POLY 56, NORTHERN COLORADO 21. No quotes available as of Sept. 31.

What's In A Name?

Shawn Stockton made a solid verbal commitment this week to play basketball for the Montana Grizzlies in 2008.

 

While literally every press story leads with the fact that Shawn is the nephew of John Stockton of Gonzaga Bulldog and Utah Jazz fame, it’s very clear that UM Coach Wayne Tinkle signed the 6’-1” point guard because he brings to the Griz a very solid resume... both statistically and as a leader.

It’s only much later in most stories of the signing that readers learn that, as a junior, Shawn directed his 29-0 Ferris H. S. Saxons to the Washington State 4A 2007 State Championship.

Oh, and... Besides that, he just happens to be the signal-caller on this year’s Washington State prep top-ranked Saxon football team (also QB his junior year). Clearly Stockton brings his own hard-earned personal credentials to the signing table.

But there are detractors: the notes that only two Division I schools (Montana and Montana State) recruited Stockton. Or... “We guess Shawn Stockton isn’t as good as his uncle John,” which was penned by a contributor to Rush The Court, a college basketball blog.

For the record: Stockton was invited to walk on by both Washington and Washington State.

Shawn’s father Steve Stockton, who played baseball for the Washington Huskies, is aware of the questions: "It's not quite fair," said Steve in a story by Scott Mansch in Friday’s Great Falls Tribune (read story here). "What Shawn does is play really hard. That's his strength.”

At 6’-1” and still growing, Stockton brings good size as a point guard. "He's thick," said his father. "He's big and strong."

Here are Shawn Stockton’s statistics from his junior year as point guard for the 29-0 State 4A Champion Ferris H.S. Saxons:
• Averaged 12.8 points, 4.6 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 2.6 steals per game.
• Had a Plus 2.2 Assist-to-Turnover ratio as the Saxons' point guard.
• Scored 25 points in the Saxons’ 100-79 semifinal victory over previously top-ranked Franklin H.S. of Tacoma.
• Was named the MVP of the 2007 Washington State Class 4A State Tourney.
• All-state in basketball and football.

Looks pretty good to me. When was the last time the Griz recruited a Washington State prep tourney MVP?

FINALLY, there are the intangible factors. What kind of "inner flame" does a successful college player bring to the court? I personally saw John Stockton play twice (his Gonzaga Bulldogs beat two very good Griz squads: 59-57 in 1980 and 57-54 in 1982) and my lasting impression was his fierce competitive spirit, particularly on defense.

TYLER, DEREK AND SHAWN: Stockton isn't the only current Grizzly recruit to share a name with a well-known relative. Griz frosh Derek Selvig is the nephew of Lady Griz head coach Robin Selvig and the son of Doug and Anita (Novak) Selvig, all Griz and Lady Griz greats in their own regard. Griz frosh Tyler Hurley's father Rob Hurley played for the Griz against John Stockton from 1980-83. And Rob's daughter, Ali Hurley, last spring announced she will play for Selvig's Lady Griz in 2008.

If the Gizzly basketball teams get career results from these young recruits (with rumors of even more) that equal or better the careers of their parents/uncles/aunts then the Griz and Lady Griz will be teams worth watching over the next several years.

Common Opponents -- 9/28

EASTERN WASHINGTON: Beat Mt. Western 52-13. Beat UC Davis 41-31. Won 34-7 at Idaho State .

IDAHO STATE: Beat Southern Oregon 37-11. Lost to Oregon State 61-10. Lost 34-7 to Eastern Washington.

MONTANA: Beat Southern Utah 37-17. Beat Fort Lewis State 49-0. Beat Albany 35-14.

MONTANA STATE:  Lost at Texas A&M 38-7. Beat Dixie State 61-7. Won 21-5 at Weber State.

NORTHERN ARIZONA: Beat Western NM 47-0. Lost at Arizona State 45-24. Lost at Appalachian State 34-21. Beat Northern Colorado 34-14.

NORTHERN COLORADO: Lost to Chadron State 31-0. Lost at San Diego 49-13. Lost 34-14 at Northern Arizona.

PORTLAND STATE: Lost 35-12 at McNeese State. Lost 24-17 to UC Davis. Beat Sacramento State 35-24. Lost 52-17 at San Diego State.

SACRAMENTO STATE: Lost at Fresno State 24-3. Lost at Portland State 35-24. Lost 58-0 at New Mexico.

WEBER STATE: Lost at Boise State 56-7. Lost at Cal Poly 47-19. Lost to Montana State 21-5.

CAL POLY: Lost 38-35 at Texas State. Lost 20-13 at Idaho. Beat Weber State 47-19. Beat Western Oregon 24-17.

Griz BB recruit Watson leaves team

Griz hoops fans will never know what kind of impact junior college transfer Sean Watson could have made as a potential replacement for departed Griz wing Matt Dlouhy. Watson left the team this week, a mere three weeks before the season’s first practice, leaving UM head coach Wayne Tinkle without one of his major recruits for this year’s squad.

Though departed senior Bryan Ellis was named Montana’s Outstanding Defensive Player for the 06-07 season, the true defensive MVP in my book was Dlouhy, the guy who was always assigned to stop the opposing team’s big gun. Shut-em down he did, almost always holding his opponent below his season scoring average... sometimes by double digits. Regardless, the loss of Dlouhy, Ellis and Stuart Mayes leaves a hole on D.

Replacing Dlouhy must have been one of Tinkle’s objectives when he signed Watson. I’ve found stats & stories from Watson’s previous team hard to come by, but there was no doubt he led the Howard College Hawks (which made it to the second round in last year’s Region V junior college post-season tourney) in pressure D and takeaways, besides doing a creditable job as a rebounder and perimeter scorer.

No returning Griz player jumps out as being physically well-suited to step in as a potential dominant defender at wing. Ryan Staudacher is 6'-3," but fits better as a guard and, though I have high hopes this year for 6'-7" forward Kyle Sharp (who normally backs Andrew Strait), will he have the lateral quickness necessary to defend an open court? Any other likely candidates lack size (Zach Graves, Ceylon Elgin-Taylor), are transfers who must sit out a year (Michael Taylor, Jack McGillis, ), or are freshmen.

Jordan Hasquet struggled with fouls last year. At 6'-8," Hasquet seems better suited to interior defense than defending a smaller, quicker wing. Besides, Tinkle will rely on Hasquet to shoulder a heavy load by sharing scoring & boarding duties with Strait and won't be able to afford having his 07' MVP in constant foul trouble.

It'll be interesting to see who steps up in the coming weeks.

RECRUITING NOTES: Ken Bone’s Portland State Vikings are already being tabbed by some to mount a challenge for this year’s Big Sky title. With, I believe, five returning starters (apparently Ryan Sommer will not return for his senior season) led by post Scott Morrison, the Viks will be a mature squad this year. And, like Tinkle, Bone has recruited two proven transfers for 08-09: Phil Nelson, a 6’-7” forward from the University of Washington and guard Dominic Waters from Hawaii. Both are former Oregon prep standouts.

Transfers heading to Montana (see my Sept. 2nd post) are former Hellgate H.S. standout McGillis (from Oregon State) and Taylor, who started at Eastern Washington at guard as a freshman last year.

Griz Journal 'Sky Power' Ranking: Week 4

Monday the Griz assumed the TOP RANKING in the Sports Network Top 25, replacing Applachian State, which was beaten by Wofford 41-31. See the Sports Network Top 25 story here. 

The Big Sky appears to be splitting into distinct Upper and Lower Divisions...

UPPER
1. Montana -- (1st last week) More than any previous game, Griz QB Cole Berquist showed solid proof Saturday that he’s capable of becoming a class FCS level quarterback.
2. Northern Arizona -- (2nd last week) "We shot ourselves enough times in the foot to keep us from going at the pace and the tempo that we like to, but we got the win and that's the most important thing." -- NAU coach Jerome Souers in the Arizona Sun.
3. Montana State -- (3rd  last week) “From an offensive standpoint, I think we have a lot to work on,” MSU quarterback Jake Rolovich said. “The defense played really well and they can build on this win and I think we can, too.” Read Tim Dumas’ column in the Bozeman Chronicle here.
4. Eastern Washington -- (4th last week) "Going on the road anytime in this conference is tough,"  Eagles coach Paul Wulff said (Spokesman Review). "Anytime you go on the road and win by 27, you'll take it."

LOWER
5. Weber State -- (8th last week) "Right now, we're taking some backward steps and we should be in a position where we're not taking backward steps," WSU coach Ron McBride in the Ogden Standard Examiner.
6. Sacramento State (5th last week) -- “Sac State players vented some frustration, earning personal foul penalties in late in the half. The Hornets relaxed later in the game, even as the rout continued. (Sacramento Bee). "We got a little sloppy in the first half, where we lost our composure for the first time this year. I think the kids finished the game with better dignity and composure." Sac State coach Marshall Sperbeck.
7. Portland State -- (6th last week) “As marriages made in heaven go, this one beats all. Jerry Glanville and Portland, Ore. Think Gomer Pyle and the Green Party. A slice of Dixie bathed in a liberal application of Bohemia. Talk about your alternative lifestyles.” -- Mick McGrane, SignOn San Diego: read it here.
8. Northern Colorado -- (9th last week)  “We felt that coming in we thought NAU was one of the best teams in the conference, and we are leaving still thinking they are one of the best teams.” -- UNC coach Scott Downing in the Greely Tribune.
9. Idaho State -- (7th last week) “Idaho State football coach John Zamberlin announced today at his weekly news conference that only three weeks into the season he's switching quarterbacks. Luke Butler, who replaced a struggling Russel Hill in Saturday's 34-7 loss to Eastern Washington, will get the start this coming week at Montana State.” -- From the ISU Journal Sports blog.

Big Sky Notes: Week 4

EASTERN WASHINGTON 34, IDAHO STATE 7. The Eagles racked up 418 total yards and forced 5 Bengal turnovers. The Bengals’ two young quarterbacks struggled to mount any consistent drives through the game while EWU sophomore quarterback Matt Nichols threw for 285 yards and Eagle sophomore receiver  notched 15 receiving yards. Game coverage here:

At Ogden, MONTANA STATE UNIVERSITY 21, WEBER STATE UNIVERSITY 5. In a defensive struggle the Bobcats won handily, MSU scored two touchdowns off of WSU turnovers for a 21-5 win.

Weber State's defense limited the Bobcats to just 283 total yards but struggled on offense. The Wildcats are also struggling with two inexperienced young quarterbacks Jimmy Barnes and Cameron Higgins.

The Bobcats got their only offensive touchdown of the afternoon on the 29-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Jake Rolovich to Jamelle Banks.

NEW MEXICO 58, SACRAMENTO STATE 0. The Hornets suffered their first shutout since August 2006 against Boise State and surrendered more points than they had since giving up 59 to Montana last season.

The Hornets' offense couldn't muster a first down until midway through the second quarter. New Mexico outgained Sac State 499-104.

The Hornets' deepest penetration was to the Lobos' 47. Every other drive stalled in Hornets territory. Game coverage here:

At Flagstaff, NORTHERN ARIZONA 34, NORTHERN COLORADO 14. Leading only by 14-7 midway through the third quarter, the Jacks finally got untracked.

NAU totaled 507 yards of offense while out-gaining the Bears 286-85 on the ground. Quarterback Lance Kriesien went 21-for-39 for 216 yards.

"It was good to get a win," In an Sunday's Arizona Daily Sun story, Jacks coach Jerome Souers said, "We shot ourselves enough times in the foot to keep us from going at the pace and the tempo that we like to, but we got the win and that's the most important thing. Game coverage here:

At San Diego, SAN DIEGO STATE 52, PORTLAND STATE 17. The Aztecs racked up 569 yards on offense. Portland State coach Jerry Glanville said illness to two Vikings defensive  cornerbacks contributed to the gaudy Aztecs’ passing statistics. Game coverage here:

Griz Journal 'Sky Power' Ranking: Week 3

Hey, anyone can post a power ranking. Here’ s mine.

1. Montana -- Albany of the North East Conference is known as a decent defense-oriented team. A good pre-season opponent to schedule.
2. Northern Arizona -- Solid offensive outing against top-ranked Appalachian State.
3. Montana State -- Cats Dixie win as inconclusive as Griz-Ft. Lewis win.
4. Eastern Washington -- A young team that will have a say on how the Big Sky shakes out.
5. Sacramento State -- 10 QB sacks against PSU still not enough. Hornets 2 minutes short of a win.
6. Portland State -- Some big holes on the O line. Ten sacks allowed? How deep are the Viks at QB?

The bottom three Big Sky teams appear to be significantly weaker than the rest of the conference.

7. Idaho State -- Is Oregon State really that good? Lots of big holes on D.
8. Weber State -- A young team takes its lumps early.... & late.
9. Northern Colorado -- At least they scored against San Diego.

Eagles, Viks win on late surges

Northern Arizona throws a scare into Applachian State: The Lumberjacks drove inside the Mountaineers' 25 yard line four times in the first half, but came away with only 6 points. "We got down into the red zone, an area we'd been good in all year, and they outexecuted us in that setting," said Jacks  coach Jerome Souers in the Arizona Daily Sun.  "It really hurt a lot of opportunities for us not to come away with points." You can read the Daily Sun game coverage here.

Portland State's 35-24 win looks, as a glance, pretty convincing. Not so. The visiting Hornets led most of the second half until the 2:06 mark of the fourth quarter. Hornet defenders sacked PSU quarterback Brian White 10 times, but the senior quarterback still completed 26-37 passes for 363 yards and two touchdowns. You can read the game story in the Portland Oregonian here.

Eastern Washington also had to come from behind to notch its 41-31 win over visiting UC Davis. You can read an account in the Spokesman Review's blog here:

Applachian State isn't the only FCS team to fare well against major college opponents. Northern Iowa, ranked 4th in the FCS (and which beat South Dakota State 31-17 Saturday) last week traveled to Ames and beat Iowa State University 24-13. Saturday Iowa State beat visiting Iowa 15-13.

There are four Illinois schools ranked in this week's FCS Top 25 Poll. They are: Southern Illinois (6th), Illinois State (15th), Eastern Illinois (17th), and Western Illinois (21st).

Common Opponents -- 9/15

ALBANY: Lost at Colgate 13-11. Won at Fordham 23-20. Lost to 19th ranked Hofstra 28-13.
EASTERN WASHINGTON: Beat Mt. Western 52-13. Beat UC Davis 41-31.
IDAHO STATE: Beat Southern Oregon 37-11. Lost to Oregon State 61-10.
MONTANA STATE:  Lost at Texas A&M 38-7. Beat Dixie State 61-7.
NORTHERN ARIZONA: Beat Western NM 47-0. Lost at Arizona State 45-24. Lost at Appalachian State 34-21.
NORTHERN COLORADO: Lost to Chadron State 31-0. Lost at San Diego 49-13.
PORTLAND STATE: Lost 35-12 at McNeese State. Lost 24-17 to UC Davis. Beat Sacramento State 35-24.
SACRAMENTO STATE: Lost at Fresno State 24-3. Lost at Portland State 35-24.
WEBER STATE: Lost at Boise State 56-7. Lost at Cal Poly 47-19.
SOUTHERN UTAH: Lost 37-17 at Montana. Lost to North Dakota 37-10. Lost 44-10 to 7th ranked Southern Illinois.
UC DAVIS: Beat Portland State 35-24. Lost to Eastern Washington 41-31.

Common Opponents

SOUTHERN UTAH: Lost 37-17 at Montana. Lost to North Dakota 37-10.
UC-DAVIS: Lost 28-21 at Western Washington. Won 24-17 at Portland State.
PORTLAND STATE: Lost 35-12 at McNeese State. Lost 24-17 to UC Davis.
FRESNO STATE: Beat Cal State Sacramento 24-3. Lost 47-45 at Texas A&M in OT.
TEXAS A&M:  Beat Montana State 38-7. Beat Fresno St. 47-45 in OT.

Another Portland State Viking Tater

The Viks dropped another "hot tater" Saturday.

Despite Portland’s pre-season buzz over new Portland State University head coach Jerry Glanville (former coach of the NFL Houston Oilers and Atlanta Falcons) that included advance sales of nearly 4000 season tickets, home-opener attendance by Portland’s mayor, and a halftime fireworks show, the PSU Vikings couldn’t blunt a 17-point second half surge by visiting Cal State Davis.

The result:  a 26-17 Aggies victory.

In one fourth quarter sequence that symbolized the Vikings' futility, the Vikings failed on six consecutive offensive running plays from within the Aggies' one-yard line. The story in the Portland Oregonian quoted Glanville as saying: "Any time you get the ball inside your 1-yard line that many times and you don't score, you don't deserve to win." Read the Oregonian's game account here.

Significantly, all six plays were said to be (the same?) run-trap plays.

It’s too early to make any sweeping conclusions regarding Glanville’s Viks. But expectations were high everywhere, from PSU being ranked second behind the Griz in most pre-season polls... and from a lot of super-hyped folks in Stumptown.

It's more proof that revamping or rebuilding a college football program takes more than new uniforms. As pre-season polls indicated, the Vikings have the nucleus of a very good team. But there's a hill to climb now.

The scenario was succintly painted by Ian Ruder in his Portland Oregonian Viking's Blog when he wrote: "After last week's loss to McNeese State, the Vikings went into Saturday's game playing to salvage the hype. After last night's loss they are playing to salvage the season."

For a more detailed perspective of that "Giant Disappointment," check out the Ruder's Viks blog here.

Men's Hoops Transfers Confirmed

Here's an update to my August 19th post regarding the transfer of Jack McGillis (Oregon State via Hellgate H.S.) and Michael Taylor (Eastern Washington) to the UM Grizzly basketball program. Grizzly head coach Wayne Tinkle made the announcement official Friday (Aug. 31). You can read the press release here. For details, read my initial post below.

No official mention yet regarding the commitment of H.S. forward Tyler Hurley (Anaconda Copperheads).

A couple of Big Sky eyebrow-raisers

While there’ll be plenty of analysis of the Montana Grizzlies’ 37-17 victory over Southern Utah, other Big Sky games offered up some surprises.

The MSU Bobcats’ 38-7 loss to Texas A&M seemed as-expected, some key statistics tell a different story. Surprising to me was that the Bobcats amassed 403 total yards in offense, compared to A&M’s 390, racking up a whopping plus-12 minutes in time of possession on offense against A&M. Three missed field goals by the Bobcats indicate some early kicking-game problems. Otherwise, it looks like the Cats under new coach Rob Ash are solid.

And, despite the hype of a big-name coach and new black-on-black uniforms, Portland State’s inaugural game of the Jerry Glanville era... no matter how analyzed, appears to have been a flop. The 13th ranked Vikings were up against a veteran squad in the 10th-ranked Cowboys of McNeese State, but the lopsided 35-12 score is backed up by stats: minus 10-yards rushing by the Vikings, and a whopping 395-to-266 total yardage advantage by the Cowboys. Plus, the Viks lost two offensive starters, quarterback Tygue Howland and fullback Bobby McClintock, to injury. Get another perspective of the game from Ian Ruder’s excellent Vikings Blog here.

Ruder starts his coverage with this lede: The big plays never materialized. The running was suspect and the shooting was way off target. The "hardest hitting team on the west coast" didn't show up and The Portland State Vikings were left pondering the true meaning of Coach Jerry Glanville's other favorite saying: that his team will approach each week as if they are undefeated.

Other Big Sky stat of note: Sacramento State’s defense was punctured for 475 yards in total offense in Fresno State’s 24-3 win. The Hornets managed only 103 yards on offense.