Not many Montanans turn to life as a Vandal
9/25/2003 12:00:00 AM | Football
The University of Montana has recruited many outstanding football players out of the state of Idaho over the years, including quarterbacks Brent Pease (Mountain Home) and Brad Lebo (Lewiston), running back Josh Branen (Moscow) and punter-wide receiver Mike Rice (Twin Falls).
Current Grizzlies Tim Bush (Kellogg), Dustin Dlouhy (Idaho Falls) and Jason Frink (Post Falls) are merely the latest among dozens of Idaho natives who came to Missoula to pursue careers in I-AA football.
But there haven't been many Montanans going west across Lookout Pass to play for the Vandals.
Malta running back Terry Idler in the late 1970s and Great Falls High quarterback Kurt Thorne in the late 1980s are two of the more prominent Treasure State natives to play for Idaho in the past 25 years. Idler led the Vandals in rushing and scoring in 1978, and Thorne was a solid backup.
But the Vandals landed a big catch two years ago when Stevensville athlete Jade Tadvick accepted a Division I-A scholarship offer from UI. Tadvick is a 6-5, 320-pounder who will start at right guard Saturday for the Vandals against the Grizzlies. Tadvick, a Tribune Super-State lineman in 2001, is the lone Montanan on the Idaho roster.
*****
Playing before 71,178 fans last Saturday in Seattle should adequately prepare the Vandals for the anticipated crowd noise Saturday at Washington-Grizzly Stadium, which seats just over 23,000 patrons.
So said Idaho coach Tom Cable, who has played twice at Washington-Griz when the capacity was about 5,000 less.
"We love going to their place to play," said Cable. "The crowd is right on top of you and they're noisy. Playing in Seattle should give us a good idea what to expect."
The Vandals will have a good contingent of fans behind them in the west grandstand. It's not a tough drive from Moscow to Missoula and the black-and-gold colors will be evident Saturday.
*****
George Geise and Scott Mansch don't always agree, but the two alleged Big Sky experts have been seeing things the same way when it comes to predicting games recently.
Geise and Mansch both whiffed on Northern Arizona's defeat of host Portland State last week. The two veteran keyboard-punchers are both 10-3 on the season when predicting the games not involving Montana or Montana State.
Of course, neither is wrong on the contests involving the Griz and Cats, either. And if you believe that, here's a big tip for this week:
GEISE--Sacramento State 21, Idaho State 13; Northern Arizona 24, Cal Poly 14; Fresno State 38, Portland State 14; Eastern Washington 31, Weber State 20.
MANSCH--Sacramento State 19, Idaho State 15; Cal Poly 20, Northern Arizona 18; Fresno State 31, Portland State 10; Eastern Washington 27, Weber State 12.
Current Grizzlies Tim Bush (Kellogg), Dustin Dlouhy (Idaho Falls) and Jason Frink (Post Falls) are merely the latest among dozens of Idaho natives who came to Missoula to pursue careers in I-AA football.
But there haven't been many Montanans going west across Lookout Pass to play for the Vandals.
Malta running back Terry Idler in the late 1970s and Great Falls High quarterback Kurt Thorne in the late 1980s are two of the more prominent Treasure State natives to play for Idaho in the past 25 years. Idler led the Vandals in rushing and scoring in 1978, and Thorne was a solid backup.
But the Vandals landed a big catch two years ago when Stevensville athlete Jade Tadvick accepted a Division I-A scholarship offer from UI. Tadvick is a 6-5, 320-pounder who will start at right guard Saturday for the Vandals against the Grizzlies. Tadvick, a Tribune Super-State lineman in 2001, is the lone Montanan on the Idaho roster.
*****
Playing before 71,178 fans last Saturday in Seattle should adequately prepare the Vandals for the anticipated crowd noise Saturday at Washington-Grizzly Stadium, which seats just over 23,000 patrons.
So said Idaho coach Tom Cable, who has played twice at Washington-Griz when the capacity was about 5,000 less.
"We love going to their place to play," said Cable. "The crowd is right on top of you and they're noisy. Playing in Seattle should give us a good idea what to expect."
The Vandals will have a good contingent of fans behind them in the west grandstand. It's not a tough drive from Moscow to Missoula and the black-and-gold colors will be evident Saturday.
*****
George Geise and Scott Mansch don't always agree, but the two alleged Big Sky experts have been seeing things the same way when it comes to predicting games recently.
Geise and Mansch both whiffed on Northern Arizona's defeat of host Portland State last week. The two veteran keyboard-punchers are both 10-3 on the season when predicting the games not involving Montana or Montana State.
Of course, neither is wrong on the contests involving the Griz and Cats, either. And if you believe that, here's a big tip for this week:
GEISE--Sacramento State 21, Idaho State 13; Northern Arizona 24, Cal Poly 14; Fresno State 38, Portland State 14; Eastern Washington 31, Weber State 20.
MANSCH--Sacramento State 19, Idaho State 15; Cal Poly 20, Northern Arizona 18; Fresno State 31, Portland State 10; Eastern Washington 27, Weber State 12.
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