Grizzlies score six TDs in scrimmage
8/22/2009 12:00:00 AM | Football
The offense scored six times Saturday morning as the Montana football team completed its first of two preseason scrimmages at Washington-Grizzly Stadium.
Approximately 1,000 fans were on hand to watch the Big Sky Conference???s defending champion and 2009 preseason favorite Grizzlies run 63 plays, which included 51 plays on offense and 12 in special teams.
"I think our youth and fatigue showed up a bit today," said seventh-year Montana head coach Bobby Hauck, who has posted a 66-16 record at his alma mater. "Like I???ve been saying, I think the jury is still out on our team."
Sophomore kicker Brody McKnight started the scoring, nailing a 35-yard field goal straight through the uprights with plenty of distance to spare.
A few minutes later, another sophomore, Jabin Sambrano, electrified the crowd when be caught a kickoff on the five-yard line, cut up the middle then made another cut to the left sideline and out-raced the coverage for a 95-yard touchdown.
Four quarterbacks saw action, with juniors Justin Roper and Andrew Selle getting the majority of the reps, although elusive redshirt freshman quarterback Gerald Kemp put on quite a show with his running ability.
Selle was 5-of-8 passing for 59 yards, including a 3-yard scoring pass to senior running back Thomas Brooks-Fletcher. Roper was 3-of-7 for 53 yards, while Kemp was 1-of-2 for 2 yards, and freshman D.J. Zapata completed one of two throws for 9 yards. As a group the quarterbacks were 10-of-19-0 for 123 yards and a touchdown.
Kemp, a 6-2, 215-pounder from San Diego, broke loose for scoring runs of eight and 30 yards. Other scoring came from redshirt freshman Tel Reynolds, who hit paydirt on a four-yard scoring run, while hard-running sophomore halfback Dan Moore bulled his way into the end zone on a two-yard touchdown run on the last play of the scrimmage.
Kemp had four carries for 53 yards and the two scores. Moore rushed eight times for 26 yards and a touchdown. Peter Nguyen, a speedy freshman from Seattle, had six totes for 18 yards, while Tel Reynolds gained 11 yards on four attempts and scored a TD.
"I thought the backs did a good job today," Hauck said. "Their vision was good, although we had a couple of perimeter run plays that we didn???t stretch well enough and we need to get that corrected, but in general I think it was pretty good."
Levi Buckles had scrimmage-highs of three catches for 36 yards, while fellow redshirt freshmen Sam Gratton had two receptions for 28 yards. Senior tight end Dan Beaudin made a diving catch on a 29-yard completion from Roper.
???We did show some new wrinkles (on offense), but most of that stuff is just to make sure our defense is ready for it," Hauck said. "It is valuable for our defense to have to adjust and line up against those types of unusual formations, and thought that they did a nice job with it."
Defensively, senior end George Mercer, sophomore end Bobby Alt, freshman linebacker Brock Coyle, and sophomore end Bryan Waldhauser had one sack apiece.
Sophomore punter Sean Wren averaged 40.3 yards on six attempts.
Senior defensive end Jace Palmer, sophomore guard Charles Burton, and senior linebacker Brandon Fisher were held out of the scrimmage due to minor injuries.
Unfortunately, promising true freshman wide receiver Aaron Roberts, a 5-11, 170-pound speedster from Spokane, was injured early in the scrimmage during a kickoff return.
The hit of the day was made by junior halfback Chase Reynolds, who nailed junior punt returner Brandon Dodson with a hard tackle, which drew a huge reaction from the crowd. Reynolds did not have a rush attempt in the scrimmage.
The team will take tomorrow off and then resume fall drills on Monday, August 24 with a two-a-day session.
Montana???s final scrimmage is Thursday, August 27, starting around 9:15 a.m. in Washington-Grizzly Stadium. The Grizzlies are two weeks away from their season opener, a Sept. 5 home game against Western State.
