Big plays highlight first Griz scrimmage

3/31/2016 11:06:00 PM | Football

By: gogriz.com

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The Montana Grizzly football team shook off the rust of a long winter's hibernation in the opening scrimmage of the 2016 season Thursday night, looking considerably more polished and confident than this time last year.

Big plays from young players on both sides of the ball highlighted a night where the offense put up 20 points on a physical Montana defense as Coach Bob Stitt ran the team through 67 plays.

Loaded with a fresh crop of wide-outs, the Grizzly offense found the end zone twice (and nearly a third time) on a pair of 50+ yard touchdown bombs, and added two field goals to the scoring tally, while the defense also scored on a returned interception.

Second year starting quarterback Brady Gustafson found junior transfer James Homan streaking across the middle of the field, wide open on a post route for the Griz offense's first score of the night.

Chad Chalich, who started three games last season for the injured Gustafson, later found freshman Kobey Eaton sprinting down the sidelines for a 73 yard touchdown bomb to put the offense at 14 points (after successful PATs from Harrison Greenberg and Patrick LeCorre).

Not to be to be left out of the action, the Griz "D" got in on the scoring when freshman safety Jerrin Williams intercepted a Reese Phillips pass and returned it 60 yards to the house.

Transfer kicker Austin Carver and freshman kicker Tim Semenza both slotted field goal attempts from 35 and 34 yards, respectively, to round off the scoring for the offense at 20 points.

In a scrimmage punctuated with big plays, Coach Stitt liked what he saw, with neither team looking out of place.

"The thing about spring ball is that when something good happens to your team, something bad happens as well," said the second year mentor. "I like where we're at. We're going to be a very good team this year."

The Grizzly stable of quarterbacks looked calm under immense pressure from the defensive line, with Gustafson, Chalich and Phillips combining for 343 yards on 28-47 passing, with only the one interception between them.

Gustafson passed for a team high 143 yards and a touchdown on 7-12 passing, while Chalich threw for 121 yards and a TD on 11-17 passing. Never one to remain satisfied, "Gus" took plenty of positives from the scrimmage that saw many take the field for the first time as Grizzlies.

"The first one's never going to be perfect. But it was good to get some live looks," said the 6-7 senior from Billings. "There's been some early practices where there's been some head scratching moments, but everybody's looking good and I'm excited where we are."

All three quarterbacks had to deal with a deadly defensive front to put up those numbers however.

Junior defensive end Tucker Schye picked up where Tyrone Holmes left off, tallying three sacks to lead the "D". In total the Grizzly defense racked up eight (non contact) sacks, and tackles for losses totaling 40 yards.

Freshman linebacker Dante Olson led the Griz in tackles, picking up nine stops, five of which were solo tackles. Josh Sandry, another freshman, added seven tackles (six solo) and a sack for the second most take downs on the team.

But the veteran leadership on the defense shone through, though perhaps not reflected on the box score.

Senior Ryan Johnson added five tackles, 1.5 sacks and a tackle for loss, while generally making life miserable for anyone that came near him. Zach Peevey and Caleb Kidder each broke up a pass and picked up a pair of tackles each, while getting mixed in with more plays than not.

One of the youngest players who made the biggest impact for the offensive squad was Eaton, the freshman wide receiver who scored from 73 yards out on his first collegiate touch of the ball.

"I have really big shoes to fill. It feels good to get out and get my first actual college play," said the Vancouver, Washington product. "It felt really good, but we always have room to work though, so just trying to get better every day."

Eaton hauled in five passes for a team-best 133 yards, and was a whisker shy of hauling in another deep touchdown pass that just slipped out of his grasp.

The Grizzlies now take a well-earned rest for spring break ahead of the team's next scrimmage set for April 16.

Spring ball will conclude with the annual Spring Game, this year held in Washington-Grizzly Stadium on April 23 at 2 p.m..

Tickets for the scrimmage are $5 per person and are on sale now. Spring game festivities include a 12:00 p.m. tailgate party hosted by the Grizzly Scholarship Association (GSA) that will take place in Memorial Grove, located just to the north of Washington Grizzly Stadium. The tailgate will include music, food, and drinks.

The proceeds from the game will benefit the Grizzly Scholarship Association.

Ticket for the game can be purchased at the Adams Center Box Office, GSA Office, Press Box, Red's Bar, and Stockman's Bar. For more information call 406-243-6481 or visit www.gogriz.com.