BOZEMAN – DeNarius McGhee picked up right where he left off for Montana State.
McGhee tossed four touchdown passes to lead the Bobcats to a 33-6 win over Chadron State Thursday night in the season opener for both teams. The first night home football game in Montana State history drew a stadium-record 20,767.
McGhee, a junior, has thrown at least one TD pass in each of his 26 career starts. He connected twice with Jon Ellis for scores and added TD passes to Tray Robinson and Tiai Salanoa. McGhee completed passes to nine Bobcat receivers — Tanner Bleskin led the way with six catches.
“This is the business of ball distribution,” McGhee said. “All I’m doing is getting the ball to the receivers’ hands.”
Cody Kirk led the Bobcats with 91 rushing yards. Orenzo Davis, who missed last season due to academic issues, scored on a 4-yard run in the fourth quarter. He finished with 63 yards on the ground.
Division II Chadron State scored on two field goals by Alex Ferdinand. Glen Clinton highlighted the Eagles’ offense with 61 yards rushing, but Montana State held Chadron’s passing game to just 35 yards and outgained the Eagles 401-135 overall.
“We played well as a defense,” Bobcat defensive tackle Zach Minter said. “We flew to the football and we sure had fun.”