Page 58 - Flathead Beacon // 8.17.16

BIG SKY CONFERENCE
BATTLE IN THE BIG SKY
PRESEASON COACHES POLL
GRIZ, FROM PAGE 60
and that helps a lot.”
Sandry has been practicing with the
rst- and second-team defense during fall camp, which is rare for a freshman. The rst of the Grizzlies’ three scrimmages was Monday, Aug. 15 after the Beacon went to print. It was the rst practice on the new turf inside Washington-Grizzly Stadium. The Griz will also scrimmage on Saturday, Aug. 20 at 9 a.m. That scrimmage will be open to the public. A nal scrim- mage is scheduled for Aug. 25 at 3 p.m., but will be closed to the general public as the Griz make nal preparations for
the season opener.
In the FCS media poll, the Griz were
the highest ranked of the ve Big Sky Conference teams in the top 25, com- ing in ahead of Eastern Washington (No. 14) and Portland State, Northern Arizona and North Dakota, who rank No. 17, 18 and 19, respectively.
In Stitt’s rst season as head coach a year ago, the Griz nished 8-5 over- all. The team defeated ninth-ranked South Dakota State in the opening round of the playo s before falling to top-ranked North Dakota State in the second round.
This fall Stitt has emphasized the need for as many reps as possible with his quarterbacks and receivers, which feature several new faces.
He can rely on Gustafson, who is the incumbent starting quarterback. The 6-foot-7 Billings native is back as the second-year starter; last season
BOBCATS, FROM PAGE 61
to nish seventh in both polls. The Thunderbirds begin a new chapter under head coach Demario Warren.
In Bozeman, several key positions are up for grabs, primarily the start- ing quarterback role. Kalispell native Brady McChesney, a former all-state signal caller at Glacier High School and redshirt freshman at MSU, is one of three player vying for the position, along with Ben Folsom and transfer Tyler Bruggman. Bruggman appears to be the leading candidate in fall camp.
“I thought all those guys had good moments,” Choate said last week. “Tyler, Ben and Brady, all three of those guys did a great job. Some of the details of the route-running, the tim- ing, we have to clean up, but in terms of understanding the o ense, the opera- tion, I was pleased. I thought all three of those guys did some nice things.”
A key asset this season, the o en- sive line returns four starters from 2015. This will help the Bobcats build their o ense on a strong running game; MSU is loaded in the back eld with returners Chad Newell and Gun- nar Brekke back in action. Newell, a
he tossed for 1,984 yards and 12 touch- downs and nine interceptions while playing only seven games due to an injury. He made a name for himself after throwing for a career-high 434 yards in a win over North Dakota State. In a playo rematch, though, the Bison got the better of Gustafson and the Griz, intercepting four passes and ending Montana’s season.
So far this fall Gustafson has taken the lion’s share of the reps, while quar- terbacks Chad Chalich and Reese Phil- lips have split the majority of the fol- lowing reps as the battle for backup QB is underway.
The favorite targets for the quar- terbacks are James Homan, Jerry Louie-McGee, Josh Horner and Kobey Eaton. Nebraska transfer receiver Lane Hovey is poised to break into the starting lineup, too. True fresh- man Samori Toure is also garnering attention already.
The defense will be led by Kidder, a Helena Capital product who is the team’s leading returning tackler. He is the only player from the Big Sky Conference named to the FCS Player of the Year watch list.
All in all, the Grizzlies will have a lot to prove this season. If Sandry is a good barometer, the team has big potential. Standing on the sidelines a year ago as a redshirt only fed his desire to get better and return to the eld.
“We’re ready to get going,” he said. “I can’t wait for Sept. 3.”
dtabish@ atheadbeacon.com
senior, rushed for 831 yards and 12 touchdowns last season, most on the team. Brekke added 304 yards rush- ing. Kalispell native Noah James, a former Glacier standout and sopho- more at MSU, has also developed into a rising talent.
Another Flathead Valley product, Austin Barth of Columbia Falls, has become one of the team’s go-to lead- ers. Barth, a senior tight end, was a key contributor to last year’s record-set- ting o ense as the second tight end, tallying 103 yards while building a reputation as a solid blocker. Choate has referred to Barth as a leader on this year’s team.
“I thought we started a little slug- gish. Our guys were maybe feel- ing a little sorry for themselves (at the) start,” Choate told the Billings Gazette after the rst practice. “One of our goals is to have our playmakers and leaders emerge, and especially on the o ensive side in the second half of practice that happened.
“You could see guys like Gunnar (Brekke) and Chad (Newell) and Tyler (Bruggman) and Austin Barth start to kind of say, ‘Hey let’s go. We’ve got to pick this up.’ I was pleased to see that.”
dtabish@ atheadbeacon.com
RANK VOTES
1. NORTHERN ARIZONA (8) 132 2. (T) PORTLAND STATE (2) 121 2. (T) MONTANA 121 4. EASTERN WASHINGTON (2) 112 5. NORTH DAKOTA (1) 105 6. WEBER STATE 83 7. (T) SOUTHERN UTAH 73 7. (T) MONTANA STATE 73 9. CAL POLY 66 10. NORTHERN COLORADO 43 11. SACRAMENTO STATE 30 12. IDAHO STATE 24 13. UC DAVIS 23
PRESEASON COACHES POLL
FCS
2015 RECORD
7-4
9-3
8-5
6-5 7-4 6-5 8-4 5-6 8-4 6-5 2-9 2-9 2-9
2015 RECORD
RANK
1. NORTH DAKOTA STATE (25) 2. SAM HOUSTON STATE
3. JACKSONVILLE STATE
4. RICHMOND
5. NORTHERN IOWA
6. CHARLESTON SOUTHERN 7. CHATTANOOGA
8. ILLINOIS STATE
9. MCNEESE STATE
10. WILLIAM & MARY
11. JAMES MADISON
12. PORTLAND STATE
13. MONTANA
14. SOUTH DAKOTA STATE 15. THE CITADEL
16. COLGATE
17. EASTERN WASHINGTON 18. NORTHERN ARIZONA
19. HARVARD
20. FORDHAM
21. NORTH DAKOTA
22. VILLANOVA
23. SOUTHERN UTAH
24. WESTERN ILLINOIS
25. NORTH CAROLINA A&T
VOTES
625 13-2 555 11-4 547 13-2 539 10-4 515 9-5 455 10-3 433 9-4 426 10-3 377 10-1 363 9-4 349 9-3 305 9-3 264 8-5 263 8-4 261 9-4 195 9-5 187 6-5 129 7-4 127 9-1
111 9-3 104 7-4 89 6-5 85 8-4 81 7-6
79 10-2
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AUGUST 17, 2016 // FLATHEADBEACON.COM