Idaho

No. 1 Montana State pounds eighth-seeded Idaho 52-19, runs into FCS semifinals

Published

1 month ago

December 14, 2024

No. 1 Montana State pounds eighth-seeded Idaho 52-19, runs into FCS semifinals

BOZEMAN — For the first time all season, Montana State allowed a visiting opponent to score in the first quarter of a game played inside Bobcat Stadium.

It made little difference, as the Bobcats used a flurry of touchdowns to close out the first half en route to a 52-19 win over Idaho on Saturday in the quarterfinal round of the FCS playoffs. Montana State will play a semifinal game next Saturday for the fourth time in six years.

The top-ranked and undefeated Bobcats started the game against the Vandals in typical fashion of this historic season — marching down the field on the opening series to score a touchdown on a 3-yard pass from quarterback Tommy Mellott to tight end Rylan Schlepp.

The game seemed to turn late in the first quarter, though. Idaho quarterback Jack Layne, who missed the Vandals’ regular-season loss at Montana State, aired out a pass to a wide-open Jordan Dwyer.

Dwyer, who was running free behind the MSU secondary, caught the perfectly placed pass and ran in for a 55-yard touchdown. Idaho and Montana State were tied 7-7 going to the second quarter.

The teams traded field goals in the second — Myles Sansted converted from 46 yards for Montana State and Cameron Pope made a 32-yarder for Idaho — but the wheels came off for the Vandals in the waning minutes of the half.

Following Pope’s field goal, Idaho coach Jason Eck opted to go for a surprise onside kick. The ball didn’t travel the required 10 yards, giving the Bobcats the ball at the Idaho 38-yard line. Montana State capitalized, with Mellott scoring this time on the ground from 8 yards out to give the Bobcats a 17-10 led with 3:47 to play in the first half.

On Idaho’s ensuing possession, Mark Hamper fumbled on a wide receiver screen after running into the back of one of his own blockers. MSU defensive end Brody Grebe recovered the fumble, and the Bobcats’ offense came back on the field.

Moments later, running back Adam Jones, who started in the absence of Scottre Humphrey, was in the end zone, and the Bobcats were suddenly up 24-10.

But the first-half disaster wasn’t over for the Vandals. Idaho was forced to punt, and — after a 15-yard return by Taco Dowler — Mellott showed why he’s a finalist for the Walter Payton Award.

The senior from Butte dropped back to pass but didn’t find an open receiver. With pressure closing in, Mellott scrambled through an opening in the line, juked an Idaho defender and sprinted down the left sideline. He was forced out 63 yards later, and the Bobcats were in business inside the Idaho 5-yard line with less than 30 seconds left in the half.

Jones eventually punched in another touchdown on third-and-goal, and Montana State took a 31-10 lead into halftime, having scored 21 unanswered points in less than four minutes of game action.

The second half didn’t start much better for Idaho. Layne threw an interception to Jon Johnson on the Vandals’ first offensive play, and five minutes later Jones scored this third touchdown, this one from 9 yards out. Mellott added a 5-yard TD pass to Dowler later in the third, and Montana State took a 45-10 lead to the fourth quarter.

Less than a minute into the fourth, Jones added another touchdown. After taking a Mellott pass 56 yards to the 2-yard line, Jones scored his fourth TD of the night on the next play.

Layne and Dwyer connected for another Idaho touchdown in the fourth quarter, and Pope added a 43-yard field goal.

Montana State improved to 14-0 for the first time in program history, and the 14-game win streak is also the best in program history. Fourth-year head coach Brent Vigen is now 30-1 during his career at Bobcat Stadium and has guided Montana State to the semifinal round of the postseason in three of his four years.

Idaho, which was the eighth seed for this year’s playoffs and entered Saturday’s game with a six-game winning streak, finishes the season at 10-4.

Turning point: Hamper’s fumble completely changed the complexion of the game. It was just a one-score game when Idaho started the series with an opportunity to close out the half. Instead of driving the field and getting points, the turnover gave the Bobcats a short field and started the avalanche that finished out the first half.

Stat of the game: Montana State dominated in all facets, and perhaps nothing illustrates that more than the teams’ performances on third down. The Bobcats converted on 11 of 15 third-down plays, while Idaho was only 2 of 10, with its first successful third-down conversion coming in the fourth quarter against Montana State’s second-string defense.

Bobcat game balls: RB Adam Jones (Offense). With Humphrey sidelined, Jones, the Big Sky Conference freshman of the year, showed he was more than capable. He handled the bulk of the carries, finishing with 23 totes for 95 yards and four touchdowns. He also had three catches for 66 yards. Jones, a graduate of Missoula Sentinel High School, now has 1,068 rushing yards on the season.

DE Brody Grebe (Defense). Grebe started the game blowing up a fourth-down run on Idaho’s first possession to keep the Vandals off the scoreboard in the early going. And his fumble recovery in the second quarter was one of the pivotal plays of the game. The official stats gave Grebe only one tackle, but his imprint was all over the game.

What’s next: Montana State will have its final home game of the season at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 21, against either UC Davis or South Dakota in the semifinal round. The Coyotes host the Aggies at 1 p.m. on Saturday in a quarterfinal game.

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Idaho

Eggs Suddenly Vanish from Idaho Grocery Stores

Published

7 hours ago

January 20, 2025

Press Room

Eggs Suddenly Vanish from Idaho Grocery Stores

I saw a lot of empty shelves at stores when I looked into the coolers. A sign at WinCo explains that the avian flu virus is to blame. The illness has been spreading through large operations nationwide.

Restaurants are struggling too. A friend in Idaho Falls wrote me with details:

The restaurant my son cooks for wasn’t able to do Saturday brunch yesterday because eggs were too expensive. $68 a case to $160? They are a small restaurant/catering service and can’t bear the cost. There would be no profit.

The thing is, the guy who gets blamed is usually the one in charge of the government. The guy at the top. Donald Trump is taking over much the way he left, being dogged by a viral pandemic.

Are you a conspiracy theorist?

News media spent the last four years telling us that a president had little control over fuel prices, and very few tools for dealing with inflation. Which the media blamed on supply chain issues and not the copious printing of currency. Will Trump be given the same pass that Joe Biden received? Don’t hold your breath.

I don’t dislike eggs, but I’m always eating on the fly. I rarely have time for them on weekends, and even if I wanted them on a Saturday morning at a restaurant, there’s now a challenge finding any.

This will pass, but flocks are going to be greatly reduced. When they do recover, we’ll probably have birds with hardier immune systems. Bouncing back could take a very long time.

10 tips for anyone who is thinking of getting backyard chickens

They sure are cute little things at the store but before you hand over your credit card and welcome those baby chicks to your home, go over this list of 10 tips.

Gallery Credit: Jessica Williams

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Idaho

Idaho Falls Symphony receives $3,000 grant from Sparklight – East Idaho News

Published

15 hours ago

January 19, 2025

Press Room

Idaho Falls Symphony receives ,000 grant from Sparklight – East Idaho News

The following is a news release and photo from Sparklight.

IDAHO FALLS — Sparklight, a leading broadband provider, recently awarded a $3,000 grant to the Idaho Falls Symphony through the company’s Charitable Giving Fund. The organization was one of 24 nonprofits across Sparklight’s 24-state footprint that received grants totaling more than $125,000 during the most recent award period.

The Charitable Giving Fund, which awards $250,000 in grants annually, concentrates support in the following priority areas:

Education and Digital Literacy
Food Insecurity
Community Development

This grant season, Sparklight also extended support to organizations devoted to veterans’ outreach, elder care, afterschool programs, community safety, animal advocacy and more.

“Sparklight is proud to support the nonprofits that make a meaningful difference in our community,” said Amanda Moore, Sparklight Senior Regional Director Northwest. “These organizations are essential to strengthening the cities and towns we serve, and we are grateful for the opportunity to amplify their efforts. Together, we can bring vital resources and support to those who need it most.”

Idaho Falls Symphony will use the grant to fund its Link Up Music Education program and concert.

“By supporting the Idaho Falls Symphony, Sparklight is helping thousands of fourth- and fifth-grade students to not only gain important musical skills, but also to have a unique concert experience where they use their acquired artistry,” said Carrie Athay, Idaho Falls Symphony Executive Director. “Music is a universal language and a legacy of expression in every culture. We are so grateful for the generosity of Sparklight to help us enrich students’ educational experiences.”

Nonprofit organizations may apply for a grant during open application periods each spring and fall.

Applications for spring 2025 grants will be accepted between April 1-30.

For more information about the Sparklight Charitable Giving Fund, visit www.sparklight.com/charitablegiving.

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Idaho

Idaho Steelheads | DÉJÀ VU AS STEELHEADS WIN IN SHOOTOUT FOR SECOND STRAIGHT NIGHT

Published

23 hours ago

January 19, 2025

Press Room

Idaho Steelheads | DÉJÀ VU AS STEELHEADS WIN IN SHOOTOUT FOR SECOND STRAIGHT NIGHT

TULSA, OK – The Idaho Steelheads (20-14-3-0, 43pts) defeated the Tulsa Oilers (20-12-4-2, 46pts) Saturday night in a shootout by a final score of 3-2 in front of 7,009 fans the BOK Center. Idaho and Tulsa will wrap up this weekend’s three-game series in Tulsa Sunday afternoon at 2:05 p.m. (MT).

Despite outshooting the Oilers 10-7 in the opening 20 minutes of play Tulsa led 1-0 after the first period as Michael Farren scored at 12:03.

Idaho received their second power-play of the night just 2:39 into the second period and 59 seconds into the man advantage Andrei Bakanov (5^th) provided the equalizer. From the right half-wall Brendan Hoffmann fed Matt Register at the center point. Register sent a wrist shot to the net where Bakanov banged home the rebound at 4:38 tying the score at 1-1. After the Steelheads killed off their second penalty kill of the night they went on the power-play again at 12:41 of the stanza. With five seconds left on the man advantage Andrew Bellant (4^th) gave Idaho back the lead. Hoffmann from the right point rolled the puck to Bakanov in the right corner where he connected with Bellant inside the right circle where he blasted a one-timer into the net making it 2-1 with 5:24 left in the frame. 78 seconds later the Oilers tied the game thanks to Easton Brodzinski. Tulsa outshot Idaho 13-10 in the period.

Shots were 8-5 Oilers in the third period and then 7-5 Tulsa in overtime but for the second straight night a shootout was needed. For the second straight night Brodzinski, as the first shooter, scored for Tulsa but then Bryan Thomson would turn aside the next three shots he face. Patrick Moynihan and A.J. White were stopped as the first two shooters before Bellant kept the game going and Hoffmann ended it.

Bryan Thomson made 33 saves on 35 shots in the win while Talyn Boyko turned aside 28 of 30 shots in the loss.

BOX SCORE

ICCU Three Stars

1) Brendan Hoffmann (IDH)

2) Andrei Bakanov (IDH)

3) Easton Brodzinski (TUL)

GAME NOTES

Idaho finished 2-for-3 on the power-play while Tulsa went 0-for-2.
Tulsa outshot Idaho 35-31.
Romain Rodzisnki (IR), Ty Pelton-Byce (IR), Hank Crone (IR), C.J. Walker (IR), Nick Canade (IR), Wade Murphy (IR), Jason Horvath (IR), and Matt Ustaski (DNP) did not dress for Idaho.
Andrei Bakanov has (2-3-5) in four games with Idaho including two multi-point games.
Brendan Hoffmann tallied two assists for his eighth multi-point game.
Andrew Bellant has two goals in his last three games.
Matt Register has an assist in back-to-back games.
Patrick Moynihan led all Idaho skaters with five shots.

Stay up to date with all things Steelheads on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Watch all Steelheads home games on FloHockey and KTVB 24/7 (Channel 7.2) and listen on the Steelheads flagship station 95.3 FM KTIK “The Ticket”.

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