Idaho
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.
We’re lucky to live in a place as safe as the Treasure Valley. Despite our growth, one of the things that makes our area so special is the way that we look out for one another–for our neighbors! That’s a principle that seems to have held on as Boise has boomed.
Despite low crime rates, there seems to always be one incident or so that makes us scratch our heads.
A recent string of fraud incidents in the Treasure Valley area is one of those.
Nampa Police initially warned the public of this because cases of fraud began to ‘mushroom’. Then, it took an interesting turn–people that HAD their credit cards were being ‘taken to the bank’, so to speak.
In a statement originally released on April 30th by the Nampa Police Department, officials advised the following:
We are not sure how the suspects are gaining access to the victim’s credit cards. There is a growing fraud scheme, “ghost tapping”, that scammers are using to access victims’ credit cards. This is possibly occurring in these instances. “Ghost tapping” uses stolen credit card details in Apple Pay or Google Pay, then remotely relays the tap signal over the internet to a ‘mule’ at a store, allowing them to make high-value purchases that appear completely legitimate. (We’ll share more information on ghost tapping in a later public service announcement that will also suggest ways to protect yourself.) The app used by these criminals obscures the actual credit card number, making it harder for investigators to link a victim to a particular crime. Keep in mind that victims still have their physical credit cards while suspects use the stolen card information to make purchases, which also affects how victims are alerted. So far, local investigators have not been able to identify a common theme among the victims (e.g., a specific bank, a website they visited, a gas pump they used, etc.) in the fraud cases we are investigating.
The investigation spans far and wide.
Authorities say that some suspects are in custody, others are being contacted, and others are still at large.
Now, a week later, the police are back to reaching out to the public–this time, urging people to check their bank accounts.
Nampa Police say that they have caught onto a pattern– there are fraudulent charges at Albertson’s to purchase gift cards, at Costco to purchase Apple products, and at Best Buy, also for Apple products.
Check those bank statements!
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The USDA has issued a public health alert for various meat and poultry products containing FDA-regulated dairy that may have been contaminated with salmonella. The recall was originally issued on April 30th, but the contaminated product list could continue to grow as more products are identified.
The Food Safety and Inspection arm of the U.S. Department of Agriculture issued the public health alert and there have been no confirmed reports of adverse reactions due to consumption of the products listed below, consumers are still advised to dispose of the items or return them to the place of purchase. Great Value and Pork King Good products sold at Idaho Walmart stores are included in the alert and recall.
Public Health Alert and Food Recall Issued For Pizza and Pork Rinds Sold in Idaho
As of right now, the food list includes pork rinds, breakfast pizzas, and chicken bacon ranch pizzas. The list could grow and the USDA advises consumers to check the list frequently. We will also update the list here when possible. The contaminated products carry a variety of ‘Best By’ and ‘Produced On’ dates, so check the lists carefully to make sure you don’t consume a contaminated product.
The nationwide brands to look for are Mama Cozzi’s from Aldi stores, Pork King Good, and Great Value at Walmart Stores.
Photo Credit USDA – 1
Photo Credit USDA – 1
You can also look through these label photos to see if you have the product in your freezer.
Photo Credit USDA Recalls
Photo Credit USDA Recalls
Photo Credit USDA Recalls
Photo Credit USDA Recalls
Photo Credit USDA Recalls
If you feel sick and have consumed a contaminated product, the USDA advise you to contact your health care provider.
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