Montana
Scottre Humphrey, Tommy Mellott power No. 2 Montana State past resilient Eastern Washington
CHENEY, Wash. — It wasn’t the typical football game Montana State has come to expect this season.
But the second-ranked Bobcats found a way to outlast a resilient Eastern Washington squad 42-28 on Saturday at Roos Field to improve to 9-0 overall and 5-0 in Big Sky Conference play.
The game started with Montana State looking like it was well on its way to another lopsided victory. Scottre Humphrey put the Bobcats up 7-0 with a 1-yard touchdown run in the first quarter, and the Bobcats got the ball right back on the ensuing kickoff. Eastern Washington return man Michael Wortham brought the ball out of the end zone, but MSU’s Max Murphy forced a fumble that Carson Williams recovered.
One play later, quarterback Tommy Mellott found a wide-open Taco Dowler for a 19-yard touchdown, and the Cats were quickly up 14-0.
But the Eagles got an answer from standout receiver Efton Chism III, who made a nice adjustment on a pass thrown by quarterback Jared Taylor to score Easter’s first touchdown. Montana State led 14-7 after the first quarter.
The second quarter brought more fireworks. Adam Jones scored on a nifty run to push MSU’s lead back to 21-7, but Wortham responded with a 75-yard TD run on the Eagles’ next possession. It was the first time this season an FCS team scored two first-half touchdowns against the Bobcats.
The MSU offense settled things down on the next drive, chewing up 9:33 of game clock on a 16-play, 70-yard drive. Humphrey capped the possession with a 4-yard scoring run, and the Bobcats led 28-14 at the break.
Eastern Washington running back Tuna Altahir evened the score in the third quarter, though. He first caught a 3-yard touchdown from Taylor and then added an 11-yard TD run that tied the game at 28-28 with 1:26 left in the third.
But Mellott took control from there. The senior quarterback hit the Bobcats’ most explosive play of the game moments later, breaking away for a 76-yard touchdown run that gave MSU a 35-28 lead going to the fourth.
And in the fourth, Mellott — after throwing his first interception of the season — hit another explosive play. Facing a crucial third down with less than four minutes to play, Mellott dropped back to pass and aired it out to receiver Ty McCullouch along the left sideline. McCullouch ran under the pass and then outran the Eastern Washington defense for a 61-yard touchdown that put the game away.
Turning point: After Mellott threw an interception, the Montana State defense forced Eastern Washington to turn the ball over on downs four plays later. On the Bobcats’ next offensive possession, Mellott went deep to McCullouch, who displayed his speed in pulling away from the defense to give MSU a two-score cushion.
Stat of the game: In a game in which the defense gave up 28 points, Montana State’s offense had the answers, especially on the ground. The Bobcats racked up 316 rushing yards, with Mellott (125 yards on six carries) and Humphrey (110 yards on 21 carries) both breaking the century mark.
Bobcat game balls: QB Tommy Mellott (Offense). When his team needed him most, Mellott stepped up with two big-time plays. Mellott’s 76-yard touchdown run and 61-yard touchdown pass broke open a 28-28 tie game to help the Bobcats secure their ninth win of the season.
LB McCade O’Reilly (Defense). The defense struggled more than it has against an FCS team all season, but O’Reilly made his presence felt. The linebacker was in on six tackles, including four solo, had two tackles for loss and a sack.
FB Max Murphy (Special teams). Murphy made the hit that forced the fumble on Wortham’s kick return in the first quarter. The immediate change of possession gave the Bobcats an instant red zone opportunity, and Mellott and Dowler capitalized for a touchdown.
What’s next: Montana State (9-0 overall, 5-0 Big Sky) returns to Bozeman to host Sacramento State on Nov. 9. The Bobcats have won nine of the past 11 against the Hornets, including a 42-30 win in Sacramento last season.
Eastern Washington (2-7, 1-4), meanwhile, will look to snap its three-game losing streak at Northern Colorado next week.
Montana
Montana State doctoral student awarded national research service grant for gut microbiome, arsenic research
MISSOULA — Four out of five members of Montana’s Public Service Commission were in a federal courtroom in Missoula Thursday morning, as the PSC’s former president challenges the disciplinary action taken against him earlier this year. Now, newly released documents are shedding more light on to what led up to this point.
(Watch the video for a closer look at the case.)
New documents shed light Montana PSC dispute
Commissioner Brad Molnar has sued President Jeff Welborn, Vice President Jennifer Fielder and Commissioner Annie Bukacek – the three PSC members who voted in May to require him to work remotely, after an investigation into complaints about his workplace conduct. Molnar has claimed he is being unfairly punished for constitutionally protected speech, and he asked Senior U.S District Judge Donald Molloy to allow him to return to the PSC offices.
Matthew Monforton, Molnar’s attorney, told the judge that barring Molnar from the building was limiting his ability to do his job.
“He has not been officially kicked out of office, but his voice has clearly been diminished,” said Monforton.
But Natasha Jones, an attorney representing the other three commissioners, said the findings were about behavior, not just speech, and that the PSC’s action was a reasonable response.
“These are serious concerns about a pattern of conduct that has made employees quit,” she said.
Jonathon Ambarian
On Tuesday, Molloy ordered the release of redacted versions of two full investigative reports into Molnar’s conduct – more than 100 pages of documents. Monforton had moved for the full reports to be made public, and Molloy ruled attorneys for the other PSC members hadn’t shown a compelling reason to keep the documents under seal as long as the names of people involved in the investigation were obscured.
While the names remained redacted in the investigation reports, the attorneys for Welborn, Fielder and Bukacek also filed additional documents – including a public declaration from Bukacek and from former PSC executive director Alana Lake, providing information about their allegations against Molnar.
The two reports, from an outside investigator, cover Molnar’s alleged actions over two periods: the first from February to August 2025, and the second from August to October 2025. The investigation began after the first formal complaint, filed by Bukacek in May 2025 – though the reports say employees had been bringing up concerns about Molnar’s behavior informally for several months prior.
Bukacek’s complaint claimed Molnar had repeatedly made what she called “sexualized and demeaning comments.” The examples she cited included saying the PSC should replace “Taco Tuesdays” with “Topless Tuesdays,” reminiscing about watching girls in bikinis as a teenager, and commenting about the beauty of women in areas of China who didn’t get “old and wrinkly.”
In her declaration, Bukacek also claimed Molnar had “maliciously disseminated false information” about her and “engaged in behavior that was dismissive, derisive and otherwise abusive.”
“My primary concern now is not for my safety nor my feelings, but for the rest of the staff who may not have the temperament to speak up or may feel too intimidated to speak up given concerns over job security,” Bukacek said in her declaration.
MTN News
The investigators determined Molnar had violated the PSC’s code of conduct by making comments of a sexual nature, and that it appeared his behavior had continued for some time after he was warned about it. They also found he had behaved unprofessionally and in a belittling manner toward Bukacek, though they said Bukacek herself had at times used “language that could be considered inappropriate” in emails to staff or other commissioners. Bukacek told MTN she “readily self corrected” any behaviors that were brought to her attention.
The investigation also found a violation in connection with a complaint from a PSC staff member, who said he “felt bullied” by Molnar when the commissioner sent an email complaining about his team not being “people with competence.”
However, much of the first report and the entire second report was focused on conduct after the initial complaints, when Molnar was accused of retaliating against people who participated in the investigation. Lake said in her declaration that she saw “an immediate and significant change in his behavior toward staff involved in the process.” She claimed he said he would use an attorney and private investigator to go after people who filed complaints, and she accused him of publicly criticizing her in interviews and removing her job responsibilities because of her handling of the investigation.
Lake said Molnar’s actions led to “declining morale within the agency,” undermined staff members’ ability to do their jobs and damaged her reputation. She said that led her to resign as executive director.
“I believe no employee should be forced to choose between reporting misconduct and protecting their career, reputation, or personal well-being,” she said in her declaration.
Lake has since become Helena city manager.
Jonathon Ambarian
The report said there was evidence to show Molnar had retaliated, including by “making disparaging statements about investigation participants” including Lake, by sending an email warning he could file complaints of his own against people involved, and by taking other actions investigators said could dissuade employees from reporting behavior in the future.
Monforton said during Thursday’s hearing that the initial comments Bukacek complained about were jokes Molnar had admitted were inappropriate, that he regretted saying them, and that he hasn’t made any similar comments in about a year. But he argued the vast majority of the findings against Molnar were about retaliation – and that those were primarily based on speech that the other commissioners don’t have the right to interfere with.
Monforton said it’s unreasonable to punish Molnar for what he said in the July news conference where he announced he was under investigation, in interviews with the media or in commission meetings. He said Molnar’s conduct doesn’t rise to the level of actual retaliation.
“This is an elected official, engaging in speech in his forum,” Monforton said.
He said Molnar may have made harsh comments toward staff, but that he had the right to raise objections about the way the agency does business.
Jonathon Ambarian
Monforton also argued the retaliation claims no longer justify keeping Molnar out of the office, since Welborn, Fielder and Bukacek voted to remove him as president in October and he no longer has the authority he’s accused of misusing. He said there haven’t been further complaints about his behavior since that time.
“We’re not asking for the moon and stars, we’re asking for the status quo as it existed for the last seven months,” he said.
Jones said there is enough evidence to show Molnar would have been punished regardless of whether any protected speech was excluded.
“This is not about a couple of jokes,” she said.
Jones said Molnar made maliciously false statements about people like Lake, and that type of statement isn’t covered by free speech protections.
She also said Molnar’s exclusion from the PSC offices is temporary, and that the PSC will reconsider whether to let him return if he apologizes for his actions, accepts the agency’s code of conduct and undergoes training.
Molloy indicated he saw indications that there was “acrimony” on both sides of the situation, and said he was skeptical it would be resolved easily.
“It would be nice if instead of juvenile behavior, there was professional behavior,” he said.
However, the judge said there was an avenue for Molnar to pursue if he wanted to reach a resolution.
Molloy took no immediate action Thursday. He told the parties he would rule as quickly as he could.
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