Griz notebook: Montana was too special for TSU

Dec. 1—MISSOULA — Tennessee State football coach Eddie George has played and seen a lot of football, and he had the Montana Grizzlies pretty well scouted coming into their first-round FCS playoff game Saturday.

Yet three things stood out in Montana’s 41-27 win, besides the Tigers’ ball-hawking: Eli Gillman, the loudness of a stadium that was less than 50 percent capacity and Junior Bergen.

Especially, Bergen.

“Well, we knew he was a problem,” George said. “We were well aware that he was going to be an issue. The plan was to pin the ball to the sideline or kick the ball out of bounds.”

The Tigers, who ended up 9-4 after their first playoff appearance since 2013, mostly followed that plan. But late in the third quarter, backed up to their one 8-yard line after a penalty and a Noah Kaschmitter sack, they got the kind of punt that George dreaded.

Bergen took it 52 yards for a 27-6 Griz lead.

“Ball gets in the middle of the field, I didn’t see a fair catch and I was like, ‘Oh (snap),’ ” George said. “Lo and behold, man. He did it to SEMO two years ago. He opens up the game. You get a guy that’s deadly like that, that’s what happens.”

“I was hoping to get a chance,” Bergen said. “We were just looking for a line drive and we had a good plan set up for it. Coach dialed it up and the guys blocked it up.”

He wasn’t done. After Tennessee closed to 27-20, he caught a short boot near the Grizzly sideline — TSU had a different punter on this one — and took it 54 yards.

“We harped on that and I really emphasized that special teams have to be special,” George said. “Especially in this environment. You have to be the star of the show and it just didn’t happen for us.”

Record Met

Bergen’s touchdowns were the seventh and eighth of his career via punt return. That ties the FCS record held by Florida A&M’s LeRoy Vann from 2006-09.

“That’s…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/griz-notebook-montana-too-special-031700175.html

Author : Daily Inter Lake, Kalispell, Mont.

Publish date : 2024-12-02 03:17:00

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