By FRITZ NEIGHBOR and BILL SPELTZ of the Missoulian | Posted: Saturday, November 5, 2011 9:00 pm
Brody McKnight hasn't met Dan Carpenter, Andy Larson or Kris Heppner, but he has touched base with one of the Mt. Rushmore of great Grizzly kickers.
"Chris Snyder talked to me on Facebook one time," McKnight said Saturday, after he hit a UM-record six field goals in Montana's 32-7 win over Western Oregon. "He seems like a really nice guy."
Among Griz kickers only Carpenter (78) and Snyder (70) have more field goals than McKnight, who now has 55. But make room on that mountain: He surpassed everybody Saturday when he went 6-for-6.
"I'm ecstatic for our field goal unit," said the senior. "It's a tough thing to do, you know - to go out there and execute your blocks.
"And Brett Brauer and Sam Gratton - this is our first year with Sam as the holder and Brett as the snapper, and they came out there and they're snapping and holding like they're veterans."
McKnight, who also handled most of the punts Saturday, had one kick that was remotely close - a 51-yarder at 4:59 of the second quarter.
"I actually didn't hit my best ball," he said. "But sometimes you get a little luck and they go through for you.
"I undercut it a little bit, so I've got to go fix that next time."
McKnight also punted five times for a 41.2-yard average, including a play where he dropped the snap, then spun away from a rusher to get off a 36-yard punt.
But the Vancouver, British Columbia native was most excited about Brauer, a junior out of Missoula Big Sky.
"He came up to me and said he wanted to snap, because I was looking for somebody to work with during the summer," McKnight said. "He worked his butt off. Every other day he'd be out there with me."
McKnight had a slow start to the season, missing four of his first seven field goals. Since then he's hit 14 of 16 and his last 12 in a row.
"Great snaps, great holds," McKnight said of Saturday's six-pack. "Excellent execution on the blocks. I felt no pressure.
"It was a good day for us."
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Murray mementos
Sean Murray was the master of takeaways for the Montana football team Saturday.
The no-so-superstitious sophomore, who wears No. 13, picked off his first two passes of the season and nearly had a third against Western Oregon. The cornerback credited his pals up front for making it all possible.
"The rest of the defense did a great job getting a rush and forcing bad throws," Murray said. "So I just made the play that came, took advantage of the opportunities.
"The third one I just misjudged it. But hey, I had two."
Murray's first pickoff on a Cory Bean second-quarter pass in the flat gave the Griz possession at the Wolves' 37-yard line. Montana failed to capitalize, but turned his fourth-quarter takeaway into a record-breaking sixth field goal by McKnight.
"Second one, I was in a cover-3 and it was overthrown," Murray said. "It was a great rush by the defense to force a bad throw."
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Dominant D
On a tough afternoon in which his offense was held to 221 total yards, Bean had nothing but kudos for Montana's defense.
"This is definitely the best defense we've ever faced," he said. "The speed, the linebackers and the D-line and the secondary ... They're big and strong."
The Griz were especially stout against the run, allowing 65 yards on 31 carries. There were times when the Wolves seemed at a loss for what to do, overwhelmed by Montana's quickness and intimidated by the heavy hitting of the secondary.
Western Oregon coach Arne Ferguson is hoping there will be a silver lining when his team gets back to playing Division II competition next week at Humboldt State.
"To see lines the caliber of Montana's will prepare us," he said. "But Montana is definitely a huge step up in the overall quality of athletes, it seems like. And also a team that has tradition and knows how to win."
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Another injured QB
Bean and former Griz Cody VonAppen took all the snaps for Western Oregon, which didn't play usual starter Evan Mozzochi, who came in with 17 TD passes.
"Mozzochi is banged up a little bit," said Ferguson. "We feel as a program if a player doesn't practice as much as we'd like, we have other players that are better."
VonAppen, a redshirt for the Griz in 2008, threw for 34 yards and ran for 27 against his old team.
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Quick kicks
UM coach Robin Pflugrad hinted that RB Dan Moore, who suffered a knee injury against Portland State, could return for the MSU game on Nov. 19. ... Peter Nguyen still doesn't have a rushing TD this season. ... The Griz were flagged for five personal fouls. ... UM led DII Western (Colo.) State 10-0 at halftime of a 38-0 win in 2009.
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