11 hours ago •
In between, there was a blip or two for Montana’s defense Saturday against South Dakota. But to hold the Coyotes to 233 net yards and just two first downs in the second half was significant for a unit with just two returning starters.
“These are new kids but they’re not new football players, they’re really good football players,” South Dakota coach Joe Glenn said of Montana’s nine new starters on defense. “Montana didn’t lose much from last year I don’t think. And they’ll just get better and better.
“It’s a reload deal. (LB John) Kanongata’a is really a good football player. Jordy (Tripp) is back just in time for us. I hate that. I know how good he is.”
The final stats reflect how Tripp, a Missoula Big Sky grad, and Kanongata’a make life extremely difficult for an opponent looking to attack the edges. The outside linebackers combined for 18 tackles in Saturday’s 35-24 victory.
“They’re fast and they read well,” Coyotes’ quarterback Josh Vander Maten said. “It’s tough when you have good linebackers like that. We tried everything we could.”
Kanongata’a made arguably the biggest defensive play of the game late in the third quarter with his team trailing, 24-22. He intercepted a pass and returned it 7 yards to the South Dakota 34. Three plays later the UM offense capitalized on Dan Moore’s 14-yard go-ahead touchdown.
“Really it was just a great job by our D-line,” Kanongata’a said. “They got to the quarterback. He just threw it up, basically. I was right there.”
Montana finished particularly strong in the final period, holding South Dakota to zero points and just one first down. Afterwards, Tripp talked about what it meant to be back in the lineup after sitting most of last season with an injury.
“It felt great to be back out there with all the guys,” said the junior. “It was a long time coming.”
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Nice capper
Tripp’s finest play might have been his final one of the game, when South Dakota was facing third-and-12 from its own 24.
Vander Maten, a speedy QB, was flushed from the pocket and then looked to scramble around the left side – but Tripp, a 244-pounder, was able to trip him up for a sack and a loss of 2.
“We were just in a base, four-man rush,” Tripp said. “The two inside guys got a really good push. I thought he was going to pull it and cut through the pocket, but he bailed.
“I took off and he was a lot faster than I thought. I was lucky to clip an ankle. I’m happy to be on that end of it, and not being chewed out on Monday.”
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Happy return
Glenn, who coached the Grizzlies from 2000-02, was upbeat about the experience of returning to Missoula with another team, and about UM’s talent and coaching.
Especially a certain UM offensive coordinator.
“Timm Rosenbach called a great game,” Glenn said. “They beat on us in the middle, and when we kind of cinched it down to try and shore that up, he’s screen it out. Then he threw a double-pass – what a terrific call that was.
“Hat’s off to ‘Beav,’ as I knew him when he was in the ninth grade. His dad (the late Lynn Rosenbach) and I coached together here in 1980 and Timm was a favorite of ours.”
Glenn added that he walked the river trail with his team on Friday, circling the Carousel and coming up through downtown.
“We did walk by Red’s and Mo Club and I stuck my head in and hollered at everybody – and I think I knew most everybody at both places,” he said. “What’s that say about me?”
Then he answered: “I like hamburgers.”
Glenn plans to be back in two weeks when the 2001 Montana team that won the Division I Football Championship is inducted into the Grizzly Hall of Fame.
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Nguyen rallies
Peter Nguyen not only had his third 100-yard rushing game, he grabbed four passes for 23 yards.
He also dropped a booming punt that set South Dakota up with a short field. The Coyotes ended up kicking a field goal.
“I just had bad technique,” said the senior, who had 4 yards in punt returns and 63 on kickoffs. “I did feel really bad for the defense, but they really stuck it out. They really held strong.”
The offense did the rest. Nguyen scored Montana’s final TD on a 3-yard run.
“The linemen just had a great day,” said Nguyen, who made a one-handed grab of a screen after his bobble. “The hole was wide open and there was one defender to my right who actually came in late. I just had to break his arm tackle to score.”
Nguyen also had praise for quarterback Trent McKinney.
“I thought Trent did a great job,” he said. “First game, first start. I’m proud of him. He had a great day. He made great reads - I felt like he handed the ball off at the right time. And those bubbles (screens), those were great reads also.
“He gave me the ball at the right time, every time.”
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