Cat-Griz Notebook: New heroes in a great rivalry

MISSOULA - What a difference a year makes.

When Montana State beat Montana in the 117th Brawl of the Wild last November in Bozeman, Troy Andersen was playing running back and linebacker, and Dalton Sneed was playing for a junior college in Kansas.

Fast forward one year, and the duo of quarterbacks carried the balance of Brawl of the Wild Supremacy squarely on their shoulders.

In MSU's thrilling 29-25 win over the Grizzlies inside sold-out Washington-Grizzly Stadium, Andersen, who converted to quarterback after Chris Murray, who had led the Cats to two straight wins in the Brawl, was ruled academically ineligible last summer, rushed for 107 yards, two touchdowns and a two-point conversion. But it was Andersen's passing yards, almost all of which came in the second half, which really lifted him from great to now legendary status in the annals of Cat-Griz history.

It was also his workman-like, never-quit attitude that helped will his Bobcats to one of the most dramatic wins in series history.

"I never felt that the game was out of hand," Andersen said, after rushing for 107 yards on 23 carries and throwing for another 158 (15-for-24). "We just kept our belief and kept fighting."

Andersen has how rushed for nearly 200 yards and four touchdowns against the Grizzlies in two years.

Sneed was equally impressive in what his first Cat-Griz game. The junior transfer from UNLV threw for 354 yards and nearly engineered an incredible two-minute comeback by the Grizzlies in the fourth quarter.

With his incredible offensive display, Sneed wound up leading the Big Sky Conference in total offense this season.

"He's special, and he was great today," Bobby Hauck said of his quarterback. "He's such a competitor. And he's just special, on and off the field."

Turnover War

Many pundits predicted turnovers being the key to who would win a pretty evenly matched Brawl. And they weren't wrong.

Montana seemed to be trending in the right direction heading into Saturday's showdown. After a mid-season stretch where the Grizzlies committed 10 turnovers in three games, all losses, the Griz won two straight without a single miscue. They also built a 22-7 fourth-quarter lead on the Bobcats the same way. However, that all fell apart in the final stanza, as Sneed fumbled, leading to a Bobcat score, and Adam Eastwood's fumble in the final :14 seconds of the game, sealing the win for MSU.

The Grizzlies wound up committing 21 turnovers on the season, which was -3 in turnover margin for the year.

On the other side, MSU committed just 11 turnovers the entire season, and in their last three wins, the Cats forced seven turnovers, including the two big fumbles Saturday.

It is a sign of how much MSU's defense has grown up this season.

"I just had so much faith in our defense," Andersen said. "They played so hard. Guys like Bryce (Sterk) and Tucker and Grant (Collins), you just trust them and you know they're going to make the play. They fight so hard and for them to make that play, it was awesome."

Game Balls

Aside from two incredible offensive performances by the quarterbacks, there were plenty of other stars in what was a dramatic 118th Cat-Griz game.

Montana senior receiver Keenan Curran had an outstanding senior day with eight grabs for 111 yards, while sophomore sensation Sammy Akem finished with six catches for 147 yards. Griz linebacker Dante Olson upped his FCS best tackles lead with 18 more stops. He finishes his junior season with an incredible 151 tackles.

Montana State WR Travis Johnson, a converted QB himself, finished with a career-high 11 catches for 101 yards, while senior running back Logan Jones added a key 47 yards rushing and the game-winning touchdown. Jones also ripped off a huge kickoff return after the Griz went up 7-0 in the first quarter.

Senior LB Grant Collins perhaps saved his best for last. He a team-high 12 tackles, one sack, 1.5 tackles for loss and a forced fumble. Defensive end Bryce Sterk, a University of Washington transfer also had seven stops, two sacks and 3.5 TFLs in his first Cat-Griz game.

Kudos should also go to the fans on both sides. Saturday's game was the largest crowd to ever watch a sporting event in Montana sports history.