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Montana State Bobcats to conduct closed football scrimmage Saturday

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(Editor's note: Montana State athletics release)

BOZEMAN -- Jeff Choate’s goal for his Montana State football team’s closed scrimmage on Saturday is simple.

“Fun,” Montana State’s fifth-year head football coach said when asked what he’d like to see his team accomplish during Saturday’s Bobcat Fall Brawl Presented by Hilton Garden Inn - Bozeman. “We want the players to get out and compete and play and have some fun. We’re not trying to win the spring ball-in-the-fall championship. We tried to divide the talent evenly by drafting the players, so we think it will be a good matchup.”

Saturday’s 2 p.m. scrimmage concludes Montana State’s fall practices as the team prepares for a spring season. A live stream of the scrimmage is available at the MSU Bobcats YouTube channel. The live stream is presented by Hilton Garden Inn – Bozeman. Offensive coordinator Justin Udy coaches the Blue team, while defensive coordinator Kane Ioane leads the White squad.

Ioane leads a white team with quarterbacks Tucker Rovig and Tommy Mellott. Mark Estes and Derryk Snell line up as the most experienced targets in the pass game, with Jaharie Martin and Davine Tullis among the running backs and Connor Wood anchoring the offensive line. Linebackers Blake Flovin, Tadan Gilman and Nolan Askelson pace the White defense, along with cornerback Level Price Jr. and safety Jeffrey Manning.

Quarterbacks Matt McKay and Casey Bauman trigger a Blue offense featuring running backs Isaiah Ifanse and Lane Sumner and receivers Coy Steel, Willie Patterson and Lance McCutcheon. They operate behind an offensive line that includes Lewis Kidd and Zach Redd. Defensively, the Blue squad includes linemen Chase Benson and Kyle Finch, linebackers Callahan O’Reilly and Michael Jobman, and defensive backs Tyrel Thomas and Ty Okada.

The decision to close the scrimmage was made in light of rising COVID-19 cases across the county and state and with recommendations from MSU and local health officials. While there is no charge to watch the stream of Saturday’s scrimmage, Bobcat fans have already stepped up to support student-athlete scholarships by donating to the #PlantTheFlag campaign. All fans who donate any amount through this website between now and the end of Saturday’s scrimmage and tweet a screenshot of their confirmation page to @LeonMCostello and @BobcatClub will be entered to win a number of prizes, including autographed footballs, helmets and more.

The game’s format features 15-minute quarters with a running clock until the final two minutes of each half. The kicking game will be live except punts, with the football’s standard scoring rules. Halftime is 12 minutes.

“We would certainly rather be playing in a stadium packed with our great fans,” Choate said.