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David Coulson

Just what you would expect

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dcoulson
, 09-11-2010 at 08:53 PM (1267 Views)
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Ca. — One of my favorite aspect of covering the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision are rivalry games. And one of the best non-conference showdowns in FCS from year to year is the matchup between Cal Poly and Montana.

In a couple of years, this showdown will become a Big Sky Conference game, a fact that will likely boost the rivalry further.

The first quarter of the latest Mustang-Grizzly blockbuster has been all you would expect.

On Cal Poly's first drive, quarterback Tony Smith cut off left tackle on the option to dash 26 yards on a fourth and one play for a touchdown.

Moments later, Mustang cornerback Asa Jackson picked off a high pass from Andrew Selle to Jabin Sambrano and returned it to midfield.

Cal Poly missed an opportunity for more points when Jake West hooked a 45-yard field goal attempt.

Montana struck back with a 72-yard touchdown connection from Selle to Sambrano, with Sambrano leaping high in the air near the Cal Poly 40 to beat two defenders for the ball.

Sambrano then made a couple of brilliant moves to free himself for the score.

On its next offensive play from scrimmage, another Selle-to-Sambrano strike, near the sidelline, resulted in a 56-yard gain and set up Chase Reynolds for a two-yard TD smash.

Mark Rogers boosted Cal Poly's confidence with a 54-yard kickoff return and a roughing the passer penalty on Montana defensive tackle Tyler Hobbs on a third and eight from the Griz 28 gave the Mustangs a key first down on the 14.

On fourth and one from the five, fullback Jake Rominelli slanted through the line on the option dive and bulled into the end zone to tie it early in the second period.

Looks so far like we are in for another Cal Poly-Montana classic.

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  1. dcoulson's Avatar
    Some first-half thoughts:

    Montana quarterback Andrew Selle (usually one of the top deep passers in FCS) has completed a couple of long throws to Jabin Sambrano, but has been high on several throws in the middle of the field.

    The Grizzlies have also hurt themselves with penalties in this game. Tyler Hobbs has two roughing the passer flags to extend Mustang drives, Montana was called for "targeting" when a tackler went helmet to helmet with Cal Poly quarterback Tony Smith for another major foul.

    Backup QB Justin Roper had an intentional grounding penalty to avoid a sack and a delay of game flag cost the Grizzlies a chance for a Brody McKnight field goal from 49 yards. After that play, 6-foot-6 punter Sean Wren uncorked a 10-yard punt.
  2. dcoulson's Avatar
    Another "targeting" penalty on Montana deep in Griz territory, but Tony Smith fumbles the ball away at the one and Tyrone Duncan (Hobbs' replacement) recovers asMontana gets a huge stop. It's 14-14 late in the second quarter.
  3. dcoulson's Avatar
    Just had a press box pow wow with one of my favorite former FCS players, Buchanan Award-winning, Cal Poly linebacker Kyle Shotwell. Great kid. He is working as a salesman in Santa Barbara after a year on the Cal Poly staff.

    On the field, Cal Poly's James Langford barely missed a 50-yard field goal and Montana's Brody McKnight barely made a 27-yarder after a low snap. A bad Cal Poly punt has Montana driving with a 17-14 lead at the five-minute mark of the third period.
  4. dcoulson's Avatar
    And the game gets revved up a few notches. After a shanked punt by Cal Poly's Chris Pinto results in another Brody McKnight field goal from 28 yards, Cal Poly scores 14 points in a heartbeat on an 83-yard pass play from third-string QB Doug Shumway to David Mahr and Matt Vinal picks off a Andrew Selle pass and goes through traffic for 45 yards and a 28-20 Cal Poly lead. And that just three quarters of play. One more to go.
  5. dcoulson's Avatar
    This is beginning to look like the most sappy football movie you've ever seen. Cal Poly's third-string QB, Doug Shumway, has come on to throw touchdown passes on the last two Mustang drives to give Cal Poly a 35-20 lead with 10 minutes to play.

    In a battle of All-Americans, Domonique Johnson beat Trumaine Johnson on a fade route on the latest TD, even though Domonique was flagged for pass interference.

    Montana just picked up a huge first down from Justin Roper to Antwon Moutra to keep the Griz alive.
  6. dcoulson's Avatar
    Five minutes ago, Montana looked dead as dead can be. But that was before Justin Roper made some huge throws and a key first-down run to set up one TD pass and then another big-time completion on fourth down for another score. He missed on a two-point conversion pass, but it is 35-33 Cal Poly with 5:25 remaining.

    Montana also got a huge break when Cal Poly QB Doug Shumway fumbled before the second score. Either the referee was scratching his butt, or reaching for his flag (you could see it live and on the replay), but he decided not to call the penalty. Ouch.

    Still looking at a great finish.