Grizzly Football News
McKnight earns conference honor
by: Jon Kasper of Big Sky Conference
Monday, 11/9/2009
The Big Sky Conference has selected its football Players of the Week for games played on Saturday, Nov. 7. Northern Colorado quarterback Bryan Waggener is the Offensive Player of the Week. Sacramento State defensive back Zach Schrader and Idaho State linebacker A.J. Storms are the Co-Defensive Players of the Week. Montana kicker Brody McKnight is the Special Teams Player of the Week.
Waggener, a 6-foot-3, 240-pound senior from Chino, Calif., completed 35-of-58 passes for a season-best 325 yards and rushed for 53 yards and two touchdowns in the Bears’ 38-35 loss to Sacramento State. Waggener rallied the Bears’ from a 31-point halftime deficit as he engineered five second-half scoring drives that were all at least 73 yards and took less than three minutes. The 35 completions is a single-game school record. Waggener’s 378 total yards of offense tied for the eighth-most in school history.
Schrader, a 6-1, 195-pound junior from Issaquah, Wash., registered 14 tackles, intercepted a pass and forced a fumble in the Hornets’ 38-35 win over Northern Colorado. He tied his career high in tackles and set a career mark with seven solo stops. He returned his second-quarter interception 24 yards to set up Sacramento State’s final touchdown of the first half. Sacramento State shut out the Bears in the first half, running their string of scoreless quarters to four.
Storms, a 6-foot, 208-pound sophomore from Meridian, Idaho, tallied 11 tackles – one for loss – and forced a fumble in Idaho State’s near upset of second-ranked Montana. Storms had seven solo tackles. Near the end of the third quarter, Storms stopped UM’s Chase Reynolds in the backfield, forcing a fumble on a fourth-and-1 play from the Idaho State 4-yard line. Idaho State’s defense held Montana to just one touchdown and two field goals. The Grizzlies entered the game averaging 37.1 points per game overall and 41.4 points in conference games.
McKnight, a 6-foot, 194-pound sophomore from Vancouver, B.C., made the game-winning 33-yard field goal as time expired to lift second-ranked Montana to a 12-10 win over Idaho State. McKnight also made a 27-yard field goal in the first quarter to put the Grizzlies up 3-0. McKnight’s game-winning field-goal was the second of his career.
Others Nominated for Weekly Honor
OFFENSE
Clint Knickrehm, RB, Idaho State
Marc Mariani, WR, Montana
Alex Henderson, RB, Northern Arizona
Jake Croxdale, RB, Sacramento State
DEFENSE
Brandon Fisher, LB, Montana
Jordan Craney, S, Montana State
John Eddy, LB, Northern Colorado
Jaycob Shoemaker, LB, Portland State
SPECIAL TEAMS
Brody McKnight, K, Montana