Start slow for '08 'Diggers

By Bill Foley - 11/26/2008

The Orediggers dug too much in 2008.

The Montana Tech football team started the season at 1-5, and that was too much to overcome for a squad that entered the year with high expectations.

By the time the Orediggers everyone expected to see showed up, it was too late.

Tech finished 4-7 overall and 4-6 in the Frontier Conference. It was the school's first losing season since going 3-8 and 3-5 in 2003.

Oredigger coach Bob Green can put a finger on the very moment the season went wrong.

Leading 12-7 late in the second quarter in the season opener against Southern Oregon, the Orediggers went into hurry-up mode.

Jason Young picked off a Matt Komac pass to set up a touchdown. Tech trailed 13-12 at halftime, and lost the Thursday night home game 30-25.

"That was a bad mistake," Green said in his office Wednesday, two days after undergoing a major reconstructive shoulder surgery. "That was a momentum buster. Dumb play by Green." Green said that play haunts him because he thinks it could have been the difference maker for a team that saw four of its first five losses come by 10 points or less.

"I think that would have made a difference," Green said. That's why it bothers me so much.

"It's easier to attack that next game when you win." The Orediggers rebounded from the 1-5 start with a three-game winning streak.

They almost made it four when Carroll College came to town riding a 24-game winning streak.

But Matt Ritter turned a broken play into a late touchdown, and the Saints won another classic Tech-Carroll battle 10-6.

"They made a few more plays than we did," Green said. "Time expired when they were ahead." The Orediggers closed the season on a down note, a 35-3 loss to MSU-Northern at Blue Pony Stadium on a cold Havre Friday night.

The 2009 season began the next day.

"They were working out that Saturday morning," Green said of his players.

Green met with every player on the team — even departing seniors — and the offseason schedule is set.

Green's schedule, though, is hindered a bit by Monday's surgery, which was needed after collision with defensive back Shayne Shaules on a Tuesday practice before the Oct. 11 game against Eastern Oregon. Green also cracked his pelvis on the hit.

Doctors told Green he can't drive for a while, delaying his annual recruiting trip around the state.

"I'm going to have to figure out a way to get round that," Green said. "I'm going to have to adapt, improvise and overcome." The 2009 Orediggers will also have to overcome some tough losses.

They'll be hit hard by graduation on the offensive line with Tom Probert, Kyle Sullivan and Shannon Buell leaving.

An early-season injury to Tom Probert might have actually helped the Oredigger line for next year. Redshirt freshman Drew Waltee got some valuable experience because of that. So did sophomore A.J. Konen.

Matt Crow and Wacy Deegan will be back to anchor the offensive front in 2009.

An injury to game-breaking running back Drew Savage benefited the development of backups Skyler Knuchel and Cole Berg in the same fashion.

The Orediggers also lose receivers Alex Grevas, Cal McQueary and Zach Soukup.

Grevas came within one TD of tying the school record with 10 in a season.

Green said he expects big things redshirts Brandon Boltz, Trent Thomas and Craig Halko. J.T. McIntyre will return from injury, and Jareth Wilson has showed big-play ability.

Komac will still only be a junior in 2009. So will Savage.

Defensively, the Orediggers will lose four starters — all of them huge.

Safety Cole Salo, cornerback Jason Watkins, inside linebacker Billy Glennon and defensive end Britt Siddoway have.

Josh Robinson, Paul Klaboe and Stephan Burns return up front, along with linebackers Skippy Simms and Joel Wilson. Safety Jake Stagnoli and cornerback Jess Johnson also return.

"I feel badly for our seniors," Green said. "They never had a losing season.

"But our moral stayed very high and our practices were always outstanding." The journey back to a winning season has already begun, Green said.

"There's an old adage if you want a helping hand, there's one at the end of your arm," Green said. "We've got to get back and get going." Following is a week-by-week look back at the 2008 season.

Aug. 28 in Butte Southern Oregon 30, Montana Tech 25 Bryan Lee-Lauduski completed 28 of 37 passes for 252 yards as the Raiders overcame a 12-0 deficit for the season-opening win in front of 4,739 Thursday night at Alumni Coliseum.

The Raiders picked off Tech Komac four times.

Sept. 6 in La Grande, Ore.

Eastern Oregon 38, Montana Tech 28 The Orediggers' rally from a 21-0 hole fell short in the Frontier Conference opener. Freshman Chris Ware passed for 234 yards and two touchdowns for the Mountaineers.

Komac threw for 282 yards, including touchdown strikes to Grevas and Soukup. Savage and Komac also ran for scores. Grevas caught eight passes for 153 yards.

Sept. 13 in Butte Montana Tech 21, Montana Western 17 The Orediggers overcame a 14-0 deficit to capture their first win of the season.

Komac and Grevas hooked up three times touchdowns. Lineman Jon Gallatin sacked Western quarterback Micah Mamiya inside the Bulldog 1 to set up the go-ahead Tech touchdown.

The Tech defense pitched a second-half shutout, led by linebacker Wilson, who single-handily ended three second-half drives.

Sept. 20 in Billings Rocky Mountain 27, Montana Tech 22 Rocky quarterback Kasey Peters passed for 452 yards and three touchdowns as the Orediggers fell to 1-3 at Herb Klindt Field.

To add injury to insult, the Orediggers lost receiver/punter McIntyre to a broken arm after he picked up a first down on a fake punt.

Grevas caught two more TDs from Komac, and Savage scored his last touchdown of the season.

Sept. 27 in Helena Carroll College 31, Montana Tech 13 Gabe Le scored on a 56-yard run on the first play from scrimmage, and the Saints never trailed, knocking off Tech for the eighth straight time.

Le also scored on a 63-yard run. He ended with 169 yards.

Komac ran for a touchdown and threw for another — to Grevas. But Carroll quarterback Nick Broadhead did the same.

The Orediggers lost Savage for the season with an ankle injury. He was leading the Frontier Conference in rushing at the time of the injury.

Oct. 4 in Butte MSU-Northern 16, Montana Tech 9 Tech turned the ball over four times and fell to 1-5. Nick Petrino threw a TD pass before leaving the game with an injury. Tyrell Cochrell added a 1-yard plunge for the Lights.

Tech scored on three Sean Kelly field goals.

Later, though, Green pointed to this game as the first step in Tech turning around a lost season.

Oct. 11 in Butte Montana Tech 13, Eastern Oregon 10 The Oredigger defense sacked Ware 11 times as the Orediggers won the rematch at a cold, windy and snowy Alumni Coliseum.

Komac scored on a 1-yard run, and Kelly booted field goals of 25 and 28.

Knuchel recorded his first 100-yard game, running for exactly 100 yards on 24 carries.

Klaboe led the way with four and a half sacks. Burns, Robinson, Siddoway, Glennon and Wilson also joined in on the sack party.

Oct. 18 in Dillon Montana Tech 24, Montana Western 17 Komac threw for 210 yards and two touchdowns, including the game-winning 14-yard strike to Grevas in the fourth quarter. Jareth Wilson scored his first collegiate TD on a 56-yard catch and run.

Tech jumped out to a 17-0 lead before Mamiya led the Bulldogs back. He hit Craigh Cornelius twice for touchdowns to tie the game.

Oct. 25 in Butte Montana Tech 24, Rocky Mountain 17 Wilson, Siddoway, Gallatin and Sims sacked Peters as the Orediggers avenged the loss in Billings.

The fired-up Oredigger defense held the Rocky passing game to 83 yards in the first half as Tech built a 17-7 halftime time lead on a windy day at Alumni.

Komac hit Grevas and McQueary on TD passes, and Knuchel scored on a 2-yard run in the third quarter.

Nov. 1 in Butte Carroll College 10, Montana Tech 6 Ritter scored on 12-yard run in the forth quarter as the Saints won their 25th straight game in another Tech-Carroll classic.

The only other scores came on field goals — one by Carroll's Zach Thiry and two by Kelly.

Thiry also had a big day punting as the Saints won the battle of field position.

Grevas caught nine passes for 83 yards, but didn't find the end zone.

Nov. 7 in Havre MSU-Northern 35, Montana Tech 3 This Friday night at Blue Pony Stadium is one the Orediggers would like to forget.

Ted Wells returned a Komac interception 24 yards for a touchdown 3 minutes into the game, and it was all Lights.

Northern led 28-3 at halftime, and the Orediggers turned the ball over four times.