Nice article on Lulay from the Missoulian
Posted: Tue Oct 11, 2005 6:38 am
Captain Comeback rescues Cats again
By RIAL CUMMINGS of the Missoulian
Travis Lulay may not have the best stats in the Big Sky, but his toughness, poise and leadership continue to make him the frontrunner for conference MVP.
"Captain Comeback" guided Montana State to yet another dramatic victory last Saturday, a 27-24 nailbiter at Weber State that kept the Bobcats tied with Montana for the conference lead. MSU erased a 24-10 deficit in the fourth quarter, riding the heroics of their senior quarterback. The Aumsville, Ore., product ran and passed for 157 yards in those final 15 minutes, scored twice, and set up Jeff Hastings for the winning 39-yard field goal as time expired.
"We kept our composure and made plays late," Lulay told the Bozeman Chronicle after finishing with 425 yards of total offense, including a career-high 142 yards rushing on 18 carries. It was the 10th successful second-half comeback Lulay has engineered in 36 career starts.
"His heart is bigger than his body," said MSU offensive coordinator Don Bailey. "Everybody's got to jump on board with him because he refuses to lose."
Key interceptions
Lulay scored on a 31-yard quarterback draw - on fourth-and-7 - to pull MSU within 24-17 with 11 minutes remaining. The Cats then scored twice more following interceptions by cornerback Andre Fuller and safety Topher Grenfell.
Weber, starting on its own 20 with 1:21 left and the score tied at 24-24, gave the ball four straight times to halfback Zach Hall. But on third-and-11 from the Wildcat 30, quarterback Ian Pizarro threw deep into double coverage and Grenfell picked if off.
"We wanted to take one shot at it and then punt it and play for overtime," Weber coach Ron McBride said. "I made the decision: Hey, we're going to try to make a play out there. Bad decision."
Grenfell's 39-yard return gave MSU possession at the Weber 42 with 10 seconds left.
"I threw that ball short," said Pizarro, who followed a 300-yard passing effort at Montana by hitting just 8-of-19 throws for 136 yards. "I gave (intended receiver Lynzell Jackson) a chance to tip it down, but I didn't give him a chance to catch it."
Lulay then hit Tremaine Johnson for 19 yards on a slant to set up the game-winning field goal.
No big deal
Hastings shrugged off his winning field goal. In fact, Hastings thanked Weber for calling two timeouts in an attempt to "freeze" him.
"The timeouts settled me down, actually," he said. "They settled me down a lot. Thank you to their head coach."
Hastings attempted - and made - only one field goal during his high-school career at Long Beach (Calif.) Poly, but booted a 35-yarder in overtime last year that lifted Long Beach City College to a conference championship.
By RIAL CUMMINGS of the Missoulian
Travis Lulay may not have the best stats in the Big Sky, but his toughness, poise and leadership continue to make him the frontrunner for conference MVP.
"Captain Comeback" guided Montana State to yet another dramatic victory last Saturday, a 27-24 nailbiter at Weber State that kept the Bobcats tied with Montana for the conference lead. MSU erased a 24-10 deficit in the fourth quarter, riding the heroics of their senior quarterback. The Aumsville, Ore., product ran and passed for 157 yards in those final 15 minutes, scored twice, and set up Jeff Hastings for the winning 39-yard field goal as time expired.
"We kept our composure and made plays late," Lulay told the Bozeman Chronicle after finishing with 425 yards of total offense, including a career-high 142 yards rushing on 18 carries. It was the 10th successful second-half comeback Lulay has engineered in 36 career starts.
"His heart is bigger than his body," said MSU offensive coordinator Don Bailey. "Everybody's got to jump on board with him because he refuses to lose."
Key interceptions
Lulay scored on a 31-yard quarterback draw - on fourth-and-7 - to pull MSU within 24-17 with 11 minutes remaining. The Cats then scored twice more following interceptions by cornerback Andre Fuller and safety Topher Grenfell.
Weber, starting on its own 20 with 1:21 left and the score tied at 24-24, gave the ball four straight times to halfback Zach Hall. But on third-and-11 from the Wildcat 30, quarterback Ian Pizarro threw deep into double coverage and Grenfell picked if off.
"We wanted to take one shot at it and then punt it and play for overtime," Weber coach Ron McBride said. "I made the decision: Hey, we're going to try to make a play out there. Bad decision."
Grenfell's 39-yard return gave MSU possession at the Weber 42 with 10 seconds left.
"I threw that ball short," said Pizarro, who followed a 300-yard passing effort at Montana by hitting just 8-of-19 throws for 136 yards. "I gave (intended receiver Lynzell Jackson) a chance to tip it down, but I didn't give him a chance to catch it."
Lulay then hit Tremaine Johnson for 19 yards on a slant to set up the game-winning field goal.
No big deal
Hastings shrugged off his winning field goal. In fact, Hastings thanked Weber for calling two timeouts in an attempt to "freeze" him.
"The timeouts settled me down, actually," he said. "They settled me down a lot. Thank you to their head coach."
Hastings attempted - and made - only one field goal during his high-school career at Long Beach (Calif.) Poly, but booted a 35-yarder in overtime last year that lifted Long Beach City College to a conference championship.
Johnson and Murray don't even sound the same! Oh well another article to piss off the Griz fans. I am sure they will be asking for Rial's resignation after they put an article like that in "their" paper> How dare he!!