Montana State won the annual Brawl of the Wild over Montana for the third straight year Saturday in a game that saw Montana dominate in the first half and Montana State come back and dominate in the second. The Bobcats took the win in a fourth quarter that started with the Griz up 22-7. The Cats put 26 points on the board in the last 15 minutes of the game to take the win 29-25.
Two Jefferson High grads, Trase LeTexier for the Griz and Jered Padmos for the Bobcats, saw playing time in the game. Padmos punts for Montana State and had one disappointing punt that led shortly to a Griz TD, but he came back with his next punt exceeding 60 yards and resulting in a few plays in a TD for the Bobcats after a Griz turnover.
He averaged nearly 43 yards on his seven punts, three of which came to a stop within five yards of the goal line, leaving the Griz with a lot of turf to cover. Two of those punts came in the third quarter. His performance earned him the Big Sky Special Teams Player of the Week award, his first time earning that designation.
“When you have weapon like Jered, especially when he’s on, when he’s feeling it, he’s really good,” Bobcat Head Coach Jeff Choate is quoted as saying to the Billings Gazette.
With the win, Montana State will advance in the postseason. They will host Incarnate Word out of the Southland Conference at 1:00 p.m. this Saturday at Bobcat Stadium. The last time the Bobcats made the postseason was in 2014.
