Vandals lose a heartbreaker

BOZEMAN, Mont. — The Idaho Vandals thought they had tied the game, and possibly headed to overtime, when David Ungerer turned a planned double-reverse pass into a 5-yard touchdown with 3:07 remaining Saturday afternoon.

But the extra-point try by Cade Coffey, which sailed over the top of the left upright, was ruled wide left, and the Vandals eventually came up short in a 24-23 loss to Montana State in Big Sky Conference football before 19,177 at Bobcat Stadium.

“It’s heartbreaking,” Idaho coach Paul Petrino said. “I just feel awful for the players and the coaches. We talked all week long about being great teammates, about caring for each other, about playing for each other, about playing our hearts out, and they did. We just came up one point short.”

Idaho (2-4, 1-3 Big Sky) was out of timeouts, and an onside kick bounced out of bounds. Montana State (4-2, 2-1) ran for a first down on third down, enabling the Bobcats to run out the clock.

Afterward, Petrino was seen talking to one of the officials as everyone left the field.

“I just asked him what happened,” Petrino said of the kick. “Honestly, I couldn’t see it very good from where I was. I thought they hit the kicker, I asked him (about that) and he said that they didn’t.”

Idaho had the ball for more than 37 minutes and outgained the Montana State 347-318, but two big plays helped the Bobcats score 17 points in the second half.

“Really, what we tried to do, what our game plan was, we did — we just didn’t get a win,” Petrino said. “We wanted to keep the ball, maintain possession. Not let them be on the field. We did that for the most part. We probably weren’t good enough on third downs.”

Idaho was 9 of 18 on third down, Montana State 4 of 12.

Ungerer led the Vandals with eight receptions and 70 yards, but it was a play with his feet that nearly brought Idaho back. On a third and six from the Montana State nine, Quarterback Mason Petrino handed the ball to wide receiver Jeff Cotton sprinting across the formation. Cotton flipped it to Ungerer who looked to throw back to Petrino in the end zone. Instead of forcing a throw into coverage, Ungerer tucked it and weaved through the middle of the field before diving across the goal line for a touchdown.

Isaiah Saunders ran for 82 yards and two touchdowns on 19 carries for the Vandals. Saunders scored twice in the first half, including a 4-yard touchdown to finish the game’s opening drive. His 6-yard score in the second quarter gave the Vandals a 14-7 halftime lead.

The Vandal defense opened the third quarter with one of its five three-and-outs. The offense moved the ball to the Montana State 20 before Coffey drilled a 37-yard field goal to push Idaho’s lead to 17-7

Montana State quarterback Troy Andersen — who scored the Bobcats’ first touchdown on a 35-yard run — connected on a 37-yard pass down to the 2-yard line. Running back Isaiah Ifanse punched it in on the next play.

Later in the third quarter, the Vandals were stopped on a fourth-down attempt from the Bobcats’ 40. On the ensuing play, Andersen escaped the pocket and ran 60 yards to the end zone, giving the Bobcats a 21-17 lead.

“He’s fast,” Montana State coach Jeff Choate said of Andersen, a two-time 100-meter champ in high school. “That’s good for us. That was a huge swing in momentum. Probably the most critical moment in the game for us.”

Mason Petrino threw for 162 yards on 21-of-35 passing and ran for 51 more on nine carries. His lone turnover came on a fourth-quarter interception. The Bobcats took over in Idaho territory and were held to a 42-yard field goal that extended their lead to seven points.

Colton Richardson, who shared QB duties with Petrino the first four games, missed a second straight game, this one while in concussion protocol.

Andersen rushed for 159 yards and passed for 91.

Montana St. 24, Idaho 23

Idaho 7 7 3 6 — 23

Montana St. 7 0 14 3 — 24

First Quarter

IDHO—Saunders 4 run (Coffey kick), 10:54.

MTST—Andersen 35 run (Bailey kick), 5:18.

Second Quarter

IDHO—Saunders 6 run (Coffey kick), 6:46.

Third Quarter

IDHO—FG Coffey 37, 8:41.

MTST—Ifanse 2 run (Bailey kick), 6:46.

MTST—Andersen 60 run (Bailey kick), 2:45.

Fourth Quarter

MTST—FG Bailey 42, 7:26.

IDHO—Ungerer 9 run (kick failed), 3:07.

IDHO MTST

First downs 23 12

Rushes-yards 43-185 31-225

Passing 162 93

Comp-Att-Int 21-35-1 12-22-0

Return Yards 107 25

Punts-Avg. 5-32.2 6-38.3

Fumbles-Lost 1-0 1-0

Penalty-Yards 5-43 8-80

Time of Possession 37:29 22:31

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING—Idaho, I. Saunders 19-82, M. Petrino 9-51, T. Walker 14-43, D. Ungerer 1-9. Montana St., T. Andersen 14-159, I. Ifanse 13-53, T. Jonsen 1-13, L. Sumner 1-2.

PASSING—Idaho, M. Petrino 21-35-1-162. Montana St., T. Andersen 11-21-0-91, T. Jonsen 1-1-0-2.

RECEIVING—Idaho, D. Ungerer 8-70, C. Haywood 4-34, J. Cotton 4-29, C. Whitney 1-11, D. Lee 1-7, S. Fernand 1-6, C. Elliss 1-3, I. Saunders 1-2. Montana St., L. McCutcheon 5-63, K. Kassis 3-22, T. Jonsen 2-6, W. Patterson 1-2, L. Sumner 1-0.