Herd Mentality Will Be To Get To Quarterback Marshall Sacked Griz 10 Times Last Year
In winning 21 straight games over two seasons, Montana’s passing attack has been nearly flawless.
But one bump in the road that had the Grizzlies white-knuckling the seat cushions came in last year’s Division I-AA title game against Marshall. The Herd’s front four sacked then-Montana quarterback Dave Dickenson 10 times and held the Grizzlies to an uncharacteristically low 281 passing yards.
Montana is back to try to defend the title it won 22-20 over the Herd that day, and once again faces Marshall in Saturday’s championship game at Huntington.
Three of Marshall’s four starting defensive linemen return; the fourth, Will Edwards, is out for the season with a knee injury.
“Marshall has great D-linemen, by far the best we’ve faced this year,” said Montana offensive lineman Jeff Zellick. “They have basically everybody back, another year of experience under their belt… . I don’t know if we can stop them. But we can try to slow them down.”
Slowing down Billy Lyon, John Duncan, B.J. Cohen and Ricky Hall might be all that’s needed for Grizzlies sophomore quarterback Brian Ah Yat.
He has thrown for 4,677 yards in Montana’s 14 games this season, including 1,062 yards and nine touchdowns in the playoffs.
“He’s a guy who does a good job in terms of pressure,” said Marshall defensive coordinator Kevin Kelly. “He’s a good athlete. He’s also very strong in terms of if you get a grasp on him, he can wiggle his way out of it. So that’s a concern of ours.”
Receivers Joe Douglass, Mike Erhardt, Raul Pacheco and Josh Paffhausen work in concert with Ah Yat for quick-hitting catches, with much of the yardage coming on their running ability after the ball arrives.
Zellick believes Montana’s offensive line, which is intact from a year ago except for one player, has improved “quite a bit.”
Marshall’s Duncan agrees.
“From what I’ve seen of them, they’re probably the best offensive line we’ve faced this year,” Duncan said. “That means we’re going to have to play our best game. If Ah Yat stands in the pocket without any pressure, he’s going to pick us apart.”
But what if Marshall can stifle Ah Yat and his receivers?
“We’re not going to live and die by the run, because that’s not what we do,” said offensive coordinator Brent Pease. “If they get to Brian and shut down our passing game, that’s probably going to be a long day for us.”
Zellick, and most other opposing linemen, for that matter, see 6-foot-5, 292-pound tackle Lyon - an All-American last year - as the heart of Marshall’s defense. Yet Lyon had only one sack against Montana last season, while Cohen had three and Edwards and cornerback Jayson Grayson had two apiece. In addition, Lyon is only second on the team in sacks this year, with eight to Cohen’s nine. And Duncan, who has played six fewer games because of a leg injury, already has five.