eGriz
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Joined: 27 Mar 2002
Posts: 3620
Location: Missoula, Montana
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'Battle of the Bears 2' kicks off season (Missoulian).
Maine's rugged rushing attack will test Griz (Great Falls Tribune).
Bear battle has early implications (Independent Record).
Maine's first test certainly a big one (Portland Press Herald ).
Quiet Leconte turns into tough foe on Bears' line (Bangor News).
UM students balk at coughing up $7 a seat for football games (Missoulian).
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'Battle of the Bears 2' kicks off season
By JON KASPER of the Missoulian
http://www.missoulian.com/articles/2004/09/04/sports/sports02. txt
Round one of the "Battle of the Bears" went to the Grizzlies.
Round two kicks off Saturday at Washington-Grizzly Stadium at 1:05 p.m. as the third-ranked Montana Grizzlies open the 2004 season against the No. 11 Maine Black Bears in the weekend's premier Division I-AA game in the nation.
KPAX will televise what's expected to be a very physical encounter.
Montana is coming off a 9-4 season which started with a 30-20 victory over the Black Bears in Orono, Maine. The Black Bears went 7-5 last season and appear to have the talent to vie for the national championship.
"I think they are a team that can go deep into the playoffs,'' said Montana coach Bobby Hauck. "They've got all the elements of a successful football team. They are good on defense, they've got a good quarterback, and they've got a good running back and a running game. They stop the running game on defense. They are well-coached. They have all the things you need to take a run at it.''
Continued…
http://www.missoulian.com/articles/2004/09/04/sports/sports02. txt
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Maine's rugged rushing attack will test Griz
By GEORGE GEISE, Great Falls Tribune
http://www.greatfallstribune.com/news/stories/20040904/localsp orts/1177669.html
MISSOULA -- The Maine Black Bears and the Montana Grizzlies both enjoyed
excellent running attacks last football season -- Maine mostly by design,
Montana mostly out of necessity.
Will the NCAA Division I-AA powerhouses run as well or often this season,
given that both schools have rebuilt their offensive lines? Or will the
teams come out of the chute passing the football to deep and talented
receiving corps?
Those are two questions that should be answered this afternoon when the
11th-ranked Black Bears challenge the third-ranked Grizzlies in the nation's
top I-AA football matchup.
Kickoff is set for 1:05 p.m. at Washington-Grizzly Stadium, where a sellout
crowd of more than 23,000 fans is expected. The game will be shown statewide
by MTN television stations.
"They're a physical football team, and they'll run it at you until you prove
you can stop them," said Montana's second-year head coach Bobby Hauck. "We
don't see many two-back teams, so this will be a good test for us."
Continued…
http://www.greatfallstribune.com/news/stories/20040904/localsp orts/1177669.html
***
Bear battle has early implications
By TOM STUBER, Helena Independent Record
http://www.helenair.com/articles/2004/09/04/sports/b01090404_0 2.txt
In what could be a preview to this year's I-AA national championship game,
the Montana Grizzlies host the Maine Black Bears in a non conference affair
at Washington-Grizzly Stadium in Missoula today at 1 p.m.
Earlier this week, UM coach Bobby Hauck called the Black Bears perhaps the
top team the Griz will face this year. After Thursday night's loss by No. 1
Delaware, an Atlantic 10 foe of Maine, Hauck may be on to something.
"Maine returns a lot of players from a very good team of a year ago," Hauck
said in UM's press release. "They could be the best, or one of the best,
teams we play all season."
Today's game is the season opener for both squads and UM has won 14 of its
last 16 season opening games. Montana beat Maine 30-20 in the first game for
both teams last year in Orono, Maine.
Hauck will be matching wits with longtime Maine head coach Jack Cosgrove,
who is 60-66 in 12 seasons. Cosgrove's teams are 27-11 over the last three
years. UM was 9-4 in Hauck's first season at the helm.
Continued…
http://www.helenair.com/articles/2004/09/04/sports/b01090404_0 2.txt
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Grizzlies GameDay: Maine at Montana
By FRITZ NEIGHBOR, Billings Gazette
http://www.billingsgazette.com/index.php?id=2&display=rednews/ 2004/09/04/build/sports/62-griz-game-day.inc
When: Today, 1:05 p.m. (Mountain). TV-KTVQ. Radio - KBSR (1490 AM) and KHDN
(1230 AM).
Where: Missoula.
Records: Maine 7-5, Montana 9-4 (in '03)
When the Griz have the ball: Craig Ochs returned to practice after being
sidelined a week with a thumb injury, and will start at quarterback. He
threw for 1,612 yards in nine games last season, completing 121 of 204
passes, for nine touchdowns against eight interceptions. His main target was
Jefferson Heidelberger (41 catches, 433 yards), followed by Tate Hancock (32
for 382). Jon Talmage was the big play threat, with 24 catches for 507 yards
and a team-high five touchdowns, and 6-foot-7 tight end Willie Walden and
5-9 Levander Segars are back as well. But the key could be Justin Green,
who's muscled up to 235 pounds after punishing defenses for 1,146 rushing
yards and 14 touchdowns in '03. Lex Hilliard, who ran for 590 yards last
season, is Green's backup.
When Maine has the ball: Among the Black Bears' 15 returning starters is
Atlantic 10 Conference rookie of the year Ron Whitcomb, a 6-2, 212-pound
quarterback. After a 15-for-31, 188-yard performance in last year's opener
against Montana, he went on to set a school record by throwing for a TD in
11 straight games. He ended up with 21 scoring passes. His top three
receivers are back: junior Ryan Waller (53-538, 5 TDs), Christian Pereira
(52-820, 10 TDs) and junior Kevin McMahon (36-598, 5 TDs). Pereira and
Waller each caught five balls in Maine's 30-20 loss to the Griz. Then
there's Payton Award candidate Marcus Williams, a 5-10, 225-pounder who ran
for 1,284 yards and 12 TDs last season. He managed just 70 yards on 23 totes
against Montana, however.
What else to look for: Each has return game standouts: Montana boasts
Heidelberger (28.6-yard average on kickoff returns) and Segars (12.2-yard
average on punts); Arel Gordon averaged 26.6 yards on kickoff returns and
14.8 on punt returns for Maine. Special teams played a huge role in
Montana's win last year: Segars had a 91-yard kickoff return for a score,
and cornerback Tuff Harris blocked a punt and made a pair of nice punt
returns. Maine boasts seven starters on defense, including safety Brandon
McGowan and linebacker Jermaine Walker. The two combined for 168 tackles in
2003. Montana has freshmen backups at all three linebacker spots, including
Kyle Ryan in the middle. Mike Murphy is up to 240 pounds and manning one
defensive end spot, and Jonny Varona and Blake Horgan lead a talented group
of tackles. Maine is rated high and physical, but the Griz are tough at
home: Montana, 35-10.
Other Big Sky games: Idaho State will enjoy its trip into Qualcomm Stadium,
home of the Chargers, to play San Diego State. For awhile. Aztecs, 42-21 ...
Weber State will give the ball to Chournos and rumble past Southern Utah,
38-28 ... Arizona will have an easier time with Northern Arizona quarterback
Jason Murrietta than ASU did last year. UA, 48-14.
***
Maine's first test certainly a big one
By JENN MENENDEZ, Portland Press Herald
http://sports.mainetoday.com/college/football/040904montana.sh tml
ORONO -- Quarterback Ron Whitcomb surely remembers his first game of college
football. It was the season opener last year. Alfond Stadium was near
capacity. His team lost 30-20 to Montana, a perennial NCAA Division I-AA
powerhouse. Second chance?
Maine opens the 2004 season against Montana today at 3:05 p.m. at
Washington-Grizzly Stadium in Missoula. It is the first of four formidable
opponents that load the front end of Maine's schedule: Montana, Northern
Colorado, Mississippi State and Delaware.
And it is the first game of a highly anticipated 2004 season for the Black
Bears.
"I'm more confident going into this game," said Whitcomb, now a sophomore.
"Last year I came out and we had a bunch of turnovers our first four games.
Then we were the lowest in (the Atlantic 10).
"We feel it in the air. You can feel the vibe that Montana is coming."
Continued…
http://sports.mainetoday.com/college/football/040904montana.sh tml
***
Quiet Leconte turns into tough foe on Bears' line
By Pete Warner, Bangor News
http://www.bangornews.com/maineblackbears/article.cfm?ID=43361 7
ORONO - To the casual observer, Mike Leconte is a soft-spoken and
introspective member of the University of Maine football team.
Once he puts on his Black Bears uniform, the senior from South Portland is
transformed into a powerful, hard-charging offensive guard who is among the
best in the Atlantic 10.
"He's not the kind of guy that jumps up and down and tries to draw attention
to himself," said UMaine offensive line coach John Strollo. "He's very
committed to this football program."
Up front, where the trail to big gains is broken, there is little glory. But
Leconte is content with his supplementary role as an offensive lineman.
He and his linemates know any accolades received by the Bears' quarterback,
running backs, and receivers reflect directly back to their performance.
"We tease them a lot more than they probably deserve about getting quoted in
the newspaper, going to press conferences," said Leconte, an All-Atlantic 10
second-team center last season.
Continued…
http://www.bangornews.com/maineblackbears/article.cfm?ID=43361 7
***
UM students balk at coughing up $7 a seat for football games
By VINCE DEVLIN of the Missoulian
http://www.missoulian.com/articles/2004/09/04/news/local/news0 4.txt
This just in: University of Montana students don't like forking over $7 to
attend home football games that were free in the past.
And many evidently won't.
Nearly half of the 3,030 seats reserved for students in 23,180-seat
Washington-Grizzly Stadium were still available Thursday morning, two days
before Saturday's season opener against the Maine Black Bears.
About 1,500 unsold seats in the student section were opened up for sale to
the general public Thursday, at the going rate for a nonstudent seat, $23.
Students can still purchase seats as well, for $7, as long as they're
available.
Continued…
http://www.missoulian.com/articles/2004/09/04/news/local/news0 4.txt
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