Mansch: Cats win big, but there’s plenty of work to do

BOZEMAN — The Skyhawks of Fort Lewis gave it the old college try.

Whether it prepares Montana State for a university football team is another question.

The Bobcats defeated the NCAA Division II Skyhawks of Fort Lewis College 45-14 Thursday night on a beautiful evening in the Gallatin Valley. The home team’s uneven offensive performance wasn’t quite so pretty.

Montana State entered the game ranked 11th among Football Championship Subdivision teams and a top contender for the Big Sky Conference championship. And that might still happen. But the Cats have a lot to clean up.

The Cats were flagged for 75 yards of penalties, including holding on both sides of the ball and several defensive fractions that kept Fort Lewis drives alive. The mistakes effectively prevented the team from building any momentum.

While a sellout crowd of 19,367 was ready to roar from the get-go, the Cats sputtered out of the gate and didn’t score until late in the second quarter.

Make no mistake, the final score was not deceiving. The Bobcats are clearly a much better football team than the Skyhawks, as the scoreboard indicated late Thursday night. Whether it helped prepare the Cats for the challenges ahead – the next game is Sept. 19 at powerful Eastern Washington – is another question.

Cat coach Rob Ash said this week his goal is not to schedule any more Division II teams, so long as MSU is able to have six home games each season. The Division II scholarship limit is 36, while FCS conferences like the Big Sky offer 63.

It’s not really a level playing field. Nor does it make for much of an evaluation.

The game was scoreless until 4:24 remained in the first half. At halftime, Ash was not happy.

“The stats spoke for themselves,” Ash said. “We had five penalties and they had one. We make too many mistakes.”

Numerous big plays were there for the taking against a Fort Lewis defense that brought the safeties down and dared the Cats to throw deep. But they couldn’t connect.

“We missed on our throw and catches downfield. We had a chance to put a lot more points on the board,” Ash said. “It was a good lesson for us to learn. We have to be able to execute and play with good technique in order to be successful.

“There’s a lot of things we need to work on still.”

The Montana State defense was outstanding. And several highly regarded newcomers played well. Will that hold up against Eastern Washington and the rest of the rugged Big Sky?

That will be answered much later this season.

What was certainly clear Thursday night was this: In spite of a one-sided victory over an outmanned opponent, the Bobcats have plenty of room for improvement.

And that’s not such a bad thing.

Scott Mansch is Tribune Sports Columnist and can be reached 791-1481 or smansch@greatfallstribune.com. Follow him on Twitter @GFTrib_SMansch