Matadors Seek Redemption at Montana State

It could be classified as the one that got away.

This time, the Cal State Northridge football team hopes to hang on for dear life.

“We were feeling good and the next thing you know, before we could think straight, they scored,” said Dan Lazarovits, Northridge’s senior defensive end. “We said, ‘What the heck just happened to us?’ ”

The they were the Montana State Bobcats. The what was a surprising home loss last season for Northridge, sealed by an electrifying fourth-quarter play that took the wind out of the Matadors.

Northridge (3-3, 1-1 in the Big Sky Conference) is looking for redemption, and to keep pace in the conference title race, when it meets Montana State (3-2, 2-1) at 11:35 a.m. (PDT) at Reno H. Sales Stadium.

Neither team can afford another loss, especially the Matadors, who still must tangle with conference heavies Montana, Eastern Washington and Northern Arizona.

“We have to win, because if we don’t, I think we’ll be out of contention from going to the playoffs,” said senior Marc Goodson, Northridge linebacker and emotional leader.

They also have to win to soothe the sting of the loss to Montana State at North Campus Stadium last year. .

The Matadors entered that game with a 4-2 record and a two-game winning streak, including a come-from-behind 35-28 victory at Weber State the previous week. The upset over the Wildcats gave Northridge instant credibility in its first Big Sky season.

Montana State, trying to rebound from a 2-5 Big Sky record in 1995, arrived at Northridge with consecutive conference losses to Eastern Washington and Northern Arizona after a tight victory over Idaho State.

The Matadors were supposed to win and they dominated in the early stages.

Northridge took a 10-0 lead in the first quarter before Montana State rallied for a 17-10 advantage after three quarters. But with 9:51 to play, quarterback Aaron Flowers scampered 21 yards for a touchdown, tying the score, 17-17.

Then it happened.

On second and 10 from the Bobcat 20, quarterback Rob Compson hit receiver Kenyatte Morgan with a screen pass and the former Inglewood High standout sprinted 80 yards for what proved the winning score with 8:57 to play.

“[Montana State] came down after we beat Weber State in their house at their homecoming [game] and we let them come in our house and beat us on our homecoming,” Northridge senior receiver Jerome Henry said. “We ought to give [the Bobcats] a dose of their own medicine.”

Except for one thing: Montana State already played its homecoming game, a 17-7 victory over Eastern Washington two weeks ago. But the idea holds, particularly because there are other similarities.

For instance, the Matadors are coming off a 30-20 home victory over Weber State and Montana State last week lost at Northern Arizona, 14-13.

But despite the memories of last year, Lazarovits warned that the Matadors should focus on the present, since Montana State is playing much better than anticipated.

“We should be more concerned with how Northridge is going to play, not how Montana State is going to play,” he said.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Northridge (3-3, 1-1) at Montana State (3-2, 2-1)

When: Today, 11:35 a.m. (PDT)

Where: Reno H. Sales Stadium

TV: Fox Sports West 2

Fast fact: This is Matadors’ first game in Bozeman, Mont.