Of course he only threw two of them in the Montana Grizzlies' 55-0 blowout of the Skyhawks, on Sept. 3, 2005. He was backing up then-starter Jason Washington, and the Griz threw just 20 passes in the rout.
Two years later, Bergquist has made 10 starts, including the Grizzlies' season-opening 37-17 win over Southern Utah. He threw to eight different receivers in the victory, for 150 yards.
“Obviously we've got a ton of stuff to work on and try to get fixed for this week.”
That's where Fort Lewis, a Division II program out of Durango, Colo., comes in. The Griz, ranked third in the Football Championship Subdivision, will be trying to sharpen their claws further ahead of a bye week.
That includes the passing game, though the Griz rolled up 193 yards against Southern Utah.
“The receivers did great,” said Bergquist, who twice hit Eric Allen with touchdown passes. “We didn't have any dropped balls, and I felt like we were on the same page. We ran some routes where the receivers had to make some reads, and I felt like they did a good job. I feel like Š they read defenses as well as I can. And that's good to have.”
While most of Fort Lewis College's personnel will be different Saturday, many of the Griz faces will look familiar to Skyhawks' coach Ed Rifilato.
Lex Hilliard is one example. Just as he did last week against Southern Utah, Hilliard ran for 108 yards against Fort Lewis.
“Aw, God,” said Rifilato. “That guy is a man among boys.”
Hilliard of course sat out last season after Achilles surgery. Rifilato said he didn't spend much time watching tape of the 230-pound senior's legs.
“I tend to look at his neck and his shoulders,” Rifilato cracked. “They seem to run over a lot of people.”
Hilliard also had a 34-yard touchdown reception to go with two rushing TDs against the Skyhawks in '05.
Of course, Saturday is not a day off for the Grizzlies, whatever their history against the opponent. Fifth-year coach Bobby Hauck is remindful that Appalachian State was an underdog to Michigan last week.
“Seriously, our preparation is real good week-to-week,” linebacker Loren Utterback said. “We practice and look at tendencies to do what we can to play mistake-free football.
“Our coaches will be telling us that Fort Lewis is the best team we'll see on our schedule. They'll have us convinced by Friday, and that we need to show up. For us, it's usually not a worry to be ready to go out of the tunnel.”
QUICK KICKS: The Grizzlies threw for three touchdowns against Fort Lewis the first time around. Washington had two and Tyson Johnson had the other. Johnson, UM's punter but also a holder on place kicks, threw 19 yards to Ja'Ton Simpson for a TD on a fake field goal. Š Johnson leads the Big Sky Conference in punting after one game and three punts (46.0-yard average). In second is Weber State's Mike Snoy, who averaged 45.3 yards on 10 punts. Š The Grizzlies lead the Big Sky Conference in kickoff returns, averaging 32 yards on three returns. Š The Fort Lewis two-deep lists one player, 267-pound freshman Vincent Mello, as the backup at both defensive tackle and right tackle. ... Montana remained No. 2 in the FCS Coaches' Poll, while UMass stayed No. 3. ... The Griz are the top Big Sky team in the Sagarin Ratings, at No. 87. That's fourth among FCS teams. Appalachian State is No. 38, ahead of Football Bowl Subdivision programs Michigan at No. 40 and Wyoming at No. 41. North Dakota State of the FCS is No. 77 and New Hampshire is No. 84.
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