Twice in previous years the Montana quarterback has ventured into this maze and exited through a trap door. Last year he put the Griz in position to beat upset-minded Wofford then watched helplessly as his NFL-caliber teammate missed a potential game-winning field goal.
Saturday's playoff opener against Texas State brought more aggravation for the fair-haired California Kid. For most of the first half he lived out a bad dream, unable to properly grip the rain-soaked football.
Bergquist's miscues included bad passes, an unavoidable interception (after wideout Mike Ferriter fell down) and two mishandled snaps, one of which killed a drive on the Texas State 5. The veteran signal caller was looking more and more like the Dan Fouts of FCS football - a guy who played exceptionally well in the regular season but couldn't get it done in the playoffs.
Thank goodness Bergy is not a shy or weak-minded guy. Thank goodness this business major wasn't expecting a bailout. If he were, Montana's season might be over.
Midway through the second quarter, Bergquist approached an official with a simple request. At the risk of sounding over-dramatic, it may have helped change the course of a contest that Texas State controlled, 10-0.
“I asked them if they would try to keep the (football's) laces dry. They were setting the laces right on the turf,” Bergquist said. “It wasn't so much the rain coming down but the ground was so wet. I was having to grab a new towel every series.
“Then we just kind of adjusted to the wet weather and said, ‘There's nothing we can do about it. We've got to deal with it.' Some plays started to break and the offense started rolling.”
Bergquist provided the initial spark, much like he has on countless occasions in posting a 23-2 record as starting QB the past two seasons.
Griz fans won't look at him as the hero because the four straight TD drives he engineered were book-ended by interceptions. Not to mention the fact his teammate, running back Chase Reynolds, had a monster afternoon.
But Montana's modus operandi for 2008 remains the same: If Bergquist doesn't do something to spark the Griz with his arm or legs, then the onus falls on wideout/kick returner Marc Mariani.
Mariani spent most of this past week with a boot on his left foot and was playing at far less than 100 percent Saturday. So Bergquist, who completed just two of his first seven passes, picked himself up off the deck and righted his ship.
On Montana's first scoring drive late in the second period, he completed all four of his passes for 54 yards and a touchdown. Then he shifted into overdrive in giving the Griz their first lead early in the third frame.
He hit Ferriter for a 41-yard reception to the Texas State 13, then pulled his offense out of a third-and-long predicament with an inspired 21-yard TD run.
Montana maintained the lead and Bergy kept on pushing. His determination was never more evident than early in the fourth quarter on a 7-yard run to the Texas State goal line. Bobcat defenders dangled from his arms and legs like tinsel from a Christmas tree.
“I looked down and I was over the line,” he said with a smile. “I was just suspended over the line and I thought I was in. (Fullback Kevin) Klaboe was trying to push me. He was behind me and he said he was over the line.”
Bergquist didn't get the touchdown, but he got his playoff win, 31-13. Ask anyone at Saturday's postgame press conference and they'll likely say they're happy for him.
Bergy is a stand-up guy who isn't afraid to take the blame when things aren't going well. It's part of what makes him such a good leader.
One of Montana's best, in fact, if you look at the numbers. He moved to 29-5 as a starter Saturday, tying for the second most wins by a Griz quarterback (Brian Ah Yat also posted 29 from 1995-98).
He also moved past Brad Lebo into fourth all-time in career passing yards at Montana with 6,882, and he's tied Grady Bennett for third in career TD passes with 55.
All of which means diddly compared to the excitement of moving on to the quarterfinals of the FCS playoffs.
“I didn't want to end my career having such good regular seasons and not being able to pull together in the postseason,” Bergquist said. “It feels awesome.
“Me and Ferriter were talking and when (QB Josh) Swogger was here (in 2006) and they went to the semis, Mike wasn't playing either because he broke his arm. He kind of looked at me after the game and said, ‘We finally got that monkey off our backs, huh?' ”
Sports columnist Bill Speltz can be reached at 523-5255 or bill.speltz@lee.net.
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joe wrote on Nov 30, 2008 9:12 PM: