Bengal FOOTBALL
Great moments
September 27, 1980. The Beginning of a New Era. Before the Bengals could become the greatest, they had to learn how to win, and that moment came early in 1980. In just the third game under new head coach Dave Kragthorpe, the Bengals ended a 19-game losing streak, at the time the longest in I-AA history, with a 59-33 thrashing of Portland State and their five receiver run-and-shoot offense. After 20 games, the Bengals finally tasted victory, and just 20 games later, they would taste a national championship.
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Head Coach Dave Kragthorpe (left) and Athletic Director Babe Caccia pose with the 1981 National Championship Trophy.
November 21, 1981. Case DeBruijn’s Kick Ends an Epic Battle. For the finale of the 1981 season, Idaho State and Weber State met at Holt Arena for the Big Sky title. ISU survived a 100yard kickoff return for a touchdown by Weber State, and the game came down to overtime. After surviving again, this on a missed 32-yard field goal by Roger Ruzek that would have won it for the Wildcats in the second overtime, Hall of Fame kicker Case DeBruijn nailed a 33-yard field goal at the end of the third overtime to give ISU a 33-30 win and the Big Sky title in the longest game in ISU history. December 19, 1981. The Bengals Reach the Pinnacle. Idaho State climbed the long road back from worst to first as All-American
quarterback Mike Machurek threw for 330 yards, the last of his eight career 300-yard games as the Bengals defeated Eastern Kentucky 34-23 in Wichita Falls, Texas to win the I-AA National Championship. The win capped a remarkable turnaround from an 0-11 season just two years prior. November 23, 1985. Merril Hoge Becomes ISU’s First 1,000-yard Rusher. Heading into the 1985 season finale against Eastern Washington, Pocatello native Merril Hoge had rushed for 892 yards, and he needed nine yards to better his school record for rushing yards in a season. He also needed 108 to become the first Bengal to ever rush for 1,000 yards. Despite a 42-21 loss, Hoge did his part, rushing for 149 yards, his second-best single-game total ever to get to 1,041 yards, becoming the first ISU rusher to 1,000 yards. To date, he is just one of four to accomplish the feat. September 12, 1987. A Good Ol’ Fashioned Texas Shootout. The season opener between Idaho State and Texas A&I (now Texas A&M Kingsville) kept the scoreboard operator busy the entire night. The two teams combined for the first combined 100-point game in Holt Arena history as the Javalinas defeated the Bengals 52-51 in a classic game. Big efforts abounded, including a 93-yard kickoff return for a touchdown and 100 yards receiving by Butch Caston and a 103-yard rushing effort by Corky Federico. Despite ISU’s record 28-point third quarter outburst, ISU fell a point short. November 10, 1990. Jason’s Back One Last Time. Jason Whitmer, ISU’s starting quarterback from 1987-90, won just nine games in his career, but it wasn’t for a lack of trying. Whitmer threw for 300 yards a record 12 times, including a 336-yard performance in his last win, a 30-27 decision over Mesa State. Whitmer’s
four year career ended with ISU career records for yards, attempts, completions, touchdowns and of course, 300-yard games. September 12, 1992. The Globe of Death. The Philadelphia Eagles have “The Miracle at the Meadowlands”, the San Francisco 49ers have “The Catch”, but the Idaho State Bengals have “The Globe of Death”. After Boise State scored a touchdown with 22 seconds left to give the Broncos what seemed like a 20-17 win, BSU kicked off, and the Bengals pulled out their bag of tricks. After Carlos Reed received the squib kick, all 11 players huddled together and then sprinted out in different directions. Robert Johnson actually had the ball and returned it to the BSU 42-yard line, and a personal foul moved the ball into field goal range (the play was confusing for the statisticians too, as Sylvester Jones was officially credited with the return). Going for the win, backup quarterback Paul Putnam hit Rommie Wheeler for a touchdown with five seconds left for an improbable 24-20 win. September 21, 1996. Marcus Jackson Suffers a Tragic Injury. It was a simple tackle late in the first half of an otherwise non-descript 47-0 rout of Montana-Western. It was a tackle that would change a life and touch a community. Marcus Jackson suffered a traumatic spinal injury on the tackle, becoming paralyzed from the neck down. Jackson, however, returned to school the following year, and in the summer of 1999, he truly became one of the most heroic figures in ISU history when he battled to earn a bachelor’s degree, despite what some would say was an insurmountable handicap. Insurmountable to most, but not to Marcus Jackson. November 16, 1996. Ed Coleman’s Shining Moment. Ed Coleman played only one season for Idaho State University, as a reserve running back who basically was not even on the two-deep during the season. But, pressed into service in the next-tolast game of 1996, Coleman had his day in the sun as he rushed for 232 yards against Portland State, the second-most in school history at that time. The game would prove to be the only 100-yard rushing game of Coleman’s career.
Jason Whtimer owns nearly every single major passing record at Idaho State.
2010 Idaho State Football Media Guide
October 23, 1997. James Ferrell Kicks ISU into an Inadvertent Controversy. Leading 43-31 over Southern Utah with four seconds left, Idaho State kicker James Ferrell stood on the sidelines with four made field goals, seemingly settling for a tie of the ISU single-game record. However, head coach Tom Walsh called timeout to allow Ferrell, a fifth-year senior, an opportunity to set the record. Ferrell kicked that record breaking field goal, but Walsh’s timeout infuriated Thunderbird head coach C. Ray Gregory, who felt that ISU had tried to run up the s c o r e. G r e g o r y publicly announced he was giving up potatoes for a year, and he would only eat them again af- James Ferrell’s school record ter defeating ISU fifth field goal brought about the next season. a potato boycott, disparaging Gregory’s potato comments about Holt Arena, fast lasted another and eventually it led to the end year as ISU dealt of C. Ray Gregory’s coaching tenure at Southern Utah. the T-Birds a 50-33 loss the following season. September 19, 1998. A Game Without a Touchdown. Big Sky football usually means lots of offense and lots of scoring, unless it’s the 1998 meeting between the Bengals and the Weber State Wildcats. Despite a 254-yard rushing effort by Wildcat Morgan Welch, neither the Wildcats nor the Bengals could find the endzone. Weber State got two Scott Shields field goals, and ISU got only a Pete Garces field goal in a 6-3 loss to Weber State. The game remains the only game in Holt Arena history without a touchdown being scored.