BOZEMAN — The sun emerged in the second half and so did the Gray Team.
After falling into a 17-0 halftime deficit, Team Gray responded after the short break by reeling off 24 unanswered points against the Blue Team and then held their ground for a 24-17 victory in the Sonny Holland Classic on Saturday at Bobcat Stadium.
In all, 11 players accounted for points in the scrimmage that took place within 12-minute quarters.
"I wouldn't say it was my best day but it was a great experience, a great way to cap it off," said sophomore defensive end Brody Grebe, who paired up with Ben Seymour for a safety to put the Gray Team on the board and spark the rally.
"The second half worked out pretty well," Grebe continued. "We did work in the second half. It was an awesome way to cap off the spring season.
Tommy Mellott, Sean Chambers, Sean Austin and Jordan Reed all got reps at quarterback. Chambers, a transfer from Wyoming, was intercepted three times in the first half but redeemed himself with a 15 yard touchdown pass to Derryk Snell to make it 17-9.
From there, Reed connected with Aidan Garrigan for a 14-yard score to knot things up at 17, and then DeMareus Hosey found the endzone on a 2-yard run to put the Gray team up 24-17.
The Blue Team had a shot at a tying touchdown in the final seconds but Mellott's last-gasp heave was batted down.
For MSU head coach Brent Vigen, these past weeks have given his players an opportunity to assess where they are, and where they need to be by the time fall camp rolls around.
Recent NCAA modifications allow coaching staffs to work more with student-athletes in the summer offseason, but limits it to 8 hours a week.
"As a player, you leave spring ball with a better sense for 'where am I at, what have I done well, what do I need to keep improving upon?'" Vigen said. "It sets you up better for the summer. Our guys will come back, and it's a lot of work. It's a different tempo in the summer, but it's as important a time as there is."
The Blue Team scored all 17 of its points in the first half off a 2-yard run from Lane Sumner, a 3-yard run from Garrett Coon and a 44-yard field goal from Blake Glessner.
Tommy Mellott was held without a score but otherwise looked sharp as he went 11-for-16 for 160 yards and no interceptions.
"I'm feeling great, taking care of my body," Mellott said. "Went straight from rehabing to spring ball. That process has been very reassuring. First week back I was slow, wasn't doing much. But after Week 3 I felt great, was pretty much back up to 100. I thought I made a bunch of strides. I'm really happy with the offense right now. I'm excited for the summer at to work with these guys some more."
SONNY HOLLAND CLASSIC STATS
OFFENSIVE STATISTICS
RUSHING – Blue Team: Lane Sumner 86-109-1, Garrett Coon 7-45-1, RJ Fitzgerald 1-2-0, Tommy Mellott 4-12-0, Sean Austin 2-2-0. Gray Team: DeMareus Hosey 18-77-1, Sean Chambers 1-11-0, Nolan Iverson 3-5-0, Jordan Reed 2-9-0.
PASSING – Blue Team: Tommy Mellott 11-16-0, 160, 0; Sean Austin 4-5-0, 77, 0. Gray Team: Sean Chambers 10-18-3, 124, 1; Jordan Reed 2-3-0, 69, 1.
RECEIVING – Blue Team: Willie Patterson 6-89-0, Lane Sumner 5-59-0, Andrew Patterson 2-22-0, Ravi Alston 1-40-0, Treyton Pickering 1-4-0. Gray Team: Derryk Snell 3-46-1, Charles Brown 3-82-0, Tayvian William 1-32-0, DeMareus Hosey 1-12-0, Aidan Garrigan 2-19-1.
DEFENSIVE SPECIAL STATS
SAFETY – Brody Grebe/Ben Seymour
FORCED FUMBLE – David Alston
SACKS – Ben Seymour 2.5, Brody Grebe 0.5
TACKLES-FOR-LOSS – Jory Chaote, Aidan Parks, Nolan Askelson, Luke Fedyk
INTERCEPTION – Dru Polidore 2, Jackson Harmon
PASS BREAKUP – Dru Polidore
HURRY – David Alston
SCORING SUMMARY
Blue: Lane Sumner 2 run (Blake Glessner)/Blue 7, Gray 0
Blue: Garrett Coon 3 run (Blake Glessner)/Blue 14, Gray 0
Blue: Blake Glessner 44 FG/Blue 17, Gray 0
Gray: Safety on sack by Ben Seymour and Brody Grebe/Blue 17, Gray 2
Gray: Derryk Snell 15 pass from Sean Chambers (Blake Glessner)/Blue 17, Gray 9
Gray: Aidan Garrigan 14 pass from Jordan Reed (Tayvian Williams from Jordan Reed)/Gray 17, Blue 17
Gray: DeMareus Hosey 2 run (Blake Glessner)/Gray 24, Blue 17
