Photo Gallery
POCATELLO, Idaho- After five games, one thing is certain about the Idaho State football team and that is they won't quit. That was evident once again on Saturday as the Bengals rallied from 14 points down in the third quarter to defeat Cal Poly 38-34 on Homecoming in Holt Arena.
The Bengals trailed 31-17 with 3:37 left in the third quarter. ISU then outscored Cal Poly 21-3 over the final 17 minutes of the game to earn the win in front of a crowd of 7,105 fans.
The Bengals tallied 489 yards of total offense while Cal Poly finished with 463.
Tanner Gueller was 14-24 for 341 yards and three touchdowns.
Michael Dean caught six passes for 121 yards and two touchdowns while
Mitch Gueller caught three passes for 125 yards and one touchdown. Senior
Hagen Graves added four catches for 88 yards.
James Madison carried the ball 20 times for 78 yards and one touchdown and
Tanner Gueller carried the ball eight times for a career-best 60 yards and one touchdown.
Mario Jenkins led the defense with a career-high 18 tackles.
JonRhyeem Peoples had a career-best 14 tackles and
Joe Martin added 14 tackles.
The Bengals struck quickly by jumping out to a 10-0 lead after the first quarter.
Parker Johnson connected on a 22-yard field goal with 11:23 left in the first and later in the quarter Gueller found his brother Mitch open for a 70-yard touchdown reception.
Cal Poly then scored 17 straight points to take a 17-10 lead with 1:38 left in the first half but in the final minute of the half the Bengals tied the game at 17 thanks to a 30-yard touchdown run by
Tanner Gueller.
Cal Poly led 31-17 with 3:37 left in the third quarter.
The Bengals cut the Mustang deficit to 31-24 thanks to three plays of 20 yards or more. Â
Mitch Gueller caught a 20-yard pass and then Graves had a 29-yard reception and Dean followed with a 26-yard touchdown grab.
Cal Poly countered with a 29-yard field goal attempt to extend its lead to 34-24 with 11:50 left in the game.
ISU followed with a five play, 65 yard drive that resulted in Dean's second touchdown of the game, a 30-yard reception from Gueller. A key play in the drive was when Dean caught a 42-yard strike from Gueller on a third and 17 from the ISU 28-yard line.
Trailing 34-31, the Bengal defense forced a three and out to give the ball back to the ISU offense with 8:22 to play in the game.
On the first two plays of the ensuing drive, Gueller rushed for 22 yards and then he found Graves open for a 31-yard completion, putting the ball at the Cal Poly 20-yard line.
Madison scored the go-ahead touchdown on a two-yard plunge with 6:41 left. The Bengal defense then forced Cal Poly to punt the ball after three plays and the ISU offense proceeded to kill the final 4:57 off the clock to earn the win.
Idaho State hosts Montana on Saturday, Oct. 7 at 2:30 p.m. in Holt Arena. It is a White Out game. The team will be in all white uniforms and all fans are encouraged to wear white to the game. The Orange and Black Store is selling Game Day White Out T-Shirts for $10. As part of the sell the Idaho State club baseball team will be selling the shirts around campus and in the community for $10 as well. Monday through Friday of next week the team will be in Rendezvous from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Rob Phenicie Post Game Quotes
"The kids are super resilient they believed they are going to win and they weren't fazed when we were down."
"It's never fun playing that defense-or that offense I should say-I hate seeing it because you never know. Credit to the defensive coaches for getting the key stops when we needed too"
On Preparing for Cal Poly
"The only difficulty is simulating it in practice and then it's never fast enough, when the game starts you have to adjust to the speed. It's one of those things, you've got to get up on them, weather their storm, and come from behind."
On the Defensive Stops Late in the Game
"When they tried that reverse, that was kind of a sign like hey, 'this is our last breath of air' they were holding that for when they needed a play and we stopped them and it was beautiful."
On Tanner Gueller
"The quarter back is playing well. he's making his reads and I think just a level of consistency.
Matt Troxell has done a wonderful job of calling games, he is just dissecting them. He's up there the whole time and very rarely does he make a wrong call. We like a high powered, scoring offense, that feel is hard to defend. I like a lot of points on the board, its fun."
"Our offense is opportunistic. In any given week we could run for 300 or we could throw for 300. "We will take "W" any way we can get them, man."
"These guys have from day one when we got here at the end of March, beginning of April, and we went into our first practice, they just said this is what we are going to do and the results should come. That's why the kids believe, because nothing surprises them."
"We are never going to give up on these kids. They kids do not get rattled."
Tanner Gueller Post Game Quotes
"We are just glad to get the win. It just makes it fun when you have a good group of guys, guys you believe in, it just makes it fun."
"Our job is to go put points on the board when we get a chance."
"I feel like we are as tight of a team as I've been around."
"We've got a good group of guys, a lot of guys to throw the ball too, and a lot of guys that run the ball well."
Michael Dean Post Game Quotes
"Our atmosphere is awesome, especially with a lot more fans coming in. Our team is just a brotherhood."
"I think that the coaches are doing great with putting all of us in the right spots. I love the tempo. We just wait for our chance on the field, and our job is to score."
JonRhyeem Peoples Post Game Quotes
On Playing Cal Poly's Offense
"It's really just beat your block, don't get cut, and make sure you are running toward the ball. We came together at the right time, everyone made their plays, and everyone came together like we needed to do."
"I just knew the game was on the line and defense needed a stop, and I was just trying to be that guy."
"Everyone's just got to do their job, and if everyone does their job, then it beats it."
"We knew we were going to come out on top, we just knew. We are a different animal in the fourth quarter."
Post Game Notes
- Colton Belnap was this weeks special team's captain.
- JonRhyeem Peoples had a career-high 14 tackles and Mario Jenkins had a career-high 18 tackles.
- Tanner Gueller rushed for a career-best 60 yards.
- Six receptions for Michael Dean was a career-high.
- 3-2 is the best start for an Idaho State football team since the 2005 team was 3-2 through five games.
- It is only the second time since 2007 ISU has had three wins in a season. In 2014 the Bengals were 8-4 and in 2007 they finished 3-8.
- Idaho State has won three of its last four Homecoming games.
- Mitch Gueller's 70-yard touchdown reception was the 10th longest offensive play since 2011.
- Idaho State had nine plays of 20 yards or more.
Â
