A longstanding rivalry will reignite under the lights this Friday night, as the University of Montana and Montana State kick off both their seasons and this year’s slate of Friday Night Rugby matchups with an epic clash in Bozeman, MT this Friday, September 11 at 8 p.m. ET.
“It’s a big day in the state anytime the ‘Cats play the Griz,” said University of Montana head coach Dave Kenkel, who is quite familiar with the intrastate rivalry after coaching high school football for many years. “We’ve been fortunate enough that we’ve got a couple of decent boosters that are helping us out and they’re like, ‘yeah, you go win a national championship, great. But make sure you beat the ‘Cats.’”
Impressively, in just its second year back after a long period of dormancy following the COVID-19 pandemic, Griz rugby might be in a position to accomplish both of those things this fall. Thanks to a solid class of local high school talent, and some savvy recruiting of experienced grad transfers in 2025, Kenkel had his squad two points away from a trip to Houston with the Griz falling to New Mexico Tech 35-33 in the regional final. Now, in 2026, the depth of the roster has improved – with Kenkel estimating he has a total player count that sits somewhere in the mid-to-low 30s as opposed to the high-teens, low-20s he was working with in year one – and a fresh new class of grad school transfers have joined on to make the team even more formidable. Montana is ranked #2 in the Preseason Power 10 DIII rankings.
“We got a lot of new guys, so it took a little bit getting together, but we’ve been gelling well and I think we’re gonna play some pretty exciting rugby on Friday,” said grad student Patrick Brennan, one of the first experienced players brought in last season after he finished his undergraduate career at Endicott.
While he is an incredibly shifty player at the flyhalf position, who is dangerous with ball in hand, Brennan also adds a tremendous amount of value with his grasp of the team’s offensive system. He has played for Kenkel since he was in kindergarten and so is quite adept at getting all of these new players up to speed quickly.
“At Endicott, we had so many new players and then you’re trying to combine the new players with players who played for a little while and stuff,” explained Kenkel, who spent over a decade coaching the Gulls. “So, we keep it simple but move the ball around as much as possible, and we try to keep the language very simple. The first three weeks that’s really what we’ve kind of worked on.”
Something else that Brennan has helped the new guys pick up on quickly is that sense of rivalry between the Griz and the Bobcats of Montana State.
“I’m pretty new to Montana, but since I’ve gotten here it’s been a pretty known thing that we don’t like the ‘Cats,” Brennan explained.
Joining Brennan in the ranks of more experienced players helping to buoy Montana’s corps of young, local talent are names like Luke Pugh, an All-American transfer from Wisconsin Eau-Claire, and Jonathan Taylor, an explosive back-three player from Endicott. But the real heft, literally and metaphorically, comes from transfers like Javarious Burris, from Iowa Central Community College, and Bradley DiGiacomo, from Endicott – two huge front row players who will bring a physical edge to the Griz come scrum-time. And while Montana has worked all offseason on its conditioning, having set a goal of being the fittest team in NCR in 2026, Brennan believes that the power of the forwards will make the difference against Montana State on Friday, and against the field of DIII competitors moving forward.
“I think our scrum is something that’s definitely going to stand out. I think we have a pretty dominant forward pack. And then, with some of the set plays coming off that scrum, we have pretty talented backs, so I’m excited to see how that plays out.”
“Offense is great, and we definitely have some guys who can run the ball, but defense is where we do a lot of work,” added coach Kenkel. “We work a lot on our line speed, we work a lot on not going for big bang tackles, but making sure that we’re understanding what the mechanics look like, making sure that we’re coming up, really pressing on line speed, and that comes a lot through what Pat said, through fitness and working on communicating.”
Kenkel’s side will certainly need to be prepared to get physical on defense as the Montana State lineup is filled with hard-nosed runners who can make opponents pay for any weak tackle attempts. Junior – and Rugby Name Hall of Fame contender – Rex Muldoon, along with 2025 All-American Ethan Carlson, will lead the charge from their center spots in the backline. And while junior Dylan Lugar will be stepping into the flyhalf spot following the departure of Holden Howe, Mateo Scipioni will bring some consistency to the half-back room as he will don the number 9 shirt once again in 2026.
The task of countering the formidable Griz pack will fall mostly on two seniors, Matthieu Carney at the no. 8, and second row player Jason Retz. The pair is certainly capable of matching any team physically, and they have plenty of experience playing together against high-level competition. Carney was also involved in NCR’s All-Star program last January, along with Muldoon and Lugar.
“They’re tough kids. They run straight at you. They’ve got a lot of tough kids who really like to have that ball in their hand,” Montana’s Kenkel said of the competition.
Theoretically, Montana State are the favorites heading into the match since they play in a higher division than the University of Montana. But while coaches Joseph Williams and Nick Lapp routinely have the Bobcats among the top contenders in DII, winning the High Peaks conference championship eight times since 2011, State failed to live up to its #1 preseason power 10 ranking ahead of its 2025 campaign, losing to Boise State, Colorado Mesa, and Wyoming in the regular season.
The University of Montana team is also entering this competition without any fear of their higher-division foes, according to Brennan.
“I trust what we’ve been doing at practice and I don’t think they’re that much more advanced than us. I like our odds, I’ll just put it that way,” the flyhalf said when asked about the matchup.
His coach had a different perspective on the rivalry, however, showing some deference to the fact that Montana State has a proven track record when it comes to winning games.
“They’ve got a great program down there, led by some good coaches,” said Kenkel, “so they’re the premier program in Montana. Until someone proves it different, right?”
To see who comes out on top in this bitter rivalry game, make sure you stream the match live on NCR TV.
Also, make sure to catch all the exciting games on this year’s FNR slate, the schedule for which can be found here.
