Former high school teammates combined for a big Boise State run on The Blue. Here’s how
As Boise State prepared to punt in the third quarter of its blowout win over San Diego State last Friday night, redshirt junior linebacker Marco Notarainni flashed a quick grin at redshirt junior tight end Matt Lauter.
The pair were lined up as punt protection for James Ferguson-Reynolds, who was preparing to kick the ball away on fourth-and-3 from the Broncos’ 44-yard line.
But as the ball was snapped — seemingly set to fly between Notarainni and Lauter — the linebacker snagged the ball out of the air, ran into the gap provided by Lauter’s blocking and earned the first down with a 6-yard rush.
“(The last) true snap to me was in high school,” Notarainni said Wednesday, reflecting on his first college attempt at a designed ball-carrying play.
The Broncos went on to score six plays later en route to a 56-24 win, but it was that first-down run for Notarainni that’ll stick in his mind. He returned a blocked field goal 44 yards against Colorado State last season, but this was different.
It gave him a flashback to his high school days.
“It was just kind of like a good little throwback to high school with me and Lauter,” Notarainni said. “Considering that he was blocking for me again and I was carrying the ball.”
Both guys were in the same class and played high school football at Torrey Pines High School in San Diego. Notarainni also played tight end in high school, meaning he’d sometimes find Lauter blocking for him.
The hard-hitting linebacker was the Broncos’ leading tackler through seven games last season before suffering a fractured foot in October that ended his season. Through eight games this season, he has 31 tackles, 17 of which are solo.
We may not see Notorainni running the ball much more moving forward, but the possibility is always there. He said special teams always have a Play of the Week, which they practice in case the right look presents itself in a game.
The trick play for Notorainni lined up perfectly with the midfield situation against San Diego State.
“We obviously practiced that in practice this week, and I got a chance to watch him do it quite a bit,” Boise State defensive coordinator Erik Chinander said. “That cutback was pretty sweet that he had there. I didn’t know he had those hips in him, but that was pretty cool to see.”
Boise State vs. Nevada
When: 6 p.m. Mountain time Saturday
Where: Albertsons Stadium (36,363, Turf)
TV: FOX
Radio: KBOI 670 AM and KBOI 93.1 FM/Sirius XM Ch. 162 or 201 (Bob Behler, Pete Cavender)
Records: Boise State 7-1, 4-0; Nevada 3-7, 0-4
Series: Boise State leads the series 31-14
Vegas line: Boise State by 24 points
Weather: High of 51, low of 35, humidity 67%, cloudy, 7% chance of rain
This story was originally published November 7, 2024 at 4:00 AM.
