Montana State caps spring with ring ceremony, Gold team wins scrimmage 30-14

Montana State’s spring finale did more than hand out championship rings. It showed why the Bobcats look built to defend their place at the top of the FCS, with Justin Lamson running the Gold offense efficiently in a 30-14 scrimmage win and making a strong early claim on the conversation that will matter in August.

The Sonny Holland Spring Scrimmage at Bobcat Stadium capped five weeks of spring work and came with the program’s 2025 national championship rings already on its hands. The timing was intentional, with the ceremony at 12:45 p.m. followed by the scrimmage at 1, so the day could serve as both a celebration of Montana State’s first title since 1984 and a real evaluation of the roster that Brent Vigen will take into the fall. Six of the eight seniors from last year’s team were expected back for the ring moment.

Lamson made the most of the spotlight. The Most Outstanding Player from January’s FCS Championship Game completed 19 of 22 passes for 192 yards and two touchdowns, while also rushing for 43 yards. He led touchdown drives on his first four full possessions and helped the Gold side score on a Jared White run, a Lamson-to-Carter Curnow touchdown, a Lamson rushing score and a Lamson touchdown pass to Dane Steel. Gold also added a safety on the way to the 30-14 finish.

White did his part on the other side, carrying 16 times for 68 yards and a score, and he remained one of the spring’s most useful backs in a game that featured 245 rushing yards on 49 carries. Montana State’s offense passed for 252 yards, finishing 38 of 49 with one interception, a line that underscored how much production the Bobcats found through the air even while keeping the run game active.

The White team answered with one of the day’s sharpest plays, a trick sequence that began with Grant Vigen lateraling to Parker Mady before Mady threw deep to Nick Seymour for a touchdown that trimmed the gap to seven. Late in the scrimmage, Grant Vigen connected with Luke Smith for another score, but Gold had already separated enough to make the final margin look comfortable.

The bigger takeaway is not the scoreboard itself. Montana State entered spring after replacing all four starters on the defensive line and two offensive starters, and the scrimmage gave the staff a live look at the next layer of depth. With Lamson, White, Mady, Curnow, Seymour and Steel all showing up in meaningful plays, the Bobcats left spring with fewer mysteries and a clearer picture of who will shape an opener at Utah Tech on Aug. 29.