HELENA — Thanks to 24-unanswered points in the second half, No. 13 Montana Western toppled No. 12 Carroll College 38-17 on Saturday at Nelson Stadium.
Quarterback Michael Palandri had a hand in three second-half touchdowns as the Bulldogs on their eighth consecutive game an improved to 8-1 overall and 6-1 in the Frontier. Carroll is now 7-2 overall and 5-2 in the league.
The Bulldogs have pulled into a tie at the top of the Frontier Conference with the College of Idaho (8-1, 6-1).
Palandri started things in the third quarter with a 1-yard TD run, then later found Jon Kirkley with a 38-yard touchdown pass as Western took a 28-17 lead. After a 19-yard field goal by John Mears early in the fourth, Palandri hit Kirkley with a 19-yard scoring toss.
Carroll QB Jack Prka threw first-half touchdowns to Jake Brown and Carson Ochoa in the first half, and Spencer Berger hit a 32-yard field goal as time expired before halftime.
But Palandri had two TD throws in the first half the first to Carson Ochoa and the second to Kirkley, as part of a five-touchdown day. Palandri finished with 388 yards on 21-of-33 passing.
Elsewhere in the Frontier …
No. 22 Montana Tech 28, MSU-Northern 0
HAVRE — Blake Thelen threw two first-half touchdown passes and Montana Tech shut out MSU-Northern 28-0 on Saturday.
Thelen threw scoring passes to Kaleb Winterburn and Wyatt Alexander to give the Orediggers a 14-0 lead by halftime. Winterburn scored on a 1-yard run in the third quarter, and Ethan Renner capped the scoring in the fourth with a 35-yard scamper.
Thelen completed 19 of 31 passes for 302 yards. Renner finished with 106 yards on 10 rushing attempts, while Winterburn carried 19 times for 75 yards. Alexander caught seven passes for 122 yards.
Tech improved to 6-3 overall and to 5-2 in the Frontier while MSU-Northern dipped to 1-8 overall and 0-7 in the league.
Rocky Mountain 52, Arizona Christian 14
GLENDALE, Ariz. — Rocky Mountain College scored three third-quarter touchdowns Saturday night on the way to a 52-14 victory at Arizona Christian.
Rocky (5-4, 3-4 Frontier) was playing its first game since the shooting death last week of freshman defensive end Chandler Stalcup. The Battlin’ Bears decided to play the game after internal discussions and after consulting Stalcup’s family.
Quarterback Graedyn Buell threw a touchdown and ran for another in the third quarter, and Zaire Wilcox ran one into the end zone as the Bears took a 42-7 lead. Buell also threw two TDs and ran for one in the first half.
Ben Rooney added a 15-yard touchdown run for Rocky in the fourth quarter. As a team, Rocky ran for … 300 yards, led by Wilcox’s 124 and Buell’s 90.
Southern Oregon 41, Eastern Oregon 24
LA GRANDE, Ore. — Four touchdown passes by Blake Asciutto led Southern Oregon to a 41-24 Frontier win over in-state rival Eastern Oregon.
Asciutto completed 19 of 31 passes for 238 yards while Avery McCuaig rushed for 94 yards and a touchdown for SOU. Malachi Spurrier led Eastern Oregon’s offense with 119 receiving yards on eight catches.
Southern Oregon is now 5-4 overall and 4-3 in the conference. EOU fell to 2-7 overall and 2-5 in the Frontier.
