BUTTE — It was a competitive battle between Frontier Conference rivals, but in the end Montana Tech had too much for Carroll College on Saturday in the second round of the NAIA football playoffs.
Jarrett Wilson threw two touchdown passes to Levi Torgerson, and Torgerson later returned the favor with a TD throw back to Wilson as Montana Tech withstood a Carroll rally to prevail 31-21 at Bob Green Field and advance to the quarterfinal round of the NAIA’s Football Championship Series.
The most impactful sequence occurred in the fourth quarter, when Montana Tech’s Casey Kautzman pinned Carroll’s offense on the 1-yard line with a well-placed punt. Three plays later Orediggers’ linebacker Tyler Kovick laid a big hit on Saints quarterback Quinn Stamps to force a fumble, which Trey Yates recovered in the end zone for a touchdown.
At that point Carroll had fought back from 17 down to crawl within 24-21, but Kovick and Yates combined on a crucial play to put Montana Tech back ahead by two scores.
Later, a fourth-down pass by Stamps in the red zone went incomplete and Carroll surrendered the ball and, ultimately, the game.
Stamps came off the bench for Carroll after starting quarterback Kaden Huot was injured in the first half. Stamps threw three touchdown passes to tight end Carson Ochoa, including two in the second half to keep the Saints in it.
But the Orediggers put Carroll in a hole early. Wilson found Togerson with a 15-yard TD score in the opening quarter, then hit Torgerson with a 66-yard bomb for another touchdown to build a 14-0 lead. A Kautzman field goal made it 17-0 and that was the score at halftime.
Carroll’s defense forced a three-and-out on the opening possession of the third quarter, then scored when Stamps hit Ochoa for 14 yards in the end zone. But Tech answered on Torgerson’s trick-play touchdown throw to Wilson off a sweep to keep it a three-possession game.
The Saints got back within 24-21 after consecutive TD connections between Stamps and Ochoa, but they got no closer.
Torgerson, the Frontier Conference East division’s player of the year, finished with 219 all-purpose yards — 124 receiving and 95 on returns. Wilson completed 11 of 16 passes for 197 yards and also rushed for 94 yards, including a 60-yard run to help set up the game’s first touchdown.
Huot threw for 80 yards on 8-of-11 passing before leaving the game. Stamps was solid in relief, throwing for 187 yards.
Defensively, the Orediggers were led by Frontier East defensive MVP Tel Arthur and Kovick, who combined for 22 tackles and three tackles for loss. Braeden Orlandi finished with 11 tackles to lead Carroll’s defense.
With the win, Montana Tech improved to 12-0 and will host another Frontier foe — this time the College of Idaho (10-1) — in the quarterfinals next week. Carroll closed its season with a 9-3 record.
