ASHLAND, Ore. — Michael Palandri passed for two touchdowns — both to Seth Shook — and Jakob Humphrey rushed for two more as No. 8 Montana Western rolled to a 40-20 win Saturday over Southern Oregon.
Palandri and Shook's first TD connection — a 70-yarder — and the ensuing two-point conversion gave the Bulldogs a 14-7 lead with 4:30 to play in the first quarter. After Jace Fitzgerald intercepted SOU quarterback Dom Montiel, Humphrey added a 58-yard scoring run less than two minutes later, and the Raiders didn't get the deficit closer than 10 points the rest of the game.
Maclain Burckley added a field goal in the second quarter to push Western's lead to 24-7 before Montiel hooked up with Trevor Jaasko just before half. The Montiel-to-Jaasko touchdown made it 24-14 in favor of the Bulldogs at halftime.
Humphrey and Shook each scored their second TDs in the third quarter, as Western took control and cruised to the win, its fourth straight and first in the Frontier Conference's new West division.
Palandri completed 17 of 26 passes for 263 yards and the two TDs; Shook had three catches for 86 yards and the two TDs; and Humphrey had 64 yards and two scores on just seven carries. Aidan Lammers had a team-high 79 rushing yards and another touchdown — a 28-yard run in the first quarter.
Montiel finished with 311 passing yards and three touchdowns for SOU but also threw three interceptions. Fitzgerald, Connor Dunlea and Brady Mounts had the picks for the Bulldogs.
Western (4-1 overall, 1-0 Frontier West) returns to Dillon next week for a home game against Carroll on Oct. 11. Southern Oregon (1-4, 0-1) has now lost four consecutive games and will look to get back in the win column at Simpson (Calif.) on Oct. 11.
