BILLINGS — After enduring a brutal opening schedule, Rocky Mountain College's football team has a chance to build momentum this weekend when the Battlin' Bears host Dickinson State at 1 p.m. Saturday.
"I think we're a better team than what our record indicates," quarterback Trent Nobach recently told MTN Sports.
Rocky's record stands at 1-4 with each loss (in order of schedule) against currently ranked opponents College of Idaho (T-20), Montana Tech (6), UM-Western (15) and Carroll College (12).
Hear from Chris Stutzriem and Trent Nobach on this season's progression:
"We're not getting too low or too high on the sideline or in the game," head coach Chris Stutzriem said.
That steady approach paid off Saturday with a 31-21 road victory over division foe Valley City State. Rocky receivers Darius Haskin and Eric Lira provided the offensive fireworks helping secure the win.
Haskin returned a kickoff 97 yards for a touchdown and caught a go-ahead score late in the first half. Lira added a fourth-quarter touchdown to seal the victory.
"I think they're two of the top guys in the conference, if not in the country. They work extremely hard on their craft," Stutzriem said.
Nobach quickly agreed.
"They make my job easy. They get open and when they have the ball in their hands, they do a lot of magical things. We haven't even exposed our full potential of the offense yet," he said.
Haskin and Lira have combined for almost 1,000 receiving yards and nine touchdowns this season.
Dickinson State enters Saturday's matchup with a season that mirrors Rocky's — only in reverse. The Blue Hawks, led by Baker native Pete Stanton in his 12th year as head coach, won their first two games but have since dropped four straight.
Rocky's approach for Saturday remains straightforward.
"We're going to go out there and compete our butts off and have a good game," Stutzriem said with a smile.
