BUTTE — Reese Neville rushed for 160 yards and Jon Jund threw two touchdown passes and ran for another Saturday as Montana Western upended No. 23 Montana Tech on Saturday at Alumni Coliseum.
Jund threw a third-quarter touchdown pass to Elijah Benedick for 14 yards to give Western a 24-14 advantage. Montana Tech answered with a 4-yard TD run by Kaleb Winterburn early in the fourth, but the Bulldogs padded their lead on a 24-yard field goal by Jon Mears with 3:28 remaining.
Montana Tech's final possession ended with four straight incomplete passes. With the victory, Western improved to 5-4 in the Frontier and 6-4 overall. The Orediggers slipped to 6-3 both in the league and overall.
Kyle Torgerson had eight catches for 137 yards to lead Montana Tech's offense. Winterburn finished with 101 yards on 21 carries. Blake Thelen threw for 228 yards and a touchdown pass but was intercepted twice and sacked three times.
Jund threw a first-quarter TD pass to Isaiah Thomas, and another Mears field goal gave the Bulldogs a 10-0 advantage. Tech grabbed a 14-10 lead after a special teams touchdown and a touchdown pass from Thelen to Trevor Hoffman early in the third.
But a 4-yard run by Jund midway through the quarter gave the Bulldogs a 16-14 lead and they didn't trail again.
Elsewhere around the Frontier ...
No. 25 Carroll at Southern Oregon
ASHLAND, Ore. — Jack Prka's 7-yard touchdown pass to Chris Akulschin with 7:15 remaining proved to be the game-winning score Saturday in Carroll's 24-17 victory at Southern Oregon.
The 25th-ranked Saints led 17-3 late in the second quarter, but a Blake Asciutto touchdown pass to Ben Graziani pulled SOU within 17-10 just before halftime. After a scorless third quarter, Asciutto and Graziani connected again, this time from 5 yards, to tie the game.
But Prka's throw to Akulschin capped a 12-play, 76-yard drive that propelled Carroll to the victory. Matthew Burgess rushed for a pair of first-quarter touchdowns as the Saints took a 14-0 lead.
Prka threw for 238 yards while Burgess carried the ball 24 times for 129 yards. Akulschin had 91 receiving yards.
Carroll improved its record to 7-2 with the win. Southern Oregon fell to 3-6.
Rocky 9, MSU-Northern 0
HAVRE — Rocky Mountain College limited MSU-Northern to 63 total yards and just two first downs Saturday in a turnover-marred 9-0 victory on a frigid afternoon at Tilleman Field.
After a scoreless first half, the Battlin' Bears got a 24-yard field goal from Austin Drake in the third quarter and a 1-yard touchdown run by Cade Lamber in the fourth. An interception by Brail Lipford late in the fourth quarter sealed the victory for Rocky.
The Bears' defense limited Northern QB Kaymen Cureton to 3-for-11 passing for 14 yards and intercepted two passes. The Lights rushed for 49 yards.
By contrast, Rocky's offense had 227 total yards, including 191 on the ground. Trent Nobach started at quarterback for the Bears. He completed just 3 of 13 passes for 36 yards and had one interception. Zaire Wilcox carried the ball 32 times for 86 yards for Rocky, which turned the ball over four times.
With the win, Rocky improved to 6-3. Northern is now 0-9.
No. 12 College of Idaho at Eastern Oregon
LA GRANDE, Ore. — Stout defense and a strong running game propelled No. 12 College of Idaho to a 41-7 runaway victory over Eastern Oregon on Saturday.
The Yotes' defense limited EOU to 185 total yards. Their running game, meanwhile, had 172 yards and three touchdowns, two of which were scored by Jon Schofield. Andy Peters and Ryan Hibbs each threw touchdown passes for C of I.
College of Idaho also scored on defense when Jacob Arms scooped up a fumble and ran 90 yards to the end zone to put his team ahead 21-0 in the third quarter.
With the win, the Yotes improved to 8-1. Eastern Oregon is now 1-8 in the Frontier and 1-9 overall.
