Orediggers to stay undefeated in Top 25 matchup

BUTTE — Polson product, Jarrett Wilson, totaled 296 yards and two touchdowns in No. 6 Montana Tech’s 27-24 victory over No. 25 College of Idaho. 

Tech (5-0) controlled the game in the trenches by holding the Yotes (3-1) to just 29 yards rushing. The Orediggers finished with 196 yards on the ground and a pair of rushing touchdowns to hand the Yotes their first loss of the season. 

After neither team scored in the first quarter, Nick Michelotti scored the first points of the game after catching a 7-yard touchdown from Wilson to take the lead 7-0. Michelotti totaled 50 yards on four catches in the win. 

Josh Horn kicked a 32-yard field goal with 5:44 remaining in the second quarter to put the Yotes on the board 7-3.  

Before halftime, both teams scored touchdowns on drives that were less than three minutes long. Wykece Johnson scored on a 15-yard rushing touchdown for Tech. Rylie Byington punched in a 1-yard run to cut into the deficit 14-10 before the break. 

Montana Tech scored in two plays to start the third quarter. Wilson found Derek Pearse for an 11-yard touchdown to increase the lead 21-10. 

Nate Milanowski scored Tech’s final points of the game with 3:35 remaining in the third quarter. He ran in a 2-yard touchdown to cap off an 11-play drive that lasted over seven minutes. 

Yotes quarterback Caden Young started to find success passing the ball. He threw two touchdowns in the fourth quarter. One of them was a 25-yard strike to Dylan Wolfe and the other a 57-yard touchdown to Travis Marieiro. Young totaled 320 yards in the air and had a pair of touchdowns and interceptions in their defeat. 

The Orediggers got the ball back with 4:38 left in the game with a narrow 27-24 lead. Wilson took matters into his own hands and rushed for three first downs to run out the clock and secure the victory.  

Montana Tech returns home next week to face Dakota State (S.D.) on Saturday. 

MSU-Northern 23 ,Eastern Oregon 7 

HAVRE— Spencer Lehnerz returned two interceptions for touchdowns in the Northern Lights victory over Eastern Oregon.  

Northern (1-4) outgained Eastern Oregon (1-3) 262-240. The Lights held the Mountaineer’s to 37 yards rushing in their first win of the season. 

Kendall O’Neill scored a 1-yard touchdown run with 3:38 on the clock in the first, putting the first points of the game on the board for Northern. O’Neill finished with 120 total yards and went 11-16 passing. 

Eastern tied the game at seven with 19 seconds left in the first half. Damian Aalona connected with Nathan Wachs for a 24-yard score. Aalona threw for 142 yards on 19-32 passing. 

The third quarter belonged to Lehnerz. He returned two interceptions for 15 and 25-yard scores to give the Lights a 23-7 lead going into the final period. 

Northern’s defense forced a fumble late in the fourth quarter to set up a 22-yard field goal for De’Amoni Wright with six minutes remaining.  The Lights extended the lead 26-7 and never looked back to secure the victory. 

Northern will now rest next week with a bye. 

Montana Western 41, Dickinson State 21 

DILLON— Michael Palandri threw for 376 yards and five touchdowns in No. 9 Montana Western 41-21 victory over No. 20 Dickinson State. 

The Blue Hawks (2-2) outrushed the Bulldogs (3-1) 212-88 but overall was outgained 464-353 in total yards. 

Palandri wasted no time to score. He found Seth Shook for a 75-yard score on the second play from scrimmage to take an early 7-0 lead. Shook totaled 124 yards on three catches in the game. 

Hudsen Grovom rushed for a 3-yard touchdown to tie the game at seven with 5:52 remaining in the first quarter.  He finished with 52 yards on the ground and two scores. 

Western scored 21 points unanswered thanks to their receivers. Eli Norse scored an 8-yard touchdown to take back the lead 14-7, early in the second quarter. Seth Shook scored the next two scores for the Bulldogs with touchdowns of 21 and 28-yards, increasing the lead to 28-7. 

Glacier's own Carson Baker recovered a fumble at the 50-yard line to start the fourth quarter for the Blue Hawks. Grovom connected with Gage Gilbert for a 10-yard touchdown and the quarterback found the endzone again less than three minutes later to cut the lead 35-21.  

The Nourse and Palandri connection continued to put the game away. Palandri threw a 17-yard touchdown to his receiver to bring the score to 35-21. Palandri rushed in a 1-yard score on the following drive to close out the Blue Hawks chances. 

Western travels to Southern Oregon next week to face off against the Mountaineers.