DILLON, Mont.- Montana Tech lost a back-and-forth contest with the No. 25 Bulldogs on Saturday afternoon at Vigilante Stadium, 35-21.

Montana Western took an early lead 7-0 when Trey Mounts caught a 5-yard pass from Jon Jund that finished a 10-play 75-yard drive to begin the game. 

The Diggers answered back with a Blake Counts 7-yard run with 5.34 left in the first quarter. Counts finished the game with 96 yards on 18 carries. 

The Diggers scored next midway through the second quarter on a Jet Campbell pass to Trevor Hoffman from 8 yards out. 

Before halftime, Western's Nate Simkins snagged a 10-yard touchdown pass from Jund with 1:02 on the clock to tie the contest up at 14-all. 

On Montana Tech's first series of the third quarter, Kyle Torgerson caught a pass on the flat and bounced off a defender and went 53 yards for a score. The Diggers led 21-14.

Western responded with a Colton McMphee 7-yard touchdown run and another Nate Simkins touchdown grab to lead 28-21 at the end of the third quarter. 

In the fourth quarter, Western's McPhee added another touchdown on the ground to put the Dawgs ahead 35-21. 

Jet Campbell  finished the day 12-for-21 through the air for 164 yards but was sacked 5 times. 

Torgerson led the Diggers with three receptions for 69 yards and a score. Trevor Hoffman had four grabs for 37 yards and a touchdown. Mark Estes had one catch for 33 yards while Kiley Caprara had three catches for 23 yards. Logan Kennedy had one catch for two yards. 

Teddy Croft led the Diggers with 10  total tackles and one tackle for loss. Logan Kolodejchuk had nine tackles, Jake Orvis and Spencer Schock had seven apiece. 

The Orediggers celebrate Senior Day on Saturday when they host MSU-Northern.