BUTTE- The No. 21 Montana Tech Orediggers looked the part of a powerhouse team on Saturday afternoon defeating MSU-Northern 73-0 on Bob Green Field.
In a steady downpour the Oredigger (4-1) had their foot on the gas from the beginning scoring five touchdowns in the first 16 minutes of action.
Montana Tech's offense moved the ball efficiently, and often, scoring their first touchdown at the 13:00 mark of the first quarter on a
Kaleb Winterburn 6-yard rush. A pair of
Blake Thelen touchdown throws on the ensuing possessions gave the Diggers a 21-0 advantage with 2:34 on the first quarter clock. Thelen found
Kyle Torgerson for a 34-yard score and
Trevor Hoffman for a 12-yard score to put the Diggers well ahead.
The Digger defense got in on the action when
Cole Wyant and
Keyshawn James-Newby forced a fumble on a sack of Northern QB Kaymen Cureton that
Tyler Little recovered for a touchdown.
Another Northern miscue resulted in the Diggers taking over at the one-yard line where
Blake Counts found paydirt on the ensuing play to put Montana Tech ahead 35-0.
After another Northern 3-and-out, Montana Tech put together a 7-play 77-yard drive that was capped off by Winterburn's second rushing score of the day putting the Diggers up 42-0.
Midway through the second quarter, the rout was on with the Diggers finding the endzone once again on a
Blake Thelen 65-yard bomb to
Wyatt Alexander. That touchdown gave Montana Tech a 49-0 lead heading into halftime.
Montana Tech's next points came at the 12:48 mark in the third quarter when
Ryan Lowry booted a 31-yard field goal.
With
Cade Wyant under center, the Diggers put together another long drive going 69-yards over 6-plays before Wyant kept it on an 8-yard run to put Tech ahead 59-0.
Running back
Christian Vetter and quarterback
Jake Standlee scored another pair of rushing touchdowns in the fourth quarter to put Tech ahead by the 73-0 final score.
Montana Tech finished the day with 467 yards of total offense and limited Northern to just 28 yards on 55 plays.
Blake Thelen finished the day 10-for-14 for 256 and three touchdowns while
Ethan Renner led the Diggers on the ground with 99 rushing yards.
Trevor Hoffman caught five passes for 124 yards.
Keyshawn James-Newby's seven tackles led Montana Tech defensively while
Blake Allred and
Cole Wyant contributed five tackles apiece.
Montana Tech returns to action next week when they travel to Caldwell, Idaho for a matchup with the College of Idaho.
