Game 8
#23 Montana Tech (5-2) vs. #24 Rocky Mountain (5-2)
Herb Klindt Field
Billings, Mont.
October 29, 2022
1:05 p.m. Kickoff

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FULL GAME NOTES

Last Time
· Montana Tech lost to Rocky Mountain earlier this season at home 28-20
· The Orediggers were driving late in the fourth quarter to tie the game when the Battlin' Bears Jack Cline intercepted the ball at the goal line with 16 seconds left
· After committing no turnovers in the first two games of the season, Tech had 3 on a fumble and 2 interceptions
· Tech led Rocky in offensive yards 383-301
· Jet Campbell had 207 yards passing and 94 yards rushing and scored twice running one in and a pass to Blake Counts
· Counts had 85 yards rushing
· Rocky quarterback Nathan Dick passed for 149 yards and rushed for another 67 yards scoring 3 total touchdowns
· Zaire Wilcox rushed 20 times for 77 yards for the Bears

For the Record
· Second-year head coach Kyle Samson earned his 10th career victory last week
· Coach Samson is 2-1 on the road this season and 5-3 for his career
· Coach Samson is 3-4 against ranked opponents and 1-1 this season
· The Orediggers defeated Rocky twice last season and both times Rocky was ranked in the NAIA Coaches' Top 25

Checking the Numbers
· The Orediggers lead the league in scoring (37 ppg) and are 2nd in yards per game (411.6)
· The Orediggers lead the league in passing (245.1 yds/gm) and passing TDs (15)
· The Orediggers are 3rd in the conference in rushing (166.4 yds/gm) and rushing TDs with 15
· The Oredigger defense is 3rd in scoring defense (16.1 ppg) and 2nd in total defense (265 yds/gm)
· The Orediggers lead in pass defense (145.1 yds/gm) and are 4th in rushing (119.9 yds/gm)
· The Bears are 5th in scoring (28.3 ppg) and total offense (352.3 yds/gm)
· The Bears are 5th in passing (194 yds/gm) and 4th in rushing (158.3 yds/gm)
· The Bears lead the league in scoring defense (15.3 ppg) and are 3rd in total defense (192.9 yds/gm)
· The Rocky defense leads in defensive touchdowns with 4 on the year
 
Scouting the Battlin' Bears—The Bears lost at Carroll last week 24-0 as the Saints handed the Bears their first shutout of the season. George Tribble Jr. has started at quarterback the last 4 games completing 56% of his passes with 743 yards passing, 6 TDs, and 5 interceptions. Sophomore running back Zaire Wilcox leads the rushing game averaging 79.6 yds/gm with 8 total TDs this season. DeNiro Killian Jr. is the leading receiver with 23 catches for 400 yards and 2 TDs followed by Trae Henry with 20 catches for 372 yards and 3 TDs. The Rocky defense is only allowing 15.3 ppg and 292.9 yards a contest. The Bears have 16 takeaways with 12 interceptions. Senior linebacker Nolan McKafferty is averaging 6.6 tackles a game. McKafferty had 8 tackles and recovered a fumble against Tech in week 3. Defensive back Kaysan Barnett has 4 picks and 6 pass breakups this season.

TD Thelen—Quarterback Blake Thelen tossed two touchdowns last week connecting on a 61-yard score to Trevor Hoffman and a 64-yarder to Logan Kennedy in the first half. The redshirt sophomore has 9 touchdown passes this season, all in the last four games. In that same span, Thelen has passed for 893 yards.

Counts Hits 100—Junior Blake Counts had his third 100 yard game last week rushing for 120 yards against Southern Oregon. Counts is averaging 90 yards on the ground this year and is second in the conference. The Flathead High School product has 5 TDs on the ground and 3 more by air on just 7 total catches which is 3rd in the league for total touchdowns.

Secondary Success—The Tech secondary held league leading quarterback Blake Ascuitto to just 132 yards passing last week. The Orediggers are 7th in the nation giving up just 145.1 yards passing a game. Tech had 2 interceptions and 5 pass break ups last week.

Windauer's Big Play—Senior linebacker Ben Windauer grabbed a tipped pass and returned it 31 yards into the endzone last week for a huge play at the end of the first half to put the Orediggers up 28-14 at halftime. The pick-six was the first for Windauer and first career INT.

Special Teams Make it Happen—Naoki Harmer blocked a Raider punt in the first half and Clay Fisher recovered and returned it for a touchdown. Fisher was named the Frontier Conference Special Teams POW. It was Harmer's second block on special teams this season with the first coming against Rocky in their first meeting on a PAT.

Sack Leader—Keyshawn James-Newby had his 5th sack of the season against the Raiders and is tied for the lead in the conference this year. The Capital High product has 8 TFL this season and is second in that category. James-Newby also has 3 broken up passes and is averaging 5.9 tackles a game. 

Jet Back in Action—Senior quarterback Jet Campbell was back in action against Southern Oregon splitting time with Thelen. Jet came into the game in the second quarter. Campbell also played at the end of the third quarter and into the fourth when he completed a 35 yard touchdown to Wyatt Alexander.

TV Game of the Week—The week 8 matchup between #23 Montana Tech and #24 Rocky Mountain will be live on SWX this Saturday. In addition to streaming, the game can be watched live on local channel 18.3 in Butte or channel 199 on cable.