Game 4
(RV) Montana Tech (2-1, Frontier 2-1) vs. #17 Montana Western (3-1, Frontier 2-1)
Vigilante Field
Dillon, Mont.
September , 2022
1:00 p.m. Kickoff
 
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Last Time
· Montana Tech lost to Montana Western at home 45-21 in their only meeting last season
· The Bulldogs were ranked No. 23 in the NAIA Coaches Top 25 Poll last season in the game against the Orediggers on September 25th
· The Orediggers scored first on the opening drive with a Blake Counts 4-yard touchdown run
· The Bulldogs scored 38 unanswered points before the Orediggers scored a couple of late touchdowns
· Blake counts finished with 70 yards rushing and 2 touchdowns
· Jet Campbell passed for 282 yards and a touchdown
· Jon Jund passed for 381 yards and 4 touchdowns

For the Record
· Second year head coach Kyle Samson is 0-1 against Montana Western
· Coach Samson is 2-3 against opponents ranked in the Top 25 in his career
· Coach Samson is 4-2 on the road in his career and 1-0 this season
· The Bulldogs were Frontier Conference Co-Champions last season and received the automatic bid into the NAIA National Championship Series
· Montana Tech has not won in Dillon since the 2012 season in a 30-24 overtime win

Checking the Numbers
· The Orediggers are averaging 402.3 yds/gm of offense and rank second in the conference and are fourth in scoring an averaging 28 points a game
· The Orediggers are first in the conference in passing (250.7 yds/gm) and fifth in rushing (151.7 yds/gm)
· The Oredigger defense  is second in the conference giving up 234 yds/gm
· The Orediggers are first in the league against the pass (130.7 yds/gm) and fourth in rush yards per game (103.3 yds/gm)
· The Bulldogs are fourth in offensive yards per game averaging 384.8 and second in the conference in scoring averaging 31 points per game
· The Bulldogs are fifth in passing (197.3 yds/gm) and second in rushing (187.5 yds/gm)
· The Bulldog defense leads the conference giving up just 208.3 yds/gm
 
Scouting the Bulldogs—The Bulldogs have won their last three games after an opening season loss to Carroll College on the road. The Bulldogs have the top defense in the league this season giving up just 208.3 yards a game and have sacked the opposing quarterback 17 times in four games. They also have six interceptions and five fumble recoveries. James Aragon leads the team with 4.5 sacks and Reese Artz has 3.5. Reese Neville leads the Bulldog rushing attack averaging 73.8 yards a game and had his best game last week against MSU Northern with 149 yards. Senior quarterback Jon Jund is averaging 190 yards passing a game this year and has a league leading 7 touchdown passes. Freshman Dylan Shipley is Jund's favorite target. Shipley has 17 catches and 5 touchdowns on the season leading the conference in touchdown receptions.

Tough Road Game—Second year head coach Kyle Samson has found success on the road posting a 4-2 record. Montana Western has defended their home field against the Orediggers with their last win in Dillon in 2012. Tech had leads in the first and second halves last year at Western, but the Bulldogs finished the game with 21 straight points to win the game. 

Turnover Bug—After opening the season with two perfect games with no turnovers, the Orediggers finished with 5 in the loss to Rocky Mountain last week. The offense's first drive ended in a turnover and the final drive as the Orediggers were approaching the endzone on their fourth quarter comeback ended with an interception.

Top Defenses—The two top defenses in the conference take the field Saturday. The Orediggers are giving up 13.7 points per game and the Bulldogs have given up just 12 points in conference contests. While Western boasts a stout rushing defense giving up just 43.7 yards a game, the Orediggers lead the conference in pass defense giving up only 130.7 yards per game. The Bulldogs have 8 takeaways with the Orediggers having 6 on the season.
Searching for Pay Dirt—Senior wide receiver Trevor Hoffman has yet to find the endzone this season but leads the conference in receptions hauling in 20 passes this season for 259 yards. The two-time all-conference selection also leads the league with an 86.3 yard per game average. Hoffman had 8 catches for 68 yards in the last game.

Trumble Causing Trouble—Junior defensive lineman Zach Trumble knocked down a Rocky pass and finished last weeks game with six tackles including one for a loss. The Valleyford, Washington native has been an anchor on the defensive line causing trouble for the opposition this season. Trumble has 15 tackles, a sack, and 3.5 tackles for a loss on the season.

Shutdown Secondary—The Oreddigger secondary held Rocky to just 149 passing yards last weekend. Senior Naoki Harmer broke up a pass nearly missing an interception and finished with 9 tackles including 1 for a loss. Sophomore Angel Sanchez III had 2 broken up passes finishing with 7 tackles.  Jordan Washington and Brandon Morley kept wideouts in check. Washington broke up 1 pass and finished with 4 tackles while Morley had 7 stops. Senior Jake Orvis forced a fumble the Orediggers did not recover and had 5 tackles. The Orediggers have 3 interceptions and 15 broken up passes on the season.