Game 5
#21 Montana Tech (3-1) vs. MSU-Northern (0-4)
Bob Green Field at Alumni Coliseum
Butte, Montana
October 1, 2022
1:oo p.m. Kickoff
 
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Last Time
· Montana Tech faced MSU-Northern twice last season defeating the Lights 23-13 in Havre and shutting them out to finish the season at home 41-0
· The Orediggers held the Lights to 146 yards of offense in their last meeting in Butte that included 4 sacks and 3 takeaways
· Blake Counts rushed for 147 yards and senior Tyler Folkes added another 74
· Trevor Hoffman caught 4 passes for 92 yards and a 34-yard touchdown
· Linebacker Cade Wyant finished his freshman campaign with a 42-yard interception returned for a touchdown

For the Record
· Head Coach Kyle Sampson played and coached at MSU-Northern and is 2-0 against his alma mater
· Samson was a three-time all-conference selection for the Lights and was named the Frontier Conference Offensive Player of the Year in 2006
· Samson finished his career for MSU Northern with 5,303 yards passing, 1,591 yards rushing, and 45 total touchdowns
· Coach Samson was the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach under his father and head coach Mark Samson from 2007-14
· Homecoming Week and the Homecoming Game is sponsored by Nucor that gave the initial gift for the new 36'x19' Digger Vision video display installed before the season

Checking the Numbers
· The Oredigger offense is 4th in the conference in scoring (29.3 pts/gm) and 2nd in total offense per game (401.8 yds/gm)
· The Orediggers are 2nd in passing yards per game averaging 238 yards and 4th in rushing running for 163.8 yards a game
· The Oredigger defense is 3rd in scoring (16.3 pts/gm) and yards per game holding opponents to 270.8 yds/gm
· The Lights offense is last in the conference in scoring (3.8 pts/gm) and yards (114.5 yds/gm)
· The Lights are averaging just 86.8 passing yards and 27.8 rushing yards per game
· The Lights defense is giving up the most points of any Frontier school with a 44.5 pts/gm average and yards with a 476.3 yds/gm average
 
Scouting the Lights—The Lights are rebuilding under first year head coach Jerome Souers. Souers is not new to football or the area. Souers was an assistant coach at the University of Montana before leading Northern Arizona for 20 seasons. The Lights were shutout last week  56-0 by Rocky on the road and have just two touchdowns on the season. Quarterback Kaymen Cureton has started the last three games totaling 120 yards passing and a touchdown. Freshman running back Mason Dionne has the majority of the carries for the backfield with 75 rushing yards on the season. The defense is led by senior safety Hunter Riley  and linebacker Dylan Wampler. Riley is averaging 9.3 tackles per game and Wampler 9 stops per game.

Good First Start—Redshirt sophomore quarterback Blake Thelen had his first start for the Orediggers last week against Montana Western. The Great Falls native finished the game 15 of 27 with 200 yards and 3 touchdowns. Thelen led the Orediggers to the endzone on their first two drives of the game. Thelen hit Kaleb Winterburn for a 11-yard touchdown pass on the first drive and Blake Counts on a 3-yard pass on the following drive. Thelen had all 3 touchdown passes in the first half helping the Orediggers leading the Bulldogs 30-14 at halftime.

Hoffman Hits Pay Dirt—Senior wide receiver found the endzone for the first time this season on a 13-yard reception in the second quarter against the Bulldogs. Hoffman finished the game with a game-high 6 receptions and 99 yards. Hoffman leads the conference in receptions (26), receiving yards (358), and yards per game (89.5).
Big Day for Counts—Junior running back Blake Counts crossed the century mark Saturday with 126 rushing yards on 17 carries averaging 7.1 yards per carry. Counts had ran in one score and caught another finishing with 2 catches for 12 yards.

Road Block—Redshirt sophomore Keyshawn James-Newby led the Oredigger defense with 9 tackles last week and also had a sack and 1.5 tackles for a loss. The defensive lineman is second on the team this season in total tackles with 25 averaging 6.3 a game. The Helena native has 16 tackles in the last 2 games.
Right Place, Right Time—Senior defensive back Jake Orvis intercepted Western's Jon Jund on their first drive of the game last Saturday. The interception was the second of the year for the Billings native. Orvis has also forced a fumble and recovered a fumble this season. He has 14 tackles this season and a broken up pass.

Super Sophomore—Redshirt sophomore linebacker Cole Wyant had a breakout season last year as a redshirt freshman. Wyant finished 2021 with 35 tackles, 4.5 tackles for a loss, and 3 sacks. Wyant had his first career pick-6 against the Lights in the final game last season. Last week Wyant had 8 tackles against the Bulldogs with 5 solo stops. The Rocklin, California native is second on the team this year with 19 total tackles along with a pair of broken up passes.    

Strong Kicking Game—Redshirt sophomore kicker Ryan Lowry had 7 points last week going 4 for 4 on PATs and kicking a 32 yard field goal late in the game against Western. Lowry is second in the conference this season in points for kickers with 31. Lowry has gone 6 for 7 on field goals with a season long of 42 yards. His career long is 47 yards from last season's finale against MSU-Northern.