BUTTE, Mont. -- Landers Smith rushed for four touchdowns, paving the way for No. 8 Montana Tech's dominant 42-14 win over archrival and 23rd-ranked Carroll College Saturday afternoon on Bob Green Field.

Smith ran for 170 yards on 33 carries, wearing down the Saints defense in the process. Quarterback Blake Thelen tossed a pair of TDs for Montana Tech (9-2, 7-2 Frontier Conference), finding Wyatt Alexander and Derek Pearse for the scores. Payton Gonser made eight tackles and intercepted a Carroll pass to highlight the defensive stat sheet.

Carroll came out swinging in the early going. The Saints received the opening kickoff and drove 75 yards for a touchdown and the early 7-0 lead, an advantage they would hold through the first quarter.

Thelen got the Oredigger offense going in the second. Carroll punted the ball to Tech on the first play of the quarter, and the Diggers took over on their own 20-yard line. Thelen found Alexander for a first down on the first play from scrimmage. Tech took just six plays to go 80 yards for the score, a drive capped by another Thelen-to-Alexander connection for the 43-yard touchdown that tied the game.

Tech scored twice more before halftime. Gonser's interception at midfield set up another scoring drive, this one punched in thanks to Smith's 2-yard run that put the home team in front. The Diggers forced a three-and-out and got back to work. A Saints personal foul and big completions to Logan Kennedy and Levi Torgerson set up another Smith TD with 1:15 on the clock, and the Orediggers took a 21-7 lead into the half.

Montana Tech received the third-quarter kickoff, but Carroll (7-3, 6-2) forced a punt and struck for a 74-yard touchdown on its second play from scrimmage to cut the lead to one score.

Tech was unfazed. Smith produced several bruising runs to get the Diggers on the second-half scoreboard, finishing the drive with a second-effort, 14-yard touchdown that put the home team back in control. Smith added a 1-yard touchdown run in the fourth, and after a fumbled kickoff, Thelen found Pearse for a 29-yard score that put the game out of reach.

The Oredigger run defense was seal-tight all afternoon. Carroll managed just 37 rushing yards in the game, and Tech's secondary collected six pass break-ups in the winning effort.

The 28-point victory marked Montana Tech's largest margin of victory over its archrival since a 42-7 drubbing on October 24, 2015 in Helena. Tech has won three straight against the Saints.

Montana Tech will now await the announcement of the 69th Annual NAIA Football Championship field, which the national office will unveil during a live online selection show Sunday at 5 p.m.

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