HELENA -- Jace Thompson was the driving force behind No. 7-ranked Montana Tech football's continued dominance on special teams in Saturday's 34-23 win over Rocky Mountain.
The senior blocked a pair of kicks in the win, earning himself the Erck Hotels/Frontier Conference special teams player of the week award, the conference office announced Monday.
Thompson, a Fort Benton native, first got his paws on a Battlin' Bears point-after-touchdown attempt in the second quarter that held the score at 20-6. In the fourth quarter, he broke through the Rocky line again to block a 35-yard field goal attempt that would have cut the Oredigger lead to one score.
At safety, Thompson added four tackles and two pass breakups to his line for the day.
His award was part of an Oredigger sweep of the weekly conference honors; running back Wykece Johnson won the accolade on offense, while cornerback Justin Webber won the defensive award.
Montana Tech (3-0) has won the league's special teams weekly honor each of the first three weeks of the season. Levi Torgerson took home the award after the Orediggers' season-opening victory over No. 5-ranked Montana Western, and Nate Milanowski won it last week following Tech's win at No. 25 Carroll.
The Erck Hotels/Frontier Conference player of the week program is nominated and voted on by the league's athletic communications professionals.
The Orediggers will put their unbeaten record on the line Saturday against another ranked foe in No. 24 Southern Oregon. Kickoff in Ashland, Ore. is scheduled for noon Pacific, 1 p.m. Mountain.
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