Montana Tech Athletics

BUTTE -- The defense was stifling, Jarrett Wilson accounted for four touchdowns, and the No. 5-ranked Montana Tech football team kicked off the 2026 season with a 48-0 shutout of visiting Ottawa (Ariz.) Thursday night in front of a packed Alumni Coliseum. 

The Orediggers (1-0) held OUAZ to just 117 yards of offense and only eight first downs as they held the Spirit out of the end zone in the first-ever meeting between the two teams. 

Wilson, the quarterback from Polson, led Montana Tech's offense in both passing and rushing. The junior was responsible for Montana Tech's first four touchdowns of the evening, the first a 22-yard strike to Manu Melo and the next three on the ground. He racked up a team-best 101 rushing yards and threw for 175. Backup quarterback Merek Mihelish scored twice with his legs as well, posting TD runs of nine and 47 yards in the second half. 

Asher Feddes led the Oredigger defense with six tackles, an interception, a tackle-for-loss, and half a sack. 

Montana Tech did not start off firing on all cylinders. Facing third down on the opening possession of the game, OUAZ's Deandre Jones forced a Wilson fumble and set the Spirit (0-1) up with first-and-10 at the Orediggers' 20-yard line. 

But the defense set the tone. Facing third-and-short inside their own 15, Feddes stopped the Spirit behind the line of scrimmage, and Kellan Beller stood OUAZ up on fourth down to regain possession for Tech. 

The second time, the Orediggers got it right. Wilson engineered a 12-play, 86-yard drive capped by a perfect toss to Melo in the back corner of the end zone to put Montana Tech on the board. 

Tech got the ball right back and with good field position thanks to Levi Torgerson's 23-yard punt return. It took the Orediggers just four plays to find pay dirt again as Wilson scampered 15 yards to put the home team ahead, 14-0, late in the first. 

The rest of the first half was quiet until the waning minutes, when Wilson again took Montana Tech down the field. Casey Kautzman converted a 32-yard field goal as time expired in the first half to send the Orediggers into the break with a 17-0 lead. 

Montana Tech blew the lid off in the second half. Wilson added rushing touchdowns of six and 26 yards to put the game into blowout territory. After another Kautzman 32-yard field goal, Mihelish took the ball to the end zone twice to open up the 48-0 lead. 

The defense did the rest, capping the shutout with a late stand to force a punt. Tech took the final seconds off the clock in victory formation. 

The Copper Game victory made it three-straight season-opening wins for the defending Frontier Conference East Division champions. 

Montana Tech will look to move to 2-0 on the 2026 campaign next Saturday when archrival and No. 11-ranked Carroll pays a visit to the Mining City. Kickoff on September 5 is scheduled for 1 p.m. 

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