Frontier: Orediggers handle Western Bulldogs

DILLON — Jamal Cariglia rushed for 204 yards and a touchdown as No. 4 Montana Tech stayed unbeaten with a 34-7 win over No. 18 Montana Western in Frontier Conference football Saturday. 

The Orediggers (3-0) did most of their damage on the ground, piling up 306 yards and holding Western (1-1) to 67. Tech finished with 474 yards on offense and had the ball for nearly 39 minutes of possession. 

Polson’s own Jarrett Wilson opened the game with a 3-yard touchdown run. Wilson found Gunnar Peterson for a 24-yard score in the second quarter to make it 14-0. 

Western answered immediately as Kaden LaPlaunt hit Eli Nourse for a 75-yard touchdown. Casey Kautzman’s 39-yard field goal before halftime sent Tech into the break with a 17-7 advantage. 

The Bulldogs threatened late in the third with a drive to the Tech 3-yard line, but the Orediggers came up with a fourth-down stop and went 97 yards the other way, capped by a 1-yard Cariglia TD.  

Merek Mihelish added a 45-yard touchdown run after a Western interception to seal the win. 

Wilson finished 16 of 26 with 168 yards and a touchdown. LaPlaunt threw for 196 yards for the Bulldogs and Nourse hauled in five passes for 114 yards. 

Dickinson State 44, MSU-Northern 13

DICKINSON, N.D. — Jackson Simonson ran for two touchdowns, and the Blue Hawks defense forced five interceptions in their win over the Lights. 

Dickinson State’s (0-2) Hudsen Grovom threw for 245 yards and led all rushers with 60. Simonson added 50 yards on the ground, while the Blue Hawks held Northern to just 18 rushing yards. 

Malakhi Statler led the Lights (0-2) with 230 yards passing and two touchdowns. Juliun Benson caught seven passes for 121 yards, while Isaiah Woodley added 56 yards and a score. 

Simonson scored on runs of 3 and 10 yards, sandwiched around Nik Halvorson’s 27-yard field goal, before Grovom’s 8-yard touchdown run made it 23-0. 

Statler found Bryan Yobo for a 6-yard touchdown before halftime for Norhern’s first score.  

Markiel Cockrell and Caleb Rist added touchdown runs in the third quarter as Dickinson State stretched its lead to 40-6.  

Glacier High product Easton Kauffman totaled seven tackles, including five solo, for Northern. Polson product Tommy Sherry also recorded a tackle. 

Elsewhere 

Saturday’s other games were non-conference: Eastern Oregon beat Whitworth 51-17 — Kallen Gutridge threw for 321 yards and four TDs for the Mountaineers — in Spokane; host Mayville State (N.D.) beat Minnesota-Morris 37-13; and Nebraska Wesleyan lost to Dakota State 52-0 in Madison, S.D.