Yotes defeat Orediggers in top-ranked Frontier matchup

CALDWELL, ID — Cole Tanner returned a kickoff for a touchdown on the final play of the first half and Rylie Byington scored twice as No. 3 College of Idaho shut out No. 2 Montana Tech in the second half to win 35-19 on Saturday in Frontier Conference football. 

Polson's own Jarrett Wilson completed 13 of 20 passes for 236 yards and threw one touchdown. Levi Torgerson led the Orediggers (4-1 overall, 0-1) with eight catches for 107 yards and Merek Mihelish led Tech in rushing with 55 yards on two carries. 

Wilson connected with Torgerson for a 47-yard gain in the first quarter, helping set up a 31-yard Casey Kautzman field goal, but Caden Young answered with touchdown passes of 54 and 40 yards to give the Coyotes (4-0, 1-0) a 14-3 lead. 

Jamal Cariglia scored to pull Tech within 14-10 before Byington found the end zone to finish a five-play drive that took less than two minutes off the clock. 

Kautzman made his second kick of the game from 47 yards with just over a minute left in the first half, making it 21-13. The Orediggers forced a Coyotes punt on the next series before Wilson connected with Colby Martinez for a 58-yard touchdown with two seconds remaining. 

Tanner answered on the ensuing kickoff, returning it 84 yards as time expired to give the Yotes a 28-19 advantage at the break. 

Byington scored the only touchdown in the second half on the Yotes' opening drive, punching in a 1-yard run. Tech was forced to punt later in the third and was stopped on fourth down twice in the final quarter, including at the Coyotes 1-yard line on their final possession. 

No. 13 Carroll College 45, Rocky Mountain 13

BILLINGS — Former Glacier standout Connor Sullivan caught four passes for 43 yards and a touchdown as Carroll rolled past Rocky Mountain. 

Kaden Huot completed 16 of 22 passes for 265 yards and four touchdowns, while Ty Wilkinson hauled in five catches for 154 yards and two scores. Peter Minnaert led the Saints on the ground with 81 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries. 

Eddie Ballanco opened the scoring with a 38-yard field goal before Minnaert scored from 5 yards out to give Carroll an early 10-0 lead. 

Huot threw two touchdown passes in the second quarter, including a 25-yard strike to Sullivan, while Ty Battle put the Bears on the board with a 98-yard kickoff return to make it 24-6 at halftime.  

Carroll added 21 unanswered points in the third quarter and held Rocky Mountain to 190 yards of total offense. Columbia Falls product Kai Golan handled kickoff duties for the Saints, recording five touchbacks on eight kicks. 

Montana Western 41, Dickinson State 27

DICKINSON, N.D. — Kaden LaPlaunt threw for 384 yards and had a hand in five touchdowns as the Bulldogs ran away from the Blue Hawks.  

Seth Shook caught five passes for 163 yards and collected three touchdowns for Western (2-2), while Aidan Lammers led all rushers with 103 yards. 

Western held the Blue Hawks (1-4) to 84 yards rushing and outgained Dickinson State 633-384. Former Mission standout Canyon Sargent led the Bulldogs defense with nine tackles, including eight solo stops, and recorded the team's only sack. 

The Blue Hawks jumped out to a 6-0 lead in the first after Hudsen Grovom connected with Gage Gilbert for a 19-yard score. Grovom finished with 233 yards and three passing touchdowns. 

In the second, Santana Luna scored on a 45-yard rushing touchdown before Western recovered a fumble, leading to a LaPlaunt 9-yard touchdown to give Western a 13-6 lead. 

Shook sandwiched scores of 79 and 47 yards around Grovom's 65-yard touchdown pass to give Western a 27-20 lead late in the third quarter. 

Eastern Oregon 45, MSU-Northern 14

LA GRANDE, Ore. — The Lights scored two defensive touchdowns in the second quarter but couldn't overcome an early 21-point deficit in a loss to Eastern Oregon. 

De’Amoni Wright returned a blocked punt 24 yards for a touchdown before Ethan Maroni added a 79-yard pick-six to cut the Lights' deficit to 21-14. The Mountaineers (3-1) responded with 24 unanswered points to finish the game. 

Jackson Kink led Northern (0-5) with 16 tackles, while Wright added nine. The Lights were held to 173 yards of offense, including five rushing yards. 

Simpson 50, Valley City State 45

SHASTA LAKE, Calif. — Ya'j Vance scored a 16-yard rushing touchdown with 33 seconds remaining to lead the Red Hawks past the Vikings. 

Vance had a hand in four touchdowns and D'Ante Bengamin ran for 198 yards and three scores for Simpson (2-2). 

Eureka product Caleb Utter recorded six tackles, including three solo stops, and William Weathington intercepted Valley City State with 16 seconds remaining to secure the win.