By Bruce Sayler
Butte America Day (BAD) and Carroll had no players from Butte on its roster Saturday.
Did it make a difference?
Butte High grad Zach Tierney anchored the Montana Tech offensive line at center and Butte High grad Christian Hansen led the defense at safety with an interception and team-high six tackles in a 24-14 win by the fifth-ranked Orediggers over the No. 11 Saints.
“We’re pretty excited to be 2-and-0,” beamed Montana Tech head coach Kyle Samson on the Bob Green Field hot-to-the-touch artificial turf, “and to win six in a row against our rivals.”
Temperatures were in the high 60s and low 70s, but felt much warmer on the sunny fall day. Light rain occasionally fell – five or six drops, maybe, at one time and 11 or more at another, probably or possibly. Most of the sweat, though, was provided by the two Frontier Conference powers.
The game was proclaimed by Montana Tech to be the program’s inaugural Butte America Day and the Orediggers celebrated it in front of a typically large Carroll-Montana Tech crowd that filled most of the seats, ringed much of the playing field and wound through the tailgate areas.
“Our D-Line and O-Line both did a good job with their physicality,” Sampson said in talking about a performance that included rallying from a stumble at the start and 7-0 deficit. “We had some good drives in the first half, but we shot ourselves in the foot with fumbles.”
(Game stats are available on the godiggers.com Web site).
Butte America notables Andy Larson sang The National Anthem and Ed Orizotti (Pork Chop John’s) performed the coin flip and the Orediggers chose to receive.
A fumble turned the ball over to Carroll inside the Saints’ 10 after they successfully challenged a call that the Montana Tech runner was down before losing the ball. The Orediggers stymied, and the teams punted the next two possessions until the Saints scored late in the first quarter.
Quarterback Kaden Huot tossed a swing pass to Peter Minnaeert for a 36-yard TD on third down and the Saints led 7-0 going into the next quarter.
Montana Tech tied the score with a second-period drive that ended with quarterback Jarrett Wilson tunneling into the end zone from a yard away. Wilson’s 5-yard 4th-and-3 pass to Nick Michelotti saved the scoring drive at the Carroll 23-yard line.
A late-in-the-half 80-yard march after a Carroll punt ended with Butte High grad Casey Kautzman kicking a 20-yard field goal at the halftime buzzer, giving the Orediggers the lead for good at 10-7.
Montana Tech emerged from the locker room hotter than the playing surface to start the third quarter and Hansen was an igniter. His interception, wrestling the pass away from the receiver at the Oredigger 40, four plays into the second half lit the fuse, though it was a delayed one.
The Orediggers were forced to punt at the Saints’ 36, but Kautzman’s well-placed boot careened off a Carroll player and Montana Tech’s Alex Swenson recovered it in the end zone. Kautzman kicked the extra point as the Oredigger lead grew to 17-7.
On first down as the Saints’ 20, Huot passed to Gavin Vandenacre, who had the ball dislodged from his grasp for a fumble recovered by Asher Feddes of Montana Tech at Carroll’s 13-yard line.
The Orediggers reached the one in three plays and then Jamal Cariglia lugged the ball across the goal line for a 24-7 Oredigger advantage.
Hansen’s interception followed a pass breakup in the first half where he was one-on-one with the Carroll receiver on a deep ball. He anticipated.
“I don’t want to give away too much sauce,” he said about sniffing out the play, “but I saw the tight end break and the quarterback going back to pass, and got into position.”
It denied the Saints a likely TD.
The interception was another big play.
“We were in Cover-3, so I only had one player to read,” the 6-foot, 200-pound Hansen said. “I’ve been emphasizing catching the ball lately because I’ve dropped too many interceptions in my career..”
He didn’t drop this one. Also, two tackles for losses were included in his team-leading six tackles for the day. Five stops were solo. And, he caused a fumble.
Butte America Day was not lost on him.
“I’m so proud to be a Butte guy,” he said. “I went to Tech games as a kid. I love how the town supports the program so much.”
Carroll wasn’t done after the two third-quarter miscues, just almost.
The Saints scored one more time as Huot, a 6-foot-3, 220-pound senior athletic QB out of Helena High who started his college career at Montana, took the Saints on a 77-yard drive after Cariglia’s run. His 18-yard pass play to tight end Tanner Larson on 3rd-and-10 and stationed the Saints on the Oredigger 18.
Two plays later, Huot burst up the middle on a rather loud sneak to score the day’s last TD. The quarter ended with Montana Tech ahead by 24-14 and it held though to the end of the game.
The Orediggers reached the Carroll 11 late in the game, but turned the ball over on downs.
“I’m proud of the guys for making really big plays when we needed them,” Sampson said. “They showed their poise in critical situations. I’m proud of the guys and coaches.”
Huot, son of former Anaconda and Oregon State star Barry Huot, completed 11 of 26 passes for 72 yards and was intercepted by Hansen and Jalen Perkins. Wilson passed for 130 yards on 19-for-30 passing. The longest connection in the Oredigger short passing game was a 13-yarder. Wilson was picked off once, by Jacob Nemecek.
The Orediggers limited the Saints to 27 yards on the ground. Huot led the ground game with 12 yards on five keepers. Montana Tech ran for 199 yards, including 94 by Ikaika Ho and 83 by Cariglia.
Minnaert caught two passes for 37 yards to pace Carroll while Oredigger standout Levi Torgerson got 65 yards on 10 grabs. Michelotti pulled in four aerials for 35 yards.
Nemecek and Kolbe Coery were Carroll’s defensive stars with 12 tackles apiece. One of Nemecek’s was for a loss. Ten of Coey’s were solo. Tyler Kovick had four tackles, all solo, in a balanced Montana Tech defensive effort that spread the stats around.
The Orediggers go on their first road trip of the season next Saturday, taking the short I-15 trip to Dillon to play Montana Western.
