DILLON — The University of Montana Western football team beat Rocky Mountain College 23-20 on Saturday.

The win bumps the Bulldogs’ record to 3-5 while it dropped the Bears to a 3-5 record as well. Montana Western out-rushed Rocky Mountain 180 yards to 66 but were out-passed 335 yards to 98.

Head coach Ryan Nourse was very pleased with his team’s win.

“We were finally able to pull out a win in a close game,” Nourse said. “Special teams came up with a big play. We had a kick return for a touchdown, which hasn’t happened since 2007, and we made our field goal and then got a stop. I’m really proud of my team for that.”

Dylan Kramer led the way rushing with 100 yards off of 28 carries and had one touchdown while Jeff Logan added 41 rushing yards and 98 passing yards.

Matt Lickfold had five receptions on the day for 57 yards while Rashad Peniston added 38 yards off of three receptions.

Defensively, Jesse McCloud ended the day with an impressive nine unassisted tackles and Kasey Griffith added six total tackles to the game. Pat Hergesheimer chipped in one interception for the Bulldogs.

The Bulldogs will have a chance to beat Montana Tech this upcoming weekend on Saturday, Nov. 3 at 1 p.m. in Butte, Mont. The Orediggers previously beat the Bulldogs 24-30 on Sept. 15. Montana Tech is 7-1 overall and in conference play.

“It’s always tough to win in Butte,” Nourse explained. “It’s a huge rivalry, and it’s really easy to get up and excited about playing Tech. In all the games we have played this year, with the exception of the Southern Oregon game, we have been right in it. We have had opportunities to win. Now we just have to execute and have some fun.”

Montana Western has two more conference games this year, one this weekend and one against Eastern Oregon next weekend.

“These last two games are huge for us,” Nourse finished. “My team has reset some goals throughout the season and one of those goals is to finish strong. We want that to be a hallmark of this team, to always finish strong. If we play hard and limit mistakes we should have a chance to get a win this weekend over Tech.”

— UM Sports Information