For Montana Tech fans, it doesn’t get any better than Saturday’s 37-20 over Carroll College on the football field at Alumni Coliseum.
The win was the first for the Montana Tech over the Saints for the first time since Oct. 9, 2004, and the Orediggers celebrated on the field with their fans.
For the players and coaches, though, that celebration didn’t last long.
“It’s just another day at the office for our guys,” Tech head coach Chuck Morrell said. “We’ve got to keep this in perspective. Carroll is a good football team. It’s a regular-season conference game. I know it’s a big deal, but we have bigger plans with this team right now. We can’t get hung up on one game.”
Tech senior safety Nathan Kobold, whose monster game included 12 tackles and an interception, echoed his coaches thoughts.
“It’s only Game 2,” Kobold said. “We’ve got to keep going. We’ve got to move on. It’s time to go get Western.”
The Orediggers will play at Montana Western Saturday night in Dillon.
Mr. Clutch
For three quarters, Tech junior quarterback Nick Baker wasn’t exactly burning up the state sheet.
Baker completed 9 of 22 passes for 99 yards through the first three quarters. He was picked off twice by Michael Siegersma.
One of those picks came on the game’s first play from scrimmage.
The fourth quarter, though, was a different story. The Oredigger signal caller completed 3 of 4 passes for 106 yards and a touchdown in the final frame to help Tech knock off its long-time nemesis.
Baker hit Trent Thomas for a 50-yard pass in the fourth quarter. He also hit Zack Kinney for an 8-yard touchdown that came just after he hit Kinney with a perfect pass for a 48-yard gain.
Baker also scrambled for 13 yards on third-and-3 to keep alive Tech’s game-clinching touchdown drive.
“I like big situations,” Baker said. “It’s the brightest light and everyone is watching you. You don’t play the quarterback position if you want the bright lights on you.”
Rollin’
Sophomore Bryce Baker had a career day Saturday in Billings.
Baker threw for 544 yards and five touchdowns as undefeated Rocky Mountain College rolled to a 52-30 win over Southern Oregon at Herb Klindt Field.
Baker, who also ran for a 25-yard touchdown, threw TD passes to Ben Ray, Ryan Toner, Del WIlson, Cole Cattelan and Bo Descheemaeker. Four of the strikes came in a 31-point second quarter.
The quarterback credited his teammates after the win.
“One thing that (coach Brian) Armstrong was saying this whole week was that he wanted to start the game by getting a lot of different guys touches. I think we did that, and that got our whole team motivated,” Baker told The Billings Gazette. “I really got to give credit to the offensive line. I had plenty of time back there to go through my reads and get a lot of different guys the ball.”
Diaper dandy
Montana Western picked up its first win of the season behind the performance of a true freshman.
Kennedy Bradley threw for 247 yard and three touchdowns as Western downed Dickinson State 28-13 at Vigilante Field.
Bradley hooked up with three different receivers for TDs. Rashad Peniston and Keenan Hoohuli hauled in 32-yard strikes, while Tyrell Braun caught a 17-yard pass.
Butte’s Blake Cohlhepp also got in on the scoring action. Cohlhepp scooped up a fumble and returned it four years for a touchdown for the Bulldogs, who will celebrate homecoming against the Orediggers Saturday.
Cardiac Mounties
Eastern Oregon has a flare for the dramatic so far in 2012.
The Mountaineers won in the game’s final minute for the second straight week.
This time, the Mountaineers used a 37-yard field goal by Marc David with 14 seconds left to beat MSU-Northern 17-14 in La Grande, Ore.
A week earlier, the Mountaineers beat Tech in a 26-23 thriller in Butte.
The biggest story of Saturday’s win over the Lights — EOU’s eighth straight win over Northern — was the play of linebacker Howard McDonald.
McDonald, who had a big game in Butte in the opener, finished Saturday’s game with 25 tackles. He finished one shy of the school record.
Eastern Oregon’s Nick Hannah recorded 26 take downs in 2004 against Tech at Alumni Coliseum.
