BILLINGS, Mont. – The Rocky Mountain College football team will bring the 2017 season to a close on Saturday when they travel to Dillon, Montana to face Montana Western. Kickoff from Vigilante Stadium is scheduled for noon.
Live video of Saturday's game will be available on the UMW Stretch Internet portal available at portal.stretchinternet.com/montanawestern. It will also be carried live on ESPN Billings 910 AM with Kyle Riley (play-by-play) and Bob Rittierodt (sidelines) calling the action. Live stats can be found on the Rocky DakStats Page. All live coverage links will be available the day of the game by following @battlinbears on Facebook and Twitter.
The Battlin' Bears enter the finale at 5-5 on the season. A win would give Rocky its first winning season since finishing 8-4 in 2013. They are currently tied for third in the Frontier with a 5-4 mark in league games. They could potentially finish in a tie for second with a win and some help.
Rocky is fourth in the Frontier by rushing for 201.2 yards per game. The 2,012 total rushing yards are the most the team has recorded in the past 14 years that records are available. They are throwing for 196. 0 yards per game to rank fifth in the Frontier at 397.2 total yards per game. Rocky averages 28.4 points per game.
The Battlin' Bears are second in the Frontier in total defense by holding the opposition to 358.0 yards per game. They lead the conference in allowing 220.0 passing yards per game and rank 21st in the NAIA is giving up 21.4 points per game.
Rocky leads the NAIA with 18 interceptions on the season. They are tied for sixth nationally with 25 total takeaways. They also lead the NAIA by converting 69.2 percent on fourth down while ranking 40th in third-down conversion at 38.5 percent. Rocky is 14th in the country with an average of 23.0 yards per kickoff return.
Since 2004, Rocky has gone 9-14 against Montana Western. The Battlin' Bears are 4-7 in Dillon during that time. Western has won four straight meetings overall, including a 26-10 win last season at Herb Klindt Field.
