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Rocky Mountain College Battlin' Bears

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Events and Results

No. 14 Rocky Football Takes on Carroll College in Helena on Saturday

No. 14 Rocky Football Takes on Carroll College in Helena on Saturday

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Brandon Stinson | Sports Information & Media Coordinator

BILLINGS, Mont., Oct. 20, 2022- No. 14 ranked Battlin' Bears football heads to Helena to take on Carroll College Saturday.
 
Recap From EOU: Rocky defeated Eastern Oregon 28-6 on Herb Klindt Field two weeks ago. While the offense had an uncharacteristic game with three turnovers, the defense intercepted the Mountaineers five times on their way to keeping Eastern Oregon out of the endzone. Prince Johnson grabbed two interceptions, Brail Lipford and Kaysan Barnett each grabbed one, and Jayden Fletcher took an interception back for a touchdown in the victory. 

Conference Stat Leaders: Zaire Wilcox is the third leading rusher in the Frontier Conference, rushing for 85.2 yards per game, along with being tied for third in the conference with five rushing touchdowns. 

George Tribble Jr. sits in fifth place with 132 yards per game passing, as well as fifth in passing touchdowns with 6. 

DeNiro Killian Jr. is the third leading receiver in the Frontier Conference, averaging 62.5 yards per game. Teammate Trae Henry follows behind Killian Jr. in fourth place averaging 58.5 yards per game. Henry is also tied for fourth in the conference with three receiving touchdowns this season. Andrew Simon is fifth in the conference in receptions with 23 this season. 

Kaysan Barnett sits tied for the lead in interceptions on the season with four total. Brail Lipford is third in the conference in pass breakups with eight, while Barnett sits in fourth with six. 

Wyatt Brusven is tied for first in the Frontier Conference in punt average with 41.8, while he's second in the conference with 11 punts downed inside the 20 with only two touchbacks. 

The Battlin' Bears defense is first in the conference and eleventh in the country only allowing 13.8 points per game.Rocky's defense leads the conference with twelve total interceptions on the year, to pair along with four defensive touchdowns on the season, which leads the nation. The Battlin' Bears defense ranks second in the conference only allowing 152 passing yards per game. 

Rocky's offense is currently the second in the conference in total scoring, averaging 33.0 points per game this season. Rocky sits in second in rushing offense averaging 179.5 yards per game on the ground. 

Climbing the Ranks: Rocky's victory over EOU pushed them to No. 15 in the Top-25. Following the bye week, the Battlin' Bears rose one more spot to No. 14 headed into their matchup against Carroll College. The full Top-25 poll can be found HERE.

Checking in with Coach Stutzreim: " It's always a great matchup with Carroll." Coach Chris Stutzriem said. "They are a top-20 team in my opinion. It will be a tough battle but our guys will be prepared and ready to go!"

Scouting the Fighting Saints: Carroll College has begun their season 4-2, only losing to two Top-25 teams in College of Idaho and Montana Tech. The Fighting Saints sit just outside of the Top-25 in the latest poll, receiving 11 votes.

Carroll is led offensively by sophomore quarterback Jack Prka, who averages 154 yards per game with five touchdowns and five interceptions on the season so far. Prka's 154 yards per game puts him fourth in the conference. Redshirt junior Matthew Burgess is the leading rusher on the season, averaging 58 yards per game on the ground, adding two receiving touchdowns to pair with his three rushing touchdowns on the season. Senior tight end Tony Collins is Carroll's leading receiver in receptions and yardage, averaging just under four receptions per game with 58 yards per game, which puts him fifth in the conference for yardage per game. . The Fighting Saints' offense averages 24 points a game after putting up 47 unanswered points in their win against MSU-Northern two weeks ago. 

Carroll's defense is led by redshirt sophomore linebacker Tucker Jones, who averages 5.8 tackles per game, leading the team. Jones has also grabbed an interception this season, has totalled 4.0 tackles for loss this season, and has earned Frontier Conference Defensive Player of the Week once. Redshirt sophomore defensive lineman Garrett Worden and redshirt junior defensive lineman Jake Walk each have totalled three sacks on the season. The secondary is led by junior defensive back Zach Spiroff, who had a game to remember against Eastern Oregon early in the season, totaling two interceptions, four tackles, and blocked a PAT which he returned back for a safety, netting him Frontier Conference Defensive Player of the Week. The Fighting Saints' defense is holding opponents to 17.83 points per game, holding opponents to only 2.6 rushing yards per attempt and 173 yards passing per game. 

Punting and kicking duties have been taken over by freshman kicker Spencer Berger, who earned Frontier Conference and NAIA Special Teams Player of the Week honors after Carroll's win over Eastern Oregon. 

History: The Battlin' Bears won the previous matchup at Herb Klindt Field 39-34 behind 346 yards passing and four touchdowns by Nathan Dick. Since 2004, Rocky trails in the overall series 6-28 against Carroll College. The Fighting Saints won the previous matchup in Helena 44-7. 

Social Media: Follow @BattlinBears on twitter for live updates as the game goes on.
 
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