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Rocky Mountain College Battlin' Bears

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Events and Results

No. 17 Rocky Football Hosts Eastern Oregon Saturday

No. 17 Rocky Football Hosts Eastern Oregon Saturday

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Brandon Stinson | Sports Information & Media Coordinator

BILLINGS, Mont., Oct. 5, 2022- Battlin' Bears football hosts Eastern Oregon University on Saturday at 1:00pm on Herb Klindt Field, presented by 360 Office Solutions. 
 
Tickets Available Now: Tickets can be purchased now online using the link HERE. This will also be the avenue for purchasing tickets with a debit or credit card on gameday, so skip the line and get your tickets now!

Recap From Last Week: Rocky defeated Montana Western in Dillon last weekend 41-26 to climb to 4-1 on the season. George Tribble Jr. in his second start threw for 277 yards passing and two touchdowns, Zaire Wilcox ran for 98 yards, including a 50 yard scramble which sealed the victory in the fourth quarter, and DeNiro Killian Jr. had his first 100 yard receiving game of his Rocky career. Wyatt Brusven had 10 total tackles and Brail Lipford had three tackles and a pick-six. Jack Waddell also returned a kickoff for a touchdown in the victory, earning him Erck Hotels/ Frontier Conference Special Teams Player of the Week. 

Midseason Stat Leaders: 
  • Passing: In three starts, Nathan Dick still leads the Battlin' Bears in passing yardage with 591 yards. George Tribble Jr. in his two starts has thrown for 483 yards (averaging 241.5 yards per game, which leads qualified quarterbacks in Frontier Conference), on top of six touchdown passes, one interception on a 70.6% completion percentage, which all lead the team. 
  • Rushing: Zaire Wilcox leads the team with 431 yards rushing with four touchdowns. 
  • Receiving: Sophomore DeNiro Killian Jr. currently leads the team with 346 yards receiving, which puts him second in the Frontier Conference in yards per game. Trae Henry sits in the lead with three receiving touchdowns. Henry is second in the Frontier Conference in receiving touchdowns and fourth in the Frontier Conference in yards per game.
  • Tackles: Nolan McCafferty leads the Battlin' Bears averaging 5.4 tackles per game, Wyatt Brusven leads the team in tackles for loss with 5.5 total, and Ethan Hurst leads Rocky in sacks with 2.5.
  • Pass Defense: Kaysan Barnett leads the team with three interceptions on the season, which leads the Frontier Conference, while Brail Lipford leads the team with six pass breakups, tied for third in the Frontier.
  • Special Teams: Wyatt Brusven is second in the Frontier Conference, averaging 41.8 yards per punt, while leading the conference with punts inside the 20 with 11 total. Austin Drake is third in the conference in total points with 32, going 5/6 on field goals and 17/20 on extra points.
Climbing the Ranks: Rocky Football has now won three games in a row, pushing them up to No. 17 in the country according to the latest NAIA Top-25 poll. This is the highest Rocky has been ranked in the 2022 season. College of Idaho is the lone Frontier Conference school ranked higher than Rocky at No.9, while Montana Tech climbs back up to No. 21 after their 73-0 victory over MSU-Northern as the only other Frontier team in the Top-25. The full Top-25 poll can be found HERE.

Scouting the Mountaineers: Eastern Oregon has begun the season 0-6, most recently falling to Southern Oregon 42-14 last Saturday. Throughout the rough start to the season, the Mountaineers have had five different quarterbacks take snaps for them this season so far, including redshirt junior Tanner Sweek, a tight end on the Mountaineers roster, who played the majority of the game at quarterback against Southern Oregon. Sweek threw 14/25 for 99 yards and a touchdown while also rushing for 39 yards. Eastern Oregon's leading rusher is sophomore running back Anthony Peterson, who has rushed 48 times for 158 yards this season. Redshirt sophomore Malachi Spurrier leads the Mounties with 22 receptions on the season for 375 yards and a team high two touchdowns. 

Eastern Oregon's defense is led by redshirt senior linebacker Zak Donato, who leads the team averaging 8.2 tackles per game (3rd in the Frontier Conference), while totaling 5.5 tackles for loss this season, two interceptions, four pass breakups, and a forced fumble and recovery. Junior defensive back Blaine Shaw also has totalled two interceptions this season, one of them being a pick-six. Junior Gabriel Shukle leads the Mountaineers' defensive line with 2.5 sacks this season. 

Eastern Oregon is coached by Tim Camp in his fifteenth season, who is the all-time winningest coach in Mountaineers history. 

History: The Battlin' Bears won the previous matchup in La Grande, Oregon 34-17 behind a four passing touchdown, 129 yard rushing day for Nathan Dick, while the defense forced six Mountaineers turnovers.
Since 2004, Rocky trails in the overall series 9-16 against Eastern Oregon. The Mounties won in their most previous trip to Billings 36-33 in overtime during the Spring 2021 season. 

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