BILLINGS, Mont., Sept. 3, 2022- Battlin' Bears football drop their home opener to College of Idaho 21-18.

The Yotes found the endzone in their first drive of the game, capitalized by a 1 yard touchdown run by Hunter Gilbert. Gilbert would find the endzone again as time expired in the first quarter, giving the Yotes a 14-0 lead. 

The Battlin' Bears offense found some momentum in the second quarter, scoring on two short field goals from Austin Drake (27 & 23 yards) to cut the deficit to 14-6. A 52 yard reception by Deniro Killian Jr from Nathan Dick set Zaire Wilcox up for a 2 yard rushing touchdown. Rocky attempted to go for the 2pt conversion to tie the game, but it was no good, leaving the score at 14-12 going into the half. 

College of Idaho came out of the break firing, as quarterback Ryan Peters found Jon Schofield for a 64 yard touchdown to go up 21-12 after the extra point. Rocky fought back, as another long reception from Deniro Killian Jr, this time for 37 yards, would set up Zaire Wilcox for another rushing touchdown from 3 yards out. Rocky's extra point attempt was blocked by College of Idaho's Caden Stratton, leaving the score at 21-18. After a Nathan Dick pass that was tipped at the line of scrimmage and intercepted by College of Idaho's Jake Nadley, the Battlin' Bears would take the ball back on an interception by Kaysan Barnett in the endzone. 

The score would be locked at 21-18 throughout the fourth quarter, and the Battlin' Bears would get one final effort with 1:46 left after a field goal attempt by College of Idaho bounced off the upright. Quarterback Nathan Dick would leave the game with an injury after an incompletion on second down, leaving junior backup George Tribble to lead the Battlin' Bears down the field. Tribble found receiver Donovan Sellgren for a 19 yard completion, and Andrew Simon in the flat to push the Battlin' Bears into Yotes territory, but the Battlin' Bears would be unable to go any further as a turnover on downs left College of Idaho to take a knee and seal their victory.

The Battlin' Bears were led by Nathan Dick's 20/41 in the air for 232 yards. Deniro Killian Jr had 3 receptions for 94 yards, and Zaire Wilcox rushed for 28 yards and 2 touchdowns. Kaysan Barnett pulled in 2 interceptions on the day, and Brail Lipford led the defense with 9 total tackles and 3 pass breakups. 

After rotating through two quarterbacks in their win against MSU-Northern, Andy Peters took the reins, throwing 19/37 for 258 yards. Junior receiver Jon Schofield pulled in 4 catches for 106 yards and a touchdown, and Hunter Gilbert led the Yotes with 82 yards rushing and 2 touchdowns on the day.

Both teams threw for exactly 258 yards, but College of Idaho showed an edge in the running game, accumulating 175 rushing yards total compared to Rocky's 95 yards. 

The Battlin' Bears (1-1) will travel to Butte on September 17 after a bye week to take on Montana Tech.