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Rocky Mountain College Athletics

Rocky Mountain College Battlin' Bears

Events and Results

Events and Results

Aragon & Djouma vs COI '24
Nicole Reynolds
14
Rocky Mountain (MT) RMC 1-5 , 0
54
Winner Southern Oregon SOU 5-1 , 2
Rocky Mountain (MT) RMC
1-5 , 0
14
Final
54
Southern Oregon SOU
5-1 , 2
Winner
Score By Quarters
Team 1st 2nd 3rd 4th F
RMC Rocky Mountain (MT) 6 2 0 6 14
SOU Southern Oregon 11 19 10 14 54

Game Recap: Football | | Brandon Stinson | Sports Information & Media Coordinator

Rocky Football Falls 54-14 to No. 14 Southern Oregon

ASHLAND, Ore.- The Battlin' Bears were defeated 54-14 by the 14th-ranked Raiders on their homecoming day in Ashland.  

How it Happened
After a Battlin' Bear three-and-out to open the game, the Rocky defense forced the same for the Raider offense. A fantastic special teams effort set up the Battlin' Bears for the opening score of the day, as Kyan Jesperson reached over a Southern Oregon blocker to swat away the punt, which Ben Rooney recovered at the Raider ten-yard line. Rocky settled for a 28-yard field goal from Austin Drake, giving them an early 3-0 lead. 

A big play on the ensuing drive set up Southern Oregon to tie the game at 3-3, as Brandon Barthel sprang free for a 62-yard gain on a screen pass. Rocky's defense held strong inside their ten-yard line to force a Raider field goal, knotting the game at 3-3. 

Southern Oregon would get advantageous field position after a Rocky three-and-out, as the snap on the punt deflected off of a Battlin' Bear blocker and was recovered on Rocky's 32-yard line. The Raiders would capitalize two plays later with a 27-yard touchdown pass from Blake Asciutto to Jackson Clemmer, taking an 11-3 lead following a successful two-point conversion. 

The Battlin' Bear offense would find momentum in the following drive, as Luke Holcomb found Jack Waddell for 34 yards to flip the field and found Joseph Dwyer for 27 yards on the next play to set the Battlin' Bears up in the red zone. SOU would force another Battlin' Bear field goal, as Austin Drake hit the attempt from 19 yards out to cut the deficit to 11-6 before the end of the first quarter. 

Southern Oregon would find the end zone on the first play of the second quarter, as Gunner Yates found space for a four-yard rushing touchdown. Rocky's special teams shined again, as Jasper Djouma blocked the PAT and Trey Smith scooped the ball up and ran it back the length of the field for a two-point defensive PAT to keep the deficit at 17-8. From then on, however, it was all Southern Oregon, as they would put together 23 unanswered points over the next quarter and a half of play. 

Kyan Jesperson would rush in his first collegiate touchdown from three yards out on the first play of the fourth quarter, but that would be the lone score for the remainder of the game for Rocky, as they would eventually fall 54-14. 

Notable Statistics
Rocky's offense would be held to just 203 total yards compared to Southern Oregon's 541 on the afternoon. Quarterback Luke Holcomb made his first start of the season, throwing for 117 yards on the afternoon. 

Dylan Deines was the game's leading tackler, finishing the game with 13 tackles, including seven solo blocks. Kaysan Barnett added 11 tackles of his own and tallied three pass breakups. 

Jason Weston punted six times for an average of 40.7 yards per punt. Weston also booted three of his four kickoffs for touchbacks. Darius Haskins made his collegiate debut on Saturday, returning five kicks for an average of 24.2 yards per return. 

For Southern Oregon, quarterback Blake Asciutto completed 21-of-36 passes for a season-high 355 yards and a touchdown. The NAIA leader in rushing yards per game, Gunner Yates, was held to just 80 yards and 3.5 yards per rush but tallied three touchdowns on the afternoon. The Raider defense grabbed two interceptions, including Da'mon Carter returning his fourth-quarter touchdown for 85 yards and a touchdown. 

Up Next
The Battlin' Bears (1-5) return home to host #7 Montana Western on Saturday, October 19th on Herb Klindt Field. Kickoff will be at 1:00 pm (MT). 
 
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