Skip To Main Content

Rocky Mountain College Athletics

Rocky Mountain College Battlin' Bears

Events and Results

Events and Results

Buell vs COI '24
Jacob Jewett
49
Winner College of Idaho COLLEGE 4-2 , 2
31
Rocky Mountain (MT) ROCKY MO 1-4 , 0
Winner
College of Idaho COLLEGE
4-2 , 2
49
Final
31
Rocky Mountain (MT) ROCKY MO
1-4 , 0
Score By Quarters
Team 1st 2nd 3rd 4th F
COLLEGE College of Idaho 7 28 7 7 49
ROCKY MO Rocky Mountain (MT) 10 14 0 7 31

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

Rocky Football Drops a High-Scoring Affair with No. 14 College of Idaho 49-31

BILLINGS, Mont.- The Battlin' Bears turned in a season-high 31 points on the offensive end but could not keep pace with the 14th-ranked Yotes, falling at home 49-31.  

How it Happened
The Yotes would be the first to score on the afternoon, thanks to a 16-yard rush from Hunter Gilbert on their first drive on offense. Rocky would respond with a nine-play, 65-yard drive on the ensuing possession to earn a chip-shot field goal by Austin Drake to cut the deficit to 7-3 early in the first quarter. 

After forcing a punt, the Battlin' Bears would pull off their longest play from scrimmage this season as Ben Rooney took a swing pass for 50 yards to get into College of Idaho territory. Graedyn Buell would find Joseph Dwyer two plays later for 25 yards to get into the red zone before Buell would punch in a rushing touchdown from one yard out to put Rocky up 10-7 as the first quarter expired. 

College of Idaho would have a response on the opening drive of the second quarter, as Andy Peters found John Kreps from 22 yards out to give College of Idaho the lead back at 14-10. Hunter Gilbert would find the endzone for a second time following a Battlin' Bear three-and-out, extending the Yote lead to 21-10. 

Rocky didn't flinch offensively, as Graedyn Buell found Eric Lira on a third down, and following a broken tackle, Lira bolted for 53 yards and a touchdown to bring the game to 21-17. 

College of Idaho would respond on the first play from scrimmage on their following possession, as Andy Peters found Brock Richardson wide open down the field for a 77-yard touchdown catch and run. Following the two-minute timeout, Graedyn Buell would convert back-to-back important passes to DeNiro Killian Jr., the first being a 54-yard catch to get Rocky into the red zone before Buell would find Killian Jr. again on the following play to score from 14 yards out to bring the game back to a four-point game. 

College of Idaho would not be done offensively in the half, as Andy Peters helped convert a fourth and goal attempt into an eight-yard touchdown pass to give the Yotes a 35-24 lead going into halftime. Both teams combined for over 700 yards of total offense through the first half. 

Scoring outbursts were on hold for the first couple of possessions in the second half, before Peters led College of Idaho on a nine-play, 80-yard touchdown drive that was capped by an eight-yard touchdown pass on another fourth-and-goal opportunity to give College of Idaho a 42-24 lead. 

Rocky would convert on excellent field position to open up the fourth quarter, as Graedyn Buell completed passes to five different receivers on an eight-play, 50-yard drive that ended in a five-yard touchdown pass to Joseph Dwyer. 

After the Battlin' Bears made a stop on another fourth-down attempt by the Yotes, the College of Idaho would get the ball back following an interception by Amari Bluford. 

The Yotes would ultimately seal their victory on the next play, as reserve quarterback Caden Young found Tommy Hauser for a 55-yard pitch and catch to extend the lead to 49-31, a score that would remain through the final horn. 

Notable Statistics
Rocky's 476 yards of total offense would be the most in a game this season, as well as their 31 points. Transversely, the 612 total yards and 49 points are the most they have allowed on defense this season. The Battlin' Bears have not allowed more than 500 yards of total offense in a game since a 44-21 loss to Montana Western in 2022 and have not allowed more than 600 yards since a 50-42 overtime loss to Montana Western in 2021. 

Graedyn Buell finished the day passing 22-of-40 for 373 yards and three touchdowns, adding another touchdown on the ground. Buell completed passes to eight different receivers in the loss. DeNiro Killian Jr. was the leading receiver for Rocky on the afternoon, pulling in five catches for 100 yards and a touchdown, his second career 100-yard receiving game and the first since 2022. Luke Holcomb entered in relief in the fourth quarter, completing five-of-seven of his pass attempts for 52 yards. 

Defensively, the Battlin' Bears forced two turnovers on the afternoon. Mason Browning recorded his second interception of the season, and Cade Reynolds recovered a fumble on a bad handoff in the third quarter. Kaysan Barnett was the leading tackler, with a game-high of ten total tackles. 

For the College of Idaho, Andy Peters finished the afternoon 18-of-36 for 338 yards and four touchdowns while also piling up 89 yards on the ground. College of Idaho had three receivers with 100+ yards on the day, including Tommy Hauser, Brock Richardson, and John Kreps. 

Up Next
The Battlin' Bears (1-4) will hit the road following back-to-back home games as they take on #7 Southern Oregon in Ashland next Saturday, October 12th. 
 
Print Friendly Version