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Rocky Mountain College Athletics

Rocky Mountain College Battlin' Bears

Events and Results

Events and Results

Holcomb vs UMW '25
Bailee Walls
35
Winner Montana Western (MT) WESTERN 2-1 , 0
21
Rocky Mountain (MT) ROCKY 0-3 , 0
Winner
Montana Western (MT) WESTERN
2-1 , 0
35
Final
21
Rocky Mountain (MT) ROCKY
0-3 , 0
Score By Quarters
Team 1st 2nd 3rd 4th F
WESTERN Montana Western (MT) 7 6 15 7 35
ROCKY Rocky Mountain (MT) 0 7 7 7 21

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

Rocky Football Falls To Montana Western 35-21 on Homecoming

BILLINGS, Mont.- The Battlin' Bears took a lead in the third quarter, but a 22-point swing from the No.9-ranked Bulldogs saw Rocky fall 35-21. 

Redshirt freshman Darius Haskin totaled his third consecutive 100+ yard receiving performance, finishing with six catches for 121 yards and two touchdowns. Haskin maintains his lead in the NAIA in yards per game, averaging 150.7 yards per game. 

How it Happened
After a Battlin' Bear three-and-out to open the contest, Montana Western opened the scoring on the afternoon with an 11-play, 80-yard drive capped off by quarterback Michael Palandri punching in a three-yard rushing touchdown. 

The Battlin' Bears would respond on the second play of the second quarter, as Luke Holcomb found Eric Lira in the back of the endzone from 12 yards out to tie the game at 7-7. 

Montana Western would move the ball down the field throughout the second quarter, but the Rocky defense would hold strong in their own territory, forcing a pair of field goals, as the Bulldogs held a 13-7 halftime lead. 

Rocky would seize momentum in the second half, as the Battlin' Bears stopped a fourth-down conversion attempt by Montana Western on their opening drive. After Tuff Adams broke a 15-yard rush to put the Battlin' Bears inside of Western territory, Luke Holcomb would find a wide-open Darius Haskin from 42 yards out to give the Battlin' Bears a 14-13 lead following the PAT from Austin Drake. 

The Bulldogs would make their game-clinching run in the latter half of the third quarter and start of the fourth, as Michael Palandri would toss three touchdowns in the stretch to open Montana Western's lead to 35-14. Quarterback Garrett Deatherage would make his Battlin' Bear debut, throwing a 22-yard touchdown pass to Darius Haskin, but ultimately Rocky would fall 35-21 at home. 

Notable Statistics
Luke Holcomb drew his first start of the season, finishing 16-of-29 for 176 yards and two touchdowns. Garrett Deatherage entered the game in the fourth quarter, completing five-of-seven for 63 yards and a touchdown. Tuff Adams rushed seven times for 51 yards, averaging 7.3 yards per rush. Brock Ping tallied 49 yards on nine attempts. 

Darius Haskin led the receiving corps with 121 total yards and two touchdowns on six catches. Eric Lira hauled in seven receptions for 71 yards and a touchdown. 

Defensively, Mason Browning tallied ten total tackles, while Sean Tutty added seven tackles and two pass breakups. 

Punter Jordan Legg turned in an excellent outing, punting six times for 260 total yards (43.3 yards per punt), pinning three of his punts inside the twenty and adding two punts over 50 yards. 

Up Next
Rocky Football (0-3) plays its final non-divisional matchup next Saturday evening, traveling to No. 25-ranked Carroll College. 
 
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