#8 Montana Western Football Topples Southern Oregon 40-20 Saturday

Game Recap: Football | October 4, 2025 | Claire Gay

The Montana Western football (4-1, 1-0 FC West) earned its second straight 20-point win at Southern Oregon (1-4, 0-1 FC West) Saturday with a commanding 40-20 victory. It was Head Coach Ryan Nourse's first-ever win in Ashland.

"Great win for the team in a place that's really hard to get a win at,"  Nourse said. "SOU fought hard and made it tough. We ran into an entirely new defense doubling Nourse on every play, and I am so proud of our offensive line and running backs for stepping up in running the ball and dominating the game. We played really well in the defensive backfield, they got after the ball and secured a bunch of interceptions. It was a good team win."

The UMW offense totaled 470 yards of total offense, marking its fourth straight game with over 450 yards. The Bulldogs earned 21 first downs and converted on six third downs and one fourth down. Western ran for a season-best 207 rushing yards and added 263 passing yards. The Red and Black scored on five-of-six red zone chances

Quarterback Michael Palandri threw for 263 yards and two touchdowns, including a 70-yard toss to Seth Shook for UMW's second score of the game.

Shook was the Bulldogs leading receiver, tallying 86 yards and two touchdowns on three receptions. Jonathan Kirkley (65) and Eli Nourse (62) also got in on the action, though uncharacteristically, neither managed to find the end zone.

With the Raiders' defense focused on slowing down Western's prolific passing game, the Bulldogs ground game took off. Aidan Lammers rushed for a game-best 79 yards and one touchdown while Jakob Humphrey added 64 yards and two TDs, including a 58-yard effort to put UMW up 21-7 at the end of the first quarter.

Maclain Burckley went two-of-four on PATs and two-of-three on field goals in the contest. He also averaged 50.0 yards per punt, including a monster 66-yard effort, which is the longest in the Frontier Conference in 2025.

Nourse led all returners with 68 yards and a long of 64 yards.

Connor Dunlea led the Bulldog defense with nine total tackles, including six solos. Tyler Walker, Reece Stanish, and Devin Crow recorded 1.0 tackles-for-loss apiece. Crow also earned a team-best 1.0 sack for nine yards.

Dunlea, Brady Mounts, and Jace Fitzgerald each snagged and interception in the game. It was Mounts third interception in as many games.

LOOKING AHEAD

The Bulldogs return home next Saturday when they face off against Carroll College. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. MT.