Saturday afternoon was the Bulldogs first home field game at Vigilante Field. They let Lewis & Clark College know that with a 49-13 win.
The Bulldogs started off a little slow allowing Lewis and Clark to score on their first two drives of the day. The Pioneers would take a 10-0 lead early in the game but the Bulldogs would wake up and flip the switch by starting it off with DJ Kirven rush for a 75 yard touchdown.
In the second quarter down 10 t0 7 Michael Palandri would throw a 37 yard touchdown to Dylan Shipley giving the Bulldogs the lead and from there they would keep the lead.
Some highlights of the game courtesy of Lindsey Branch are:
The Bulldog defense forced a three and out on the following drive, featuring a sack by Tanner
Harrell. This ignited another Western scoring drive that was capped off by a 15-yard rush by
Pete Gibson.
UMW continued in their second quarter barrage with an eight play, 64-yard drive that was
capped off by a five-yard touchdown rush from Kirven.
Just before the half, the Pioneers added their final points of the game in a field goal from 44-
yards out. UMW went into the half up 28-13.
Western wasted no time in the third quarter after Coby Tanioka returned the opening kickoff for 68 yards. On the following play, Eli Nourse caught a 32-yard pass from Palandri for a
touchdown.
With UMW up 35-13, Aiden Prado added some excitement after he picked off Pioneer
quarterback Cruz Montana. The following play saw Pete Gibson rush the ball in for another
Bulldog score, putting the Bulldogs up 42-13.
The final score of the game came in the fourth quarter after Bradley Eleton rushed for nine yards for a touchdown. The Bulldog defense hung on to keep the Pioneers scoreless for the entire second half as Montana Western finished the game on top at 49-13.
Notables
The Bulldog defense stepped up to the plate as they recorded four sacks, two
interceptions, and 9 tackles for loss in the win.
Bulldog running back Kirven led the way after he rushed for a career high 137 yards and
two touchdowns.
Nourse recorded 117 receiving yards with a touchdown.
Palandri threw for 280 yards with two touchdowns and an interception.
Kameron Rauser and Prado each recorded an interception in the game. Rauser for a
return of 28 yards and Prado for a return of 23 yards.
The Bulldogs are back at home next week for a Frontier Conference matchup against Southern Oregon University. Kickoff is set for 1p.m. at Vigilante Field.
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