CALDWELL, Idaho –
Nick Calzaretta rushed for 162 yards and tied a school record with five touchdowns, part of a 641-yard day by the College of Idaho offense, as the Coyotes blew out No. 17 ranked Montana Tech, 64-35, at Simplot Stadium.
The win for the Yotes (5-5, 5-4 Frontier) secured their first 5-win season since 1969, pulled the team into a tie with Rocky Mountain for third-place in the league standings, while scoring over 60 points in a game for the first time since 1961. It was C of I's fourth win in their last five games and their third home victory in a row.
Playing without All-America quarterback Quinn McQueary, the Orediggers (6-3, 6-3) took advantage of a C of I fumble on the Yotes first possession – as Davan Norris found Dion Williams in the end zone from 4-yards out for an early 7-0 lead.
Tech rolled the dice on the ensuing kickoff – but failed on an on-side kick attempt – with the Yotes taking advantage of the field possession.
Darius-James Peterson rushed 38-yards on the first play, with Calzaretta punching it in from 2-yards out to even the score.
After stopping MT on a third-down try,
Segun Olubi blocked Derrick Holt's punt to set the Yotes up in prime real estate. Peterson connected with
Shayne Robinson on a 36-yard pass, with C of I signal caller plunging in from a yard out to take a 14-7 lead.
The 'Diggers used a 93-yard drive to tie the score on a fourth down 1-yard touchdown run by Braden Feisthamel, but C of I answered quickly, as Peterson found
Keenan Pattwell for 17-yards and
Keegan Crafton for 22-yards, before sneaking in from a yard out for a 21-14 lead.
Pattwell did the damage on the Yotes next possession, taking a fly-sweep 66-yards into the red zone and scored his first college touchdown two plays later on a 2-yard run.
Leading 34-21 at the break, the C of I defense took over – recording a safety, a fumble recovery and two Tech punts – while the offense rolled. Crafton caught a 62-yard pass on the Yotes first third quarter drive, leading to a Calzaretta 2-yard touchdown. Later in the quarter, back-up quarterback
Tyler Cox connected with Robinson on 21-yard and 37-yard pass plays, with Calzaretta walking in from 7-yards out to push the C of I lead to 50-28. After a Tech punt, Calzaretta found a seam and sprinted 68-yards for a score and capped the scoring after a MT turnover, bulling in from a yard out to tie Tom Winbigler (1948) and Ted Martin (1953) with five rushing scores.
Peterson finished with 172 yards through the air and added 92 yards rushing – surpassing the 1,000-yard mark for the season – the first Coyote to reach the 1,000-yard plateau since 1957. C of I rushed for 388 yards on the day – their second game with 300 or more yards on the ground this season and their fourth-straight game with 200 or more rushing yards.
Robinson had four receptions for a career-high 119 yards – the first C of I player to surpass the 100-yard receiving mark on the season.
Norris was 28-of-44 for 357 yards and four touchdowns for the 'Diggers, but was sacked five times. Dion Williams had a team-high 10 receptions for 100 yards and Feisthamel rushed for 40 yards – but the top-ranked run offense in the Frontier Conference was limited to just 85 yards on the ground.
C of I closes out the season next Saturday, hosting Montana State-Northern at Noon.
