CALDWELL, Idaho – The Rocky Mountain College defense forced six College of Idaho turnovers and limited the Coyotes to just 217 yards of total offense, as the Battlin' Bears grinded out a 20-7 victory before over 4,000 fans at Simplot Stadium.
Kodee Varner rushed for 109 yards and Chase White passed for 216 yards and two touchdowns as Rocky (3-2, 3-1 Frontier) remained tied atop the league standings.
Leading 10-7 at halftime, the Bears marched 69 yards in 10 plays to open the third quarter, with White finding tight end Dylan Swandal for a 4-yard touchdown to extend the lead.
The Yotes (2-2, 1-2) had opportunities on their next two possessions – as a
Tyler Cox 30-yard pass to
Shayne Robinson set the hosts up on the Rocky 3-yard-line. However, on second down, Billy Williams picked off
Darius-James Peterson and the goal line to turn away C of I.
After a RMC punt, C of I used a 16-yard pass from Cox to
Tyler Higby and a 25-yard run from
Mike Kirby to reach the Bears 4-yard-line. On 2nd-and-goal, Cox mishandled the snap, with Keenan Fagan recovering the fumble.
The Coyotes started quickly, as Higby returned the opening kickoff 50 yards to the RMC 45-yard-line and had an 11-yard reception on a 4th-and-8 play, setting up a Peterson 2-yard touchdown run and a 7-0 lead.
Rocky clamped down defensively, allowing just one C of I first down the rest of the half – getting a 16-yard touchdown strike from White to Tyrell McGee and a 40-yard Griff Amies field goal to lead at the break.
Ricky Carrigan had six catches for 70 yards in the win for the Bears, with McGee making three grabs for 63 yards. J.J. Taele had two of Rocky's four interceptions on the afternoon, with Brandon Johnson recording a pair of sacks.
Cox finished 12-of-27 for 129 yards and added 27 yards rushing, but was picked off three times and lost two fumbles. Kirby led the Yotes with 55 yards rushing, while Higby caught six passes for 40 yards. Both Nik Lyons and
Nate Moore had 11 tackles in the loss, with
Malik Whitfield and
Jacques Carter recording interceptions.
The Yotes hit the road next Saturday for a road meeting at nationally-ranked Southern Oregon.
NOTES – The six C of I turnovers were the most by the Yotes in a game since football returned in 2014; the 50-yard kickoff return by Higby was the longest since
Elijah Carter returned a kickoff 87-yards for a touchdown against Pacific in 2014;
Hartvig Bondo launched a 78-yard punt in the second quarter, the second-longest punt in program history (Dell Smith, 82-yards vs. Idaho State, 1959); Rocky limited Lenhardt, the Yotes leading receiver, to just one catch on the day.
