CALDWELL, Idaho –
Kyle Mitchell connected on a Frontier Conference record 58-yard field goal as time expired, leading the College of Idaho to a 16-14 victory over Montana Tech at Simplot Stadium.
Mitchell, who had earlier made field goals of 29 and 45-yards, spoiled a late-game rally by the Orediggers (4-2, 4-2 Frontier), as Tech took a 14-13 lead on a Jet Campbell 3-yard touchdown run with 21 seconds left.
The No. 8-ranked Yotes (6-0, 6-0), who sit alone atop the Frontier Conference standings, marched 34-yards in four plays to set up Mitchell from the right hash – where he calmly split the uprights to extend C of I's win streak to 12-games.
The battle of the top-two defenses in the league did not disappoint – as each team forced two turnovers – the Diggers cashing a second quarter Carter Myers interception into a Blake Counts 4-yard touchdown run that gave the visitors a 7-0 lead. C of I held Tech to just 245 yards of total offense, including just 98 passing yards.
C of I answered on their next drive – aided by a pair of pass interference calls – with Mitchell converting from 29-yards to pull within 7-3. Follow a 3-and-out, the Yotes out outstanding field position after a short Tech punt – going 47-yards in seven plays, just before the break, to take the lead.
Dominic Garzoli and
Justin Hellyer each had 10-yard runs, with
Darius-James Peterson finding
Connor Richardson in the end zone from 12-yards out for the 10-7 lead.
The Yotes had chances to break the game open – but the Diggers defense stood stout. Following a Danny Garcia interception, Tech stopped Peterson on a 4th-and-2 run at the 10-yard line, with on C of I's next drive, a poor center snap thwarted a Coyote drive at the 1-yard-line, as Paul Sundquist recovered the fumble.
A Mitchell 45-yard field goal gave the Coyotes a 13-7 lead with five minutes left – but Tech responded with their best drive of the day – a 15-play march that including three third down conversions and a Campbell 16-yard run on 4th-and-8 to extend the drive.
Following the go-ahead touchdown – Peterson led the game-winning drive, connecting with Richardson and
Connor Gagain, along with two grabs by
Hunter Juarez, to set up the field goal attempt.
Nick Calzaretta recorded his fifth 100-yard game of the season for C of I, carrying 27 times for 110 yards – but the Diggers defense held the Yotes to a season-low 164 rushing yards.
Peterson finished 16-of-30 for 203 yards, with Gagain catching seven passes for 78 yards and Juarez adding five grabs for 59 yards.
Counts led Tech with 91 yards on 19 carries, with Campbell rushing for 48 yards - going 11-of-24 through the air for 98 yards. Riley Caprara had four catches for 61 yards – including a 26-yard grab in the third quarter, but was stripped by
Josh Elsberry and
J.T. Mahon recovering the fumble to end the Digger drive.
C of I hits the road for the next two weeks, traveling next Saturday to Southern Oregon for a 2 p.m. (PT) match-up.
NOTES: The game was delayed by 45 minutes at the outset due to lightning…linebackers for both teams had big days – as Myers had a team-high 12 tackles for Tech, with
Forrest Rivers recording a season-high 12 tackles, including three for loss and a forced fumble…Mitchell set a new school record with three field goals in the game, with his walk-off kick the first game-winning field goal in program history…C of I finished the day 2-for-5 in the red zone after entering the game 25-for-25 on red zone chances this season…the C of I defense held their third-straight opponent to under 100 yards passing…Peterson has now thrown a touchdown pass in 15-straight games, a school record…the 6-0 start is the second in school history, joining the 1953 team that opened the year 8-0 and won the Northwest Conference title…the Yotes have a two-game lead on Montana Western and Montana Tech in the standings, as Western dropped a 33-29 decision at Carroll College.
