BILLINGS, Mont. – Last season, Rocky Mountain College scored two touchdowns in the final five minutes to stun the College of Idaho in Caldwell. Since that setback – the Coyotes have not been beat. Thanks to the most dominant defensive performance since football returned to the College, the Yotes won their tenth game in a row, a dominant 42-0 victory at rainy Herb Klindt Field.
Nick Calzaretta and
Dominic Garzoli each rushed for over 100 yards, while the C of I defense recorded 10 sacks and 17 total tackles for loss – limiting Rocky to 121 yards of total offense in their first-ever win in the Magic City.
The No. 10-ranked Coyotes (4-0, 4-0 Frontier) forced nine punts, seven 3-and-outs and did not allow the Battlin' Bears to reach the red zone.
Both teams traded punts on their first two possessions, but pinned inside their own 10-yard-line, the Yotes changed momentum with one play – as Calzaretta busted through the line on a 93-yard touchdown run to give C of I the lead.
Following a Rocky (2-3, 1-3) punt, C of I extended the lead – needing a
Bo Stevens 17-yard reception on fourth down to extend the drive – capped by a
Darius-James Peterson 12-yard touchdown strike to
Hunter Juarez.
C of I pushed the lead to 21-0 in the second quarter on a
Justin Hellyer touchdown run and following a RMC fumble, Garzoli scored from 35-yards out to close out a 4-play drive to give the Yotes a four-score halftime lead.
Garzoli scored his second touchdown of the game late in the third quarter on a 16-yard run, with the Coyotes extending the lead to 42-0 when
Forrest Rivers forced Bears quarterback Drew Korf to fumble, with
Graham Carnahan scooping up the loose football and racing 15-yards to paydirt.
Calzaretta rushed for 133 yards on 15 carries – his third 100-yard rushing game of 2019 – with Garzoli adding 102 yards on eight totes. Hellyer had 50 yards on nine carries, as the top rushing team in the Frontier Conference ran for 328 yards.
Peterson finished 10-of-24 for 126 yards and a touchdown in the inclement weather – connecting twice with Garzoli,
Connor Gagain and Juarez.
Defense was the story – as Danny Garcia set a C of I record with three and a half sacks, part of a career-high 10-tackle day.
Landon Clark-Gammell had 10 tackles and a sack and a half;
J.T. Mahon had six tackles and 2.5 sacks; while both Rivers and
Dylan Martinez had seven tackles.
Korf finished 11-of-21 for just 90 yards and was sacked nine times, with Victor Ngalamulume rushing for 25 yards on nine carries.
The Frontier Conference will have a league-wide bye weekend on Oct. 5 before C of I heads to Carroll College for an Oct. 12 match-up.
NOTES: It was the first shutout by a C of I team since a 7-0 win at Eastern Oregon in 1976...the 10-game win streak for the Coyotes is the longest since a 14-game win streak spanning the 1952 and 1953 seasons; the 4-0 start by C of I is their first since opening the 1969 season with 5-straight wins…defensive back
Jordan Nero made his return to the field – his first game action since early 2018 – recording one tackle, with true freshman quarterback
Jacob Holcomb running the offense for the final three drives of the contest…the 31 rushing yards allowed by C of I equals the fewest by a Coyote opponent since football returned in 2014, while the 121 yards of total offense were the fewest allowed since the 1970s…kicker
Kyle Mitchell was perfect on six extra point attempts, extending his consecutive made PAT streak to 51 in a row…the win for the Coyotes extended a win streak in Montana to six in a row…C of I has now won a road game in every Frontier Conference stadium except Raider Stadium at Southern Oregon – where the Yotes will play on Oct. 26.
