CALDWELL, Idaho – On a physical day dominated by defenses,
Isaiah Abdul intercepted a Drew Korf pass in the end zone with five seconds remaining, as The College of Idaho ran their regular-season win streak to 18 with a 10-3 victory over Rocky Mountain College at Simplot Stadium.
The No. 5-ranked Coyotes (2-0) took their first lead of the game with 54 seconds remaining on a
Ryan Hibbs touchdown pass to
Nick Calzaretta, but withstood a late drive by the Battlin' Bears.
Starting at their own 29-yard-line, Rocky (0-2) ran 10 plays in 49 seconds – including a 24-yard back-shoulder catch from Trae Young – that set up first-and-goal on the C of I 2-yard-line. RMC nearly tied the game on first down, but a Korf pass to Joseph Dwyer in the end zone was dropped. On the next snap, a Korf pass was batted high in the air by
Taeson Hardin, finding the waiting hands of Abdul, to seal the victory.
Both teams settled for first quarter field goals before a longstanding stalemate. Rocky took the opening kickoff and drove to the Coyote 20, before Wyatt Brusven kicked a 38-yard field goal. C of I answered late in the quarter, as a
Jacob Holcomb 21-yard scramble and a
Connor Gagain 21-yard reception set up a
Jacob Johnson 22-yard kick.
The two defenses dominated the middle quarters – Rocky stopping a pair of C of I drives with strip-sacks, while C of I forced the Battlin' Bears to go 4-of-15 on third down.
The Yotes controlled the football in the second half, recording a 2-to-1 time of possession advantage – yet could not score. C of I opened the half on a 13-play drive before having to punt and followed with a season-long 15-play drive that was stopped on a fourth down attempt.
Midway through the fourth quarter, RMC drove to the Coyote 33 and looked to reach the red zone on a pass play to Andrew Simon – but Hardin stripped the football from the tight end and
Jacob Batubenga recovered the fumble to end the drive.
C of I answered behind Hibbs, who entered midway through the third quarter – connecting on a 29-yard pass to
Brock Richardson and a 19-yard pass to
Connor Richardson to get into RMC territory. The redshirt freshman converted a 4th-and-5 with a pass to
Brock Richardson, which was followed by a pass in the flat to Calzaretta, who made two defenders miss on a 24-yard sprint to the end zone for the only touchdown of the day.
Calzaretta rushed for 52 yards on 21 carries and added three receptions for 30 yards. The two Coyote quarterbacks combined for 222 passing yards, with Hibbs going 9-of-15 for 105 yards – with
Connor Richardson catching five passes for 55 yards.
Korf finished 26-of-44 for 202 yards in the loss, with Dawson Schick rushing for 57 yards. The Rocky defense forced three C of I turnovers – two fumbles and an interception.
C of I will have next week off in preparation for a first-place match-up at Eastern Oregon on April 3.
NOTES:
- Graham Carnahan and Brock Funke each had a big Senior Day – Carnahan making eight tackles and Funke posting a career-high seven stops
- Hardin was all over the field, making a team-high nine tackles, with the fourth quarter forced fumble his second of the spring season
- C of I finished the game holding onto the football for nearly 37 minutes
- The win extended C of I's home win streak to 11 – dating back to a September 2018 loss to RMC…the streak is one off the school record of 12, established in the 1950s
- The 3-points allowed by C of I was the fewest by the Coyote defense in a home games since a 27-0 win over Eastern Oregon on Sept. 19, 1964
