CALDWELL, Idaho - Down 24-21 with 1:33 left in the game, the No. 9 College of Idaho football team marched down the field and faced 3rd and 7 with :22 seconds to go. Then, Yotes junior running back
Hunter Gilbert broke through the line of scrimmage en route to the end zone for a game-winning touchdown to lift the Yotes to a 27-24 win over No. 19 Montana Tech on Saturday.
College of Idaho (6-0, 6-0 Frontier), who was playing from behind for most of the game, managed to tie the game with touchdowns on its first two drives of the second half. The homecoming happy and host Yotes tied the game for the second time on the day when
Andy Peters connected with
Brock Richardson on a 75-yard pass play to even the game at 21.
Montana Tech (4-2, 4-2 Frontier) answered with an nine play, 74-yard drive that ended with a 23-yard field goal by Ryan Lowry that put the visitors from Butte, Montana back in front by a 24-21 margin that set the stage for the late-game heroics.
Yotes quarterback
Andy Peters, who missed last Saturday's game due to illness, led the Yotes down the field but it was Gilbert, who complemented his passing efforts with a strong running game. Facing 4th and 2 and not in field goal range, Gilbert broke off a five-yard run to extend the game and the drive. It was just the fourth 4
th down conversion on the season for the Yotes.
Then, Peters connected with
Jon Schofield on back-to-back passes, including a 35-yard reception to move the ball down to the MTU 25. Two plays later, after a 3-yard completion from Peters to Richardson, College of Idaho and Gilbert pulled off the game-winning rush. Three-straight incompletions by Montana Tech quarterback Blake Thelen and an aggressive defensive pressure by the Yotes sealed the win.
Statistically, in the win, Peters completed 11 of 22 passes for 187 yards and a touchdown. With the game-winning rush Gilbert went over the 100-yard mark with a 101 yards on the ground and 16 rushes. It is his second 100-yard game of the season. Defensively, College of Idaho was paced by a pair of nine-tackle efforts from
Dylan Martinez and
Jacob Batubenga. Plus, Martinez picked up 2.5 tackles for loss.
For Montana Tech, in the loss, Thelen completed 15 of 32 passes for 205 yards and a touchdown. Blake Counts was the top ground gainer with 25 rushes for 108 yards and two touchdowns to pace the Orediggers.
Next, College of Idaho heads into its second bye weekend of the season before facing Montana Western on October 22 in Dillon, Montana at 1 p.m. Â
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