Butte, Mont. – An early 17-0 lead for No. 15 Montana Tech put No. 7 College of Idaho behind early and too much on its way to a 44-35 win on Saturday afternoon. The loss spoiled a career day for Yotes quarterback
Andy Peters, who completed 28 of 42 passes for a career-best 354 yards and tied a career-high with three touchdowns.
His counterpart Montana Tech quarterback Blake Thelen completed 17 of 27 passes for 361 yards and two touchdowns. Thelen and the Orediggers top target on the day was Wyatt Alexander, who caught three passes for 131 yards.
The loss drops College of Idaho to 3-1 overall and 1-1 in the Frontier Conference and the Orediggers move into an identical record at 3-1 overall and 1-1 in the Frontier Conference.
Montana Tech scored on its first four drives as they built a 24-7 lead on the Yotes. Three of the four drives were for over 65 yards, the fourth being a two play, 20-yard drive after an interception of a Peters pass.
Down 30-14 in the third quarter, Peters and College of Idaho began to mount a comeback. Three-consecutive touchdown drives that saw Peters throw a pair of touchdown passes including one to
Jon Schofield, who also scored his second rushing touchdown with 4:42 to cut the deficit with two, 37-35 with :20 left in the third quarter.
Clinging to a two-point lead, Montana Tech answered with a six play, 15-yard drive that took 6:09 to make it a two-possession lead and a nine-point lead. College of Idaho came back and marched down the field on a 11 play, 53-yard drive where they were unable to draw closer as they missed a 39-yard field goal. The Orediggers ran out the final 4:49 on the clock with a crucial fourth-down conversion to seal the win.
Despite the loss, Yotes linebacker
Matthew Iwamizu was involved in 12 tackles to lead the defense, plus
Keegan Croteau also had eight stops.
John Kreps and
Ben Hruby (pictured) each had five receptions. Kreps had 85 yards receiving and Hruby added 72.
Next up for College of Idaho is the annual homecoming game on Saturday, September 30 at 1 p.m. at Simplot Stadium where they will host Rocky Mountain. Fans are encouraged to wear purple.
