Lindsey Branch, UMW Sports Information
PORTLAND, Ore. – The no. 4 ranked Montana Western football team (3-0, 1-0) took their first road victory of the season this afternoon when they defeated NCAA DIII opponent Lewis & Clark College (Ore.) Pioneers by a final score of 56-39.
Three Bulldogs earned a pair of rushing touchdowns in the game, while the Bulldogs totaled 228 yards on the ground.
Prior to the matchup, Lewis & Clark averaged more than 150 rushing yards per game. UMW's defense allowed the Pioneers to -8 rushing yards across the matchup and totaled six sacks and eight tackles for loss as a team.
How It Happened
The Pioneers were the first to light up the scoreboard, scoring quickly on a 32 yard pass up the middle of the field to take a 7-0 lead.
The Bulldogs wasted little time and answered by driving down the field with Michael Palandri capping off the drive with a two yard touchdown rush with 7:15 left in the first quarter.
Lewis & Clark scored once more before UMW's Jake Humphrey rushed it in for his first touchdown of the game on an 11-yard rush with 1:23 on the clock.
Tied at 14 apiece, defensive back Braden Swank recovered the ball on a fumble to cap the first quarter and send the Bulldogs into the second frame in great field position. DJ Kirven would then record a 1-yard touchdown rush to give the Bulldogs their first lead of the game at 21-14.
Lewis & Clark scoreed on a field goal at the end of the first half, but the Bulldogs held onto the lead at 21-17 at the end of the half.
UMW wasted no time in finding the end zone at the start of the second half as Humphrey found a gap on the second play of the drive and took it to the house on a 75 yard touchdown rush, bringing the score to 28-17.
The Pioneers answered, bringing the score to 28-25 before UMW would score on back to back drives. The first on a Palandri 6-yard rush and the second on a Pete Gibson rush up the middle.
Leading 42-25 with four minutes to play in the third, the Pioneers utilized a 42 yard kick return to put them in great field position to score before the end of the third to bring it back to a two-score game.
UMW scored four minutes into the fourth quarter on a Gibson rush up the middle to cap a nine play and 39 yard offensive drive and lead 49-32.
Both teams would score once more before the conclusion of the game, with the Bulldogs' score coming from Gibson's third touchdown of the game on an 8-yard reception.
Notables
Gibson had a career-high three touchdowns in the game, two on the ground and his first career receiving touchdown.
Palandri threw for 289 passing yard and a touchdown. He also rushed it in for two touchdowns.
Despite holding the Pioneers to -8 rushing yards in the game, the Bulldogs allowed the Pioneers to throw for 432 passing yards in the game. This is the most passing yards allowed by the Bulldogs since the 2022 season when they allowed Southern Oregon to throw for 443 yards in the air.
Swank recorded four pass breakups while also adding a fumble recovery.
Up Next
Western will hit the road to Oregon for the second week in a row as they will be heading to Ashland, Ore. to take on the no. 20 ranked Southern Oregon Raiders. The Raiders are 3-0 this season and care coming off of a 45-27 upset win over the no. 9 ranked College of Idaho.
The Bulldogs will be looking for their first series road win in Ashland next weekend since the series between the two teams began in 2002. The Bulldogs are 0-8 on the road against the Raiders.
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