October 2005
Carroll Shuts Out Bulldogs
Monday, October 31 2005
Western fell to 1-8 overall and and 1-7 in the Frontier Conference after being shut-out at Carrol 45-0.
The Bulldogs could only muster 194 yards in total offense compared to 507 to Carroll. Western was again their own worst enenmy as they turned the ball over three times on interceptions. They also had a punt blocked in the end zone that Carroll recovered for a touchdown.
Western hosts Rocky Mountain College in the final home game of the season. Kickoff is 12 Noon from Vigilante Field.
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Bulldogs Face #1 Carroll College
Friday, October 28 2005
The University of Montana-Western Bulldog football team travels to Helena for a Frontier Conference game against Carroll College, Saturday, Oct. 29. Kickoff is 1:00 p.m. from Nelson Stadium.
The game will broadcast on KDBM-AM, 1490 on the AM dial and over the internet on Sportsjuice.com.
Western is 1-7 overall and 1-5 in league play after last Saturday's 24-19 loss to Montana Tech.
“We were disappointed,” said Bulldog coach Tommy Lee. “I thought we played well on both sides of the ball. We had trouble defensively early in the game, but in the second half I thought we stepped up and shut down their offense. Offensively, we moved the ball well, but when we got into the red zone, we stopped ourselves with penalties. And, turnovers killed us again. If you take the mistakes away, we were right in the game. It was a five point loss and we had a chance at the end. We had a couple of breaks go against us. But those things happen and we have to move on. But no question, this was our best effort of the season.”
Carroll stayed unbeaten with a 47-21 win over MSU-Northern. The win raised Carroll's record to 7-0 overall and 5-0 in league play. The Saints remain the country's #1 NAIA team. When Carroll and Western played a month ago, Carroll won 37-7. Last year in Helena, the Bulldogs beat Carroll 26-17. Of Carroll's three losses in the last three years, two have come at the hands of Western, and both losses happened in Helena.
“I don't what it is,” added Lee. “We aren't intimidated there, We get excited about playing in front of their crowd. But there is no doubt, Carroll is a very solid football team. They are very experienced and talented in all phases. They don't make a lot mistakes and beat themselves. For us, we need to play our best football game against these guys to have a chance of winning in Helena.”
Carroll leads in just about every offensive and team category and the majority of the individual league categories.
The Bulldogs return to Dillon on Saturday, November 5 for their final home game of the season when they host Rocky Mountain College.
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Diggers Edge Dawgs in Frontier Conference Football
Saturday, October 22 2005
Montana Tech edged the University of Montana-Western 24-19 Saturday, Oct. 22 in a Frontier Conference game from Dillon.
The loss drops Western to 1-7 overall and 1-5 in league play. Tech moves to 7-2 overall and 5-1 in the Frontier.
Western scored first on a six yard touchdown pass from Justin Hartman to Josh Illig. The Bulldogs built their lead to 10-0 on their next possession on a 29 yard Brad Hollen field goal.
Tech held Western scoreless the remainder of the half and scored 17 points themselves to take a 17-10 half time lead. Tech points came on two Josh Johnson touchdowns and a 27 yard Dan Kleckner field goal. Johnson scored on 66 yard run and a 32 yard scoring toss from Sheets.
The Bulldogs scored first in the second half on Hollen’s second field goal. The Orediggers answered in the fourth on a Kevin Dighans one yard run.
Western got to within five on a spectacular 19 yard touchdown pass from Travis Blome to Jake Larson. Western failed on the two-point try.
The Bulldog defense gave the offense two chances late in the game, but Tech’s defense preserved the close win.
Penalties and turnovers again plagued the Bulldogs three interceptions and 100 yards in penalties.
It was the battle of Western’s air attack against Tech’s ground attack. Western’s two quarterbacks combined for 391 yards in passing. Five Oredigger running backs combined for 360 yards on the ground led by Josh Johnson with 179 yards.
Western travels to Carroll next Saturday.
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Bulldogs Host Montana Tech
Saturday, October 22 2005
The University of Montana-Western Bulldogs host the Montana Tech Orediggers in a Frontier Conference football game Saturday, October 22 from Dillon’s Vigilante Field. Kickoff is 1:00 p.m. The game is also Western’s 2005 Homecoming game.
The game will broadcast locally on KDBM, 1490 on the AM radio dial, and over the Internet on sportsjuice.com.
Western enters the game with a 1-6 overall record and 1-4 Frontier Conference mark after losing 44-20 at Rocky last Saturday. Montana Tech lost their first conference game of the season as they lost to unbeaten Carroll College 41-3 in Helena. The Orediggers are 4-1 in league play and 6-2 overall.
Tech thumped the Bulldogs 40-24 in the opening game of the season and Western has struggled since.
“This is always a big game for us,” said Bulldog coach Tommy Lee. “This has been a frustrating year for all of us. As I told the team this week, there are still things to play for and getting victories over Tech and Carroll would be huge. We are a good football team, but we are beating ourselves and not playing very smart.”
The Bulldogs lead the league in penalties and have turned the ball over 23 times.
“Those two categories are very important when it comes to winning ballgames,” noted Lee. “We have turned it over 23 times and only forced nine turnovers, that is a -14 in turnover margin. There was one game where we didn’t have one turnover,so that means in six games, we committed 23 turnovers. When you give your opponent that many opportunities to score, you don’t give yourself an opportunity to win. And then penalties, we lead the league with 51 penalties for 449 yards. And, many of the penalties came at inopportune times. In order to be a good football team and win games we need to cut down on turnovers and penalties.”
Tech is in the middle of the league in scoring, averaging 20 points a game while the Bulldogs are last with only 14.9 points per game. Tech is second in the league in scoring defense, giving up 19.6 points a game while Western is last, giving up 40.6 points per game.
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Bulldogs Host Orediggers
Friday, October 21 2005
The University of Montana-Western Bulldogs host the Montana Tech Orediggers in a Frontier Conference football game Saturday, October 22 from Dillon's Vigilante Field. Kickoff is 1:00 p.m. The game is also Western's 2005 Homecoming game.
The game will broadcast locally on KDBM, 1490 on the AM radio dial, and over the Internet on sportsjuice.com.
Western enters the game with a 1-6 overall record and 1-4 Frontier Conference mark after losing 44-20 at Rocky last Saturday. Montana Tech lost their first conference game of the season as they lost to unbeaten Carroll College 41-3 in Helena. The Orediggers are 4-1 in league play and 6-2 overall.
Tech thumped the Bulldogs 40-24 in the opening game of the season and Western has struggled since.
“This is always a big game for us,” said Bulldog coach Tommy Lee. “This has been a frustrating year for all of us. As I told the team this week, there are still things to play for and getting victories over Tech and Carroll would be huge. We are a good football team, but we are beating ourselves and not playing very smart.”
The Bulldogs lead the league in penalties and have turned the ball over 23 times.
“Those two categories are very important when it comes to winning ballgames,” noted Lee. “We have turned it over 23 times and only forced nine turnovers, that is a -14 in turnover margin. There was one game where we didn't have one turnover,so that means in six games, we committed 23 turnovers. When you give your opponent that many opportunities to score, you don't give yourself an opportunity to win. And then penalties, we lead the league with 51 penalties for 449 yards. And, many of the penalties came at inopportune times. In order to be a good football team and win games we need to cut down on turnovers and penalties.”
Tech is in the middle of the league in scoring, averaging 20 points a game while the Bulldogs are last with only 14.9 points per game. Tech is second in the league in scoring defense, giving up 19.6 points a game while Western is last, giving up 40.6 points per game.
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Bulldogs at Rocky
Friday, October 14 2005
The University of Montana-Western Bulldog football team will be looking to snap a three game losing streak when they travel to Billings for a Frontier Conference football game against Rocky Mountain College, Saturday, Oct. 15. Kickoff is 1:00 p.m. from Herb Klindt Field.
The game will broadcast locally on KDBM, 1490 on the AM radio dial, and over the internet on sportsjuice.com.
Western is 1-5 overall and 1-3 in league play after last weekend's 37-19 loss to MSU-Northern in Havre. Rocky is 0-4 in the Frontier and 0-6 overall after last Saturday's 26-18 loss at Montana Tech.
“It may sound clichéd,” said Bulldog coach Tommy Lee. “But, Rocky is much better than their record. Look at the scores. They have lost a lot of close ball games. We have worked hard this week. The little mistakes have just killed us this season and we need to eliminate the little mistakes and put together a complete game.”
The injury bug continues to plague the Bulldogs. Sophomore quarterback Justin Hartman is still questionable and the offensive line continues lost another starter for a week.
Both teams are low scoring with Rocky averaging 15 points a game and the Bulldogs averaging 14.
After three straight games on the road, Western returns to Dillon to host Montana Tech on Saturday, Oct. 22.
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Bulldogs Fall to Lights
Sunday, October 9 2005
The Bulldogs dropped their game in a row as they lost 19-37 to MSU-Northern in Havre. The loss drops Western to 1-5 overall and 1-3 in the Frontier Conference.
The numbers on paper were almost even when it came to total yards, as the Bulldogs had 404 yards in total offense compared to Northern's 407. The difference was in turnovers as the Bulldogs turned the ball over four times including a fumble that was returned 49 yards for a touchdown.
Travis Blome threw for 293 yards and three touchdowns but also threw three interceptions including one returned 60 yards for a touchdown.
Next Saturday, the Bulldogs travel to Billings for a game against winless Rocky Mountain College.
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Bulldogs Face Lights in Frontier Conference Game
Friday, October 7 2005
After a week off, the University of Montana-Western Bulldogs travel to Havre for a Frontier Conference game against the MSU-Northern Lights, Saturday, October 8. Kickoff is 1:00 p.m. from Blue Pony Stadium.
The game will broadcast locally on KDBM, 1490 on the AM radio dial, and over the internet on sportsjuice.com.
Western is 1-4 on the season and 1-2 in the Frontier Conference. Their last action was a 37-7 home loss to Carroll College on September 24.
“Our bye weekend came at the right time,” said Bulldog coach Tommy Lee. “We played some outstanding teams in our first five games. The week off was a good time to get rejuvenated and get ready for the second half of the season. We were a little beaten up after having Carroll and Idaho State back to back. It gave us some time to heal physical, although some haven’t come back completely. Quarterback Justin Hartman is one of them. We will just wait until game time. The extra time off gave us some time to go back to the basics and extra days to get ready for Northern.”
Northern lost to Montana Tech 23-18 last weekend. When the Bulldogs and Lights met a month ago in Dillon, Western eked out a 34-33 victory. It was the offense that was in the spotlight, as the two teams rolled up 886 yards in total offense. Western’s defense has struggled this season, but in the Northern game made big plays when needed.
“That has been the signature for our defense this season,” added Lee. “We are playing a lot of new people, younger guys with not a lot of experience. Against Northern the first time, we gave up a lot of yards but it when it came to the point of making a stand they did it. Northern had the ball deep in our territory and looked to be driving for the go-ahead score. Kawai Curran sacked Samson and gave us the ball back to save the win.”
Western’s defense is last in the Frontier giving 435 yards and 40 points a game. Northern’s offense is second in the league with 432 yards a game and in scoring offense with 23 points a game.
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