LA GRANDE, Ore. -- Montana Tech outgained Eastern Oregon 394-232 on Saturday, as the Orediggers picked up their first Frontier Conference victory of the season. Tech beat EOU 35-10 in La Grande, Ore.
The Orediggers scored on the game's opening possession when Jet Campbell found Nate Sanders for a 5-yard touchdown to cap a 7-play, 68-yard drive. Jed Fike added touchdown runs from 3 yards and 23 yards to push Tech's lead to 21-0 with 5:57 to go in the second quarter.
Eastern Oregon consumed nearly all of the final six minutes of the first half on its way to a 23-yard field goal by Jaiden Machuca to cut Montana Tech's lead to 21-3 at halftime.
The Mountaineers had a chance to cut into the lead on their opening possession of the second half, but a penalty was followed by a Victor Dias fumble, which Montana Tech recovered on the Eastern Oregon 12-yard line.
Four plays later, Fike would plunge into the end zone for the third time on the day. Campbell added his second touchdown pass of the game early in the fourth quarter when he found Trevor Hoffman for a 59-yard scoring strike. Eastern Oregon added a touchdown midway through the fourth quarter to cap the scoring.
Tech's defense was dominant all afternoon, holding Eastern Oregon to just 58 rushing yards on 29 attempts. The defense also intercepted Eastern Oregon twice and recovered two Mountaineer fumbles.
With the win, Montana Tech improves to 1-1 (1-1 Frontier Conference) and will play host to Southern Oregon University on Sept. 21. Eastern Oregon falls to 1-2 (1-2) and will visit Portland State on Sept. 21.
