DILLON — Playing mostly for pride and a shot for a 7-3 finish to their season, the Montana Western Bulldogs welcomed in Southern Oregon in the 2019 regular-season finale. The Bulldogs put on a show for their home crowd, rolling to a 69-39 Frontier Conference football win.
The Raiders struck first on the opening drive of the game to make it 6-0 after a missed extra point. Then the Bulldogs responded with a Trey Mounts touchdown pass from Jon Jund and after their missed extra point it was a 6-6 ballgame early in the first quarter. Both the Raiders and Bulldogs exchange touchdowns to make it a 13-13 game midway through the first.
With 2:47 left in that opening quarter Jund connected for a 65-yard touchdown pass with a wide-open Kyler Prante. That made it a 20-13 lead, and then Montana Western turned it up a notch.
Early in the second quarter, Jund found his redshirt junior wideout and Dillon native Nate Simkins in the end zone, giving Simkins the record for most touchdown receptions (11) in a single season at Montana Western.
Fast forward to about 1:30 to go in the first half, and Simkins added to his record with another touchdown grab, making it a 41-23 Bulldog lead heading into half.
There was no miracle or Cinderella story for Southern Oregon, which tacked on only six more points in the second half. Western would score another 28 points on its way to a 69-29 win, sealing another 7-3 finish for head coach Ryan Nourse, which is tied for his best finish as head coach of the program.
Jund would complete 16 of his 26 attempts for 325 yards through the air and five touchdowns. He'd also add 91 yards and two scores on the ground for a whopping seven total touchdowns.
Simkins had seven catches for 153 yards and three touchdowns, and running back Prante led the way on the ground with 118 yards and a score while adding 64 yards receiving and a touchdown, as well.
Senior linebacker Jason Ferris ended his time as a Bulldog with 13 total tackles on the day and a forced fumble, which he returned for a touchdown. Based on records provided by Montana Western's athletic website, he finishes his career with a record-shattering 345 tackles.
