DILLON – This home opener for Montana Western was no ordinary home opener. This year marks the 30th year that football has been at the school after it was reinstated in 1988. Dozens of alums and past Bulldog players lined the field and bleachers at Vigilante stadium to indulge in the nostalgia. Western didn’t disappoint, cruising to a 55-3 win over Montana State-Northern.
Head coach Ryan Nourse knew coming into this game the importance of playing hard and getting that key victory with everyone who would be at the game. He stressed it to his players during this week’s practices, and they responded and they showed up to play.
The Bulldogs took a 28-3 lead into halftime and never looked back. Nolan Donisthorpe and Kylar Prante combined for three scores and more than 150 yards on the ground. Jon Jund went 13-for-25 with two touchdowns, two intercepts and 286 yards through the air.
Another impressive stat line was total offense. The Bulldogs had 653 yards of total offense and their defense held the Lights to just 280 total yards. Jason Ferris got himself a interception to go along with his 13 tackles and one sack.
Montana Western was predicted to finish seventh in the Frontier Conference in the preseason polls, but the Bulldogs are making some noise through two weeks. They will celebrate tonight, but come Monday they will be eying their next opponent, Rocky Mountain College. The two teams will meet in Dillon at Vigilante Stadium for a 1 p.m. game on Saturday.
