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Montana Western, University of

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28
Simpson (CA) SU 3-4 , 1-2
47
Winner Montana Western (MT) UMW 2-5 , 0-3
Simpson (CA) SU
3-4 , 1-2
28
Final
47
Montana Western (MT) UMW
2-5 , 0-3
Winner
Score By Quarters
Team 1st 2nd 3rd 4th F
SU Simpson (CA) 7 6 15 0 28
UMW Montana Western (MT) 2 28 7 10 47
Captains vs Simpson 2026
Grace Schalk Photography

Game Recap: Football | | Claire Gay, UMW Sports Information

Bulldog Football Caps 2026 Home Campaign With 47-28 Win Over Simpson

DILLON, Mont. – Montana Western football (3-5, 1-3 FC) defeated Simpson (3-5, 1-3 FC) 47-28 Saturday afternoon in Bulldog Stadium.

"Really proud of the team and how they committed to do what it takes to play winning football," head coach Ryan Nourse said. "The desire, passion, and effort were the highest we have had all year. We kept fighting no matter the situation, good or bad, for the entire game and played with the pride it takes to be a Dawg. It's always bittersweet to play the last home game with the seniors, and I'm so pleased they came away with a win in their last game at Bulldog Stadium."
 
STAT BREAKDOWN
Western put up 430 yards of total offense, 245 passing yards, 185 rushing yards, six touchdowns, one field goal, one safety, and 24 first downs in the contest. The Bulldogs scored on all six red-zone entries.
 
Sam Wulff threw for a game- and career-high 176 yards and four passing touchdowns on 13 completions, including a long-completion of 32 yards. Rashard Boone posted 69 passing yards on seven completions with a long of 40.
 
Santana Luna led the team with 84 rushing yards, followed by Jakob Humphrey (78) and Rashard Boone (31). Humphrey and Boone both ran in touchdowns for UMW.
 
Seth Shook led all players with 152 yards and two touchdowns on nine receptions. Eli Nourse also caught a TD and tallied 77 yards on eight catches. Colton Cornwell rounded out the group with a four-yard touchdown catch.

The Bulldog defense was relentless against the Red Hawks, registering 73 total tackles (37 solo), 9.0 TFLs for 61 yards, 7.0 sacks for 56 yards, two forced fumbles, one fumble recovery, one safety, six pass breakups, and three QB hurries.
 
Bryson LeCoure posted career highs in both total tackles (nine) and solo efforts (five). He led all players in total tackles while sharing the team lead in solos with Drew Humphrey. Humphrey and Connor Dunlea tied for second on the team with eight tackles each.
LeCoure and Tyler Schoen led the game with 2.0 tackles-for-loss and 2.0 sacks apiece. LeCoure capped his standout day with a forced fumble and fumble recovery and one QB hurry.
 
Romeo Simpson and Carter Petre both tallied two pass breakups while Schoen and Tyson Beckles added quarterback hurries.
 
Maclain Burckley was a perfect 6-for-6 on PATs and drained a 15-yard field goal. He also averaged 42.7 yards over three punts and 64.4 yards across five kickoffs. Trevin Thorpe averaged 52.5 yards on two kickoffs.
 
Colton Cornwell returned a kickoff for 87 yards while Nourse tallied three returns 101 yards, including a long of 62.
 
GAME SUMMARY
The visitors got on the board first with a 13-yard touchdown pass from Ya'j Vance to Talan Ramirez to go up 7-0.
 
Western earned a tackle in the endzone for a safety, making it 7-2 after the opening period.
 
A four-yard touchdown pass from Sam Wulff to Colton Cornwell put the Bulldogs in the lead 40 seconds into the second quarter. They would not trail again in the contest.
 
Seth Shook caught back-to-back passes from Wulff (18 and 32 yards) to make it 23-7 in favor of the Red and Black.
 
D'Ante Benjamin ran in a score for Simpson with 4:25 remaining in the half, but Hinrichs missed the ensuing kick, bringing the score to 23-13.
 
Jakob Humphrey rushed in a two-yard touchdown with 28 second remaining to propel the Bulldogs to a 30-13 lead as the teams headed to the locker rooms.
 
SU scored twice in quick succession at the start of the second half, one on a Benjamin two-yard run and once on an 85-yard Dominique Ruff fumble recovery. It cut the deficit to just two, 30-28) with 10 minutes left in the third quarter.
 
Eli Nourse gave UMW some breathing room back on a five-yard TD pass form Wulff, putting the Bulldogs up 37-28 with 15 minutes of action remaining.
 
Western weathered the storm and smothered the Red Hawks offense for the remainder of the contest, including posting five fourth-quarter sacks.  
 
Maclain Burckley made it 40-28 on a 15-yard field goal midway through the final frame.
 
Rashard Boone put a cap on the day with a 25-yard rushing touchdown to seal the 47-28 victory.
 
SIMPSON
The Red Hawks registered 299 yards of total offense, including 197 pass yards and 102 rush yards. They scored four touchdowns (1 passing, two rushing, one off a fumble recovery) and earned 22 first downs.
 
Ya'j Vance put up 167 yards and one passing touchdown on 17 completions.
 
D'Ante Benjamin rushed for a game-best 91 yards and two touchdowns on 20 carries.
 
Ivan Huerta caught six passes for 93 yards while Talan Ramirez earned 59 receiving yards in addition to one receiving TD.
 
William Weathington, Caleb Utter, Dominique Ruff, and Timi Akinyoyenu each posted seven tackles.
 
Kenyon Hawkins led the team with 1.5 TFLs.
 
Ruff recovered a fumble and returned it 85 yards for a touchdown.
 
Tyler Hinrichs was 1-for-2 on PATs while Travis Ross was 1-for-1. Vance was also successful on a two-point conversion.
 
Jahkylle Smith led the Red Hawks with 87 total return yards.
 
LOOKING AHEAD
The Bulldogs are on the road for the final two games of the 2026 regular season. Up first, they travel to La Grande, Ore., to take on Eastern Oregon Oct. 31.
 
For complete coverage of UMW Football, be sure to follow us on social media at @umwbulldogfootball (Instagram), @UMWFootball (X), and @UMW Bulldog Football (Facebook) or visit our official website at UMWBulldogs.com.

#GOBULLDOGS!
 
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Scoring Summary

Scoring Summary
Scoring Play Visiting Team Score Home Team Score
1st Quarter SU UMW
SU
08:56 - SU - Talan Ramirez 13 yd pass from Ya'j Vance (Tyler Hinrichs kick) 9 plays, 63 yards, TOP 4:21
7 0
UMW
02:05 - UMW - Team 0 yd safety
7 2
2nd Quarter SU UMW
UMW
14:21 - UMW - Colton Cornwell 4 yd pass from Sam Wulff (Maclain Burckley kick) 8 plays, 65 yards, TOP 2:37
7 9
UMW
10:21 - UMW - Seth Shook 18 yd pass from Sam Wulff (Maclain Burckley kick) 4 plays, 55 yards, TOP 1:19
7 16
UMW
09:28 - UMW - Seth Shook 32 yd pass from Sam Wulff (Maclain Burckley kick) 1 plays, 32 yards, TOP 0:07
7 23
SU
04:25 - SU - D'Ante Benjamin 1 yd run (Tyler Hinrichs kick failed), 12 plays, 75 yards, TOP 5:03
13 23
UMW
00:28 - UMW - Jakob Humphrey 2 yd run (Maclain Burckley kick), 12 plays, 76 yards, TOP 3:51
13 30
3rd Quarter SU UMW
SU
11:34 - SU - D'Ante Benjamin 2 yd run (Ya'j Vance rush), 11 plays, 75 yards, TOP 3:54
21 30
SU
10:19 - SU - Dominique Ruff 85 yd fumble recovery (Travis Ross kick)
28 30
UMW
08:10 - UMW - Eli Nourse 5 yd pass from Sam Wulff (Maclain Burckley kick) 4 plays, 35 yards, TOP 1:56
28 37
4th Quarter SU UMW
UMW
08:57 - UMW - Maclain Burckley 15 yd field goal 15 plays, 81 yards, TOP 7:50
28 40
UMW
05:11 - UMW - Rashard Boone 25 yd run (Maclain Burckley kick), 1 plays, 25 yards, TOP
28 47

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