Bulldog Football Travels to #12 Carroll Saturday

DILLON, Mont. – The Montana Western football team (2-3, 0-1 FC) heads to Helena, Mont., Saturday to face off against #12 Carroll (4-1, 1-0 FC).

GAME COVERAGE
@ Carroll – 1 p.m. MT | Live Stats

*The game will be available to watch on SWX

LAST WEEK ON...
Montana Western slipped to 2-3 on the year after a hard-fought 28-27 loss to Southern Oregon last week.

The Bulldogs amassed 368 yards of total offense (244 passing, 124 rushing), three touchdowns, two field goals, and 25 first downs in the game.

Kaden LaPlaunt threw for 244 passing yards on 26 completions. He tossed one touchdown and had a long completion of 32 yards.

Eli Nourse led all players with 145 yards and one touchdown on 13 receptions.

Jakob Humphrey paced the team with 65 rush yards on 11 carries while Aidan Lammers ran in a game-high tying two rushing touchdowns.

The Bulldog defense posted for 56 total tackles, including 36 solo efforts, 4.0 tackles-for-loss, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery, and one interception.

Bodie Smith led the team with seven total tackles while Romeo Simpson had a team-best five solo takedowns. Simpson also forced one fumble from the Raiders, which was recovered by Connor Dunlea.

Manuel Variz IV posted the lone interception of the game for Western while also tying with Liam Rowe in TFLs with 1.0 apiece.

FROM THE DAWG HOUSE
The Bulldogs are averaging 31.2 points, 504.0 yards of total offense, 331.6 passing yards, and 172.4 rushing yards per game on the campaign. They have put up 20 touchdowns and 121 first downs.

Western has scored on 13-of-19 red zone attempts and converted on 35.1 percent of third downs.

The defense has posted 53.6 total tackles, 2.4 tackles-for-loss (44 yards), and 0.8 sacks (18 yards) per game. They have also tallied three safeties, four forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries, two interceptions, 14 pass breakups, and five QB hurries on the campaign.

RUN FOR IT
Aidan Lammers tied his career-high with two rushing touchdowns against SOU. He is averaging 58.2 rush yards per game and a team-high 6.3 yards per carry.

DYNAMIC DUO
Wide receivers Eli Nourse and Seth Shook share the team lead with seven touchdowns each this season. Moreover, both players' longest catch of the season is over 70 yards (75 and 79, respectively.)

GIMME THAT!
Manuel Variz IV snagged his first career interception against the Raiders. It also marked the second-consecutive game that the Bulldogs have posted an interception.

NOT 'DUN' YET
Connor Dunlea leads Western in both total tackles (34.0) and solos (23). He is the first Bulldog to eclipse 20 solo tackles this season.

RACK 'EM UP
Western has posted at least 50 tackles in each of the last four contests, including a season-high 64 against Montana Tech.

SHARING THE WEALTH
25 Bulldogs have recorded multiple tackles on the season, with 16 tallying five or more.

BULLDOGS IN THE RANKINGS
The Bulldogs are ranked in the top 25 in three stat categories. They sit third in the NAIA in passing yards per game (331.6), sixth in total yards per game (503.8) and 16th in total offense (2,519 yards).

Individually, QB Kaden LaPlaunt is tied for fourth in the country in passing TDs (15) and is ninth in passing yards (1,517).

Wide Receivers Seth Shook and Eli Nourse are tied for seventh in receiving touchdowns with seven apiece. Nourse is also ranked ninth in receptions (33) and 13^th in reception yards (533).

Running back Aidan Lammers is 25th in the nation in yards per carry (6.3).

THE OPPONENTS
Carroll is 4-1 on the year, averaging 40.8 points, 264.4 passing yards, 130.4 rushing yards, and 394.8 yards of total offense per game. They have tallied 27 touchdowns, three field goals, 100 first downs, and have a 53.6 third-down completion percentage.

As a team, the Fighting Saints rank sixth in the NAIA in third-down percentage (53.6), 13th in points per game (40.8), 18th in total points (204), and 22nd in passing yards per game (264.4)

Kaden Huot has had the lions share of quarterback duties for Carroll, averaging 233.8 passing yards per game and 11 passing touchdowns. He also rushes for 13.2 yards per game and has ran in one rushing TD.

Peter Minnaert leads the Saints with 42.6 rush yards per game and five rushing touchdowns.

Ty Wilkinson is putting up a team-high 61.2 receiving yards per game. He has four TD catches on the year.

On the defensive side of the ball, Eli Abi paces Carroll with 41.0 total tackles while Kolbe Coey has tallied a team-best 22 solo takedowns.

Gage Norslien leads the team in tackles-for loss with 7.0 (26 yards). He and Nolan Gallagher share the team-lead in sacks with 2.0 apiece (14 and eight yards, respectively).

Coey has snagged a team-high two interceptions and Jacob Nemecek leads in breakups with four.

Henry Gross has forced a team-best three fumbles while recovering two. He also leads in QB hurries with three.

Eddie Ballanco is 2-for-3 on field goals and 27-of-28 on PATs on the year.

SERIES HISTORY
Western is 38-80-2 all-time against Carroll College. In last year's matchup, the Saints took the 42-34 win.

UP NEXT
The Bulldogs return home next weekend to host College of Idaho. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. MT.

For complete coverage of UMW Football, be sure to follow us on social media at @umw_football (Instagram), @UMW_Football (X), and @Montana Western Football (Facebook) or visit our official website at UMWBulldogs.com.

#GOBULLDOGS!

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Players Mentioned

#18 Eli Nourse: WR; 5' 10"; Senior

#93 Liam Rowe: DL; 6' 3"; Sophomore

#9 Seth Shook: WR; 5' 10"; Redshirt Junior

#22 Bodie Smith: DB; 5' 11"; Junior

#55 Manuel Variz IV: LB; 5' 9"; Redshirt Junior

#20 Connor Dunlea: DB; 6' 0"; Redshirt Sophomore

#25 Jakob Humphrey: RB; 5' 9"; Redshirt Senior

#37 Aidan Lammers: RB; 5' 11"; Redshirt Sophomore

#4 Kaden LaPlaunt: QB; 6' 1"; Sophomore

#8 Romeo Simpson: DB; 5' 9"; Senior

Players Mentioned

#18 Eli Nourse
: 5' 10"; Senior
: WR

#93 Liam Rowe
: 6' 3"; Sophomore
: DL

#9 Seth Shook
: 5' 10"; Redshirt Junior
: WR

#22 Bodie Smith
: 5' 11"; Junior
: DB

#55 Manuel Variz IV
: 5' 9"; Redshirt Junior
: LB

#20 Connor Dunlea
: 6' 0"; Redshirt Sophomore
: DB

#25 Jakob Humphrey
: 5' 9"; Redshirt Senior
: RB

#37 Aidan Lammers
: 5' 11"; Redshirt Sophomore
: RB

#4 Kaden LaPlaunt
: 6' 1"; Sophomore
: QB

#8 Romeo Simpson
: 5' 9"; Senior
: DB