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Montana Western, University of

Official Athletics Site of the Montana Western Bulldogs
34
Winner Montana Western (MT) UMW 4-6 , 2-4
23
Arizona Christian ACU 0-9 , 0-5
Winner
Montana Western (MT) UMW
4-6 , 2-4
34
Final
23
Arizona Christian ACU
0-9 , 0-5
Score By Quarters
Team 1st 2nd 3rd 4th F
UMW Montana Western (MT) 7 7 10 10 34
ACU Arizona Christian 7 13 3 0 23
D-line vs Simpson

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

Montana Western Football Defeats Arizona Christian 34-23 in Final Contest of 2026

GLENDALE, Ariz. – Montana Western football (4-6, 2-4 FC) took down Arizona Christian (0-9, 0/5 FC) 34-23 Saturday afternoon in the final regular season contest of 2026.
 
QUOTABLE
After a lackluster and mistake-laden first half I was really happy to see the guys come out and finish the game off well with a winning second half," head coach Ryan Nourse said. "The defense was opportunistic in the second half, causing several takeaways and, unlike the first half, they turned a corner and got off the field enough on third down to get the ball back to the offense. Shook and Nourse were dominant vs ACU's man cover and the offensive line was tough and physical and were able to run the ball successfully to win the game. I'm very happy for the seniors to go out on a win and for the guys who get to return this offseason to get started on the right foot by finishing with a road victory. I'm hopeful both coaches and players can learn from the myriads of challenges we went through this season and come out stronger with a renewed respect for what it takes to be a Dawg and how to work and earn the opportunity to compete with the best teams in the Frontier Conference again."
 
STAT BREAKDOWN
Western tallied 385 yards of total offense, 249 passing yards, 136 rushing yards, and scored four touchdowns and two field goals.
 
The Bulldogs scored on all four red chances and posted 20 first downs.
 
Kaden LaPlaunt led the game with 241 passing yards and two touchdowns on 14 completions, including a long of 75.
 
Jakob Humphrey rushed for a game-best 64 yards on a game-high 16 carries with one touchdown. Santana Luna had nine carries for 57 yards.
 
Rashard Boone ran for a career-high tying 31 yards and one rushing TD.
 
Eli Nourse caught for a game-best 126 yards and one touchdown on 10 receptions.
 
Seth Shook also got in on the action with one touchdown catch on one 75-yard reception. Colton Cornwell had two receptions for 43 yards.
 
Defensively, Connor Dunlea, Bryson LeCoure, and Thomas Avery tied for the game-high with nine tackles each.
 
Eliandry Ozuna led the team with five solo takedowns.
 
Drew Humphrey, Isaac Tolan, and Manuel Variz IV all posted 1.0 tackles-for-loss while Humphrey also posted 1.0 sack in the contest.
 
Dunlea and Aedan Baker both snagged interceptions for Western.
 
Alex Maloley recovered one fumble.
 
Maclain Burckley and Trevin Thorpe both knocked down a field goal (42 and 34 yards, respectively) and both were successful on two PATs.
 
Nourse led all players with 108 yards on five returns.
 
SCORING SUMMARY
After a defensive stop to start the game, the Bulldogs got on the board first with a 15-yard rush from Humphrey. The successful PAT from Burckley made it 7-0 with 10 minutes left in the first quarter.
 
The hosts tied it up 7-7 on a Jerome Broadus TD reception from Cole Meidinger.
 
Western took the lead once again on a 20-yard touchdown pass from LaPlaunt to Nourse. Burckley drained the point-after attempt, making it 14-7 at the start of the second frame.
 
Arizona Christian scored again on a 10-yard Chris McKivitz catch from Michael Butler with five minutes remaining in the first half, but flubbed the extra point attempt to make it 14-13 in favor of UMW.
 
The Firestorm took the lead for the first time with a Jacobe Taylor TD reception from Butler. They led 20-14 as the teams headed to the locker rooms.
 
After the break, Burckley drained a 42-yard field goal to pull the Bulldogs within three, 17-20 with just over 10 minutes remaining in the third.
 
Western retook the lead on a 29-yard rushing touchdown from Boone. Thorpe's PAT was true and the good guys led 24-20.
 
Lukas Hall was successful on a 28-yard field goal attempt at the end of the third, brining the hosts back within one point, 24-23.
 
Seth Shook caught a 75-yard bomb from LaPlaunt just 15-seconds into the final frame. Thorpe made his second PAT of the afternoon to five the Bulldogs a 31-23 lead.
 
Thorpe was called into action again with just under eight minutes remaining in regulation, this time to drain a 34-yard field goal for the final score of the afternoon.
 
Western's defense held strong through the remainder of the contest, and the Bulldogs ended 2026 with a 34-23 win.
 
ARIZONA CHRISTIAN
The Firestorm posted 420 yards of total offense, 309 passing yards, 111 rushing yards, three touchdowns and one field goal in the game.
 
Butler led the team with 182 yards and two touchdowns on 16 completions. Meidinger posted 105 yards on seven completions with one touchdown.
 
AJ Sibley led the team with 52 yards on 11 carries, followed by Butler with 47 yards on 10 carries.
 
Senorus Gray posted 100 receiving yards on 4 receptions. McKivitz (70 yards),  Broadus (43 yards), and Taylor (12 yards) all caught touchdown passes for ACU.
 
Joseph Munoz tied for the game high with nine tackles while William Baldwin and Cooper King tied for the game lead in solo tackles at six apiece.
 
Max McDowell posted a game-best 2.5 tackles-for-loss and also led the team with 1.0 sacks.
 
McDowell and Sebastian Lopez both tallied fumble recoveries for the Firestorm.
 
Hall was successful on his lone field goal attempt and was 2-for-2 on PATs.
 
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 UMW ACU
UMW
09:58 - UMW - Jakob Humphrey 15 yd run (Maclain Burckley kick), 5 plays, 55 yards, TOP 1:48
7 0
ACU
01:55 - ACU - Jerome Broadus 6 yd pass from Cole Meidinger (Lukas Hall kick) 15 plays, 75 yards, TOP 8:03
7 7
2nd Quarter UMW ACU
UMW
14:36 - UMW - Eli Nourse 20 yd pass from Kaden LaPlaunt (Maclain Burckley kick) 6 plays, 86 yards, TOP 2:13
14 7
ACU
05:04 - ACU - Chris McKivitz 10 yd pass from Michael Butler (CJ Wallace pass failed) 5 plays, 36 yards, TOP 2:10
14 13
ACU
00:07 - ACU - Jacobee Taylor 9 yd pass from Michael Butler (Lukas Hall kick) 14 plays, 85 yards, TOP 3:08
14 20
3rd Quarter UMW ACU
UMW
10:23 - UMW - Maclain Burckley 42 yd field goal 9 plays, 35 yards, TOP 4:36
17 20
UMW
07:59 - UMW - Rashard Boone 29 yd run (Trevin Thorpe kick), 3 plays, 38 yards, TOP 1:10
24 20
ACU
01:18 - ACU - Lukas Hall 28 yd field goal 15 plays, 64 yards, TOP 6:41
24 23
4th Quarter UMW ACU
UMW
14:47 - UMW - Seth Shook 75 yd pass from Kaden LaPlaunt (Trevin Thorpe kick) 3 plays, 94 yards, TOP 1:26
31 23
UMW
07:39 - UMW - Trevin Thorpe 34 yd field goal 10 plays, 55 yards, TOP 5:05
34 23

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