Football September 4, 2026 Claire Gay, UMW Sports Information

#18 Bulldog Football Opens 2026 at MSU-Northern

GAME NOTES (PDF)

DILLON, Mont. – The #18 Montana Western football team kicks off its 2026 campaign on the road at MSU-Northern Saturday.

GAME COVERAGE
Saturday @ MSU-Northern – 1 p.m. MT | Watch Live | Live Stats

2025 SEASON LOOKBACK
Montana Western finished third in the West Division a 7-3 overall in 2025. The Bulldogs topped the Frontier in points per game (43.1), total offense per game (449.4), passing yards per game (336.0), and tied for first in sacks (31). They also ranked in the top three in touchdowns (57), field goals made (nine), and third down conversions (64).

FROM THE DAWG HOUSE
The Bulldogs are returning 34 letter winners from the 2025 squad.

Two-time All American and 2025 Frontier West Offensive Player of the Year Eli Nourse is back for his senior season. He will don the no. 18 legacy jersey for Western this season.

Nourse will pair up with redshirt-junior Seth Shook, who led the team with 13 receiving touchdowns and earned 2025 First Team All-Conference recognition last season.

On the offensive side running back duo Jakob Humphrey (Second Team All-Conference and Aidan Lammers (FC Honorable Mention), who combined for 780 yards and 13 touchdowns in 2025, as well as Second Team All-Conference offensive linemen Ethan Larson and Dylan Christman are also back for the Red and Black.

On the defensive side, Second Team All-Conference defensive back Connor Dunlea is set for his sophomore campaign.

Linebacker Tyler Schoen, defensive lineman Liam Rowe, and linebacker Canyon Sargent are all back as well.

CALLING THE SHOTS
Head Coach Ryan Nourse is back for his 13th season at the helm of Bulldog football. His 71 wins are the most in program history.

Nourse is joined by Defensive Coordinator Riley Martello (fifth season), Co-Offensive Coordinators Jed Heffernan (sixth season) and Tyler Murray (first season), Justin Hurd (third season), Rich Coppin (second season), and Tristin Rodriguez (fourth season).

Martello, Heffernan, and Murray all played under Nourse in their collegiate careers.

OH CAPTAINS, MY CAPTAINS!
Redshirt-sophomore Connor Dunlea, redshirt-junior Ethan Larson, and senior Eli Nourse have been chosen as the Bulldog football captains ahead of the 2026 season.

THE COMPASS POINTS NOURSE
Wide receiver Eli Nourse is closing in on 4,000 career receiving yards. He is currently at 3,583 yards over three seasons. Nourse is the program record holder in several categories, including career passes caught (256), career receiving yards (3,583), single-season passes caught (90), single-season receiving yards (1,205) and single-game touchdown receptions (four).

SIGNAL CALLER
With the graduation of record-holder Michael Palandri, the quarterback spot was up for grabs for the Bulldogs. 2025 backup Kaden LaPlaunt is set to be QB1 for Western in 2026. Newcomer Sam Wulff is also expected to see action under center.

NOT 'DUN' YET
Connor Dunlea tied for the team lead in both interceptions (three) and pass breakups (nine) in 2025. He also finished second in solo tackles (30) and third in assisted tackles (32) while adding 2.0 TFLs, one forced fumble, and one fumble recovery.

TYLER THE TERMINATOR
Linebacker Tyler Schoen is poised for a big year for the Bulldogs. He racked up 45.0 total tackles in 2025, including 20 solo efforts. He also ranked third on the team in both tackles for loss (7.5, 44 yards) and sacks (5.0, 31 yards) and added one forced fumble, one fumble recovery, and one QB-hurry.

DYNAMIC DUO
All-American Long-Snapper Jacob Westberry and FC First Team All-Conference Kicker Maclain Burckley return to the special teams' unit this season. The duo went 9-for-12 on field goals and 48-of-52 on PATs in 2025. Additionally, Burckley's 55-yard made field goal against Simpson was the longest in the Frontier and tied for third-longest in the NAIA in 2025.

LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON
2026 football players Canyon Sargent, Eli Nourse, Jakob Humphrey, and Drew Humphrey are all second-generation Bulldogs. Their fathers, Jason Sargent, current UMW head coach Ryan Nourse, and Jim Bob Humphrey also played football for UMW (then Western Montana College).

Moreover, the Humphrey brothers and Nourse have won two Frontier Conference Football Championships together (2023, 2024), just like their fathers did as teammates in 1994 and 1995.

THE OPPONENTS
The Lights went 1-10 in 2025, including 0-6 in the Frontier East Division. They averaged 11.82 points, 73.5 rushing yards, and 141.9 passing yards per game. They recorded 16 total touchdowns and five made field goals.

Ethan Maroni is back behind the ball for MSUN. He averaged 105.2 passing yards per game in five games played in 2025. He threw for four touchdowns and 44 completions.

On defense, MSU-Northern returns three players who ranked in the top five on the team in total tackles. Braydon Cline paced the Lights with 119.0 total tackes, while Spencer Lehnerz finished third (64.0) and Crawford Terry was fourth (51.0).

Lehnerz also led the team in interceptions (three) and ranked second on the team in tackles for loss with 10.0.

SERIES HISTORY
The Bulldogs are 41-16 against the Lights. In the 2025 matchup between the two sides, UMW walked away with the 52-0 victory. Additionally, Western holds a 17-game winning streak against MSUN, dating back to 9/20/14.

UP NEXT
The Bulldogs return to Dillon next week for their home opener against rival Montana Tech. Kickoff is set for 2 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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