Skip To Main Content

Montana Western, University of

Official Athletics Site of the Montana Western Bulldogs
49
Winner Montana Western (MT) MONTANA 1-0 , 0-0
35
Montana State-Northern (MT) NORTHERN 0-1 , 0-0
Winner
Montana Western (MT) MONTANA
1-0 , 0-0
49
Final
35
Montana State-Northern (MT) NORTHERN
0-1 , 0-0
Score By Quarters
Team 1st 2nd 3rd 4th F
MONTANA Montana Western (MT) 16 28 3 2 49
NORTHERN Montana State-Northern (MT) 0 7 7 21 35
9/5/26 Nourse vs MSUN

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

Nourse’s Record Breaking Performance Lifts Montana Western Football Over MSU-Northern 49-35

HAVRE, Mont. – Montana Western football (1-0) opened the 2026 season on the right foot, defeating MSU-Northern 49-35 on the road Saturday afternoon.
 
Senior wide receiver Eli Nourse broke his own program record for single-game touchdown receptions with five against the Lights.

"We played a great first half," head coach Ryan Nourse said. "Hit on all cylinders and executed really well in all facets and put up 44 points. In the second half we subbed out some starters and gave some guys we wanted to see a shot to play. It was pretty lackluster with a bunch of mistakes, which was okay, that's how guys learn to play. MSUN has the best team they have had in five years and played really hard the entire game and with a really explosive offense. This is a good first game for us, we all know where we need to improve and grow next week."
 
 STAT BREAKDOWN 
Western tallied 618 yards of total offense (389 passing, 229 rushing), scored six touchdowns, two field goals, and two safeties while earning 27 first downs. The Bulldogs scored on all four red zone entries.
 
Eli Nourse scored five touchdowns on nine total receptions for 170 yards, including a long of 63.

Kaden LaPlaunt also had a standout performance, going 15-for-21 for 272 yards and five touchdowns.
 
Receiver Seth Shook had an efficient day, posting five receptions for 100 yards and a TD.
 
Running backs Jakob Humphrey (19 rushes, 108 yards) and Aidan Lammers (six rushes, 91 yards) led the on-the-ground efforts for the Bulldogs.
 
Quarterbacks Sam Wulff and Michael Martin also got in on the action. Wulff finished 5-for-10 for 72 yards and one touchdown while Martin was 3-for-4 for 45 yards.
On the defensive side of the ball, 19 bulldogs recorded at least one tackle, with 10 tallying two or more.
 
The Bulldogs were led by Connor Dunlea, Romeo Simpson, and Bryson LeCoure with four total tackles apiece. Dunlea and Simpson tallied four solo tackles with LeCoure close behind at three.
 
 Ace Ferguson and Manuel Variz IV each registered three tackles.
 
Tyler Schoen led the game with 2.0 tackles for loss (10 yards), with both tackles also registering as sacks. Scotty Dalen tallied 1.0 TFLs for four yards while Variz and Isaac Tolan both earned 0.5.
 
Bodie Smith and Tyson Hirrlinger combined for three pass breakups and Andrew Wagner accounted for one QB hurry.
 
On special teams, Maclain Burckley went six-for-six on PATs and averaged 40.3 yards per punt with a long of 60.
 
Trevin Thorpe went one-for-two on field goals while averaging 55.7 over seven kickoffs.
 
On returns, Colton Cornwell led the game with 62 yards on four attempts (one punt, three kickoffs.
 
Hudson Waples, Nourse, Carter Petre, and Brody Munson each tallied one return, combining for 75 yards.
 
 GAME SUMMARY 
The Bulldogs ran rampant in the first half, scoring 44 points to the Lights seven.
 
They got things started with a 21-yard touchdown pass from LaPlaunt to Nourse with just under 10 minutes to go in the opening period. The defense then pinned the hosts in the endzone to take a 9-0 lead.
 
Western scored again with seven minutes remaining on a 44-yard Seth Shook (from LaPlaunt) TD reception.
 
The second quarter belonged to Nourse. He caught two touchdown passes (one each from Wulff and LaPlaunt) in the first five minutes of the second quarter, then another from LaPlaunt at just under eight minutes.
 
He capped the night with one final buzzer-beating score before the two sides headed to the locker rooms.
 
MSUN scored its lone touchdown of the first half on two-yard rush from Hill.
 
The Bulldogs led the Lights 44-7 at the half.
 
MSU-Northern opened the third period with a 40-yard Woodley touchdown reception (from Statler).
 
Trevin Thorpe added to Western's lead with a 40-yard field goal to end the scoring in the third.
 
The Bulldogs scored for the final time on their second safety of the game with 11 minutes remaining in the contest.
 
The hosts scored three more touchdowns (two from Woodley, one form Sadik) to make things interesting, but Western walked away with the 49-35 victory.
 
 MSU-NORTHERN 
The Lights were led by Malakhi Statler, who went 21-for-38 for 362 passing yards and three touchdowns.
 
Isaiah Woodley caught eight passes for 232 yards and three TDs while Juliun Benson had an eight-reception, 103-yard game.
 
Sadik Sadik led MSUN with four rushes for 44 yards and one touchdown while D'Shawn Hill also ran one in for the hosts.
 
On defense, Jackson Kink and Braydon Cline each tallied 12 tackles to lead all players.
 
Teegan Solomon registered six returns for 118 yards and kicker Tate O'Neill was 5-for-5 on extra points.
 
 LOOKING AHEAD 
The Bulldogs are return to Dillon for their home opener next week when they host rival Montana Tech Sept. 12. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m. MT.
 
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!
 
Print Friendly Version

Scoring Summary

Scoring Summary
Scoring Play Visiting Team Score Home Team Score
1st Quarter MONTANA NORTHERN
MONTANA
09:58 - MONTANA - Eli Nourse 21 yd pass from Kaden LaPlaunt (Maclain Burckley kick) 5 plays, 60 yards, TOP 2:45
7 0
MONTANA
09:12 - MONTANA - Team 0 yd safety
9 0
MONTANA
06:46 - MONTANA - Seth Shook 44 yd pass from Kaden LaPlaunt (Maclain Burckley kick) 4 plays, 61 yards, TOP 2:16
16 0
2nd Quarter MONTANA NORTHERN
MONTANA
13:04 - MONTANA - Eli Nourse 20 yd pass from Sam Wulff (Maclain Burckley kick) 8 plays, 65 yards, TOP 5:19
23 0
MONTANA
10:19 - MONTANA - Eli Nourse 63 yd pass from Kaden LaPlaunt (Maclain Burckley kick) 3 plays, 80 yards, TOP 1:16
30 0
MONTANA
07:42 - MONTANA - Eli Nourse 25 yd pass from Kaden LaPlaunt (Maclain Burckley kick) 1 plays, 25 yards, TOP 0:08
37 0
NORTHERN
06:15 - NORTHERN - D’Shawn Hill 2 yd run (Tate O’Neill kick), 4 plays, 75 yards, TOP 1:21
37 7
MONTANA
00:00 - MONTANA - Eli Nourse 1 yd pass from Kaden LaPlaunt ( ) 4 plays, 35 yards, TOP 0:16
43 7
MONTANA
00:00 - MONTANA - Maclain Burckley rouge
44 7
3rd Quarter MONTANA NORTHERN
NORTHERN
12:49 - NORTHERN - Isaiah Woodley 40 yd pass from Malakhi Statler (Tate O’Neill kick) 7 plays, 75 yards, TOP 2:05
44 14
MONTANA
10:00 - MONTANA - Trevin Thorpe 40 yd field goal 5 plays, 57 yards, TOP 2:41
47 14
4th Quarter MONTANA NORTHERN
MONTANA
10:56 - MONTANA - Team 0 yd safety
49 14
NORTHERN
08:45 - NORTHERN - Isaiah Woodley 88 yd pass from Malakhi Statler (Tate O’Neill kick) 1 plays, 88 yards, TOP 0:13
49 21
NORTHERN
04:32 - NORTHERN - Sadik Sadik 39 yd run (Tate O’Neill kick), 1 plays, 24 yards, TOP 0:12
49 28
NORTHERN
01:02 - NORTHERN - Isaiah Woodley 53 yd pass from Malakhi Statler (Tate O’Neill kick) 4 plays, 70 yards, TOP 0:50
49 35

Related Headlines