DILLON — Earlier this week, Montana Western head football coach Ryan Nourse talked about "not wanting history to repeat itself" in reference to his team's second-round loss to the College of Idaho last November.
The No. 4 Bulldogs heeded that message and made sure to write a new chapter on Saturday afternoon against No. 14 Dickinson State.
Redshirt junior quarterback Michael Palandri threw five touchdown passes — two of them to Jon Kirkley — and Montana Western used a second-half surge to race past the Blue Hawks 41-14 and into the NAIA Football Championship Series quarterfinals. They'll be a host team again next weekend.
It was Western's first playoff victory since the 1994 season when the Bulldogs advanced to the semifinals. They had a chance to end that drought last season but came up short. This time around, they finished the job.
"We were disappointed last year, we felt that we blew a wonderful opportunity," said Nourse. "This group did a great job of not letting it happen again. They respected the opponent and came out with a victory and an incredible second-half performance.
With its run game largely held in check in the first half, the Bulldogs managed to carry a 10-0 lead into the break thanks to a 34-yard field goal from John Mears and a 2-yard touchdown pass from Palandri to Eli Nourse in the second quarter.
After halftime, the Bulldogs passing game caught fire. Palandri hit Coby Tanioka for a 34-yard score midway through the third quarter. The Blue Hawks then responded with a 5-yard scoring pass from Will Madler to CJ Stinson to cut the lead to 17-7.
The two teams then exchanged touchdowns again — a 4-yard strike from Palandri to Kirkley followed by a 63-yard catch-and-run from Madler to Kyle Meinecke — before Western closed out the game with 21 unanswered points.
"It was just hurry-up offense, we were going nitro the whole time," said Palandri. "(Dickinson State) was tired, we caught them off guard and just kept pushing."
And the objective for next weekends quarterfinal contest is pretty straightforward.
"Whoever we play, we're gonna improve and try to beat them," said Nourse.
The Blue Hawks, who are set to rejoin the Frontier Conference next season, close out the season at 10-2 overall.
The Bulldogs, who have been undefeated at their new on-campus field this season, improved to 10-1. They will host No. 6-seeded Morningside (Iowa) in the quarterfinals next Saturday evening. Morningside, the 2018, 2019 and 2021 national champion, beat MidAmerica Nazarene 35-0 in the second round.
