DILLON — The Montana Western defense tightened the screws on No. 14 Carroll College, as the fourth-ranked Bulldogs overcame four turnovers Saturday to notch a 27-14 win over the Fighting Saints at Bulldog Stadium.
Western lost four fumbles on the day but got two fourth-quarter touchdowns from Pete Gibson to rally for the win. Gibson had 48 rushing yards on 11 carries, as the Bulldogs totaled 196 yards on the ground as a team.
Carroll, meanwhile, had 36 rushing yards on 22 carries and finished with only 167 yards of offense and 10 first downs. Archie LaFurge led the Saints with 50 rushing yards, while quarterback Jack Prka was 14-of-33 passing for 131 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions.
Michael Palandri completed 23 of 32 passes for 239 yards and a touchdown for Western, which led 10-7 at halftime thanks to a 32-yard touchdown pass from Palandri to Nourse and a 36-yard field goal from John Mears.
Carroll's first-half touchdown came on the defensive side of the ball less than three minutes into the game when Braeden Orlandi recovered a Jake Humphrey fumble and returned it 14 yards for a touchdown.
Mears, who last week became Western's career leader in points scored, added a 43-yard field goal in the third to push the Bulldogs' lead to 13-7, but the Saints took the lead early in the fourth on a 22-yard touchdown pass from Prka to Carson Ochoa.
After a Western three-and-out, Prka was intercepted by Keegen Muffich, which gave the Bulldogs a short field. Three plays later, Gibson was in for his first touchdown to give the lead back to Western.
The Bulldogs' defense then forced a three-and-out, and the offense put the game on ice with a 13-play, 76-yard drive that chewed up 6:20 of game clock. Gibson ran in another TD from 10 yards out with 50 seconds left.
With the win, Western improved to 8-1 overall and 6-1 in Frontier Conference play. The Bulldogs close the regular season next week at Eastern Oregon.
Carroll fell to 7-2 overall with a 6-1 mark in the Frontier. The Saints, who had their seven-game win streak snapped, play at Montana Tech in their regular-season finale next week.
