BILLINGS, Mont. — Rocky Football returns to Herb Klindt Field this Saturday to host Montana State University-Northern for Homecoming.
Matchup
Rocky Mountain College (3-3, 2-0 conf.) vs. MSU-Northern (0-7, 0-2 conf.)
Herb Klindt Field
1 p.m. (MT)
Homecoming
The Battlin' Bears return home for just the third time this season, sitting tied with No. 5-ranked Montana Tech atop the Frontier East standings as the division's only remaining undefeated teams.
Riding the momentum
Rocky is coming off its most complete performance of the season in a decisive 31-10 road victory over Dickinson State, marking the team's largest margin of victory this fall. The Battlin' Bear defense dominated, suffocating the Blue Hawks' ground attack to under 50 rushing yards while forcing three turnovers. Offensively, Rocky was efficient, as Jae'sean Pete and Ty Battle combined for 149 rushing yards, while quarterback Jhett Schwahn completed 83% of his passes, spreading the ball to six different receivers.
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Special teams spark
Rocky's special teams unit continues to serve as a major catalyst, particularly in the return game. Sophomore Gage Goltz sparked last week's win with an 80-yard punt return touchdown in the first quarter, becoming the first Battlin' Bear to return a punt for a score since All-American Kaysan Barnett did so against MSU-Northern in 2023. With that play, Rocky became one of only 10 NAIA programs this season to log both a punt return touchdown and a kickoff return touchdown.
Scouting the Lights
A revamped MSU-Northern squad comes to Billings seeking its first victory of the season under a new Air Raid-style offense. The Lights have dramatically shifted their attack, increasing from 23 pass attempts and 141.9 passing yards per game in 2024 to 43 pass attempts and 230 passing yards per game this fall. Transfer quarterback Malakhi Statler has started six of the team's seven games, averaging 205.4 passing yards per game with nine touchdowns and 13 interceptions. His primary target is junior wide receiver Isaiah Woodley, who ranks third in the Frontier East with 618 receiving yards and six touchdowns.
Defensively, linebackers Jackson Kink (90 tackles) and Braydon Cline (77 tackles) anchor the unit, and both rank in the top three in the NAIA this season in total tackles. While MSU-Northern is allowing 43.14 points per game and yielding an average of 216 rushing and 300 passing yards, the defense showed progress last week, holding Mayville State to a season-low 13 points in a narrow 13-10 loss.
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