BOX SCORE

BILLINGS, Mont. – The Eastern Oregon University football team won its third straight game, in another offensive showcase with Rocky Mountain College, 55-45.

In a game that featured over 1,100 yards of offense and 100 points, the Mountaineers (3-3) (3-2). Kevin Sampson ran for 201 yards and EOU finished with 612 total yards on offense. Chris Ware completed 25 of his 37 passes for 304 yards. Kasey Peters led RMC with 409 yards through the air and completed 36 of his 56 passes.
“Our kids played very hard today,” EOU head coach Tim Camp said. “I'm very proud of the fight this team has. There are three phases to the game, and each phase played a part in this team victory. I'm very proud of my coaching staff.”

Sampson's 201 yards came on 34 carries. The junior came into the game leading the Frontier Conference with an average of 128 yards per game on the ground. Ware entered the game leading the league in passing yards per game with an average of 208 yards per contest.

Michael Thomas led the Battlin' Bears on the ground with 114 yards on 13 carries. RMC finished with 173 rushing yards, while Eastern had 308. Rocky Mountain outgained the Mountaineers through the air, 409 to 304.

Peters found Mark Desin on 10-yard touchdown pass to open the scoring four minutes into the game. Six minutes later Ware connected with Dillon Bedford for a 17-yard touchdown strike.

The second quarter was full of scoring beginning with a 22-yard field goal from Eastern's Nick Knell. The Bears responded with a field goal of their own from 23 yards away. A pair of Ware touchdown passes to Kirk Miller and Maurice Culpepper gave the Mountaineers a 24-10 lead. Peters cut the lead to seven with a seven-yard touchdown pass to Levi Sutton with 16 seconds left in the first half. Knell would close the half with a 20-yard field goal after a great kickoff return.

The Battlin' Bears opened the second half in dramatic fashion when Peters connected with AJ Tolbert for a 75-yard touchdown. Sampson then took a Ware handoff in for a 19-yard run with 13:44 remaining in the third quarter. Peters and Sutton connected for another touchdown from four yards out six minutes later. Ware kept the ball for a 15-yard touchdown run on the ensuing Mountaineer possession. Peters and Desin connected again with 1:14 left in the quarter on a six-yard pass.

A Sampson 12-yard touchdown run opened the fourth quarter scoring. Thomas would score just 18 seconds later on a 58-yard touchdown run. Neither team would find the endzone until Sampson ended a 14-play, 89-yard drive with a five-yard carry with two minutes left in regulation.

Ware found 10 different Mountaineer receivers Saturday, and Jake Burroughs led with five catches for 40 yards. Miller led EOU with 45 yards on four catches. Sutton and Tolbert each went over 100 yards receiving for RMC. Sutton caught 12 passes for 125 yards and Tolbert had four catches for 106 yards.

Rocky Mountain's Steffan Blume finished with a game-high 16 tackles. Trenton Thelen and Thomas Ackerman each had 15 tackles. Marc-Avery Airhart had a team-high 11 tackles for Eastern and Howard McDonald added 10. Max Hannah intercepted a pass for the Mountaineers.

Eastern Oregon has a bye week next Saturday before hosting Montana Tech Oct. 16. The game will be Homecoming for the Mountaineers.