LA GRANDE, Ore. - Mountaineers Football dropped its third straight game Saturday afternoon as they suffered a 34-17 loss to No. 23 Rocky Mountain College inside Community Stadium on Homecoming. With the loss, Eastern Oregon falls to 3-3 overall with the same mark in Frontier Conference play.

How it Happened
• Defense played a big role in the Battlin' Bears (5-1, 5-1 Frontier) win as they picked off the Mountaineers three times and forced  fumbles, all of which they recovered.
• Rocky also posted over 400 yards of total offense in the win with 441. The rush attack had 217 yards while the passing game racked up 224 yards and posted four touchdowns.
• The Battlin' Bears struck first in the first quarter. With 11:50 on the clock, Rocky struck on a four yard touchdown pass to cap a six play, 22 yard drive. Setting up the short drive for Rocky, was a strip sack against Kai Quinn.
• The score remained at 7-0 until late in the first quarter when Victor Rosas found the back of the end zone on a one-yard run. His score capped a four-play, 30 yard drive for EOU and Zachary Cahill's PAT knotted the score at 7-all with two minutes left on the clock.
• The Battlin' Bears responded right before the end of the first quarter scoring with 38 seconds left to play. Quarterback Nathan Dick found a wide open Lucas Overton for a 57 yard touchdown pass to make it a 14-7 game.
• Defense picked up for both teams as the score remained at 14-7 until the 9:38 mark in the second when Rosas scored on yet another one yard run. His efforts capped an even longer drive for Eastern that ate 2:52 off the clock.
• Rosas' score tied the contest at 14-all midway through the second quarter but the Battlin' Bears held the Mountaineers to just a field goal the rest of the afternoon.
• Eastern had multiple chances throughout the first and second half to score but key turnovers caused by Rocky kept the Mountaineers offense at bay.
• The Battlin' Bears tacked on two more scores by way of a touchdown and field goal before halftime to lead by 10 at the break. The first score, a touchdown pass, came just over a minute after EOU's touchdown.
• Scoring for Rocky was Trae Henry who pulled in a 38 yard reception for the touchdown to make it a 21-14 game. It remained at 21-14 until the final minute of the quarter when Riley Garrett nailed a 48 yard field goal to make it a 24-14 edge for Rocky.
• EOU's final score of the afternoon came right before halftime. Cahill nailed a 21-yard field goal attempt as the clock expired. Going into the break, EOU trailed by just four, 21-17, but never scored again.
• In the third quarter, just one touchdown was produced, which came from the Battlin' Bears. They added seven points with 10:50 to play in the frame, when Lucas Overton pulled in a 19 yard touchdown pass to end a 10-play, 75 yard drive that ate up 4:10 of clock time.
• Rocky had the chance to make it a 10-point third quarter but the Mountaineers blocked a 40-yard yard field goal attempt to keep the score at 31-17.
• Despite EOU's block, the Battlin' Bears touchdown gave them a 31-17 advantage going into the fourth and final quarter of. They tacked on a 33-yard field goal with 13:44 on the clock to bring the final score to 34-17. 

Mountaineers Stat Leaders
• Kai Quinn tallied 283 yards of total offense. He was 16-30 through the air for 201 yards and rushed for 82 yards.
• Victor Rosas scored both touchdowns for EOU and finished with 47 rush yards. He also had three catches for 16 yards.
• Saige Wilkerson pulled in a team best four catches for 63 yards.
• Hayden Brandon led the defense with eight total tackles.

For the Battlin' Bears 
• Nathan Dick was 14-26 for 224 yards and threw four touchdowns. He also led the ground game with 123 rush yards for 347 yards of total offense.
• Lucas Overton had just two catches, both for touchdowns, as he finished with 76 yards on the day.
• Trae Henry and Andrew Simon each had a touchdown grab on the day in the win. 
• Dylan Beridon led the defense in tackles with five.
• Brail Lipford, Ty Reynolds, and Shemar Whestone each had an interception in the win.

By the Numbers
6 - EOU had a season-high six turnovers in the loss.
2 - With the loss, EOU's two-game win streak against Rocky Mountain is snapped.
3 - EOU has not thrown a touchdown pass in each of its last three games.
7 - Zachary Cahill has yet to miss a field goal this season. He is 7-7 on the year.

Up Next
• The Mountaineers will be on the road next weekend when they travel back to Montana to take on Montana State-Northern. Kickoff against the Lights is set for 12 p.m. PT/1 p.m. MT in Havre.

FOLLOW EOU ATHLETICS