DILLON — The last time Montana Western faced Dickinson State, it was the second round of the NAIA national tournament and the two schools were competing in different conferences. The Bulldogs bested the Blue Hawks 41-14 in that matchup to proceed to the quarterfinal stage for the first time in program history.
Now, a season later, with these cross-divisional rivals facing off in the last game before conference play picks up, Montana Western again proved its dominance against Dickinson State as the Bulldogs defeated the Blue Hawks. They again had 41 points, limiting the Blue Hawks to 21.
“I told our team all week, ‘You can’t believe what you saw on Saturday,’” head coach Ryan Nourse said, referring to Dickinson’s 35-7 loss to Carroll on Sept. 20. “That was just youthfulness. They have a very youthful and young, inexperienced football team. They’re going to come here ready and they’re going to come here better.
“A lot of them didn’t believe me, but they believe me now and I’m just proud of our guys.”
True to Nourse’s word to his players, the Blue Hawks came out swinging, responding with the Bulldogs’ first Seth Shook touchdown with one of their own from Hudsen Grovom. It didn’t help that arguably Western’s best linebacker Keegen Muffich was ejected from the game in the first quarter for unsportsmanlike conduct, either.
The Grovom touchdown came just a couple plays after Muffich’s ejection, and it looked for a moment the Blue Hawks might have some momentum on their side. The Bulldogs defense wasn’t prepared for such a huge blow so early in the game, and for a moment, it was shell-shocked.
But just for a moment, as the Bulldogs were able to pull off two more touchdowns before the half, first to Eli Nourse and another to Shook. They in fact were able to limit the Blue Hawks to zero points in the second and third quarters.
Even in the fourth quarter, when Dickinson had back-to-back touchdowns after Landon Charlton fumbled the kick return and Carson Baker recovered it to eventually capitalize into a Blue Hawks touchdown, the Bulldogs did not falter. They responded with two touchdowns of their own to seal the game.
“That’s what good teams do,” Nourse said of his defense without Muffich. “Good teams step up, you know? And when you get a shot, it’s your opportunity, it’s time that you step up. That’s what we do in our program.”
The Bulldogs are on a three-game winning streak, having dropped just one game in their season opener against Montana Tech. Since then, they’ve scored 128 points and allowed just 41 in the past three games combined.
A big part of that is the offense working together. The Eli Nourse-Michael Palandri effect is well-known across the Frontier landscape and beyond, and teams know to double-team Nourse.
But Shook has stepped up in big ways as well, and the growth between him and Palandri was especially evident in Saturday’s game as Shook finished with a team-high three touchdowns and added 124 yards to go with them.
“That’s just in practice, really, just getting a lot more extra reps, meeting with him (Palandri) and just talking about what we see on the field,” Shook said. “It’s really communication is key between quarterback and wide, so that’s how it is for all of us. It’s not just me. It’s just communication.”
It doesn’t hurt to add that Shook particularly showed out today for his mom, whose birthday was Saturday.
As Montana Western looks towards its first game of conference play, a road game against Southern Oregon, Ryan Nourse said it’s on the coaches to get the players ready. He spent hours before their game against Dickinson working out scheduling for the next week ahead of them so he could dedicate more time Sunday and Monday watching film and getting his players ready for Southern Oregon.
“It’s just being mature and having a strong desire when you take off Thursday night after practice, to go to the hotel, fly out at 5:30 in the morning, that you’re going there to have a great time,” he said. “It’s not just a business trip, but the business is winning. So let’s go down there and do the business of winning.”
The business of winning is nothing new for the Bulldogs, and this is evident in their stats: Palandri was 16-of-22 for 376 yards, five touchdowns and just one interception. Eli Nourse led the team in receiving yards, finishing with just one yard short of 200, and two touchdowns.
As Montana Western enters conference play in the newly expanded Frontier conference, it will look to continue to stand on its business of winning.
Bria Manning is the sports editor of The Montana Standard. Follow her on X at @briaamanning or contact her at bria.manning@406mtsports.com
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