DILLON, Mont. - The Red Hawks football team dropped its final road match of the regular season today against Montana Western, 47-28.
The Red Hawks held an early advantage after one quarter of play, finding the end zone on their opening offensive possession. They converted a crucial fourth down with a 13-yard touchdown pass from Ya'j Vance to Talan Ramirez to draw first blood. The Bulldogs later got on the board by capitalizing on a Simpson special teams miscue, forcing a safety.
The Bulldogs' offense came alive in the second quarter, scoring on all four of their offensive possessions. Their defense set up the offense with a takeaway that led to their third score of the period on a fumble recorvery by Bryson LeCoure. The Red Hawks responded with a 12-play, 75-yard drive capped by a one-yard rushing touchdown from D'ante Benjamin, but the Bulldogs took a 30-13 lead into halftime.
Simpson's offense answered right away in the second half, with Benjamin powering in a two-yard touchdown run on their first possession of the second half. A successful two-point conversion pulled the Red Hawks within nine points.
The momentum continued when the Red Hawks' defense made a huge play on the Bulldogs first offensive possession. Dominique Ruff returned a fumble 85 yards for a defensive touchdown, cutting the deficit to just two points.
However, the Bulldogs' defense tightened up and allowed no further points for the remainder of the game, closing out a 47-28 victory with 17 unanswered points.
D'ante Benjamin had a strong game on the ground, rushing for 89 yards and two scores. Quarterback Ya'j Vance completed 17 of 33 passes for 167 yards and a touchdown. Ivan Huerta and Talan Ramirez proved to be reliable targets, combining for 11 receptions, 152 yards, and a touchdown.
On defense, William Weathington, Caleb Utter, Dominique Ruff, and Timi Akinyoyenu each recorded seven tackles. Ruff highlighted his performance with the 85-yard scoop-and-score, while Akinyoyenu tallied two pass breakups.
Simpson will look to bounce back when they return to action on November 7th to take on Eastern Oregon at 1:00 PM at Central Valley High School.
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