Battlin’ Bears defeated by Eastern Oregon, 27-17

Editor’s note: This is a release from RMC Sports Information. BILLINGS, Mont., November 9, 2019 – Rocky Mountain College was unable to climb past the Eastern Oregon Mountaineers in a 27-17 loss on Saturday afternoon. Moving 71 yards down the field in seven plays, the Battlin’ Bears scored on the opening drive of the game. Kamden Brown connected with Carter Garsjo on a 28-yard touchdown pass. Late in the first quarter, Rocky’s luck turned. Eastern Oregon downed a Zachary Cahill punt on Rocky’s 1-yard line. The following play, the Mountaineers trapped Allen Williamson in the endzone for a safety. Making the most of the opportunity, the Mountaineers drove 56 yards down the field on the resulting drive and scored a touchdown off a 1-yard rush from Victor Dias. Nevertheless, Rocky’s Riley Garrett knocked in a field goal to put the Battlin’ Bears up 10-9 heading into the half. Eastern Oregon’s Kai Quinn rushed in for a touchdown in the third quarter, but Rocky responded with a 22-yard touchdown pass from Brown to Lucas Overton to once again lead by a single point. It would be the last points of the day for the Battlin’ Bears. Dias scored his second rushing touchdown of the day in the fourth quarter and Eastern Oregon completed the two point conversion to lead 24-17. Taking advantage of an interception a few minutes later, the Mountaineers extended their lead to 27-17 off of a Jaiden Machuca field goal. The Battlin’ Bears comeback efforts in the final minute were stymied by a fumble which Eastern Oregon recovered. Quinn knelt down on the following play to end the game. Finishing with 380 total offensive yards, Rocky threw for 257 yards while recording 123 on the ground. Eastern Oregon relied heavily on the run with 150 rushing yards compared to just 126 through the air for a combined total of 276 yards. Brown was 14-of-27 through the air for two touchdowns and two interceptions for the Battlin’ Bears. On the other side, Quinn threw 13 completions on 28 attempts for 126 yards. Both quarterbacks led their teams in rushing. Quinn recorded a game-high 71 yards on the ground and a touchdown while Brown rushed for 49 yards. Victor Dias ran for 67 yards and two touchdowns on 20 attempts for the Mountaineers. Sam Sparks ran for 47 yards on 15 attempts. Both scoring touchdowns, Garsjo had five receptions for 96 yards while Overton caught three passes for 58 yards. The Battlin’ Bears will conclude the 2019 season in Butte, Montana against Montana Tech on November 16. For more information regarding Rocky Mountain College athletics, visit gobattlinbears.com.