Glendale, Ariz.- On Saturday, the ACU Firestorm looked more like the traditional Arizona Christian football team as they fought hard on both sides of the ball.  But their upset bid of the NAIA's number 15 ranked University of Montana Western came up just short.

Tyler Duncan surpassed the 100 career total touchdown mark as he ran for two scores and passed for two more touchdowns. Chase Tompkins became the first 100 plus yard receiver of the season.  AJ Sibley was a workhorse on the ground.  ACU did not commit a turnover for the first time this year.

The trio of Cameron Tibbetts, Jackson Ortiz, and Jordan Francis wore their tackling shoes as they all ended the game with double digit tackles.  Ortiz and Griffin Meier both broke up two passes each.

Game Info

• Game score: Montana Western 34, Arizona Christian - 30
• Records: Arizona Christian- 2-6, 1-5 Frontier, Montana Western - 6-1, 4-1 Frontier
• NAIA Top 25 Rank: Arizona Christian - not ranked, Montana Western - 15
• Location:  ACU Football Field, Arizona Christian University, Glendale, AZ

Offensive Stars

• Duncan- 319 passing yards, 2 TDs, 51 rushing yards, 2 TDs
• Tompkins - 8 catches, 149 yards, TD
• Demarreon Nelson- receiving TD
• Jonah Leon- 5 catches
• Sibley - 13 carries, 73 yards

Defensive Stars

• Tibbetts - 13 tackles
• Ortiz - 11 tackles, 2 breakups
• Francis - 10 tackles
• Meier- 7 tackles, 2 breakups
• Patrick Nunn - 8 tackles

Inside The Numbers

• UMW turned their first possession into a field goal
• ACU countered with an eight plus minute drive capped by the first collegiate field goal for Adam Klumpp
• The teams exchanged passing TDs (Duncan to Tompkins for ACU) for a 10-10 tie
• Montana Western used a field goal before and a touchdown just after the half to grab the lead
• Duncan's two rushing touchdowns sandwiched another UMW TD
• Up 27-24, the game winning TD came in the form of a 64 yard pass
• With 94 seconds remaining, Duncan hit Nelson on a fade in the side of the end zone
• For Duncan, he now has 29 rushing and 73 passing career touchdowns

Thoughts from Coach Bowen
"Our guys played extremely hard tonight.  I am very proud of their effort and their willingness to stay in the fight when things are not going very well.  It speaks to the character of our players and our program.  Our goal is to continue to improve and hopefully get a win to show for it."

Up Next
Arizona Christian will hit the road for the final time of the season when they head up to Butte, Mont., next Saturday to challenge No. 16 Montana Tech.