If you’ve ever seen fans leaving a game early to beat the traffic and then turned on Sports Center when they got home to find out their team somehow willed a way to win, you may have experienced that tonight, but I don’t think that was the case for the Naranche faithful.
With a full house the Mining City fans packed Naranche stadium and stayed put and got quite the show under the lights tonight, even if the show didn’t start until the 4th quarter.
The Wolfpack came in outscoring their opponents 93-7 in two games played, and for a good majority of the ball game tonight it felt like it might be 104-7 as the Pack led 21-0 through 3 quarters of play.
The Butte High Bulldogs may sometimes seem like they are down, but one thing is for certain, they are never out of it. It was the case in their first meeting of the year on the road against Billings West when they scored 21 in the 4th quarter and went on to win 21-17.
Glacier started the scoring off late in the 2nd quarter and broke the goal line on a 40-yard scamper to pay dirt from Kash Goicoechea and Glacier would lead 7-0 with 4:01 in the second quarter. Jackson Presley then found Alex Hausmann on Glaciers next possession for a 25-yard touchdown with 72 seconds left in the first half.
On Glaciers first possession of the second half Jackson Presley found Cohen Kastelitz for a 10-yard touchdown pass with just under 8 minutes to play in the 3rd quarter.
Somehow some way, the Bulldogs did it again, in the 4th quarter with just over 10 minutes to go down 21-0. Demarais found Rueso Battermann for a 23-yard dot for a touchdown with 10:54 to play.
On Glaciers next possession sophomore QB Jackson Presley threw a pass to Cohen Kastelitz that was intercepted by Torre Temple at the Glacier 25-yard line and returned to the house for a pick 6, and the Dogs would cut the lead to 21-14 with 10:35 to play.
Butte High would get the ball back again and with 6:30 to play. Bulldog leader Bo Demarais again found that man Rueso Battermann for a 57-yard strike and another Bulldog touchdown to knot things up at 21 apiece.
Glacier would try to kill some clock but were unsuccessful at maintaining possession and the Bulldogs took over again with a chance to take the lead for the first time. As Butte inched closer to field goal range you could feel the electricity running through the hallowed grounds of historic Naranche Stadium.
On a 3rd down, Bo Demarais then threw an absolutely beautiful pass to none other than Rueso Battermann who hauled in his 3rd touchdown for 43 more yards and the go ahead score with 37 seconds remaining, Butte would hit the extra point and lead for the first time 28-21.
Glacier would get the ball back after the ensuing kickoff with 32 seconds and 2 timeouts remaining. Jackson Presley led his team confidently back down the field, he rolled out and couldn’t find his first read, scrambled left and lofted one to the end zone finding Cohen Kastelitz for a 36-yard score and 12 seconds remaining.
Glacier would line up for the extra point and tie but called a timeout to talk it over, leaving fans to believe they may line up and go for two.
Glacier came out in special teams’ formation and kicker Rhett Measure for the extra point attempt. The snap was good but Bulldog Gavin Rowe had other plans of spoiling any chances of overtime for the Wolfpack and blocked the try leading to another thrilling Bulldog come from behind victory, Butte High wins it 28-27 and improves to (2-1) (1-0.) We asked coach Grey how his team is able to overcome adversity especially in crunch time, “ we showed a ton of grit tonight, so proud of the players and coaches. They kept believing.”
Butte High will head to Missoula next week and face the Big Sky Eagles who beat the other Flathead team 21-20 tonight.
Bo Demarais completed 22-42 passes for 286 yards and 3 touchdowns, Rueso Battermann had Randy Moss like numbers as he hauled in 5 catches for 140 yards and 3 touchdowns. Hudson Luedtke was a great security blanket for Bo and hauled in 9 balls for 73 yards. Trey Hansen rushed 17 times for 88 yards, while Karson Pumnea ran 10 times for 43 yards, Cayde Stajcar had 4 catches for 34 yards, Tocher Lee caught 3 for 21 yards and Will Taylor had 1 catch for 18 yards.
Glacier saw Jackson Presley throw for 266 yards, 3 touchdowns and 1 interception, Kash Goicoechea ran 8 times for 87 yards and a TD, Kobe Dorcheus ran 22 times for 95 yards. Cohen Kastelitz hauled in 8 catches for 100 yards and two scores.
