BUTTE — When you’re a little guy growing up playing football in Butte, Friday nights at Naranche Stadium can feel like the NFL.
The Bulldogs look bigger. They look faster. The lights seem brighter. And someday, you dream of being the one wearing purple and white, running onto that field with an entire town watching.
Friday night was Little Guy Night at Naranche, and boy did the big Bulldogs put on a show for the next generation.
With young football players in attendance getting a glimpse of what they hope to become someday, Butte High jumped all over the Billings Skyview Falcons and rolled to a 38-15 victory.
And Miner Lee had himself a night.
Miner Lee carried the rock 26 times for 153 yards and found pay dirt three times, setting the tone for a Bulldog rushing attack that sliced through the Falcons for 281 yards.
Miner Lee got the party started midway through the opening quarter, scampering 14 yards to the house to put Butte High up 7-0.
A few minutes later, Miner Lee was back in the end zone, punching it in from a yard out to make it 14-0.
The Bulldogs weren’t finished.
Brady Doyle showed off his leg in the second quarter, splitting the uprights from 35 yards out to stretch the lead to 17-0.
Then Miner Lee completed the first-half hat trick.
Miner Lee broke through from 11 yards out for his third trip to pay dirt, and Butte High headed into the locker room with a commanding 24-0 advantage.
And while Miner Lee’s numbers jumped off the stat sheet, there was plenty of heavy lifting being done in front of him.
The Bulldog offensive line was moving bodies all night.
Butte High ran the ball 47 times for 281 yards, averaging nearly six yards a pop. The big guys up front consistently opened running lanes for Miner Lee, Xavier Jory, Raeder Grey and company.
They were just as stout when Butte High went to the air. The Bulldogs didn’t surrender a sack on 15 passing attempts, giving their quarterbacks time to operate from the pocket.
Miner Lee may have been the one scampering into pay dirt three times, but those holes didn’t open themselves.
It was a dominant night in the trenches, and the Bulldog offensive line deserves plenty of love for helping Butte High pile up 390 yards of offense and 38 points.
Skyview finally landed a punch just 40 seconds into the second half when Jackson Carter went deep and connected with Collin Fisher for a 53-yard touchdown strike.
But the Bulldogs had an answer.
After pounding away on the ground for much of the first half, Raeder Grey started dealing through the air in the fourth quarter.
Raeder Grey found Brady Walsh for an 11-yard touchdown strike to push the Butte High advantage to 31-7.
Skyview refused to go quietly.
Jackson Carter connected with Collin Fisher again, this time for a 4-yard touchdown. Jackson Carter then found Cooper Malcher for the two-point conversion, cutting the Bulldog lead to 31-15.
For a moment, the Falcons had a little life.
Butte High snatched it right back.
Starting from their own 20, the Bulldogs needed just five plays to march 80 yards.
Raeder Grey finished the drive by finding Ryan Bache for a 19-yard trip to pay dirt, slamming the door on any thoughts of a Skyview comeback and putting Butte High ahead 38-15.
Raeder Grey was surgical, completing 10 of 13 passes for 105 yards and two touchdowns while adding another 44 yards with his legs.
Ryan Bache hauled in four passes for 44 yards and a touchdown. Kodye Kjersten added two catches for 30 yards, including a 23-yard grab, while Xavier Jory gave the Falcons fits on the ground, ripping off 57 yards on just seven carries, including a 39-yard burst.
Then there was Brady Walsh.
Brady Walsh made plays all over the field. Along with his touchdown grab, Brady Walsh turned two punt returns into 70 yards, including a 45-yard return, and added a 26-yard kickoff return.
Brady Walsh finished the night with 107 all-purpose yards.
The Bulldog defense brought plenty of bite of its own.
Butte High held Skyview to just 74 yards on the ground and 235 yards of total offense. The Bulldogs piled up six tackles for loss, recorded two sacks for 23 yards and Kodye Kjersten picked off a Jackson Carter pass and returned it 10 yards.
Jaeger Hansen was all over the field, leading Butte High with eight total tackles. Matt Marsenich, Evan McEwen, Finn Wortham, Colt Stenson and Reese Cunneen each finished with four.
Special teams played its part, too.
Brady Doyle showed he had plenty of leg with the 35-yard field goal, Brady Walsh was dangerous in the return game and Tegan Duffy averaged 45.5 yards on two punts, including a booming 54-yarder.
It was the kind of night where everybody seemed to get in on the action.
Butte High piled up 390 yards of offense and 22 first downs. The Bulldogs ran for 281 yards, threw for another 109 and finished a perfect 6-for-6 when they reached the red zone.
Miner Lee had a day.
Raeder Grey was dealing.
Brady Walsh was electric.
Brady Doyle had a leg on him.
The offensive line was moving people.
And the Bulldog defense was flying around.
It was a complete performance from a Butte High team that looked right at home under the lights at Naranche Stadium.
And maybe that was the coolest part of Friday night.
For all those little guys watching from the sidelines and stands, the Bulldogs are the big guys. They’re the players they look up to, the jerseys they want to wear and the team they dream of playing for someday.
Someday, some of those little guys will get their turn under those same lights.
But Friday night, they got to watch the big Bulldogs show them how it’s done.
Butte High 38, Billings Skyview 15
Skyview — 0 0 7 8 — 15
Butte High — 14 10 0 14 — 38
