Playoff Bound Scotties Crush The Cowboys

It was a beautiful Friday night in Conrad for the Glasgow Scotties’ final regular season game. With anticipation in the air, the Scotties took the field ready to play hard and finish out the regular season strong. Although this game was non-conference and the Scotties’ playoff position was already secured, the players were still anxious to perform well and win one more game.

That they did. The Scotties won, 35-22.

With quarterback Jason Thibault and two other offensive linemen sitting this game out, the Scotties had to rely on their veterans and a few new starters, like backup quarterback Kevin Schindler, if they were going to be successful.

“I was extremely pleased with the performance of the kids, and especially the play of backup QB Kevin Schindler,” head coach Greg Liebelt said. “Although the game had no significance regarding our conference or the playoffs, the team played exceptionally well. The defense was very dominant and our offense was very sharp.”

The Scotties got on the scoreboard early in the first quarter on a 2-yard run to the outside, thanks to some fancy footwork from running back Johnny Koessel. The touchdown was set up by a 25-yard run by fullback Tanner Roness. Valentin Robert crushed the PAT kick through the uprights, bringing the score to 7-0.

Throughout the remainder of the quarter, the Scotties continued to play excellent defense and were able to keep the Cowboys offense limited.

In the second quarter, Scotties QB Kevin Schindler took control of the game by throwing for two TDs and running in another. To set up Schindler’s first touchdown, Keil Krumwiede made an acrobatic one-handed catch for an 18 yard pass reception down near Conrad’s goal line. Behind the offensive line, Schindler was able to find enough of an opening to score from the 1. Although Robert’s PAT kick had the distance to be good from 40 yards out, it was wide right and the score read 13-0.

Schindler’s next score consisted of a 7-yard pass to receiver Chase Fossum across the middle of the end zone. This time, the PAT kick by Robert was good, bringing the score to 20-0.

Just a few minutes later, the Scotties’ potent offense struck again on a 22-yard pass from Schindler to Koessel. The All-State running back was lined up on the far side as a receiver and ended up catching the well thrown ball on a slant and ran across the entire field. He followed a leveling block by Lachlan Vaira into the end zone for the score. With another successful PAT kick by Robert, the scoreboard read 27-0 heading into halftime.

To begin the third quarter, the Scotties continued where they left off. They received the kickoff and marched it straight down the field, where Koessel scored on a 2-yard run up the middle between blockers Ryan Scanlan and Kyle Albus. The Scotties decided to go for a 2-point conversion and were successful, using the same play with Koessel. With the score now 35-0 the game clock began running continuously with 10 minutes still to go in the third.

With the Scotties holding a sizable lead, they were able to start utilizing more of their backup players.

In the fourth quarter, the Scotties fought hard to hold the Cowboy’s scoreless, but with 3 ½ minutes left, Conrad scored their first TD. The Cowboy’s immediately recovered an onside kick and proceeded to score again.

Their last score came on a long fumble recovery returned from midfield for a touchdown. When the game clock reached 0:00, the final score was 35-22 in favor of the Scotties.

This week is an exciting week for the Scotties as they prepare for the first football playoff game in Glasgow in five years. Ironically, the last time Glasgow hosted a playoff game it was against Huntley Project, this week’s opponent. The Red Devils were victorious and went on to win the state championship.

This Saturday’s playoff game is scheduled for 1 p.m., so I hope to see all of you Scottie fans out there cheering on our boys! The weather is supposed to be terrific, so grab a friend or two and come help us cheer on our Scotties!

SCOTTIE PLAYOFF NOTES

• First round ticket prices will be $7 for adults and $6 for students as set by the MHSA. No passes will be allowed other than for press passes and for MHSA “Gold Card” holders. If you have any questions, call Willie Thibault at 228-2485.

• Tom Schmitt sends out word that a chili feed is planned “for the Huntley playoff game and all home games to follow! This Saturday we will start to serve at 12 p.m. As usual, you can get your tailgate tickets and a drink at the concession area.”