Scotties Ranked No. 1 In State

BY JIM ORR

THE COURIER

A turnover, bad break or penalty could end this amazing possibility in a flash, but here it is: If MaxPreps' top-ranked Montana Class B Scotties shut out visiting Plentywood on Friday, they'll have shut out all of Northern 2B for the season.

First came Harlem. Then Malta and Wolf Point. None scored against the Big Dawg D. Now Plentywood, 0-5, gets its shot at 7-0 Glasgow.

"I don't recall a season when this has happened," GHS coach Greg Liebelt told The Courier.

At this moment, Glasgow is sitting pretty. The Scotties have ascended from No. 2 to No. 1 statewide in the MaxPreps standings. They unseated Forsyth, which lost 18-13 at Baker and dropped to seventh.

Filling out the Top 10 are some names to know as Glasgow's postseason nears: No. 2 Fairfield at 6-0, No. 3 Huntley Project at 7-0, No. 4 Conrad at 6-0, No. 5 Powell County at 6-1, No. 6 Jefferson at 6-1, No. 7 Forsyth at 5-1, No. 8 Broadwater at 5-1, No. 9 Bigfork at 5-1 and No. 10 Whitehall at 5-1.

Glasgow enters the Plentywood game after a 41-0 win on Wolf Point's homecoming night. The clock started running when Glasgow went up 35-0 before halftime and tensions flared on the field.

Glasgow's Parker Kulczyk, playing defense, was ejected for a called flagrant foul (helmet to helmet contact) and must sit out one more game under the ruling this Friday, Liebelt said. The hit led to Wolf Point center Aaron D'Ambrosio being taken from the field in an ambulance, hospitalized and released. He is expected to play tonight at Malta.

Liebelt said the ejection play angered some Wolves, who became overly physical to the point where he approached the referees about it.

"It got a little dicey there," he said. "I can understand the (ejection) call, but not that if it was flagrant."

Liebelt said the game otherwise went as anticipated, with a "dominating defense and lots of success with the running and passing games. There were some missed blocks, but it was a good performance overall."

The Scotties appear to have enough depth in their ground game to help weather Kulczyk's absence Friday with Benji Phillips and Cody King at running back, Tanner Roness at fullback and versatile Jason Thibault at quarterback.

Thibault opened the scoring against Wolf Point with a 6-yard touchdown run to put GHS up 6-0. The kick failed. Phillips followed with a 3-yard TD run and a 2-point conversion reception of a Chase Fossum throw. It was 14-0 after a quarter.

In the second quarter, Fossum caught a 7-yard TD pass from Thibault and kicked the extra point to make it 21-0. Phillips later ran in from the 6 and Dallas Capdeville scored on an 81-yard interception return. Cache Younkin converted extra point attempts on both those touchdowns to make it 35-0 at the half.

In the third quarter, Roness scored on a 10-yard run and the kick failed. Glasgow led 41-0. The scoring was over.

The game went well enough for Liebelt to award his undefeated warriors with a pizza party at El Cor Del Lanes on Monday during their usual practice time. He said they devoured the pizza in no time.

"The challenge now," he said, "is to the get the kids focused and to roll up their sleeves. I just want them to get out there and have fun. These are the years the team is good."

Good enought to be No. 1 right now.

Glasgow vs. Malta

GHS Stats

Rushing: Benji Phillips 13-87 2 TDs, Tanner Roness 10-56, Parker Kulczyk 4-23, Jason Thibault 3-23 TD, Trent Herbert 5-4, Schindler 1-10, King 1-5. Total: 37-208

Receiving: Chase Fossum 3-37 TD, Zach Miller 1-11, Roness 1-9, Krumwiede 1-13, Phillips 2-7. Total: 8-77.

Passing: Thibault 10-6-54 TD, Schindler 3-1 21, Herbert 1-0, Fossum 1-1-2 2PT. Total: 15-8-77.

Total offense: 285 yards

Tackles: Solo/Assists: Ronness 2/1, Fossum 2/1, Phillips 2/1, Miller 1/4, Ryan Scanlan 1/3, Hunter Losleben 1/1, Lane Nichols 1/0, Thibault 1/0, Kyle Humbert 0/4, Jake Page 0/1

Sacks: Humbert 1 ½, Dallas Capdeville 1, Losleben 1, Page ½

Forced Fumbles: Page 1

Interceptions: Capdeville 1-81 TD, Thibault 1

Total yards allowed: 87