No. 3 Malta Downs No. 5 Glasgow at Scottie Field

Malta continues to be a problem without a solution for the Scotties on the football field. Glasgow played host to the third-ranked Mustangs this past Friday night and found themselves on the wrong side of 37-6 final score. Mental and small mistakes cost the Scotties in a game that went back-and-forth on turnovers while the Mustangs were able to convert on their possessions.

Malta drew first blood midway through the first quarter when quarterback Connor Tuss connected with Spencer Gibbs for a 13-yard touchdown reception. A run by Tuss added two points for the visitors and an 8-0 lead. Cash Salsbery added the Mustangs' second touchdown with 2:39 remaining in the first and a run by Tuss added two points for a 16-0 lead.

The Mustangs increased their lead to 24-0 with 5:33 left in the first half when Rex Williamson made a 50-yard run for the end zone. Stockton Oxarart connected with Tuss for a successful two-point conversion.

The home team lit up the scoreboard for the first and only time with 3:34 on the clock in the second quarter. Sophomore Tatum Hansen forced his way two yards into the end zone for a Scottie touchdown. A two-point attempt by the boys in red failed.

Malta wasted little time in answering, putting another touchdown on their side of the scoreboard with the clock reading 2:05. Glasgow shut down the two-point attempt as Malta carried a 30-6 lead into halftime.

Much of the second half action came in the form of turnovers as the ball went back and forth between Glasgow and Malta. The Mustangs added some salt to the Scotties loss, scoring their fifth touchdown with 5:06 remaining in the game on a Williamson 14-yard carry. Jacob Smith added the PAT kick for a 37-6 lead that would hold as the clock ran out.

Despite six trips to the red zone, the Scotties were unable to convert. On the other side of the ball, the Mustangs turned Glasgow's turnovers into points and a conference win.

Malta put up 359 rushing yards to Glasgow's 161 in the game. Glasgow notched 86 passing yards to Malta's 59 for 247 total yards for the Scotties, while the Mustangs had 418 total yards.

Donaldson earned all 86 passing yards for the home team. Hallock had 77 rushing yards on 16 carries. Hansen had 35 yards on 4 carries and Donaldson added 51 yards on eight carries. Ashton Potter had three catches for 71 receiving yards. Trey Johnson had two catches for 16 yards.

"I'm proud of our boys for sticking with it the whole game and not giving up," said Dylan Hughes, assistant coach. "Offensively I need to do a better job of putting our players in a better position to succeed. There were moments where we looked really good, and moments where we struggled. We will continue to look at the film, hang our hat on the successes and work on correcting the mistakes."

Mo Fast and Damien Nesbitt led the Scotties in tackles with eight each, including one tackle for loss for Fast. Wyatt Babb, Gage Siefert, and Nik Burke each had six tackles. Hansen had three tackles, two for loss. Aiden Hoerster had one interception and 12 yards gain.

"Obviously a disappointing performance and one we wish we could get back," assistant coach Sam Tedrow told the Courier. "As a coaching staff it's on us to get our guys ready to play and we failed them there. There were some bright spots however. Our defense prides itself in being ballhawks and forcing five turnovers against a team like Malta is something to be proud of."

Head coach Patrick Barnett noted Malta is a good team and played well. He credited the Mustangs coaching staff with having their team better prepared for the game than Barnett did with his squad, shouldering the blame for the Scotties' second loss of the season. "Malta's a good football team," he said. "They were a better team than we were on Friday night overall."

Glasgow football closes out their regular season this week. The JV team played their final game on Monday in Malta.The Mustangs defeated the Scotties 20-14.

The varsity will take on the Wolves in Wolf Point this Friday, Oct. 22 at 7 p.m. Barnett told the Courier he expects a good game from Wolf Point, noting the Wolves coach comes from a good football program – he and Barnett played together in high school. Barnett noted the team boasts some "stud athletes" and he's expecting a ground-and-pound offense from Wolf Point. As for his Scotties, he said they will learn from their loss against Malta and bounce back. "I'm so proud of this team. I am. Our season isn't done yet. We're looking forward to it. I'm proud of the boys. We're going to build off this loss and we're going to be ready to rock and roll against Wolf Point and deep into the playoffs."

Glasgow leads the all-time series against Wolf Point 61-18-2. The matchup will be on the NFHS Network and KLTZ radio.