Scottie Football Defeats Mustangs

Glasgow's first football win of the 2023 season was a momentous one as the Scotties posted their first win against the Malta Mustangs since 2016 with a 26-7 victory on Scottie Field Friday night. From the opening plays the game never lacked action though fans may have seen as much yellow – in the form of penalty flags – as they did red and blue on the field.

The game looked to go the way Glasgow's previous four had as Malta scored a touchdown 46 seconds into the game but a Mustang penalty wiped the score off the board. "We were very fortunate when the first Malta touchdown was called back because of an illegal man downfield," head coach Patrick Barnett told the Courier. "That can cause a team to quit playing hard when a team scores that quickly. After it was called back, we got a big stop on defense and scored after the punt."

Indeed, the momentum shifted to Glasgow as they marched down the field to send quarterback Khye Gamas into the endzone for a touchdown halfway through the first. Rex Monson added the point after touchdown with a smooth kick.

"The game plan going in was to attack the edges against Malta and credit our O-Line, they really took the point of attack, allowing our run game to thrive," offensive coordinator Sam Tedrow said.

Malta was not done fighting though and evened the score with 43 seconds in the first on a 10 yard pass and PAT.

The Scotties made the most of the remaining time on the clock in the first though on big rushes from Gamas and Toryn Richards to put Glasgow 9.5 yards out from the end zone to start the second. Mistakes backed the Scotties up 10 yards but they overcame it on a 19 yard pass from Gamas to Richards for Glasgow's second touchdown. Monson added the PAT for a 14-7 Glasgow lead.

A fired up Scottie team burned up just over 5 minutes before scoring again, this time from the Glasgow defense. Vaughn Miller, adding to recent outstanding play, came down with an interception and ran it all the way back sending the home crowd to their feet as the cannon fired for a third time during the game. Monson's kick went wide, leaving the score at 20-7.

The score would hold until halftime as Gamas left the game with an injury and Richards stepped into the QB role.

After the break, Richards stayed in at quarterback, adding his own keeper to the scoreboard at 6:23 in the third. The Scotties returned to their traditional 2-point attempt, but were stymied by the Mustangs.

While the score would hold steady for the remainder of the game, the action was far from over. Jaydeen Hanshew notched a sack late in the third and closed out the quarter with another. The fourth quarter started with another Hanshew sack, who put up four in the game, just missing out on a fifth.

A play that ended up out of bounds on the Scotties' sideline resulted in 30 yards in penalties against the home team with a personal foul and a flag on the bench. Another flag on the visitors shortly after moved the Mustangs back on a holding and illegal holding in the back as the officials earned their pay and then some.

The game came to a standstill with 1:05 remaining as a helmet-to-helmet hit knocked down Malta quarterback Stockton Oxarart. The FMDH ambulance crew was on hand and transported the athlete to the hospital. News from Phillips County the next day reported Oxarart was doing fine after the scare.

Though rivalry tensions remained high as the clock ran out, the game ended without further incident.

"An absolutely huge win for this team and program," Tedrow said. "This week is always circled on the calendar and our guys were ready to go starting Monday, resulting in an awesome week of practice."

That work converted into 238 yards net offensive, 273 total yards. Glasgow went 1-for-9 on thrid downs but 2-for-2 on fourth downs and were 3-of-3 in the redzone. The Scotties had two turnovers: an interception and a fumble lost.

Glasgow put 21 passing yards and 252 rushing yards. "Toryn was a workhorse Friday night and made some huge cuts that turned losses into gash plays," Tedrow said. Richards had 178 rushing yards on 27 carries, with one touchdown. He added 19 yards receiving with another touchdown. The Scottie senior also had 2 passing yards, in at quarterback, on a toss to Wyatt Babb.

Gamas was 1-for-5 on passes but connected on the one that mattered for the Richards touchdown. He added 51 rushing yards and a touchdown on eight carries. Liam Chapman had 31 yards on seven carries.

Tedrow concluded, "Still a lot of work to be done, but I like the way this offense is trending. The momentum is starting to roll, now we need to keep building and take it to a tough Cut Bank team next week."

Defensively, the Scotties also played strong. "After a quick weekend turnaround after the Manhattan game, the coaching staff and I watched a lot of film on Malta. We were able to create a defensive plan that would stop Malta. We put a lot of players into spots they usually do not play, thinking they would be the best fit," Barnett explained. "The keys to holding them to one touchdown were pressuring the quarterback and stopping the run. Jaydeen had four sacks that helped put them behind the sticks. The defensive line had a great game, allowing our linebackers to play downhill and rally to the ball."

The Scottie defense allowed Malta 258 yards offense on 190 rushing and 103 passing yards. Vaughn Miller led the line with 11 total tackles (three unassisted), and interception and a touchdown. When asked about Miller's performance, Barnett said, "Vaughn has played to his potential the past two weeks. He is playing downhill and sideline-to-sideline, which you need a middle linebacker to do. He has become a defensive leader on this team."

Tavin Boland turned in a breakout defensive performance with 10 tackles, nine unassisted, and a pass break up. Kohl Kittleson notched nine tackles, four solo. Hanshew had seven tackles, four unassisted and four sacks. Kade Strommen added six tackles and a pass break up while Richards had five tackles with one for loss and an interception. Chapman added five tackles also while Connor Hudyma had four. Andrew Linder, Babb, and Gamas had three a piece. Dillon Hughes and Wyatt Sugg took down two Mustangs each while Coy Nelson, Myles Yoakam, Cade Hudyma and Will Kirkland had one tackle each.

Monson notched 142 kickoff yards on five kicks while Richards had 123 yards on four punts and Gamas had 45 on one punt. Gamas also added 16 yards on one kickoff return.

"It has been a tough season, and this team needed a win. We got our first against our rivals, and we are thrilled," Barnett said. "Each week, we need to continue to improve and win games in our conference. We want to be home for all games during the post-season."

Demonstrating sportsmanship after an intense win against their biggest rivals, Barnett noted, "Malta has a good football program, and Coach Oxarart is a good coach. He prepares his team well every year. We had nothing to lose this year, and we played as such. The team had their best week of practice leading up to the game and we, as a staff, could not be prouder of them."

In JV action, the Scotties notched another win Sept. 18. Glasgow picked up a game against Class C Culbertson, resulting in a mixed rules game, with an 11-man game in the first half and an 8-man game for Culbertson in the second half. Glasgow ran away with the game 58-0 even as they adjusted to a new defensive formation and rules in the second half.

Football action continues this week in Glasgow in a big way with the Scotties' homecoming game Friday, Sept. 29, against the Cut Bank Wolves. The gates open at 5:30 p.m. for the tailgate party prior to the 7 p.m. kickoff. The game will be carried on KLTZ and the NFHS Network. Glasgow leads the all-time series against Cut Bank 7-5 and look to make it 8-5 this week.

The JV team will play in Wolf Point Saturday, Sept. 30, at 10 a.m.

Barnett said of the upcoming game, "They have a new coach so we must be prepared for anything, and they will be ready to play."

If this past week's game is an indication, the Scotties will be ready to play also.