Scotties Roll Choteau, 47-8

The Glasgow Scotties football team recovered from its road loss last week to trounce Choteau in its last nonconference game of the season, 47-8. The Scotties were still shaking off a few cobwebs at the beginning of the game. After stopping the Bulldogs on fourth down, the Scotties coughed up the ball on a fumble one play later, giving Choteau the ball at the Glasgow 3-yard line. Two plays later, Choteau back Taylor Buck ran in a touchdown, then followed that up by running in the two-point conversion, putting his team up 8-0. At that point, the ghosts of Baker could have snuck up on the Scotties. Last week, they went down early and couldn't dig themselves out of the hole until it was too late. But this was a new week and the Scotties found themselves marching down the field on their very next drive, capping it with a nine yard touchdown pass from Dylan Hughes to Zach Remus. Touchdown passes became a staple in the game for Hughes. After two early fumbles, he connected with receiver Drew Croy on two fade passes to the corner of the end zone. Kirk Capdeville ran in one more touchdown before the half ran out, and the rout was on with the Scotties up 28-8 after two quarters. After committing four turnovers in the first half, the Bulldogs fumbled the ball on their first possession of the third quarter, again giving the Scotties favorable position. The turnover set up yet another touchdown pass for Hughes, this time to Patrick Billingsley for a 17-yard score and a 35-8 lead. Yet, the Scotty defense still had its work to do, particularly senior lineman Parker Miller. Miller, who was around the ball all day, had a ball thrown right into his chest by Choteau quarterback Ross Mellinger and found himself with nothing but open field in front of him, returning the interception for a touchdown. Then, just a few possessions later, Miller ripped the ball from a Choteau runner, and while everyone else looked around to see what happened, he ran the ball 65 yards for his second touchdown of the night, putting an exclamation point on his night and sending the Scotties home with a 47-8 victory. “To be honest with you, things were not looking good at the first of the week,” head coach Dan Dale said. “A lot of the guys didn't handle the loss very well. (They have) a lot of heart and a lot of pride, and it got wounded.” The team got its act together for the last practice of the week, Dale said, then overcame four first half turnovers to come out with a big win. “We still made to many mistakes,” Dale said. “Make no mistake about it, Choteau is a good football team. I've been there when it snowballs on you. It's a lot more fun on my end, than it is on their end.” The improved defensive play should bode well for the Scotties upcoming game against rival Malta. The Scotties forced seven turnovers on the night, and the players are getting used to the new scheme. “They played the game on a much higher, more physical level,” Dale said. “That's what forced a lot of the turnovers. It forces them to do things they don't like doing. I was just pleased, it was a great effort all the way around.” Malta comes into the game with a 3-1 record overall and 1-0 in conference after beating up on Harlem 39-0 last week. The Mustangs, who have given up the fewest points in the conference should pose a tough match for Glasgow in the Scotties first conference game this season. “Scott King does a great job over there, they always get up for Glasgow,” Dale said. “But, I believe that our kids are ready to go and to play the kind of football we played tonight.”