Postseason Gold Rush Begins

Montana's top-ranked Class B football Scotties are sitting at 9 and 0 with four to go in their pursuit of the championship.

The Big Dawgs, No. 1 in the statewide MaxPreps standings, begin their post season gold rush this Saturday with a 1 p.m. game at Scottie Field against visiting Eureka (Lincoln County). GHS is the first-place 2B team, Eureka the second place 7B team with a 3-6 record.

"It will be up to us to play up to our potential, to be sharp and execute," Glasgow coach Greg Liebelt told The Courier. "We should be able to take care of business, I think. Our challenge is to come out sharper and finish strong like we did against Conrad."

The Scotties had their hands full with visiting Conrad last Friday before cashing in a succession of big plays on offense and defense to turn a 13-12 third quarter lead into a 34-12 pull-away victory.

GHS scored 21 unanswered point in the final quarter, sending their grandstand full of fans into a jubilant state.

Glasgow was clinging to a 1-point lead in the third quarter – thanks to Conrad's failure to convert extra point attempts – but the Cowboys owned momentum and appeared to be driving in for the go-ahead score. Conrad's fans were getting noisy.

But change came quickly, forcefully. A holding penalty in the red zone. A 30-yard missed field goal. As Conrad started sputtering, Glasgow pounced with its depth and balanced star power.

Scottie Dallas Capdeville opened the fourth quarter with a fourth-down sack to give the Scotties possession in Cowboy territory. On the next play, fullback Tanner Roness rumbled 37 yards for a touchdown. Just 54 seconds later, outside linebacker Jason Thibault scored on a 29-yard interception return. With Chase Younkin's extra point kicks after both TDs, GHS led 27-12 and the game was Glasgow's to lose.

It did not. The final points came on a 5-yard Thibault TD pass to Chase Fossum and a Younkin kick with 5:29 remaining. Conrad's record dropped to 6-2.

"The game was competitive," Liebelt said. "Conrad did everything we anticipated."

Cowboys QB Shane Larson was the main threat, completing 13 of 20 passes for 181 yards, including one for a 37-yard TD to Daylon Jay, a dangerous WR/DB. Jay ended up with 6 receptions for 63 yards.

Glasgow's earlier scores came on an 8-yard Benji Phillips TD run in the first quarter and a 9-yard TD pass from Thibault to Jake Page in the second quarter. Younkin converted the first extra point attempt, missed the second.

Thibault completed 13 of 22 passes for 119 yards and 2 TDs.

Leading Scottie rushers were Phillips with 13 carries for 82 yards and Roness with 8 carries for 57 yards. Roness won the Dale Vegge Award as the squad's most valuable senior in its last regular season home game.

Chase Fossum led the Scotties in receiving with 7 catches for 101 yards.

Liebelt expects that lineman Andrew Fransen will return in the Eureka game from his concussion injury, as will Keil Krumwiede from wrist surgery. Liebelt said Krumwiede will available to kick, but whether he's cleared to play defense with a cast is uncertain.

Scottie Notes: GHS activities director Brenner Flaten said Scottie Football asks that the community "paint the town red for the upcoming playoff run. We would like to urge anyone and everyone in Glasgow, Hinsdale and Nashua to place their Scottie pride on their vehicles, front yards, decks, houses and business fronts. Let's get behind these boys over the next month."

• For the postseason matchup scenarios, see the playoff bracket on Page 3C. If Glasgow beats Lincoln County and Conrad beats Loyola Sacred Heart, a real possibility, there'd be a Scottie-Cowboy rematch here in the quarterfinals.

• The MaxPreps Top 10, in order, are Glasgow, Fairfield, Huntley Project, Jefferson, Broadwater, Bigfork, Powell County, Forsyth, Choteau and Conrad.