Glasgow Football Falls in Malta

The Malta Mustangs extended their winning streak over the Glasgow Scotties with a 37-6 victory in Malta Oct. 14. Glasgow's last win over Malta was in 2016 where the Scotties finished that game with a one-point advantage, 34-33.

"A slow start and big plays hurt us in this one," said assistant coach Sam Tedrow. "It's on us, as a coaching staff, to get our guys ready to go at kickoff and we failed our guys there."

Glasgow was unable to convert on their first possession of the game. Malta was quick to take over the momentum, quickly turning their possession into a touchdown and a successful two-point attempt at 6:37 in the first quarter.

The Scotties answered at 5:01 when Tatum Hansen danced 35 yards down the field, leaving behind several would-be tacklers. Glasgow's two-point attempt failed, putting the score at 8-6.

Malta increased their lead to 16-6 by the half, and continued to run up the score in the second half for their win.

The Scottie defense worked hard in the game. "Really proud of our defense for not breaking, fighting on until the final whistle, and keeping us in the game. Malta was able to get to, or start on, our 25 yard line seven times and we kept them out of the end zone four of those times," stressed Tedrow. "Mo Fast had an absolutely incredible game shutting down Malta's run game when they tried to go at his side of the strength."

Fast had 10 tackles for Glasgow, six unassisted. He had 1.5 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks and one forced fumble, as well as an interception. Ethan Nickles led the team in tackles with 13, eight unassisted, and two tackles for loss. Vaughn Miller also hit double digits in tackles with 10, six unassisted and added a fumble recovery to the stat sheet.

Jack Cornwell had seven tackles and Wyatt Babb had six, while Toryn Richards and Dylan Linder both added five. Hansen, Kohl Kittleson and Aiden Hoerster added four each, Grady Nielsen three, Nate Hentges two and Khye Gamas and Mason Donaldson added one each. Ashton Potter snagged the second of the team's two interceptions.

Kittleson had 66 yards on two kick offs and Babb had 201 yards on six punts. Gamas put up 52 yards on two kick off returns and Richards added 20, also on two returns. Miller had a kick off return with no gain. Potter had four yards on one punt return.

Glasgow gave up 179 yards rushing on 44 Malta carries, allowing an average of 4.07 yards per carry. Malta completed five of 16 passes for 122 yards, averaging 7.36 yards per attempt. The Scotties allowed Malta 312 total yards with two rushing touchdowns, two passing touchdowns and one defensive touchdown.

Offensively, the Scotties struggled to come together. Glasgow put up 102 yards on 26 carries, averaging 3.92 yards per carry. Starting quarterback Donaldson completed 5 of 11 passes for 99 yards, 19.8 average. The Scotties had 201 total yards, 125 net yards of offensive. They lost 44 yards to three penalties, 32 yards on five sacks and had six turnovers – three fumbles and three interceptions, with the Malta defensive touchdown.

Babb led the team in receiving yards, with 59 on three catches. Fast had one catch for 25 yards and Cornwell added 15 yards on a single reception.

Hansen led in rushing yards with 89 on 15 carries. Donaldson put up 16 yards on six carries and Fast had two yards on one carry. Gamas, in briefly at quarterback, had five yards on two carries. Richards and Cornwell each had a carry for loss.

"It's obviously not the outcome we were looking for, but our guys certainly played tough and never quit. We put together a few good drives offensively and were able to push the ball downfield a couple of times," said assistant coach Dylan Hughes. "We will watch the film and make a few adjustments and prep for our last regular season game against Wolf Point."

Tedrow echoed his fellow coach, "I know our guys are disappointed in the outcome, but look for them to bounce back in a huge way this week for senior night and carry that momentum into the playoffs."

The Scottie JV team hosted Malta Oct. 17 for a little bit of payback. Glasgow shut out Malta 14-0, avenging an earlier season JV loss to the Mustangs.

Glasgow hosts the Wolf Point Wolves Friday, Oct. 21 for a 7 p.m. kickoff and Senior Night. Glasgow leads the all-time series 62-18-2, with a 15-year win streak over the Wolves. The game will be on KLTZ radio and available on Nemont TV or NFHS Network.