Great Falls snaps Knights' streak

COLUMBIA FALLS - The Glacier Knights have exceeded external expectations in their breakout season. They now look to raise their own.

The Knights lost a 21-0 Rocky Mountain Football League game to the Great Falls Gladiators on Saturday, snapping the first victory streak in team history.

Glacier (2-3) outgained Great Falls (3-2) and never turned the ball over, but drive-killing penalties and mental miscues kept the injury-ravaged Knights from their third straight win.

"We weren't as crisp," first-year Knights head coach Will Wheat said. "It didn't seem like we had our heads in the game today.

"They didn't beat us, we beat ourselves today."

The Gladiators led 14-0 at halftime and 21-0 midway through the third quarter. Great Falls edged Glacier 19-9 in its season opener.

If the Knights looked like a different team than the one that crushed Snake River and Helena the previous two weeks, it's because they were. Starting quarterback Jason Bulik was out with a shoulder injury, running back Sheldon McCool left with a first-half ankle injury, and linebacker Jesse Shaw - the league's leading tackler - hurt his back in the first quarter.

The list goes on.

"It tends to happen each year; you get a few injured guys," said Wheat, a former Knights player. "The good thing is we haven't lost anybody for the season, so we'll be full strength in a couple weeks."

Glacier did most of its damage on the ground, pounding the ball 41 times for 208 yards. Mike Kuehne led the way with 17 carries for 92 yards, while Nick Berry rumbled 12 times for 68 yards.

The Knights' rushing attack was consistent, but it wasn't designed to erase quick leads like the one Great Falls built through the air.

Gladiators quarterback Brad Thurber passed for 181 yards and three touchdowns. The 34-year-old often rolled away from pressure, improvising with mobility belying his age.

"He's an excellent quarterback," Glacier defensive end Steve Biggs said. "He's smart and knows where to get the ball.

"He's always aware of where the yard markers are on the sideline, and he's got great peripheral vision. He sees people coming and dumps the ball before they get there."

Outside linebacker Mike Pan sparked Glacier's defense early, sacking Thurber for a 12-yard loss on Great Falls' first possession. Pan finished with a team-high 6 1/2 tackles, followed by Max McCracken with four and Sean Rhodes with three.

Great Falls took the lead in the final seconds of the first quarter when Thurber escaped Glacier's rush before connecting with tight end Jermaine Saunders in the front of the end zone. The Gladiators went up 14-0 when Thurber found Maurice Jones alone near the sideline for a 52-yard strike just 18 seconds before halftime.

"I think they were designed plays to chew up time for his receivers, and they burned us on our coverage," Biggs said. "Two of their touchdowns were on coverage problems, and we tried to make the adjustment at halftime for that."

Glacier held Great Falls to 58 yards rushing and shut the Gladiators out for the final 19 minutes of the game. Randy Standley capped the scoring in the third quarter, breaking open in the right, front corner of the end zone for a 15-yard grab. Great Falls began its final scoring drive on Glacier's 10-yard line.

The Knights moved the chains on nearly every possession, getting in or near the red zone three times. Kyle Burgess attempted two field goals, but a strong crosswind blew his 36-yard attempt wide left in the fourth quarter, and his 42-yard try was blocked to end regulation.

Glacier totaled 63 points in its prior two games.

"Our biggest priority is to get refocused, execute, get away from the mistakes," Wheat said. "We've been shooting ourselves in the foot down in the red zone.

"The key thing is to get these guys to realize … how really good they are. I mean, they're playing good, but they just don't realize they're better than that, and once they do, they'll start clicking on all cylinders."

Glacier's Beau Herman completed four of 11 passes for 41 yards while running five times for 20 more. Dan Holgwin caught two passes for 21 yards, and Jake Pannell had a 20-yard grab while playing through a knee injury.

The Knights still hope to make the playoffs for the first time. According to Biggs, there is no reason they can't do so if they play to their potential and limit further injuries.

"It's a wake-up call," he said. "People need to come in here realizing that at any given moment, you can get kicked in the teeth. You need to bring your A-game every single day."

A four-year Knights veteran, Biggs said the catalyst for Glacier's improvement is obvious.

"Two words: Will Wheat," he said. "He organized it, he recruited well, he runs very good practices.

"He came in with a different coaching staff. They have a good plan.

"It's just the complete package. They just really do a good, thoughtful overall job."

The Knights host the Logan Stampede next week before finishing the regular season with a bye week and two games in Idaho.

"A lot of these guys out here, their main goal was to win one game, and they accomplished that," Wheat said.

"Well, they've got to set their goals higher, and that's just something we need to work on."

Great Falls 7 7 7 0 - 21

Glacier 0 0 0 0 - 0

First Quarter

GF - Jermaine Saunders 9 pass from Brad Thurber (Jason Riggs kick), :06

Second Quarter

GF - Maurice Jones 52 pass from Thurber (Riggs kick), :18

Third Quarter

GF - Randy Standley 15 pass from Thurber (Riggs kick), 7:25

GLACIER INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING - Kuehne 17-92, Nick Berry 12-68, Sheldon McCool 6-24, Beau Herman 5-20, Kevin Reed 1-4.

PASSING - Herman 4-11-0-43, Dan Holgwin 1-1-0-13.

RECEIVING - Kuehne 2-15, Holgwin 2-21, Jake Pannell 1-20.