Knights fall short in opener

COLUMBIA FALLS - Gladiators coach Jason Kjono had a growing pit in his stomach in the fourth quarter, but thanks to his defense, it's all better now.

The Great Falls Gladiators survived a late fourth quarter scare and defeated the Glacier Knights 14-12 in the Rocky Mountain Football League AA season opener at Columbia Falls High School on Saturday.

The Gladiator defense kept Glacier from scoring a touchdown on offense all day but found itself clinging to a two-point lead with under two minutes left.

On a third and 12, Glacier quarterback Jeff Greenwell hit Mike Kuehne on a screen pass. Kuehne dodged a quick tackle and sprinted down the Glacier sideline before being tackled on the 20, just a yard short of the first down. On fourth and one, with 1:50 left in the game, the Knights offense lined up and went for it.

"It gave us some stomach pains," first-year head coach Kjono said afterward, "but we relied on our defense, and they came through for us."

Great Falls stuffed a run up the middle that came up less than a foot short of the first down. The Gladiators are now 11-0 against Glacier.

"It was a tough game. We played hard today," Glacier coach Will Wheat said.

"We had the taste (of victory) in our mouthes, we just let it go," said Glacier offensive tackle Brian Seymour.

Great Falls built an early lead thanks to the quarterbacking of Brad Thurber. He was 8-for-15 passing for 94 yards. He also rushed for 63 yards.

Thurber found Marshane Haynes open in the first quarter for a 34-yard touchdown pass that made it 6-0. Great Falls missed the extra point kick.

Running back Eric Dirk, who took most of the carries for Great Falls and finished with 71 yards rushing, pounded in from the 2-yard line in the second quarter for the second touchdown of the day. The Gladiators were successful on the two-point conversion and took a comfortable 14-0 lead."First game jitters. We had a little bit of that in the first half, but they wore off and it showed in the second half," Seymour said.

Curtis Manning hit a pair of field goals in the game that put the Knights on the board and kept the game within one score. Manning also had an interception in the second quarter for Glacier. Linebacker Tim Johnson intercepted a Great Falls pass as well in the third quarter.

The comeback gained some steam after Glacier's Paul Ryan stripped the ball from a Great Falls running back on the 5-yard line in the fourth quarter and reappeared in the end zone holding the ball high in the air for a touchdown. Glacier went for two, but the run failed.

Kuehne finished with a game-high 82 yards rushing for the Knights and picked up 16 yards receiving. Dan Holguin had one catch for 31 yards and Sheldon McCool had a pair of catches for 31 also.

The Glacier defense was led by Jesse Shaw with 5 1/2 tackles. Johnson had a sack and 4 1/2 tackles. Paul Ryan and John Dana had four tackles each.

Glacier plays at Mt. Ogden next Saturday.

Great Falls 6 8 0 0 - 14

Glacier 0 3 0 9 - 12

First quarter

Great Falls - Brad Thurber 34-yard pass to Marshane Haynes (kick failed), 4:21

Second quarter

Great Falls - Eric Dirk 2-yard run (Steven Jackson run), 1:07

Glacier - Curtis Manning 25-yard field goal, (0:00)

Fourth quarter

Glacier - Manning 31-yard field goal, 11:54

Glacier - Paul Ryan fumble return 5 yards (run failed), 4:39

Individual

Passing (com/att/int/yds' - Great Falls, Thurber, 8-15-2-94; Glacier, Jeff Greenwell, 8-17-0-75

Rushing - Great Falls, Dirk 14-71, Thurber 11-63; Glacier, Mike Kuehne 14-82, Mike Pan 4-43, Sheldon McCool 2-21, Oscar Garcia 5-17, Jeff Greenwell 2-1.

Receiving - Great Falls, Maurice Jones 1-12, Haynes 3-45, Jones 1-12, Teri Love 1-12, Dirk 2-14; Glacier, Dan Holguin 1-31, Kuehne 3-16, McCool 2-31, Brenton Moss 1-6, Thomas Evans 1-6,