Rustlers nip Wolfpack

After two straight come-from-behind wins over Great Falls C.M. Russell, Glacier football’s third try wasn’t quite as charming. The Wolfpack (1-1) was unable to mount the type of drive that led it to victories in the last two attempts, falling short in a 24-21 loss at Legends Stadium Friday night.

The Wolfpack’s vaunted offense stalled in the second half, unable to get out of the shadow of its own end zone. CMR’s (1-1) special teams buried Glacier deep in its own side of the field, with the Wolfpack not starting a drive outside of its own 25-yard line until its final possession.

“(CMR) typically is very good at playing field position,” Glacier coach Grady Bennett said. “Their kicker was outstanding and we barely got a chance to touch it on any returns. We could not get anything going on offense and we never were able to get them really past midfield.”

The Rustlers were finally able to cash in on the field-position game, leading a 43-yard touchdown drive on three straight runs from backup quarterback Tanner Olson, taking a 24-21 lead.

“Our defense I thought played really well, but if you keep giving a team that field position they got one in,” Bennett said.

Glacier led a drive on the next possession that finally got on the CMR side of the field, but ended on a missed 40-yard field goal attempt by Kyle Griffith that strayed just inches left of the uprights. The Rustlers were able to run out the clock, leaving Glacier with just two seconds left when it finally got the ball back. CMR sacked quarterback Taylor Hulslander to end the game.

“We create some chances at the end, got a shot,” Bennett said. “Kyle plays his butt off, but just pulls it a little bit to the left. It was a good football game and I’m proud of our kids’ effort, but ultimately too many mistakes and too sloppy here and there to beat a team like that.”

The Wolfpack was playing its game before halftime, despite a few setbacks. Hulslander connected with Griffith for an 80-yard touchdown on just the second offensive play for Glacier. After 17-straight points by CMR, Glacier was able to rip off two scoring drives in the final five minutes of the half, capped by touchdowns from Aaron Mitchell and Noah James, to take a 21-17 lead.

But, it was penalties and sloppy play that cost the Wolfpack a better outcome, with the team amassing nine penalties for 73 yards. In contrast, CMR had just four for 25 yards.

“Credit the Rustlers, they won the slugfest in the second half,” Bennett said. “They got it done, they made more plays than we did. We had too many mistakes and too many penalties. We just have to learn from it now.”

Hulslander finished 22 of 32 passing for 268 yards and a touchdown. He also had a team-high 19 yards on the ground. Griffith caught seven passes for 145 yards and had 39 yards in punt returns. Jayse McLean was 6 for 13 passing for the Rustlers for 95 yards. Hunter Thomsen led CMR in rushing with 15 carries for 63 yards.

Glacier heads on the road next week to play Helena High. The Bengals (1-1) lost 31-28 at Billings West on Friday. The Wolfpack has never beaten Helena.

“You have to rebound,” Bennett said. “If we’re going to stay in the race here we can’t start off 1-2, we got a find a way to get that win on the road.”

C.M. Russell 7 10 0 7 — 24

Glacier 7 14 0 0 — 21

First quarter

GLA — Kyle Griffith 80 catch from Taylor Hulslander (Griffith kick), 9:17

CMR — Justin Pfennigs 51 catch from Jayse McLean (Tanner Olson kick), 7:16

Second quarter

CMR — Colton Philp 51 interception return (Olson kick), 11:47

CMR — Olson 37 field goal, 8:17

GLA — Aaron Mitchell 17 run (Griffith kick), 2:41

GLA — Noah James 2 run (Griffith kick), 0:04

Fourth quarter

CMR — Josh Horner 12 run (Olson kick), 10:34

—————

Team Statistics

CMR Glacier

First downs 8 12

Total yards 187 345

Rushes-yards 36-92 35-77

Passing yards 95 268

Comp-Att-Int 6-13-1 22-32-1

Punts 8-34.9 7-36.9

Fumbles-lost 0-0 1-1

Penalties-yards 4-25 9-73

Individual Statistics

RUSHING — CMR: Jayse McLean 10-(-25), Hunter Thomsen 15-63, Josh Horner 11-54. Glacier: Taylor Hulslander 14-19, Aaron Mitchell 2-17, Kellyn Faraone 5-6, Kyle Griffith 2-16, Noah James 10-16, Logan Jones 1-2, Nic Cramer 1-1.

PASSING — CMR: Jayse McLean 6-13-95-1. Glacier: Taylor Hulslander 22-32-268-1.

RECEIVING — CMR: Hunter Thomsen 2-9, Eric Dawson 1-11, Josh Horner 2-24, Justin Pfennigs 1-51. Glacier: Kyle Griffith 7-145, Kellyn Faraone 1-9, Noah James 2-(-7), Logan Jones 1-12, Nic Cramer 5-57, James Cutler 4-22, Kelan Reed 2-30.