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In a conference showdown between the Eastern AA’s top two teams Friday night, Billings West remained perfect with a dominant performance against Gallatin at Van Winkle Stadium.
The Golden Bears rolled to a 28-7 victory and improved to 7-0 overall, while Gallatin fell to 5-2. Billings West started out hot from the jump, with running back Tyreke Jones ripping off an 80-yard touchdown run just 55 seconds into the game.
“We came out right away and our kids were really locked in. We challenged a little bit in practice this week, we had to get better on some fundamental things that we did. But our kids just played really physical from the get-go,” Billings West head coach Rob Stanton said. “We got up on them right away, and our kids played really well. I think when we are that fast and we play with some determination and physicality, we’re decent.”
Gallatin quarterback Grant Johnson completed 17 of 36 passes for 178 yards with three interceptions. Senior running back Tyson Scheel, who scored four touchdowns a week ago, was held to just 51 yards on 24 carries and did not find the end zone.
The Raptors’ lone bright spot was Colt Melland, who picked off Golden Bears quarterback Seth Williamson with two minutes, 37 seconds left in the first quarter and caught the only touchdown of the night with 42 seconds remaining in the game.
Billings West quarterback Seth Williamson (8) is pressured by Gallatin’s Henry Henigman Friday in a conference game against Billings West at Van Winkle Stadium.
“They’re talented, they fly around, they’re big, they’ve got size and they’ve got speed. They’re a really good defense and they haven’t given up very many points this year,” Gallatin head coach Hunter Chandler said. “We were in the red zone three times, and didn’t come away with any points, so we’ve got to be able to score in the red zone.”
Friday night’s game didn’t feel out of reach for Gallatin until a turnover-filled third quarter, where two of the team’s offensive drives ended in interceptions by Billings West defensive back Jack Ryan. Those two plays kept the ball largely out of the Raptors’ hands and allowed the Golden Bears to control the clock early in the second half.
“He’s just a heck of a player. He’s so dang smart, and kind of overlooked a little bit because he’s not very tall, but he’s 190 pounds, plus he can hit. He brings the wood,” Stanton said of Ryan. “He made two phenomenal picks for us and just all around, he’s been starting for us since he was a sophomore, just pretty good football genetics.”
A missed opportunity also came in that third quarter for Gallatin, when Billings West muffed a punt that was recovered by Mark Coleman on the 20-yard line. However, four plays later, the Raptors were denied the end zone again as Johnson was sacked on fourth down.
“We’ve got to play much cleaner and better than we did tonight against such a talented team,” Chandler said. “We definitely got our fair share of stops, but a couple of those massive plays that we gave up just resulted in scores that we can’t have happen.”
With just two games left in the regular season, Gallatin finds itself as the No. 3 seed behind Billings West and Great Falls CMR. The Rustlers (5-2, 4-1 Eastern AA) hold the head-to-head tiebreaker, having beaten the Raptors 31-21 on Sept. 17.
Gallatin wraps up the regular season against Belgrade and Billings Senior, two teams that have combined for just one win.
“Finishing off week eight and week nine, we really just have to go back and focus on our preparation, get better, get some momentum into the playoffs, and make sure that when we head into the playoffs, we’re a lot better than we are right now,” Chandler said.
Gallatin hosts Belgrade Oct. 15, while Billings West hosts Bozeman.