Mustangs drop heartbreaker to Scotties, head to Eureka

It came down to the final seconds of the game, literally, on Friday night in Malta.

At stake was the 2016 Class B Championship, winner take all and to host a home playoff game next Saturday. The Malta Mustangs and rival Glasgow Scotties met for the 47th time and 2016 marked the 40th Anniversary of the two teams meeting for the Class B State Championship (22-20, a Glasgow victory in 1976.)

Following a Mustang goal line stand in which a Glasgow score would have put the game out of reach, and trailing 34-27 with just 1:33 to play, the Mustang offense marched down the field with no timeouts – masterfully using the sidelines and spiking of the ball to manage the game clock – to set up a final play from the Scottie 31 yard line.

Senior Quarterback Keenan Schipman took the snap, rolled to his left and pitched a strike to Trace Simonson out in the flat around the 20 yard line. Time on the clock showed zero as Simonson slipped an arm tackle of one Glasgow defender and two other defenders bashed into each other at the 15. Simonson tiptoed down the sideline and into the end zone for a Mustang touchdown and the Malta faithful in the stands went nuts.

"For those that were there to witness that play, they may agree it is one of the best plays you'll see in high school football," said Mustang Head Coach Nick Oxarart.

The Mustangs special teams had trouble with extra points much of the night and trailing by a point, 34-33, elected to go for the two-point conversion for the win. Schipman took the snap and rolled to his right this time, got heavy pressure from the Glasgow defensive line, and fired a pass into the end zone that was defended well and fell to the ground, incomplete.

"We went for two and the win and came up a little short as Glasgow defended the play very well," Coach Oxarart said. "My hats off to Coach Liebelt and the Scotties and their effort to hold on to a victory."

Schipman finished the night completing 22 of 34 passes for 263 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions.

"I have to check the Mustang records but I think that puts him toward the top, if not at the very top, with most completions in a game," Coach Oxarart said.

One record that was definitely set on the night was receptions in a game as senior Ostin Welch accounted for 12 catches, breaking Casey Brewer's record of 10 receptions in game against Fairfield in 2002. With Welch's 12 catches came 181 yards and two touchdowns.

With the win, Glasgow claims the District 2B Championship and will host Colstrip next Saturday in the first round of the Class B Playoffs. Malta, who finishes the season with a 4-4 record, will travel to Eureka next Saturday to take on this year's 7B champion Lions who boast a record of 7-1 (their lone loss coming against Shelby.)

Friday was Senior Night in Malta as Schipman, Welch, Peyton Meeks, Cru Darrah and Grant O'Brien were all joined on the field by family and friends prior to the kickoff of their final regular season home game in Mustang Blue. It was tough sledding for the home team in the first quarter as the Mustangs found themselves in a 20-7 hole after the first frame – Malta's lone score coming on a 26 yard touchdown pass from Schipman to Welch.

Malta then roared back in the second quarter, reeling off 20 unanswered points to take a 27-20 lead into halftime.

"I'm really proud of how our players battled back from being down 20-7 in the first quarter," Coach Oxarart said. "We had a couple turnovers that really cost us, but our guys kept battling one play at a time and found a way to get a lead at half time. Glasgow is a very solid football team and our guys were able to find ways to make plays against them."

The first Malta score of the second quarter came on a second and goal quarterback keeper in which Schipman squeezed into the end zone, capping off an eight play drive. On the ensuing kickoff, Simonson dislodged the football from the Scottie kick-returner and Rhett Simanton gobbled up the fumble recovery. On first and 10 from the Glasgow 36, Schipman took the snap, threw a short pass behind the line of scrimmage to wideout Konner Kuehn and Kuehn reared back and fired a bullet to Welch for a touchdown. The extra point attempt was no good, but Malta closed the gap to 20-19 on the well-designed play.

On Glasgow's next drive, the Scotties facing a third and six, Malta's Taylor Matthews tracked down the opposing quarterback for a sack to force a fourth and 16 and Glasgow punt.

Malta took over at their own 20 yard line with just over 5 minutes on the clock and pushed their way down the field for a 16 play, 80 yard drive ending with a two-yard pass on fourth and goal from Schipman to Trey Simanton (the drive also featured a fake-punt run by Simonson to earn a first down.) Simonson then added the 2-point conversion on a run to give Malta the 27-20 halftime lead.

Glasgow evened the contest at 27 midway through the third quarter with the only touchdown of the quarter.

In the fourth quarter, Malta looked like they were about to take the lead as they drove down to the Glasgow four yard line. Unfortunately, for the Mustangs, the Scotties got a huge burst off the line on first and goal and forced a fumble which a Glasgow defender scooped up and returned 92 for a touchdown to give the away team a 33-27 lead with just over five minutes left to play in the contest.

Malta's next drive ended when a tipped pass fell into a Glasgow defender's arms for an interception setting the Scotties up with a first and 10 at Malta's 28-yard line. Things looked bleak for the Boys in Blue.

"We were marching towards the end zone with about five minutes left in the game to go up a score and they picked up a fumble and returned it for 92 yards and a score," said Coach Oxarart. "We then threw an interception on the next possession deep in our own territory and it looked like they might go up by two touchdowns."

Down, but not out, the Mustangs bullied Glasgow off the field, scoreless, to take over on their own seven yard line with just 1:26 left in the game.

"Our guys showed a lot of pride and kept them out of the end zone and then showed a lot of resilience and drove the ball 95 yards in about a minute and scored as time ran out," said Coach Nick Oxarart.

The failed two-point conversion with no time on the clock left Malta just one point short with the 34-33 final. The good news for the Mustangs is the second place finish in District 2B sets Malta with a playoff berth in the Class B Playoffs.

"We now head to Eureka to face the District 7B champions," Coach Oxarart said. "They are 7-1 with their only loss being to Shelby in their third game of the season," Coach Oxarart said. "They are a very good football team with 13 seniors that have a lot of experience. Eureka really doesn't have any weaknesses on either side of the ball. We will have to play assignment sound, mistake free, and the same intensity we had in the Glasgow game in order to travel 400 miles and have success."

Malta travels to Eureka to take on the Lions on Saturday, October 29 with kick off slated for 1 p.m.