Malta Leaps Over Glasgow 37-6, Now 7-1

The Malta Mustangs (7-1) football team posted a dominant win over the rival Glasgow Scotties (6-2) at Mustangs Field last Friday, October 14.

The team will now focus on their final regular season matchup on Friday, October 21, in Fairfield against the Fairfield Eagles 4-3 that feature the stingiest defense in the Northern B. The Eagles have given up only 67 points which is a tie with Bigfork for second in All of Class B. In comparison, Malta's defense, who has given up 72 points, is fourth in the Class B.

For Malta to claim the Northern B Crown for the second season in a row, they have to beat Fairfield. If Malta (4-0 in conference games) should lose, they could possibly be tied with Glasgow and Fairfield, who go into the weekend 3-1 in the conference.

Last Friday, Fairfield defeated Cut Bank 7-0, but put up a more impressive win over the Wolf Point Wolves, besting them 35-0 on Friday, October 7. They lost to Glasgow 16-6, late September.

In Malta's 37-6 win over Glasgow, the Mustangs celebrated their senior night, in which the team's ten senior athletes and two senior managers were celebrated. They included managers Mady Bain and Aubri Werk and athletes Kaden Bishop, Spencer Gibbs, Eli Hanson, Grant Larson, Colton Honey, Camryn Mears, Tye Jones, Reese Brown, Hunter Ellis, and Draven Lageson.

Senior captain Kaden Bishop was asked how it felt to beat their rival on Senior Night.

"It feels good," Bishop said. "We had an attitude to give them a good game. We knew that they would fight hard but we played our best and our defense was lights out and that's what won us the game."

The team was led in victory by sophomore quarterback Stockton Oxarart, who was 5-of-16 passing for 122 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. He also rushed for 37 yards and a touchdown on two carries (Stats according to Hudl).

Oxarart battled back after an early interception in which a receiver slipped due to the rainy conditions. Oxarart was asked how the team was able to overcome the wind and rain as an offense.

"We made a lot of mistakes but we just kept our heads up and play together as a team," Oxarart said.

Mears led the rushing attack with 76 yards and a touchdown on 25 carries. Gibbs had 67 yards and one touchdown on six carries. Treyton Wilke had 15 yards on three carries.

Bishop had two catches for 61 yards, the longest being 40 yards. Junior Kyle Darrington had one catch for a 31 yard touchdown. Gibbs had one reception for an 18-yard touchdown.

Blaine Downing had four sacks in Malta's win over the Scotties and 5.5 sacks in the team's win over Cut Bank last week.

Downing was asked how he and teammate Eli Hanson were able to get pressure against opponents.

"Speed helps with that," Downing said. "And I have long arms."

Mears, who plays linebacker, shouted out Downing, Hanson and Malta's pass rush.

"Blaine was hitting it hard and he probably got like four sacks tonight," Mears said. "Eli and everyone was just rushing hard, making him (Mason Donaldson) scramble, throw bad balls. They were batting balls down and getting all over him and that really helped towards the win."

Gibbs put Malta on the board early in the first quarter, with an 18-yard touchdown catch from Oxarart. Gibbs converted the two-point try, putting Malta up 8-0.

"The route didn't come up and we just turned nothing into something," Gibbs said. "Stockton read me as I was going upfield and threw it where it needed to be."

Gibbs, another senior captain, was asked about the team's win over Glasgow.

"It feels amazing," Gibbs said. "That's all that needs to be said."

Glasgow's first touchdown came in the second quarter, with a 34 yard run by Tatum Hansen. The two-point conversion failed.

On the next drive, Oxarart found Bishop for a 49-yard reception, which eventually setup a two-yard touchdown run by Mears. Gibbs ran in the two-point try. Malta was up 16-6 at halftime.

Oxarart found a hole on a quarterback keeper and turned it into a 35-yard rushing touchdown midway through the third quarter. Gibbs converted a two-point try. Malta was up 24-6.

"I was reading the outside backer, and once I saw him slip by, I just took it and ran," Oxarart said.

Late in the third quarter, Bishop and the Malta defense stopped a Glasgow drive deep in the red zone with an interception that nearly sealed the game.

"I just played my position, did my part," Bishop said. "They threw it up, I went and got it and ran until I couldn't."

Bishop flipped the field on his interception return, as he took the ball from Malta's five yard line to Glasgow's 35, a 60-yard return.

"It was good blocking," Bishop said. "I had some guys blocking for me and that's good."

Darrington and Oxarart also had interceptions in the game.

Malta's offense stalled deep in the redzone, but the team forced a three and out, and scored on their next drive on a 31-yard pass from Oxarart to Darrington in the fourth quarter.

Gibbs would later return a fumble nine yards for a touchdown, which was followed by a successful kick attempt by Bishop.

The game was wet and sloppy, with Glasgow turning the ball over six times, and Malta turning it over three times.

The win this year was even sweeter for Malta's seniors, who have gone undefeated against Glasgow in each of their regular season games.

"It feels really good to be undefeated our whole high school career against our rivals," Mears said. "Those Glasgow kids, some of them are really good kids and I kind of like some of them. But, it's always a good day to beat the Scotties."

It was the first Malta-Glasgow game for Hanson, so he was asked how he felt about the win.

"It feels really good," Hanson, another senior captain, said. "We all just worked hard this week and we knew we wanted to win and we got it done. We are all happy."

Hanson felt that the team did a great job in all three phases of the game, but knows that the team has plenty to work on including turnovers.

"But all around, it was a great win," Hanson said.

Draven Lageson was asked about Malta's defensive success.

"We just keep talking to each other," he said."Communication is key on defense. All-in-all communication is key."