Mustangs Beat Cowboys, To Face Wolves for Homecoming Friday

The Malta Mustangs picked up a big win over the Conrad Cowboys last Friday, September 29, at Mustang Field in Malta. The score was 49-13.

"I'm real proud of how our team showed up on Friday against Conrad and we played with a lot of physicality and aggression," Malta Head Coach Nick Oxarart said. "We worked on it all week in practice and our players did everything we asked of them. We challenged them to be more aggressive and they responded well. Our defense really stepped up this week, and that's exactly what we needed against a strong Conrad team. Our offensive line also stepped up this week and we were able to rush for over 300 yards and had almost 200 yards of passing as well."

The win broke a four-game losing streak and happened during Malta's Senior night, a night in which Kyle Darrington, Colton Mears, Sebastian Best, Clay Hallenberg, Bow SaintLouis, Hunter Stolem, and Mason Sjostrom were honored.

Sebastian Best is a senior at Dodson High School but has played for the Mustangs for several years.

"It just feels great," Best said. "I have always wanted to do this. I have always wanted to put on (represent) for my team and it's just a feeling that you can't beat.

Malta will have plenty to play for this Friday, October 6, as they host the Wolf Point Wolves for Homecoming. Malta's Homecoming Parade will take place at 2:15 p.m., and the game against Wolf Point is scheduled to kick off at 7 p.m. at Mustang Field. The night will also double as Little Mustang Night.

Coach Oxarart was asked about Wolf Point, who is 1-5, but just defeated the Roundup Panthers 10-6 last Friday.

"Wolf Point will bring a heavy run attack this Friday," Coach Oxarart said. "They are very big up front with their offensive line. They also have a big quarterback and running back (both of them played offensive line last year when we played them). Their other running backs and wide receivers are very fast. Coach Red Cloud and his staff will have a good game plan for us and we will have to use our momentum from our last game and bring it to this upcoming one."

Coach Oxarart knows that during this week, it will be important for the team to continue working on their game.

"It's Homecoming Week with a lot of activities going on so we will have to focus hard in practice and continue fixing our mistakes in order to have success on Friday night," Coach Oxarart said.

In Malta's win over Conrad, the Mustangs racked up a total of 549 yards, 513 of which were on offense.

Malta had 345 yards and six touchdowns on 39 carries. Junior quarterback Stockton Oxarart was four for four for 168 yards and one touchdown.

"The key was running the ball," S. Oxarart said after the win. "Our line did a great job blocking. They did a great job up front on the line of scrimmage."

The PCN asked Bow SaintLouis, a senior lineman, about the battles in the trenches.

"It is all about communication," SaintLouis said. "It is all about talking to each other. If everybody is on the same page and we all know what we are doing and making the right calls, the offense flows beautifully and it looks like a well-oiled machine out there. It felt so great tonight having our calls going good."

SaintLouis said that picking up a win during senior night was one of his goals for the school year.

"I wanted to beat Glasgow, and we couldn't get that but I wanted to make sure that I had a great Senior Night and a great Homecoming, and that is next week, so I am pretty excited."

Junior Treyton Wilke led the ground attack with 155 yards and three touchdowns on 11 carries. Wilke had an 80-yard run early in the game, that nearly ended in a touchdown.

"I broke it and then I was one-on-one, and the kid caught me," Wilke said. "I ran out of gas and thought, oh my, how did I get caught? Then they gave me water, gave me the ball again and I scored the touchdown."

He credited Bow SaintLouis with making a large hole that sprang the run initially.

"I kept bouncing back and cutting around," Wilke said. "And then Trooper (Stiles) made a great block, I cut inside and then I was just gone."

Wilke scored the first three touchdowns of the game. He was asked about the win.

"We played a great game," Wilke said. "I am proud of everyone. There will be many more this season. I promise you that."

Junior Blaine Downing had 146 yards and two touchdowns on 15 carries. His runs set a tone early in the game.

"I was just focused on getting downhill," Downing said. "If I was wide open I was going to try to set a juke and get outside. I think that worked pretty effectively."

Downing was happy to get the win due to some trash-talking that occurred on social media.

"On Montana Football, they were saying Conrad was going to beat up an already beat up Malta, but look who is beat up now," Downing said.

Players that have been injured have been starting to trickle back into the game. Downing was asked how it felt to have some injured teammates back, and a couple more on the way.

"I think our first line was our main problem," Downing said. "We got Scuba (Colton Mears), our defensive end back, and that is helping a ton because we are able to contain way better."

Duke Williamson had four rushes for 21 yards and one touchdown. Rylee Brusse had three rushes for 17 yards. S. Oxarart had three rushes for 11 yards.

In the third quarter, S. Oxarart was able to find Trooper Stiles for an 89-yard touchdown, putting Malta up 34-7, before he ran in a two-point conversion. He was asked about the play.

"I saw that the frontside wasn't open, Troop was running a backside post, so I knew that he would be wide open. It was a good play call," S. Oxarart said.

Stiles was asked about the play from his perspective.

"I just kind of got past him and then it was clear from there," Stiles said.

He did get penalized after the play for a flip in the end zone after the touchdown, resulting in a penalty.

"I don't know if it was worth getting the flag but at least we got the two-point conversion," Stiles said.

Stiles, a sophomore, has stepped up for the Mustangs ever since the team's two starters Sjostrom and Darrington went down with injuries in the first game of the year. He was asked what it felt like to be called as the next man up.

"It was kind of hard because I had to learn all of the plays in one night, so I was kind of scrambling for that, studied all that I could at school," Stiles said. "Stockton helped me out and all of the other boys helped me out with each route."

S. Oxarart also connected with Wilke for a 34-yard completion, which set up another touchdown for Malta.

"It was a great call by coach," S. Oxarart said.

Malta had a handful of interceptions, including a pick by Best late in the game. He was asked about the play.

"I saw the quarterback drop back to pass, so I dropped back, and I saw 44, their tight-end, behind me," Best said. "I dropped back and the quarterback threw the ball my way. So I went up and got one."

Scoring Summary:

Qtr 1: Treyton Wilke 6 yard run (Wilke run) 6:21 8-0

Qtr 2: Wilke 6 yard run (run failed) 9:21 14-0

Wilke 4 yard run (run failed) 5:55 20-0

Roscoe Shaw 14 yard run (Jacob Scherer kick) 2:37 20-7

Blaine Downing 1 yard run (Downing run) 0:41 28-7

Qtr 3: Trooper Stiles 89 yard pass from Stockton Oxarart (Oxarart run) 6:07 36-7

Downing 11 yard run (run failed) 1:06 42-7

Qtr 4: Duke Williamson 1 yard run (Downing kick) 6:30 49-7

Shaw 53 yard run (kick failed) 4:20 49-13