Bulldogs spikers fall in five; runners impress in Belgrade

After Jack Nagle booted the 32-yard field goal to give Butte Central a thrilling 17-16 win over Hardin Friday night on Montana Tech’s Bob Green Field, many Maroon faithful were asking each other the same question.

“When was the last time the Maroons had a game-winning field goal at the buzzer?”

If they asked an Anaconda Copperhead, they would have gotten their answer. Rob Johnson could have told them, too.

Johnson, the Maroon legend who went on to play Major League Baseball for the Seattle Mariners, San Diego Padres, New York Mets and St. Louis Cardinal, kicked a 22-yard field goal in overtime as Butte Central came from behind to beat Anaconda 24-21 in a Southwestern A game Oct. 20, 2000 at Mitchell Stadium.

Since it was a Butte Central game in Anaconda, the ending did not come without controversy. The Copperheads, who missed a long field goal in their possession of the Montana overtime, blocked Johnston’s attempt at a 27-yard field goal.

However, the Copperheads were flagged because the player launched off the back of one of his teammates. That moved the ball five yards closer and gave Johnson another try.

“I’ve always dreamed of making the game-winning touchdown or kick,” Johnson said after the game. “My dream came true.”

That game, by the way, came one week after BC’s controversial 13-10 loss at Dillon.

That was the night that the Maroons moved the ball from their own 35-yard line to the 45-yard line on four downs. However, the chains and lines did not match up, and the Beavers took over possession after the officials reversed their call multiple times.

Thanks to Johnston’s clutch kick, however, the Maroons got to end that 2000 campaign on a winning note.

Nagle’s kick just might help propel the Maroons to a strong season as they bounced back from their season-opening loss at Lockwood.

Senior quarterback Ryan Peoples led the Maroons into field goal range with clutch passes to senior receiver GG Fantini and junior running back Danny McCarthy. Peoples and Fantini hooked up for a 54-yard completion to put the Maroons on top 70 in the second quarter. BC made it 14-0 on a 7-yard run by freshman Henly Mansanti in the third. Nagle booted the extra point on both TDs.

Hardin quarterback D.J. Lefthand hit Colvin Wiles for an 11-yard reception 2 minutes later. He ran in the 2-point conversion.

Lefthand scored on a 3-yard run and punched in the to give the Bulldogs a 16-14 lead with 1 minute, 35 seconds left on the clock. Instead of leading to a second BC loss, however, it led to Maroon heroics.

Peoples passed for 184 yards on the night. Fantini, Nable, Mansanti, McCarthy, senior Joshua Sutton, senior Manny Weang and sophomore Treigh Hollow caught passes.

The Maroons will need to clean things up if they are going to build on the victory. They committed 15 penalties for 138 yards. Hardin was flagged 15 times for 150 yards.

Central will play on Thursday this week. The Maroons will take on Ronan at Washington-Grizzly Stadium in Missoula. Ronan heads to Missoula at 0-2. The chiefs fell 51-0 at home to Hamilton and 46-2 on the road against Browning.

Click here to read a full story and boxscore from the BC-Hardin game by Bruce Sayler of ButteSports.com.

Luedte, Bulldogs bounce back in Billings

Butte High’s football team bounced back in a big way last week as well.

Six nights after dropping their season opener to Gallatin at Naranche Stadium, the Bulldogs left no doubt with a 33-13 win over Billings Skyview Thursday night at Daylis Stadium.

Senior receiver Hudson Luedtke was a huge factor in Butte High’s lopsided win. The three-time All-State player caught 14 passes from classmate Brooks Vincent. Luedtke turned that in to 175 yards, many after the catch, and three touchdowns.

The receptions and touchdowns were career highs for Luedtke. His night also ranks highly on Butte High’s all-time school records in receptions, yards and touchdowns.

The 14 receptions ties Bryce Armstrong’s 14-catch performance against Missoula Big Sky in 2012 for third place in school history. Butte High great Dalton Daum holds the school records with 20 catches for 286 yards. He did that in 2013 against Kalispell Glacier.

Kiley Caprara, who went on to play for Montana Tech, caught 15 passes against Helena High in 2015.

Luedtke’s 175 yards ranks ninth in school history, right behind the 184-yard playoff performance he put last year at Glacier.

The three receiving touchdowns scored ties Daum, Rueso Batterman (2023), Dylan Snyder (2021) and William Brennan (1921) for second on the Bulldog all-time list. A.J. Leyba set the Bulldog record with four TDs against Billings Senior in 2009.

Daum score three receiving TDs in three four different times, three times in 2013 and once in 2014.

Luedtke was hardly the only Bulldog with a big performance at Skyview. Vincent overcame three interceptions to complete 19 of 32 passes for 210 yards.

Butte High’s running game also got on track behind starting offensive linemen Gannon Sullivan, Keegan Swisher, Mason Swanson, Kadyn Sommer and Max Pearston. The Bulldogs racked up 158 yards on 34 carries.

Senior Peyton Johnson ran for 97 yards on 20 attempts. He punched in a touchdown from 7 yards out. Junior Miner Lee ran for 57 yards on nine carries. He also caught two passes for 15 yards. Senior Kaleb Celli and junior Koda Schleeman also caught passes.

Seniors Gunner Bushman and Mitch Verlanic and junior Jaeger Hansen led a salty Bulldog defense, each with five tackles. Bushman added a blocked punt, while Hansen returned an interception 60 yards for a score. Verlanic picked off two passes.

Junior Bradey Doyle and Sommer got in on four tackles, while senior Grady Foley, junior Kasen Snyder, Luedtke and Lee each got in on three.

Sommer, junior Reece Cunneen and sophomore Sawyer Casey registered a sack.

The Bulldogs are back at Naranche for a 7 p.m. showdown with Glacier on Friday. Beating the Wolfpack will be no short order. The team that advanced to the Class AA State championship game last year will come to town after winning 14-10 at Billings West and 62-21 at home against Bozeman.

Senior quarterback Jackson Presley passed for 199 yards, and the Wolfpack racked up 234 yards on the ground. Presley threw a TD pass to three different receivers.

Ronan boys, Frenchtown girls run to wins at Fairmont

Ronan’s boys’ team and the Frenchtown girls’ squad ran to team victors at the Frenchtown Invitational cross country meet Tuesday at the Fairmont Hot Springs Golf Course. (Results)

Ronan scored 33 points take the boys’ title. Livingston followed at 44, while Frenchtown took third at 56 and Anaconda placed fourth at 84.

Fin Schretenthaler of Livingston was the top boy runner, finishing the 5-kilometer race in 16 minutes, 44 seconds. Devon Big Medicine of Ronan was second at 18:28. He was followed closely by teammate Jhett McDonald.

Butte Central did not have enough runners for a team score. Three Maroons competed, led by junior Joe Bradshaw at 24:22. Classmates Jack Holmes and Conan Holmes followed at 28:35 and 28:36.

Eleanor Rheinhardt of Frenchtown won the girls’ title in 21:01. Teammate Savannah Langley placed second at 22:00, and Anaconda’s SheaLee Novak finished third in 22:20.

Freshman Ashley White was the lone BC runner. She crossed in 27:09.

Frenchtown’s 20 points led the team standings. Ronan was second at 46, and Anaconda took third at 65. The Maroons will run again Saturday in Corvallis.

Houchin, Bulldog boys second at Run BXC Invite

Butte High senior Camden Houchin placed second at the Run BXC Invitational cross country meet Friday in Bozeman. (Results)

Houchin finished the 5-kilometer race hosted by Belgrade in 16 minutes, 15 seconds. That was just three seconds behind Billings West senior Kye McAbee, who crossed in 16:12. Emerson Hamma of Great Falls Russell placed third in 16:52.

Butte High senior Levi Wiltsie placed sixth in 17:13. Classmate Lincoln Zell placed 12th in 17:46. Also for the Bulldogs, Bridger Luebke finished in 18:22, Isaac Zell crossed in 18:34, Ryan Hanson ran in 19:23 and Nathan Knopp finished in 19:47.

Billings West won the meet with 59 points. Butte High took second at 71, and Belgrade placed third at 80.

In the boys’ freshman race, Jason Real placed third in 19:58.

On the girls’ side, the Bulldogs were particularly impressive in the freshman race. Bulldog Sophia Houchin took second with a time of 20:57. Billings West’s Jane Allen won in 20:30. Butte’s Elsa Theiszen took third in 21:45.

Riana Wachob of Cody, Wyoming, won the girls’ varsity/junior varsity race in 19:59. Sophomore Penelope Luebke led the Bulldogs, placing 21st in 21:46. Kellie Jo Carpenter (24:34), Adelaide Thomson (25:07), Wakely Burleson (26:11), Cambree O’Neill (26:23), Cambria Zahn (30:24), Carlynn Wiltsie (33:46) and Lainee Walsh-Hill (39:4) also ran the varsity/JV race for the Dogs.

Gallatin edged Cody 39-42 to win the team title. West took third at 1000. Butte High finished eighth at 220. The Bulldogs will be back in Bozeman for a meet on Saturday.

Spartans top Dogs in five

Butte High’s varsity volleyball team is still searching for its first win of the season. The Bulldogs, though, have definitely showed that they will not go down without a fight.

That was evident Tuesday night as the Bulldogs dropped a five-set thriller to Missoula Sentinel. The match was the Western AA opener for the Dogs.

After Sentinel won 25-21 and 25-15 to open play, Butte battled back with a pair of 25-22 wins to force a fifth set. Sentinel escaped the Richardson gym with a 15-12 victory. (Stats)

Senior Gracie Jonart led the Bulldog attack with 15 kills on the night. Senior Audrey McClafferty added nine kills, while sophomore Stella Callaghan followed with eight, and freshman Saege Grey killed six.

Junior Cadence Graham collected 25 digs. Grey added 21, and freshman Ellison Graham dug 18. The younger Graham also dished up 34 assists.

Butte High, which competed in a crossover tournament Saturday in Belgrade, will play at Missoula Hellgate on Friday.

Bulldog girls’ soccer team shows improvement

On the soccer pitch, the Butte High soccer teams are both 0-3 after losses Tuesday at Missoula Hellgate. The Knights won the boys’ won a 5-0 battle, and Hellgate beat the Butte girls’ 9-0.

First-year Butte girls’ coach Geno Liva pointed out that Tuesday marked the first game of the season in which the Bulldogs went the distance, and it was against a really good team, too.

Butte fell 10-0 to Helena Capital Saturday in Butte.

“On Saturday the girls showed much improvement,” Liva said. “We stayed in formation better and made Capital earn their goals. Our seniors are doing a great job holding the team together and teaching the young girls how to battle.”

Butte’s senior girls are Jessie Trudgeon, Peyton Liva, Mya Murphy, Jessica Blow, Chloe Salusso, Lydia Revenaugh and Mattie Stepan.

Butte High’s boys’ also fell 10-0 to Capital on Saturday. In last week’s 7-1 opener against Helena High, senior Ziggy Okrusch scored for the Bulldogs.

Butte High will be back at home to take on Missoula Sentinel on Thursday. The boys play at 3:30 p.m., while the girls will battle at 5:30. Both those varsity matches will be played at Bulldog Memorial Stadium.

Flag football team competes in Boulder

After playing at Naranche Stadium last Wednesday, Butte High’s girls’ flag football team went to Boulder for some action on Saturday. Butte High fell 12-0 to Boulder and 6-0 to Three Forks.

Bulldog coach John Stenson pointed out that the game with Boulder was scoreless with less than 2 minutes left in the game. A crucial pick 6 crushed the Butte victory hopes.

Against Three Forks, Stenson the Bulldogs just “couldn’t find the end zone.” He pointed to great runs by junior Mackenzie Read and big catches by freshman Kaydee O’Connor and junior Jaydyn Mason. He said junior McKenna Ketchum played great on both sides of the ball. Kynslee Wrampe, Chyanne Robinson and Charliee Richter picked off passes.

Izzy Dawson, Reagan Denning and Bella Schrapps intercepted passes in JV play.

The Bulldogs played Tuesday night in East Helena. Results from that action were not available in time for this report.

Butte High will play host to Billings Skyview and Billings Senior on Thursday.

Maroons ready for action

After playing in a tipoff tournament for the second weekend in a row, Butte Central’s volleyball team is ready for matches that count in standing.

This past weekend, BC competed in the Southwest vs. Southeast Tipoff at the Maroon activities Center. Central split with Livingston, but dropped two-set matches to Frenchtown, Billings Central, East Helena, Lockwood and Hardin.

First year coach Karina Mickelson, said the Maroons are ready for the season. They hit the road Saturday to play Ronan.

“We went 1-1 against Park, but technically won on point differential,” Mickelson said. “We played hard against Hardin and Billings Central actually, we were on par with Frenchtown against Billings Central.”

The coach sited the standout play of setter Presli Smith, middle hitter Rylee Forbes and outside hitter Zayonna Otherbull.

Looking ahead

Butte High’s golf teams will be in action Wednesday and Thursday at the Kalispell Invitational tournament. Buffalo Hill Golf Club will set the scene for the tournament, which begins at 10 a.m. each day.