Game Summary/Box Score
May 27, 2006 Helena Titans at Great Falls Gladiators @ C.M. Russell High
School
GREAT FALLS 7 HELENA
6
By LEE VERNOY
Great Falls Tribune Sports Writer
GREAT FALLS - Linebacker Keon Pinckney hugged Brad Thurber in the Great
Falls Gladiators’ locker room after Saturday’s game and said it best: "The
demons have been exorcized."
And how. There were a lot of demons exorcised after the Gladiators held
on to defeat the Helena Titans 7-6 in the Gladiators’ regular season finale in
front of 125 hearty souls at a very damp CMR Sophomore Field.
First, it marks the first time in eight tries that Great Falls has
defeated Helena in Rocky Mountain Football League action.
Second, it gives the Gladiators a 5-3 record, the first time in the
history of the club they’ve had a winning season.
And, most importantly, it put into another unchartered territory: for
the first time since the team was formed prior to the 2001 season, the
Gladiators have clinched a playoff spot.
"It’s an awesome feeling," said linebacker Mike Rhode. "I’m
glad we’ve got a good group of guys here. We’ve got four or five sack leaders,
and our team’s coming together … finally!"
"We’re pretty excited to be going to the playoffs" Thurber,
the team’s general manager and free safety, added. "We’ve gotten a little
bit better every year. This year we finally made it over the hump, and we’re
ready to see what we can do."
After nothing was decided for the first 45 minutes, the Gladiators
defense came through. At the 12:48, linebacker Dave Moore hit Helena QB Brian
Gutierrez during a pass attempt, Chris Grice recovered the loose ball and
rumbled 20 yards to paydirt.
"We had talked about it earlier and said, ‘If the ball is on the
ground, we’ve got to pick it up and go with it, because there was so little
offense in this game,’" Thurber said. "Chris just picked it up and
took it in for the score."
David Milodragovich got the extra point, although Thurber said it was a
bit interesting.
"We didn’t know how important it would be, but (Milo’s kick)
actually got tipped at the line and barely went inside the uprights to give us
the lead," Thurber explained, "and that actually turned out to be the
difference."
That difference would be made crystal clear just 10 minutes later.
Gutierrez scored from a yard out with 2:22 left, following a 30-yard run by RB
Keith DeBoo that had Gladiators’ fans swallowing hard.
"They ran a trap up the middle and we were stunting outside, so
they caught us a little bit offguard," Thursber said about the DeBoo run..
"He broke a tackle and went 30 yards."
Then came the PAT try.
"It was so wet out, the snap wasn’t really great and (Dave) Garza
had a hard time handling it," Thurber said, "so he wound up picking
it up and tried to go for the two-point conversion."
Garza would end up being tackled near the 30, negating the try. The
Titans would get the ball back once again on a Milodragovich punt, but an
incomplete pass on 4th-and-9 with :19 left had the Gladiators celebrating.
"We earned it," head coach Mike Morgan, who has been with the
team as a player and coach since the team was conceived, said after the game.
"We fought our way into this. The new offense is clicking something
fierce. Our running game is hard to deal with right now. But our defense is the
best in the league. The best."
"I love all those guys; they played their hearts out," Rhode
added. "We’ve got a bunch of new guys on the O-line, we’re moving people
around, but they’re a great group of guys. They played their hearts out."
For Thurber, Rhode, Morgan, and veteran linebacker/fullback Mike Pease,
this victory is especially satisfying.
"We’ve been working really hard for the last 2-3 years to get to
this point where we can control our own destiny and get ourselves into the
playoffs," Thurber said. "It was a real big payday for those
guys."
It’s also satisfying for veteran middle linebacker Reggie Jennings, who
was ejected from the game in the second half on what officials called
"helmet-to-helmet contact" with Helena RB DeBoo.
Thurber said the Gladiators will appeal the ejection, which will become
a one-game suspension if upheld.
"DeBoo was sliding down, Reggie hit him as he was going to the
ground, and (the officials) felt he led with his head," Thurber said.
"We’re going to review that on film and submit it to the commissioner.
"I don’t think it was intentional. Reggie’s an athlete; just as
important physically and mentally. He’s the captain and the general on the
field. He makes sure everyone does what they’re doing and he’s definitely the
leader of our defense."
The Gladiators have a bye next week, and will rest up and heal up while
awaiting the results of next week’s games, which will have a lot to say about
the Gladiators’ seeding in the playoffs.
Division-leading Missoula was in Hamilton Saturday night. Should the
Blaze upset the Raptors, next week’s Helena at Missoula matchup could give the
Gladiators the Northern Division championship, should the Titans and Raptors
wind up in a run-and-gun shootout.
But for Thurber and the Gladiators, their job is done for now.
"We’ve done everything that we can, and we know that we’re in the
playoffs," Thurber said. "We know that we got to get ready, and find
out where we’re playing and who we’re playing in the next week or two."
|
Helena Titans |
0 |
0 |
0 |
6 |
6 |
|
Great Falls Gladiators |
0 |
0 |
0 |
7 |
7 |
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Great
Falls: Chris Grice 20-yard fumble return (Milodragovich kick)
12:46 |
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HELENA |
GREAT FALLS |
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First
Downs |
6 |
1 |
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Rushes-Yds |
37 |
152 |
39 |
62 |
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Passing |
6--15--1 |
1--2--0 |
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Passing
Yds. |
45 |
-5 |
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Sacked-Yds |
7 |
42 |
7 |
40 |
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Net
Passing Yds. |
3 |
-45 |
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Total
Yds. |
155 |
17 |
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Punts
- Avg. |
7-25.2 |
6-35.2 |
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Penalties
-Yds |
5 |
30 |
5 |
30 |
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Fumbles
- Lost |
4 |
3 |
5 |
2 |
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Individual
Stats: |
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Rushing: |
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Player
-Team |
Tot.
Att. |
Tot.
Yds |
TD's |
2 pts. |
|
|
Keith
Deboo - Helena |
19 |
116 |
0 |
0 |
|
|
Dave
Garza - Helena |
1 |
18 |
0 |
0 |
|
|
Chris
Pattee - Helena |
6 |
14 |
0 |
0 |
|
|
Brian
Gutierrez - Helena |
2 |
7 |
1 |
0 |
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Ryan Ewan
- Helena |
1 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
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Justin
Clement - Helena |
8 |
-5 |
0 |
0 |
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Sterling
Wynn - Great Falls |
17 |
24 |
0 |
0 |
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Mike
Pease - Great Falls |
6 |
24 |
0 |
0 |
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John
Hughes - Great Falls |
5 |
9 |
0 |
0 |
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Dave
Moore - Great Falls |
1 |
8 |
0 |
0 |
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Robert
Cook - Great Falls |
10 |
-3 |
0 |
0 |
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Passing: |
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|
Player |
Comp. |
Att. |
Yds |
TD's |
Int. |
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Brian
Gutierrez - Helena |
6 |
15 |
45 |
0 |
1 |
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Robert
Cook - Great Falls |
1 |
2 |
-5 |
0 |
0 |
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Receiving: |
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|
Player |
Recepts. |
Yards |
Td's |
2 pts. |
|
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Eddie
Sullivan - Helena |
2 |
21 |
0 |
0 |
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Rocky
Hamilton - Helena |
2 |
18 |
0 |
0 |
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Dave
Garza - Helena |
1 |
8 |
0 |
0 |
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Keith
Deboo - Helena |
1 |
-2 |
0 |
0 |
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Sterling
Wynn - Great Falls |
1 |
-5 |
0 |
0 |
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Defense: |
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|
Player |
Tackles |
Sacks |
Intercepts |
TD's |
|
|
Justin
Lamb - Helena |
9 |
2.5 |
0 |
0 |
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Mike Moe
- Helena |
8 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
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Landon
Lamb - Helena |
5.5 |
0.5 |
0 |
0 |
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Jeremiah
Clement - Helena |
5.5 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
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Steve
Rice - Helena |
4.5 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
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Justin
Masiak - Helena |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
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Tommy
Clement - Helena |
2.5 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
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Pate Rice
- Helena |
1.5 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
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Terry
Hiatt - Helena |
1.5 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
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Kyle
Pena - Helena |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
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Greg
Lundell - Helena |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
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Eddie
Sullivan - Helena |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
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Scott
Johnson - Helena |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
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TJ
Pittman - Helena |
0.5 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
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Reggie
Stanfield - Helena |
0.5 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
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David
Craig - Great Falls |
9 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
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Mike
Rhode - Great Falls |
6.5 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
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Chris
Grice - Great Falls |
5.5 |
0.5 |
0 |
0 |
|
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Demond
Orr - Great Falls |
4 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
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Reggie
Jennings - Great Falls |
3.5 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
|
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Keon
Pinckney - Great Falls |
3.5 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
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Brad
Thurber - Great Falls |
3.5 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
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Dave
Moore - Great Falls |
3.5 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
|
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Anthony
Gaines - Great Falls |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
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Mike
Pease - Great Falls |
2.5 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
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Chris
White - Great Falls |
2.5 |
0.5 |
0 |
0 |
|
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Jared
Johnson - Great Falls |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
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Kick
Returns: |
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|
Player |
Punt
Ret |
Punt
Yds |
Kick
Ret |
Kick
Yds |
|
|
Eddie
Sullivan - Helena |
1 |
3 |
1 |
24 |
|
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Hollis
Huggins - Helena |
0 |
0 |
1 |
19 |
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Chris
Grice - Great Falls |
0 |
0 |
2 |
33 |
|
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Yahreen
Collins - Great Falls |
1 |
9 |
0 |
0 |
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Kicking: |
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Player |
xpt
att |
xpt
made |
fg att |
fg
made |
|
|
David
Milodragovich - Great Falls |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
|