GREAT FALLS — It was a win 11 years in the making.
Eastern AA No. 3 seed Great Falls CMR came out and dominated Butte in last Friday's first-round playoff game, taking down the Bulldogs 42-6 for the program's first postseason victory since 2014's run to the state title game.
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This was also a bounce-back performance for the Rustlers, as they fell to Great Falls High 16-3 the week prior. Head coach AJ Wilson said how they played in the crosstown game was not who they are as a team.
"Talked to the kids, and it was, you know, play our best football now," Wilson said at CMR High School during Tuesday's practice. "Back to the 1-0 mentality .. a new season ahead of us.
"Our guys made plays on Friday night and ... that was our best team win ... overall for the season. And it was at the right time."
CMR got up 14-0 early in the first quarter and never looked back. Seniors Drew Etcheberry — who scored one of CMR's six touchdowns in the game — and Peyton Fenner agreed with Wilson about it being their best performance of the season.
"Just a big hump that we finally got over, and I think it's a tribute to how hard we've worked all season," Etcheberry said. "We have stayed committed to each other, trust in our coaches, trust in our teammates and we finally got it done."
"Coach talks about playing all four quarters and we did that," Fenner said. "It's really big for us. So like, if we can continue to do that, it's really big and the confidence is really high. And we're ready."
The two said it's great to share this playoff win with their fellow seniors and be the first group at CMR to win in the postseason since 2014.
"It's getting dark at 5:15 (p.m.), we've never played this long before, so it's a new thing," Etcheberry said. "We're all really enjoying it, and, you know, knowing that it's all our last time being all together as one team, we're just making every moment count."
"It's the best thing ever — like, they're family," Fenner said. "I treat them like brothers and I love them to death. It means a lot knowing that we made history."
The Rustlers earned the right to keep their season alive and next will face Western AA No. 2 Missoula Big Sky on the road.
Wilson said it's been fun for him to embrace this ride with his team.
"See them grow and see ... the brotherhood that they've built together," Wilson said. "I just want to see them give everything that they got Friday night. Give everything that they can for each other and for the school and for this community."
Kickoff between the Rustlers and Eagles is at 7 p.m. Friday night in the Garden City.
