DILLON -- Peter Gibson scored with less than a minute left to help Dillon take down top-ranked Hamilton 26-25 at Vigilante Stadium Friday night.
Trailing 25-20, Dillon chewed up nearly eight minutes of clock on the game-clinching drive. Facing a fourth down from the 4-yard line, Justus Peterson found Gibson for the go-ahead score with 42 seconds remaining. The Beavers' defense stopped Hamilton's frantic attempt on the next series to hand the No. 1-ranked Broncs their first loss of the season.
The game was close all night, with neither team ever leading by more than one score. Hamilton struck first in the second quarter when Carson Rostad, a Montana Grizzly commit, found Jaiden Klemundt for a 24-yard touchdown. Dillon immediately answered, though, with Peterson hooking up with Cole Truman on a 5-yard scoring toss. Hamilton would take a 7-6 lead into halftime.
The second half saw the fireworks. Rostad scored on an 18-yard run to give the Broncs a 13-6 advantage, but Dillon responded with another Truman touchdown, this one coming on a trick play. Daxon Graham took a handoff from Peterson and then fired to Truman for a 20-yard score.
Before the end of the third, Rostad found Klemundt for another Hamilton touchdown to give the Broncs a 19-13 lead going to the fourth. Michael Hupp gave the lead back to Dillon early in the fourth, though, breaking multiple tackles down the sideline on a 36-yard scoring pass from Peterson.
Rostad scored on another run to give the lead back to Hamilton, but the Broncs failed on their conversion attempt, leaving the door open for the Beavers. On the night, Hamilton missed two point-after attempts and failed on its lone two-point conversion attempt.
With the win, Dillon improves to 3-1 on the season. The Beavers next play at Corvallis on Sept. 27. Hamilton, meanwhile, returns home for a huge game against undefeated Frenchtown. That game is also slated for Sept. 27.
Class A football scores
(Watch video highlights above)
Billings Central 43, Glendive 0
Butte Central 38, Corvallis 6
Dillon 26, Hamilton 25
Frenchtown 49, Stevensville 13
Hardin 2, Livingston 0 (forfeit)
Laurel 43, Havre 7
Lewistown 12, Sidney 0
Libby 54, Columbia Falls 14
Polson 40, Ronan 36
Whitefish 47, Browning 6
