(Editor's note: Scores will be updated throughout Friday night.)
LEWISTOWN — Gage Norslien threw two touchdown passes and No. 2-ranked Lewistown powered past No. 3 Billings Central 17-7 in a marquee Class A matchup Friday night.
The teams traded first-quarter turnovers, as Central fumbled deep in its own territory and Lewistown threw an interception in the end zone. It was a 0-0 stalemate after one quarter.
Lewistown (8-0) broke the tie early in the second on a 10-yard back-corner touchdown throw from Norslien to Maxx Ray. The Rams (7-1) then moved to the Lewistown 25, but the Eagles intercepted a pass inside the 10 to thwart the drive.
The Eagles padded their lead on a 36-yard field goal by Kieran Netburn, making it 10-0 at halftime.
In the third, Norslien found Netburn with an improbable 56-yard scoring pass and the Eagles grabbed a 17-0 advantage. Lewistown faced a first-and-30 situation on that possession and still managed to score a touchdown on a play in which Norslien escaped from two potential sacks.
"Gage has the ability to make a broken play and break a couple tackles and then make a play with his arm," Lewistown coach Derek Lear told MTN Sports. "I didn't think he was getting out of that one. I was telling him to run and then he made the pass. That's just the type of kid he is. He's pretty dangerous outside the pocket."
The Rams avoided a shutout with 53 seconds left on a 5-yard run by QB Adam Balkenbush, but that was all the scoring Central could muster.
It was the second consecutive season in which Lewistown defeated the Rams after going 35-years without a win in the series before last year.
Other Class A scores:
No. 1 Hamilton 54, Libby 13 (Highlights below)
No. 4 Polson 54, Browning 0 (Thursday, highlights below)
No. 5 Columbia Falls 24, Whitefish 20
Corvallis 38, Ronan 21
Dillon 51, East Helena 0 (Highlights below)
Frenchtown 43, Stevensville 7
Havre 42, Livingston 0
Laurel 42, Glendive 0
Miles City 37, Sidney 27
