After a shutout loss last week at No. 1 Billings Central, Laurel faced another tough road test Friday at No. 2 Lewistown. This time the Locomotives passed.
Trailing by eight points entering the fourth quarter, No. 5 Laurel gutted out a 35-21 victory with a fourth-quarter rally in the game of the week in Class A.
Three other ranked teams won on Friday, as top-ranked Central, No. 3 Hamilton and No. 4 Frenchtown all won by sizeable margins.
Key Week 5 matchup: No. 5 Laurel 35, No. 2 Lewistown 21
Laurel's comeback began midway through the fourth quarter. A 23-yard run by Curtis Fox set the Locomotives at the Lewistown 12, and then two plays later Luke Maack caught a 5-yard scoring pass from Krew Hunter. Hunter then hit Isaiah Burt with a two-point pass to tie the game.
Laurel soon got the ball back, and Hunter scored a short touchdown run to put his team up 28-21. The Locos then sealed it when Gabe Glassing returned an interception 53 yards for a TD.
With the win, Laurel improved to 4-1 while Lewistown suffered its first loss, slipping to 3-1.
Other Class A highlights:
Columbia Falls 27, Bigfork 13
East Helena 48, Livingston 0
Other scores:
No. 1 Billings Central 49, Miles City 22
No. 3 Hamilton 52, Stevensville 7
No. 4 Frenchtown 38, Dillon 7
Butte Central 35, Corvallis 13
Havre 62, Browning 8
Libby 31, Polson 20
Lockwood 36, Hardin-Lodge Grass 15
Sidney 27, Glendive 20
Whitefish 65, Ronan 0