BUTTE — A 43-yard touchdown pass from Bo Demarais to Rueso Batterman with 37 seconds left gave Butte the lead and the Bulldogs held on for a 28-27 upset comeback victory over No. 1 Kalispell Glacier on Friday at Naranche Stadium.
Batterman hauled in a deep pass down the left sideline on a second-and-18 play to put Butte ahead 28-21 and seemingly seal the victory. But Glacier quickly answered with a 36-yard touchdown strike from Jackson Presley to Cohen Kastelitz with just 12 ticks left on the clock.
The point-after attempt, however, was no good, and the Bulldogs escaped with a one-point triumph after recovering Glacier's onside kick attempt.
The Wolfpack took a 7-0 lead in the second quarter on a 40-yard run by Kash Goicoechea, then built the advantage to 14-0 when Presley found Alex Hausmann from 25 yards with a minute remaining before halftime. Glacier then led 21-0 with 7:58 left in the third on a 10-yard Presley TD pass to Kastelitz.
But Butte began fighting back in the fourth quarter, first with a Demarais-to-Batterman touchdown throw with 11:00 left. Torre Tempel followed with an interception return for a touchdown to pull the Bulldogs within 21-14.
Butte tied it when Demarais and Batterman connected for another TD, this one from 40 yards, making it 21-21 and setting the stage for what was a wild finish. Butte improved to 2-1 while Glacier dropped to 2-1.
Elsewhere in Class AA ...
No. 2 Bozeman Gallatin 51, Billings Senior 28
No. 3 Bozeman 56, Billings Skyview 7
Billings West 49, No. 4 Great Falls CMR 14
Great Falls 56, Belgrade 14
Helena 48, Missoula Hellgate 13
Missoula Big Sky 21, Kalispell Flathead 20
Missoula Sentinel 17, Helena Capital 14
