Football Preview: Butte Bulldogs vs. Bozeman Hawks
The Butte Bulldogs will head out to face off against the Bozeman Hawks at 7:00 p.m. on Friday.
Butte is leaving town to face Bozeman after disappointing their home crowd in their season opener. Butte and Billings West were almost perfectly matched up on Friday, but Butte suffered a 28-27 defeat. The matchup was a 14-14 toss-up at halftime, but the Bulldogs couldn't quite close it out.
Despite their loss, Butte saw several players rise to the challenge and make noteworthy plays. Hudson Luedtke, who picked up 33 receiving yards and two touchdowns, was perhaps the best of all. Butte also got help from Tocher Lee, who showed off his sure hands for 90 receiving yards.
Butte wouldn't let Billings West keep a hold of the ball as they managed to force two fumbles. Butte can thank Sam Sampson and Asher Palmer for forcing both of them. Sampson's also deserves a shoutout for his performance on D, forcing a fumble and making two total tackles. Eli Smith was another major factor on D, picking up a sack and making ten total tackles.
Meanwhile, Bozeman had to kick off their season on the road on Friday, but they showed no ill effects. They walked away with a 30-17 victory over Helena. The win was nothing new for the Hawks as they're now sitting on 13 straight dating back to last season.
Kash Embry was a one-man wrecking crew for Bozeman as he rushed for 88 yards and a touchdown, and also threw for 154 yards and two touchdowns.
Embry wasn't the only one working in the rushing yards department: Bozeman was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 214 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 171 rushing yards in five consecutive contests dating back to last season.
Butte suffered a grim 31-7 defeat to Bozeman in their previous meeting back in November of 2023. Thankfully for Butte, Kellen Harrison #7 (who rushed for 63 yards and two touchdowns on only seven carries, and also threw for 235 yards and a touchdown while completing 82.6% of his passes) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
