The Gallatin Raptors will take on the Great Falls Bison at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Gallatin will come into the game with an undefeated record on the line.
Gallatin is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Montana's top teams: Bozeman, who was ranked 22nd at the time (Gallatin was ranked 11th). The Raptors came out on top against the Hawks by a score of 23-16 on Friday. The 23-point effort marked the Raptors' lowest-scoring matchup of the season, but in the end it didn't matter.
The match pitted two dominant signal callers against one another in Carter Dahlke and Van Shockley. Dahlke had a great game and rushed for 111 yards and one score. Meanwhile, Shockley did his best for the losing side, rushing for 88 yards and a pair of TDs, while also throwing for 174 yards on ten of 24 attempts.
Gallatin didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off three passes before the game was over. It was truly a group effort as Bobby Gutzman, Hudson White, and Sam Talbot picked up one apiece.
Meanwhile, there's no place like home for Great Falls, who bounced back after a loss on the road last Friday. They claimed a resounding 42-0 win over Skyview. The Bison pushed the score to 35-0 by the end of the third, a deficit the Falcons had no chance of recovering from.
Great Falls' win came from a few key players Gallatin will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Steele Harris, who picked up 165 receiving yards and two touchdowns. He really caught the secondary sleeping when he pulled down a catch that went for 70 yards. Another player making a difference was Mason Cannon, who rushed for 115 yards and a pair of scores on only 11 carries.
Great Falls' first victory this season bumped their record up to 1-3. As for Gallatin, their win bumped their record up to 5-0.
Friday's contest might be decided on the ground. Gallatin has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 197.6 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Great Falls struggles in that department as they've been averaging 184.8 rushing yards. There's a good chance Friday's game turns into a tough fight on the ground.
Everything came up roses for Gallatin against Great Falls when the teams last played back in October of 2024, as the team secured a 51-10 victory. Do the Raptors have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Bison turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
