Hellgate was not able to break out of their rough patch on Friday as the team picked up their 17th straight defeat dating back to last season. They were beaten by the Butte Bulldogs 55-20. One positive for the Knights, at least, is that this was the most points they've scored all season.
When it comes to explaining why Hellgate lost, don't look at Cole Zeigler. Despite the final result, he rushed for 110 yards and a touchdown on only 13 carries, and also picked up 53 receiving yards and a touchdown. Zeigler's longest rush was for an impressive 63 yards, which helps to explain his lofty yards per carry total. Another player making a difference was Vince Paffhausen, who threw for 146 yards and a touchdown.
Butte's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Karson Pumnea, who rushed for 78 yards and three touchdowns. Pumnea is becoming a predictor of Butte's success: when he posts at least two rushing touchdowns the team is 2-1 (and 1-3 when he doesn't). Colton Shea was another key player, throwing for 261 yards and three touchdowns while completing 77.8% of his passes.
Hellgate's loss dropped their record down to 0-7. As for Butte, they are on a roll lately: they've won three of their last four matches, which provided a nice bump to their 3-4 record this season.
Hellgate and Sentinel are set to duel on Thursday. As for Butte, they will square off against Helena at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. Butte knows how to get points on the board -- the team has finished with 31 points or more in their past three games -- so hopefully Helena likes a good challenge.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps