Quarterback Kale Hefley threw for 174 yards and three touchdowns and runningback Kyle Croy rushed for 128 yards and a score to help power Gallatin to a 27-7 victory over Tarkio in opening Grand River Conference play last Friday night.
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Coach Jeff White got his first victory in a head coaching role and Gallatin was one of four league teams to open with a win. Hamilton swamped Albany, 63-6, in its opener. Defending conference co-champ Princeton served notice with a 20-6 victory over South Harrison, also a defending league champ. Pre-season favorite Maysville blasted King City, 42-7, as well.
“It was nice to get the first one under our belts,” said Coach White. “As everyone knows, we had a lot of players who saw their first varsity action on Friday,” he adds. “They were a little nervous and anxious, but hopefully that’s behind them now. It’s always good when you can start off with a win.”
The Bulldogs needed less than three minutes to reach the scoreboard for the first time in 2008. Hefley connected with Derrick Teel for a 20-yard TD pass and Croy added the extra point. The short series was set up by a long kickoff runback by Colton Selby.
Hefley found the end zone again with 11:02 showing on the second quarter clock. Selby caught the pass and ran 18 yards into the end zone. The point after try failed.
Gallatin players worked well in space all night long, whether from an open field run out of the backfield, pass reception than yielded yards after the catch, or by kickoff and punt returns.
“Offensively, when we executed, we looked pretty good,” Coach White stated.
Coach White hopes Bulldog mistakes were due to nerves and lack of experience.
“Penalties and turnovers, we had far too many of both and at key points in the game,” he said. “If we want to be a contender for the conference championship, we can’t afford to lose yards in penalties and turn the ball over. We will get that fixed this week,” he advised.
With 7:42 to play in the first half, Teel nabbed his second scoring pass from Hefley, this time a 30-yard strike that padded the lead at 19-0.
Tarkio threatened late in the half but an interception by Teel at the goal line allowed the Bulldogs to kill the final 48 seconds off the clock.
Gallatin’s lone defensive lapse came early in the third period when David DeBuhr executed a nice catch and run off a Kyle Livengood pass. DeBuhr outraced pursuit down the Indian sideline and put his team on the board after a 40-yard dash.
“I was pleased, for the most part, with our defense,” said Coach White. “I thought we tackled well and had good pursuit to the football,” he added. “With exception of that one long play, we didn’t have many missed assignments on the defensive side of the ball.”
The final entry on the scoreboard came with 4:39 to play in the third quarter. Croy took a mis-direction handoff and ran 16 yards to the end zone. Matt Atkinson passed to Teel for the two-point conversion.
Gallatin hosts South Harrison this week in a key GRC contest. South Harrison was the only team last season to hold Gallatin to less than two touchdowns in a 19-7 SHHS victory.
“After watching film, and from what I saw during the seven-on-seven league this summer, South Harrison has a lot of talent at the skill positions,” Gallatin’s coach stated. “They match up pretty well with our guys. We will have to execute very well and take care of the football to have a chance. If we can do that, then it will come down to our offensive and defensive line.”