With Gallatin clinging to a six-point lead late in the fourth quarter, the most important play called by the Bulldogs may have been the one they didn’t run.
This website brought to you in part by the following sponsor:
Tarkio scored a pair of touchdowns during a three-minute stretch in the final quarter to chip away at what appeared to be a comfortable Gallatin lead. Quarterback Kyle Livengood ran for a touchdown, then passed for another to Dillon Noland to cut the gap to 28-22.
With the Bulldogs needing a sustained drive, at least to run the clock down from the 4:54 mark, Coach Jeff White asked his team for more discipline at the line of scrimmage than they had exhibited so far.
Facing fourth and four on the GHS side of the field, quarterback Brandon Ness barked out a "hard" count that drew the Indian front line over the ball. The resulting offsides penalty gave Gallatin a much-needed breather, which they quickly capitalized on.
With 2:10 left to play, Ness floated a swing pass to Matt Atkinson, who broke two tackles and headed down the sideline for 35 yards to the Indian 23. Ness dashed for an apparent TD on the next play, but an illegal block foul negated the score.
Not to be deterred, Ness handed off to Colton Selby, and the senior tailback left a pair of would-be tacklers in his wake and outran pursuit to the end zone.
A two-point conversion try failed, but the Bulldogs could finally breathe easy with a 34-22 tally that would hold up, thanks in part to Brandon Hunt’s recovery of a fumbled kickoff.
Penalties and turnovers marked time in the first quarter, with each team having trouble getting plays called within the 25-second clock. Gallatin scored first when Selby ran 16 yards on a sweep. Tyler Brackett kicked the extra point for a 7-0 Bulldog lead.
Tarkio answered with 8:37 left in the second quarter when, on fourth and seven, Livengood connected with Noland for a 38-yard scoring pass. Noland ran for the two-point conversion to give the Indians an 8-7 advantage.
"It was nice to get the first win of the season under our belts, but I was not pleased with the way we began the game," Coach White remarked. "We had plenty of miscues and penalties that helped make for a tough battle in the first half."
Gallatin took a 13-8 lead into intermission after Ness threw to Terrill Wood on a sideline pattern that produced a 73-yard run to paydirt. The Bulldogs came away empty on another drive as time elapsed when the Indians recovered a fumble at their own 10-yard line.
The Bulldogs hit their stride in the third quarter, getting scoring runs from Selby of four and 49 yards, but they served to usher in an Indian rally down the stretch.
Selby finished the night with 260 yards rushing on 16 carries. Ness completed 11 of 22 passes for 192 yards, Matt Atkinson caught six passes for 95 yards and Wood totaled 83 yards on three catches.
Atkinson chalked up seven tackles and three quarterback sacks to help lead Bulldog defensive efforts. Selby notched 13 tackles, while Hunt had three tackles to go along with his fumble recovery.
Gallatin travels to South Harrison on Friday to face a Bulldog team that shocked state-ranked Princeton with a 26-0 shutout.