Horsemen enjoy homecoming with rout of Victor, 66-6

In a place where the ponies once ran wild, the Plains High Horsemen rounded up and corralled outmanned and outgunned Victor on their way to a 66-6 Montana 8-man football game Friday night at Plains.

Paced by a versatile running game, a deadly passing attack and a hard-hitting defense, Plains evened their season record at 3-3 while dropping Victor to 0-7 on the year.

Before a big homecoming crowd, the Horsemen lit up the scoreboard on the game’s first play from scrimmage as junior running back Gavin Regaldo blew through the Pirate defense on his way to a 42-yard TD run.

Following a 3-and-out series by Victor, Plains moved quickly downfield and appeared to have a second quick touchdown on another run by Regaldo, but that score was nullified by penalty.

However, the Horsemen regrouped and upped their lead to 14-0 on a 30-yard TD romp by senior quarterback Treydon Brouillette with 7:35 left in the opening quarter.

The stingy Horsemen defense stopped Victor again and the Pirates were forced to punt. Less than two minutes later Brouillette found junior wideout Kade Pardee open in the end zone, good for a 20-yard touchdown and the rout was on.

Following another Pirate punt, Pardee broke free for what appeared to be another Horsemen score, only to have his 42-yard return called back by another penalty. Following a completion to Regaldo, senior running back Esvin Reyes broke free for a long run from scrimmage, followed by a nine yard burst. Reyes’ runs set up a 13-yard scoring toss from Brouillette to Pardee.

Plains once again thwarted the Victor offense, forcing another punt. The hard-hitting Horsemen defense then stopped the Pirates on a failed fourth down try. Victor’s defense held on the next series, but so did Plains after that, forcing a Pirate punt as time ran out in the first quarter. But that punt was returned 36 yards for a TD by Pardee, boosting the Horsemen lead to 36-0 as the first quarter clock went to zeros.

The second quarter went much the way the first one did with Plains sacking the Pirate QB on fourth down, giving them the ball deep in Victor territory.

Reyes, who was also a standout on defense throughout the night, took a handoff at the 13-yard line and unleashed a brutal stiffarm to a Victor defender, allowing Reyes to sweep into the end zone and up the Horsemen advantage to 44-0 at the 8-minute mark.

Reyes continued his pillaging of the Pirates a series later when he scooped up a fumble and raced 33 yards for another six with 6:28 to play in quarter number two and a 52-0 Plains lead.

With approximately two minutes left before halftime, Victor finally got on the scoreboard after a long pass and a 5-yard TD run by sophomore Canyon Parks. With many second teamers entering the game, Plains would add one more touchdown as time expired in the opening half, this one a 36-yard waltz to paydirt by senior running back Nathan McNully.

The second half, with the clock running mostly non-stop due to the rule which keeps the seconds ticking if one team has a 35-point or more lead, was calmer and quicker.

Plains freshmen running back Gary Bradley darted through the exhausted Pirate defense and ran it in from 23 yards out for the game’s final score, and tough defense would completely shut down any hopes Victor had.

Plains will take its show on the road next week for a 7 p.m. Friday encounter with the unbeaten Clark Fork Mountain Cats who upped their season mark to 7-0 following a wild 80-44 shootout win over Seeley-Swan.

After the game, Plains head coach Eddie Fultz said he was pleased with his team’s performance on both sides of the ball, but was at a loss of words to describe the blowout win. “I’m not sure what you can really say about a game like that,” Fultz said.

The scoreboard said it for him.