Rustlers try to bounce back from tough loss

It’s water under the bridge.

That’s how C.M. Russell High head football coach Gary Lowry describes his team’s 28-7 loss to Flathead last Friday.

The Rustlers (0-1) have since moved on from their surprising opening-week defeat, and the focus now shifts squarely to the Billings West Golden Bears for a 7 p.m. kickoff Friday at Daylis Stadium in Billings.

“I think we’ve learned from it,” Lowry said of a game in which quarterback Karl Tucker II was sacked seven times while the offense struggled to just 235 total yards. “And after that point, then you forget about it, and then you get focused back on who you are playing this week. Yeah, you have to learn from a game like that because there are a lot of good things you can watch and see. The kids can see their mistakes and see the good things that happened.”

The Rustlers, which won on the road in Billings last season 42-31, were more disappointed than stunned after the loss, Lowry said. C.M. Russell didn’t lose a single game at home a season ago. Andrew Grinde ran the ball 12 times for 87 yards. It was just the third time in the last 14 games that the Yale commit was held under 100 yards.

“They knew Andrew was going to touch the ball,” Lowry said. “ … I still don’t think we can just give the ball to Andrew. We still have to be versatile and spread the ball out a little bit.”

Tucker II, the Montana State commit who only put the ball in the air four times as a junior, completed on half of his throws (7-for-14) and threw it to the opposition three separate times. Backup quarterback Lane Jensen, a junior, could see some time under center Friday night.

“During fall camp, we had worked Lane in there and put Karl back at receiver,” Lowry said. “We’ve done that more this week. We have to have some options there. I know we are going to see more of that similar type defense. We did some formation adjustments to help us, help the kids, when they are blitzing off edges.”

Still, Lowry said, nobody is giving up on Tucker II.

“I hope everybody improves,” Lowry said, “not just Karl. We have to get better.”

The play of Noah Danielson was a bright spot. The offensive lineman blocked a field goal and played both ways for the Rustlers.

“He played very well,” Lowry said. “Very well. He’s a good player. He played well on offense and sure made a difference on defense. He’ll help those guys out to just spell them every once in a while.”

The Bears, coming off a 30-8 defeat to Helena Capital, are led by first-year head coach Rob Stanton, who took over for the retired Paul Klaboe. Quarterback Bryson Deming struggled in his debut Friday, completing on 13 of his 30 passes, but West rolls out several impressive athletes that you have to be aware of, the head coach said.

“They are a lot like we are: real experienced,” Lowry said. “They only have a couple starters back from last year. They are inexperienced. It’ll be a battle of who’s improving, who wants to get better every week. West has a strong tradition in football. They have a lot of pride. It’s their first home game, they are going to want to get after it. It’ll be a challenge for us.”

NOTES: Senior defensive end Tyler Burcham, who suffered a dislocated shoulder at the end of camp and missed the opener, will dress Friday … Junior defensive back Xavier Pace, ineligible for the first game because of an insufficient number of practices, will also return.

CMR (0-1)

Offense

QB…(6) Karl Tucker II, 6-0, 203, Sr.

RB…(34) Andrew Grinde, 5-11, 195, Sr.

TE…(88) Walker McAllister, 6-1, 192, Sr.

OT…(70) Noah Danielson, 6-2, 240, Sr.

OT…(66) Brayden Ginnaty, 6-0, 242, Jr.

OG…(68) Mason Sprague, 5-11, 208, Sr.

OG…(62) Preston Rardon, 5-9, 185, Sr.

C…(79) Adam Agamenoni, 6-0, 253, Jr.

WR…(33) Trevor Pepin, 6-0, 175, Sr.

WR…(9) Patrick McAllister, 6-1, 175, Sr.

WR…(11) Chris Moore, 6-1, 153, Sr.

Defense

NG…(76) Austin Kirchner, 6-0, 240, Jr.

DE…(73) Chase Bruggeman, 6-0, 201, Sr.

DE…(98) Dyllon Scott, 6-2, 200, Sr.

LB…(37) Sean Morris, 5-11, 197, Sr.

LB…(35) Alex Cunningham, 5-11, 194, Jr.

LB…(45) Max Sechena, 5-10, 175, Jr.

LB…(52) Caleb Kindler, 5-10, 196, Sr.

S…(21) Bridger Gerard, 5-10, 167, Sr.

S…(10) Connor McAllister, 5-9, 166, Sr.

CB…(25) Anthony Nosari, 5-8, 151, Sr.

CB…(2) Dylan Sandefur, 5-9, 165, Sr.