BILLINGS -- Billings West might have started slow, but once the Golden Bears got rolling, there was no slowing them down Friday night at Daylis Stadium.
After a scoreless first quarter, West scored 41 the rest of the game to pull away for a 41-14 Eastern AA football win over rival Billings Senior. The victory improved West to 4-0 and dropped Senior to 3-1.
Spencer Berger broke the scoreless tie with a 26-yard field goal early in the second quarter, and quarterback Isaiah Claunch took over from there, coming up clutch on two fourth-down conversions. First, facing a fourth-and-11, Claunch found Taco Dowler for a 34-yard touchdown pass that gave West a 10-0 lead. Claunch added a 3-yard scoring run on a fourth-and-goal play later in the period to help the Bears to a 17-0 halftime advantage.
After Berger stretched the lead to 20-0 with a 42-yard field goal midway through the third quarter, Senior's offense woke up to kick-start a furious close to the third quarter. Junior Bergen found Jacksen Burckley for a 15-yard TD to get it back to a two-possession game with 2:29 left in the third, but West quickly responded, with Jaymn Medlock running in from 13 yards out less than a minute later. Still in the third quarter, Bergen this time ran in a short touchdown that made the score 27-14 in favor of West.
Senior wouldn't muster anymore points, though, as West controlled the fourth. Medlock and Michael DeLeon each scored on short rushing touchdowns to secure the 41-14 win.
Class AA football scores
(Scroll through the above videos for game highlights or click the links below)
Billings Skyview 47, Bozeman Gallatin 14 (Thursday)
Kalispell Glacier 54, Missoula Hellgate 38 (Thursday)
Belgrade at Great Falls High (Canceled)
Billings West 41, Billings Senior 14
Bozeman High 63, Great Falls CMR 19
Butte 20, Helena Capital 13
Helena High 40, Kalispell Flathead 0
Missoula Sentinel 42, Missoula Big Sky 7
