Billings Xtreme-13, Great Falls Gladiators-27
Saturday, May 7, 2016
Great Falls, Montana- Memorial Stadium

Courtesy of the Great Falls Tribune contributing staff writer.

Among many other talents, Great Falls Gladiator quarterback Shane Jurasek has developed an iron constitution.

Playing on what head coach Jason (Doc) Kjono called “a heavily taped ankle” after spraining it in last weekend’s game, Jurasek threw two scoring passes while Richard Downing III rushed for a pair of touchdowns in the Gladiators’ fifth straight Rocky Mountain Football League win, a 27-13 romp over the visiting Billings Xtreme Saturday night at Memorial Stadium.

“He gutted out the whole game,” Kjono said of the Gladiators’ signal caller, after Jurasek finished 9-for-22 with one pick for 139 yards. He hit former Bozeman standout JJ Dorsch with a 17-yard toss, then connected with starting linebacker and offensive tackle Nick Arnold on a one-yard tackle-eligible play.

But rushing would be the Gladiators’ mainstay on this night with a limited quarterback, and they were equal to the task, rushing for 230 yards as a team. Downing led all rushers with 141 yards and two scores on 19 totes, while Antney Rhanes was 11-for-69 on the ground while picking off a pair of passes on defense.

“The whole offense did a wonderful job keeping Jurasek upright and untouched,” Kjono said. “And we changed to a run-oriented scheme that was multi-functionary.”

The defense “controlled” the Billings offense as well. Mike Pease and Pat Montgomery each had eight tackles, while Brian Buckreus had three stops, a QB sack and picked up a fumble and ran it back 50 yards before the Xtreme offense caught up to him and brought him down.
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The Gladiators, now 5-0 on the season, will play Utah’s Uintah Basin Oilers as part of the Stars and Stripes Academy officiating school’s annual games Saturday at noon at Woods Cross High School in Bountiful, Utah, then come back for their final home game of the regular season against the Big Sky Avalanche on Saturday, May 21.