The Copperheads and the Rams set rivalries aside as they kneel in a circle at midfield during their Friday, Sept. 11 game in Missoula as they offer a moment of silence for the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Photo courtesy of Anaconda Junior/Senior High School.
By James S. Rosien
Anaconda Weekly Review publisher
Copperhead Road isn’t just a song, it’s a way of life for the gridiron gang known as Copperhead Football. Last year the ‘Heads went undefeated on the road in the regular season, and this year’s iteration of the Road Warriors is back after handing Loyola a 32-point loss in Missoula on Friday, their 38-6 shellacking serving as an encore to their first-ever win over the Rams at last year’s Homecoming game.
And this time those Road Warriors took to the air, with quarterback Ryder Anderson achieving a feat not seen by the ‘Heads since Dylan Smith in 2018 and Braxton Hill two years prior – namely tossing five touchdown passes, which Anaconda sports historian Jeff Frank said he believes has tied the school record for a single game. And three of those five TDs went to Owen Pesanti, two of them for 50-plus yards apiece, as the senior wide receiver completed the hat trick, which Frank said may also have tied a school record.
The two remaining receiving TDs went to Carson Lacey and Gillie Everett, while the final score – which was actually the game’s first points – was a rushing touchdown by Anderson. His 3-yard carry across the goal line came with 3:04 left in the first quarter, giving Anaconda a 6-0 lead (the extra point was missed), but wait, there would be more.
On their next possession, the ‘Heads quickly went the distance as Pesanti caught a 51-yard bomb from Anderson for the score 10 seconds into the second quarter, and Anderson’s rushing attempt for the 2-point conversion was good as the ‘Heads went up 14-0 with plenty of time life in the first half to add to it. And that they did, as Pesanti caught another bomb, this one going 50 yards for the touchdown with 2:03 left in the half. The PAT was no good, but even so the scoreboard now read 20-0.
Anderson had at least one more bomb left in his arsenal, this one a 34-yard pass to Lacey for the score in the third quarter with Anaconda completely in charge, up 26-0 in the third with plenty more where that came from. After all, Pesanti still had to haul in his third and final touchdown grab as he completed his hat trick, doing so with 9:42 to go in the game as AHS now led 32-0 and the running clock loomed.
Loyola finally broke the shutout with their lone score coming at 7:03 left in the fourth quarter via a 13-yard touchdown pass. But Anaconda quickly negated that as Anderson found Everett for a 14-yard TD toss as the scoreboard now stood at 38-6 in the Copperheads’ favor with 4:57 still to play. That was enough though, as the clock soon ticked down to quadruple-zeroes and Anaconda left Missoula with their second win in a row over the Rams.
The Copperheads handed Loyola their third loss on the season as well, placing them at bottom of the conference in a tie with Powell County (0-3, 0-1), while the win landed Anaconda (1-2, 1-0) at the top of Western B in a tie with Lincoln County (2-1, 1-0). Florence-Carlton (2-1) and Thompson Falls (3-0) have yet to play a conference game, though that will change Friday night as the Blue Hawks are coming to town for the Copperheads’ Homecoming football game.
Kickoff is at 6 p.m. Friday, Sept. 18 at Mitchell Stadium, with the Homecoming court introduced at halftime.
The Anaconda Junior High School football team also earned themselves a victory over their Loyola counterparts earlier in the day on Friday in Missoula, winning 30-22. They’ll be on the road again this week as well, traveling to Dillon Middle School on Thursday, Sept. 17 with their kickoff at 4 p.m., but they’ll be back at home on Tuesday, Sept. 22 to take on Butte East Middle School with seventh grade to play at 4 p.m. and eighth grade at 5 p.m.
Anaconda 38, Loyola-Sacred Heart 6
AHS 6 14 6 12 38
LSH 0 0 0 6 6
Passing: Ryder Anderson 19/29, 329 yards, 5 TDs, 1 INT, 129.2 QB Rating.
Rushing: Rory Cromwell 4 carries for 27 yards; Soren Keeland 7 carries for 21 yards; Ryder Anderson 6 carries for 14 yards and a TD; Gillie Everett 1 carry for 9 yards.
Receiving: Owen Pesanti 6 catches for 176 yards and 3 TDs; Carson Lacey 8 catches for 86 yards and a TD; Gillie Everett 3 catches for 26 yards and a TD; Bodhi Keeland 1 catch for 26 yards; Soren Keeland 1 catch for 15 yards.
Returning: Ryder Anderson 5 punt returns for 118 yards, 1 interception return for 33 yards; Owen Pesanti 1 kick return for 23 yards; Gillie Everett 1 kick return for 0 yards.
Scoring: Owen Pesanti 18 (3 TD Rec); Ryder Anderson 8 (1 TD Rush, 1 2-point conversion rush); Gillie Everett 6 (1 TD Rec); Carson Lacey 6 (1 TD Rec).
Defense: Soren Keeland 13 tackles (9 solo), 1 sack/TFL; Carson Lacey 11 tackles (6 solo), 3 passes defended; Owen Pesanti 10 tackles (8 solo), 1 TFL; Bodhi Keeland 6 tackles (3 solo), 1 sack/TFL; Gus Johnson 6 tackles (3 solo); Ryder Anderson 5 tackles (3 solo), 1 INT, 2 passes defended; Rory Cromwell 4 tackles (3 solo); Reid Maes 3 tackles (3 solo), 1 sack/TFL; Rett Nicholes 3 tackles (2 solo), 1 sack/TFL; Owen Arthur 3 tackles (1 solo); Gillie Everett 3 tackles (1 solo); Kaleb Morley 2 tackles (1 solo); Hunter Novak 1 tackle, 1 pass defended; Roman Johns 1 tackle (1 solo); Crosby Everett 1 tackle (1 solo); Matthew Waite 1 tackle (1 solo); Kaydon Strutzel 1 tackle.
Stats per MaxPreps.
