The Malad Dragons finished their regular season with likely their toughest opponent of the year- the West Side Pirates.  Friday, October 24, the lights shone on the MHS gridiron one last time for the 2025.  The team hoped for one last win to end the season, but taking on the conference leader as well as the #2 team in the state proved to be a daunting challenge.

The Dragons kicked off to open the game, the Pirates making strong strides in their first drive of the game.  The MHS defense worked to hold back any progress, but was unable to shut down the drive before they found the back of the endzone.  

Malad found even less success as their offense took the field.  The Pirate defense was quick to react, swarming the ball and frustrating any possibility of progress down the field.  Forced to punt after three unsuccessful downs, the Dragons turned possession of the ball over to the Pirates.  The second West Side drive of the night resulted in a second touchdown, bringing the score to 0-14 before the end of the first quarter.

The second quarter continued on where the first had ended- the Pirates’ tough offense and defense both dominating the field.  It wasn’t long before West side found themselves marching down the field across the goal line.  Picking off a Malad pass, they turned their fourth drive into another scoring opportunity.  

Still undeterred, the MHS offense stepped out to the field to see what progress they could make.  Seeming limited in their offensive plays that would result in gains, the team continued their attempts to run the ball down the field.  Suddenly their running game began to gain traction.  

Holden Tubbs started the drive off with a short gain, running outside to the left.  Drake Morrison took the ball up the middle, busting through tackles to gain more than enough for a Dragon first down.  The next play didn’t result in any progress but the following earned another first down.  Stepping back to pass, quarterback Easton Green looked down the field for open options and found none.  With two Pirate defenders rushing him, he dropped farther back and then suddenly sprinted past them, finding an open route to run down the sideline to gain the needed 10 yards.

Now on the 33 yard line, Green stepped back to pass again, heaving the ball towards the endzone.  Chase Martin, who had come down the right sideline and began cutting to the middle, connected with the pass, coming down in the endzone.  Unfortunately, a holding call on the Dragons negated the touchdown and they were forced to replay the down.  A second, third and even fourth attempt left Malad in the same position and they were forced to end the drive with a punt.

The MHS defense did well to slow the Pirate offense as they drove the ball down the field, but in the end were unable to thwart another West Side score.  The following Dragon drive had promise as they made significant gains down the field, largely in thanks to Morrison and his steely resolve to keep moving.  But just as Malad began to close in on the red zone, West Side snagged a missed pass.  The Dragon defense held the Pirates on after the turnover, forcing them to turnover the ball after four unsuccessful downs.

Taking possession back, the MHS team found minimal gains.  West Side’s defense put up a wall at the line of scrimmage, making it nearly impossible to drive the ball up the middle, their read of the play was quick, making gains around the outside insignificant, and their pass coverage was tight, making any pass a risk for a pickoff.

Now into the fourth quarter, the Pirates strung together one final scoring drive, bringing the score to 0-40.  Starting with the ball on the 30 yard line, Morrison took the handoff, bursting through the middle, not stopping until being taken down at the MHS 48.  West Side prevented any progress on the next three down, Malad now on 4th down and 8 yards to go.  

After the snap, Green pitched the ball to Tubbs on his left, who immediately took off.  Crucial blocks by Justin Toone and Rydon Montgomery opened a lane for Tubbs to run through.  Gaining the first down, it looked like Tubbs was about to be tackled when he stiff-armed the oncoming tackler, pushing him to the ground.  With a wide open field ahead of him, the senior running back punched in the touchdown for Malad.  Parker Price made the catch on the outside for the two point conversion, ending the game 8-40.

The leading rusher for the game was Drake Morrison with 121 yards, followed by Holdan Tubbs with 78 rushing yards and 1 touchdown.  Morrison and Tubbs led in tackles with 8 each.  

“West Side is one of the top programs, not only in our district but the state,” shared Head Coach Brady Price after the game.  He continued, “It was hard to get any type of rhythm against them, and we really struggled passing. That really made us one dimensional and made it a difficult night.” 

Thinking back over the season, Coach Price praised his team for the good they accomplished, commenting, “Overall when I look at the regular season I am proud of how the boys have played. We had some missed opportunities but overall I thought we were very competitive in our games and have built the team in a way to compete in the next phase of State.” 

Despite the season’s losses, the Dragons were awarded a state playoff game, largely due to their strength of schedule as they went up against some of the toughest teams in the state including Ririe, West Side, Aberdeen and Declo.  The MHS team will play on Friday, October 31 in Pocatello against West Jefferson. 

Excited with the prospects, Coach Price shared, “With the playoffs starting Friday we are looking forward to our game against West Jefferson. They are a solid team and also play in a very tough district. They have really capitalized on mistakes when opposing teams make them, so I think the biggest key will be for us to do our best to eliminate those mistakes. If we can do that we should have a good game going into the 4th quarter. The team is also excited about the chance to play in the ICCU Dome, Mini Dome, for the 1st time in 10 years.”