Chiefs end season in Dillon

DILLON — When your offense revolves around a running game that never really gets going, losing is a grim reality.

That central tenet to the Ronan offense was nowhere to be found during the Chiefs 38-0 first-round playoff loss against a determined Dillon team.

“We just couldn’t maintain blocks and really break anything free,” head coach Jim Benn said.

The Chiefs (2-2, 5-5 overall) held the Beavers scoreless in the first and fourth quarters, but the middle two periods were when Dillon inflicted some serious damage. Seventeen points in the second quarter and 21 more in the third added up to the most points allowed by the Chiefs since the second game of the season, and the first time they had been shut out all season. Going back to the last regular season game against Polson, Ronan hasn’t scored a point in seven quarters of play.

“We just made more mistakes,” Benn said. “We played some of our best defensive football of the year, but it’s very rare to keep a team like Dillon in check.”

The normally potent Chief offense seemed off-kilter all afternoon, with only 63 rushing yards on 40 carries, and 63 yards through the air. Senior Xavier Morigeau, who lead the Northwestern A Conference with close to 1,400 yards rushing during the regular season, was held to 43 yards rushing on 18 carries. The team averaged nearly 330 yards rushing and 26 points per game during the regular season, a stark contrast to the Chiefs performance in their first playoff appearance in 16 seasons.

“They basically ran a seven man front against us which  rolled their corners up and basically dared us to pass the ball, and we didn’t pass the ball effectively,” Benn said. “They basically just said, if you’re going to beat us, you’re going to have to with the pass.”

Benn made sure he gave his seniors their due, knowing he is losing 12 key players that had a huge impact on the 2009 campaign.

“They did a great job,” he said of his senior class. “They raised the bar, they raised the expectations, they bought into the program, and took us to the playoffs for the first time in 16 years. I just can’t say enough nice things about them. They’re not the biggest kids, they’re not the biggest senior class in the state of Montana, but I would say they are probably the most improved program in any classification.”

As disappointing as the final game may have been for Ronan, the season certainly had its bright spots. A .500 record, a still-sparkling new turf field and 25 returning players await a team that has witnessed its own resurgence, and knows the things it can accomplish.

“We’ll try to reshuffle the deck and we’ve got a good group of kids that are sophomores and juniors now,” Benn said. “We’re pretty solid across the front, I think we have a good line coming back, and we’ve got real good skill kids coming back. Now we need to go and win a playoff game, that’s the next step in the right direction. We need to finish in the top two in the conference. We just need to keep taking steps forward, keep developing our talent.”