Football: Jack attack pushes Ronan to win

Humphreys’ 95-yard touchdown run sparks 34-12 win over Lake

County rival

MISSION - It might be a good thing for them as they enter the playoffs, but the Ronan Chiefs received a stiff test on Friday, Oct. 21 when they escaped the Mission Bulldogs 34-12 in St. Ignatius.

"We came out and competed," Mission head coach Rich Ferris said. "We made some plays against a really good football team."

Despite the final score, Mission had the ball twice early in the fourth quarter with a chance to tie.

Down 20-12, the Ronan defense made a pair of big stops before scoring twice late to seal the victory.

"It said a lot about out conference and how deep it was," Ronan head coach Jim Benn said. "A lot of other B conferences don't have the depth that ours did."

The Chiefs got off to a fast start, going 80 yards in just three plays on their first drive, capped off by a 20-yard touchdown run from Jack "The Ripper" Humphreys, for a 7-0 lead.

Mission's ground game struggled, but ate up quite a bit of clock to keep the Chief offense off the field. The Bulldog defense also made several stops to keep the game close during a low-scoring first half.

"They try to keep the ball away from you," Benn said. "They had a great plan and deserve a lot of credit."

Humphreys would find the end zone again in the second quarter, this time from 8 yards out, to boost the lead to 14-0 at the half.

The Bulldogs came out in the third quarter and immediately made a game of it. Following a long kickoff return by Raymond Matt, Dylan Evans found paydir t on a 6-yard touchdown run to cut the lead to 14-6.

"We talked about some things we had to adjust to," Ferris said.

The momentum swing continued for the Bulldogs when Ronan's kick returner slipped on the wet field and was marked down at the 5-yard line. That didn't stop Humphreys, however, as he slipped through the Mission defense and seized the momentum back 95 yards later for a 20-6 edge. Humphreys finished with 150 yards on only six carries.

"Anytime you have a kid that has a 95- yard touchdown run, that stands out," Benn said. "That's probably the best run that we've seen. The thing about it too was Jack was the sixth or seventh guy in the end zone. That's saying something about the blocking."

The Bulldogs weren't done yet though. Dakota Gun Hammer finished Mission's ensuing drive with a 5-yard score to get to within eight points at 20-12.

The teams remained there for the rest of the third and half of the fourth quarter. After trading stops on defense, Mission had a fourth down at midfield with six minutes left, but fumbled the snap, turning the ball back over to the Chiefs.

It also turned the game over, as Ronan punched the ball in on a Robbie Gauthier 1-yard run to give the Chiefs some breathing room at 27-12. Gauthier ran for 79 yards on just seven carries as part of a Ronan ground attack that racked up 425 yards in the game.

With Mission forced to throw the ball, Ronan forced a fumble on a sack and later scored on an 11-yard run by Jake Skelton to ice the game.

Skelton finished with 25 yards on 13 carries, while Marcus "The Jet" Hungerford ran nine times for 118 yards in the victory. The loss ended Mission's season, but they didn't go down without a fight, playing one of the state's top teams down to the wire.

"Fabian Camacho did a good job on the defensive line, got some penetration," Ferris said. "Nikko Alexander played consistently all season and Barrett Sargent had a really good game."

Ronan's season continues, as they'll travel to Big Timber for their first-round Class B matchup on Saturday with Sweet Grass County High School.

RONAN 34 MISSION 12

Ronan - 7 - 7 - 6 - 14 - 34

Mission - 0 - 0 - 12 - 0 - 12

SCORING SUMMARY

Ronan - Jack Humphreys 20-yard run (kick)

Ronan - Humphreys 8-yard run (kick)

Mission - Dylan Evans 6-yard run (kick failed)

Ronan - Humphreys 95-yard run (kick failed)

Mission - Dakota Gun Hammer 5-yard run (run failed)

Ronan - Robbie Gauthier 1-yard run (kick)

Ronan - Jake Skelton 11-yard run (kick)