Arlee stays unbeaten; Ronan outlasts Mission
Arlee 48,
Victor 12
At Victor, the visiting Warriors kept their unbeaten streak alive with a balanced offensive attack that put points on the board every quarter. Patrick BigSam caught a trio of touchdown passes as well as ran for another. QB Riley Rogers threw for just under 300 yds for the game, while PJ Haynes rushed for just over 200 yds that included a third quarter TD.
Arlee (7-0) gears up to meet Flint Creek this Friday in a battle of the unbeatens at Drummond to determine which team will wear the Western 8-man conference crown.
Arlee 14 14 12 8 - 48
Victor 6 0 6 0 - 12
1Q - Patrick BigSam 21 pass from Riley Rogers (run failed), BigSam 23 pass from Rogers (Rogers run).
2Q - BigSam 14 run (Bradley Brazill pass from Rogers), Tyler Tanner 8 pass from Rogers (run failed).
3Q - PJ Haynes 48 run (run failed), Tanner 1 pass from Rogers (pass failed).
4Q - BigSam 67 pass from Rogers (run failed), safety (Chance Brazill).
Ronan 33,
Mission 27
At St. Ignatius in a cross county 6B showdown, the visiting Chiefs snuck across a pair of Justin Krahn short yardage plunges to take a 2 touchdown lead in the first quarter, only to watch their carefully crafted comfort evaporate when the host Bulldogs countered with a pair of runs of their own in the second period to briefly lap the visitors by a point 14-13.
Ronan answered the call to duty by scrambling their air force squadron as quarterback Krahn hit Cole Snyder and Colton McCrea for a pair of sixes before halftime.
The third period was played fairly even with both teams countering the efforts of the other. St. Ignatius was able to carve into the deficit in the final period, but couldn’t come up with another scoring drive to tie the game to give themselves a chance to retake the lead.
Ronan coach Jim Benn acknowledged that the Chiefs played well as a team, but called attention particularly to a series of defensive stances which were instrumental in shutting down the Bulldog explosive offense when they had to.
Ronan (1-2, 4-4) host the 6B Florence Falcons this Friday, while St. Ignatius (2-2, 4-4) travels to 7B Troy this Friday.
Both games wrap up the regular schedule for the two teams. Ronan must win to keep their wild card chances alive.
Mission is currently situated in second place despite the loss, but could secure the second seed with a little help from conference leader Deer Lodge (3-0) when they visit the two-time defending State B champ Loyola Rams (2-1).
Mission should hold the tie breaker by virtue of their victory over the Rams the week before when both teams tie with identical records.
The top two teams get automatic bids. Then there is a wild card slot that remains open to the team that meets selection committee criteria or whatever rubrics happen to be used to determine who goes on to play another game and who stays home.
Ronan 13 14 6 0 - 33
Mission 0 14 7 6 - 27
R - Justin Krahn 1 run (kick failed)
R - Krahn 1 run (Stefan Haderer kick)
M - Steven Bravo 11 run (Emilio Bravo kick)
M - Raymond Matt 36 run (E.Bravo kick)
R - Cole Snyder 28 pass from Krahn (pass failed)
R - Colton McCrea 63 pass from Krahn (McCrea pass from Krahn)
R - Logan Hakes 20 run (kick failed)
M - Matt 39 run (E.Bravo kick)
M - S.Bravo 12 run (kick failed)
RUSH - Ronan 47-197 (Hakes 16-68, Kasey Mock 13-65, Krahn 10-27, Snyder 3-17, Tyler Houle 2-13, Bryce Cullen 3-7), StIgn 36-251 (S.Bravo 16-97, R.Matt 9-89, Durglo 10-61, Israel Umphrey 1-4). PASS - Ronan 10-165 (Krahn 10-29-165, Snyder 0-1), StIgn 8-56 (Durglo 8-23-56). REC - Ronan 10-165 (McCrea 3-82, Snyder 4-45, Cullen 2-26, Trevor Anderson 1-12), StIgn 8-56 (Jamie Mullins 4-44, Gregory Weatherwax 3-13, S.Bravo 1x-1). KORET - Ronan na, StIgn 4-82 (R.Matt 3-49, Weatherwax 1-33). PNTRET - StIgn 2-44 (R.Matt 1-20, Umphrey 1-24). DEFL - StIgn 3 (Tyler Spidel, Nyqolas Gillingham, Weatherwax). FBLRCV - StIgn (Gillingham). SCK - StIgn (Gillingham). DEFTKL/ASST - Ronan (na), StIgn (Bill von Holtum 4t8a, Spidel 7t3a, R.Matt 7t1a, Robbie Erickson 3t4a, Mullins 3t3a, Tristen Elverud 2t3a, Beedo Matt 2t3a, Umphrey 3t, S.Bravo 2t, Weatherwax 1t2a, N.Durglo 1t). (fr17Oct14fb)
Darby 43,
Charlo 42
At Charlo, the visiting Tigers rallied from a three touchdown deficit in the final quarter to eek by the host Vikings. Darby connected with a game tying touchdown pass the final 45 seconds of the game and then the ensuing extra point thereafter provided the leverage to tilt the game in their favor.
The host Vikings were in the drivers seat in the first half with a two score cushion and added some further breathing room with an insurance run in the third period, but it wasn’t enough to stave off a visit from mayhem brought on the Darby assault the final period.
The Tigers hadn’t attempted a single PAT all night, but called upon the services of Brazilian foreign exchange student Renan Paredes to break the deadlock and his aim proved to be true.
Viking QB Trent Dennison netted over 300 all purpose yards
Charlo (4-3) has a bye this week, but it looks like they’ll hold steady as a 3rd-seed out of the West with the playoffs looming after next week.
Darby 0 22 0 21 - 43
Charlo 14 22 6 0 - 42
1Q - Kyle Couture 1 run (run failed), Jade Smith 28 run (Kobe Cox pass from Trent Dennison).
2Q - Smith 5 run (Jesse Long pass from Dennison), Long 24 pass from Dennison (Cox pass from Dennison), Smith 27 pass from Dennison (run failed).
3Q - Smith 13 run (pass failed).
RUSH (42-336) -Trent Dennison 15-143, Jade Smith 17-127, Kyle Couture 7-37, Jesse Long 2-17, Zane Hafliger 1-2. PASS - Dennison 12-17-160, Long 0-1. REC (12-160) - Smith 3-45, Couture 2-35, Long 2-26. PNTRET - Long 2-11. INT - Bridger Smith. DEFTKL/ASST (21t49a) - B.Smith 6t6a, J.Smith 5t8a, Couture 3t5a, Long 1t7a, Dennison 1t5a, Maverick Nelson 1t4a, Kane Shenyer 1t2a, Toby Odom 4a (fr17Oct14fb).
Havre 39, Polson 21
At Havre, the visiting Pirates held a tight rein on the host team through a scoreless first period, but then the Blue Ponies broke out of the corral for 20 points in the second quarter and never looked back. Polson would find the end zone thrice to counter the first half Havre score, but the Blue Ponies succeeded in putting enough points on the board during the second half to hold Polson at bay.
LB Joe Gallatin partially blocked PAT attempt after an early Havre touchdown. Pirate quarterback Wyatt Ducharme connected with a pair of TD passes, one to Jacob Harrod in the second quarter and the other found Matt Rensvold in the third quarter. Polson had another scoring opportunity when Ducharme hit an open receiver right in the numbers deep in the red zone, but that payoff prospect plummeted after the pigskin proved to be plagued by a penchant for the persnickety.
There were other chances in the second half to put some points on the board, but neither of those bore any fruit either. The final Pirate drive culminated with a run from just outside the red zone by Bridger Rowley.
Entering their final regular schedule contest of the season, the Pirates have a quintet of ground pounders who have exceeded triple figures in yardage for the season. Rowley has run for over 400 yds, Joe Gallatin has rushed for over 300 yds, Jacob Clairmont and Danny DiGiallonardo have rushed for over 200 yds and Rensvold has gained just over 100 yds for the season. The Polson receiving corps also features a trio of pigskin pluckers who have exceeded three figures in yardage gained on the season. Both Harrod as well as Rensvold have caught just over two dozen passes between them with each going just over 200 yds for the season. The third with just over 100 yds for the seasons is Tim Russell.
Polson (1-2, 3-5) hosts the Columbia Falls Wildcats this Friday on Senior Night. The Pirates remain in contention for a postseason berth, but the flickering flame will need to be stoked with some fuel to keep the fire alive. Polson not only finds itself in a must win situation against the visiting Cats, they must also beat them by a significant margin, namely three touchdowns with PATs and an extra FG thrown in for good measure. If Polson prevails, the outcome would result in a three-way tie for second place with identical 2-2 conference records, leading to utilization of other criteria to determine postseason seeding, which is where scores in head-to-head competition would factor into the equation.
Polson 0 7 7 7 - 21
Havre 0 20 12 7 - 39
1Q - drive deep into Havre territory stalls after pair of sacks.
2Q - Joe Gallatin partially blocks Havre PAT, Havre returns ball inside 10 yd ln after intercepting Polson, Jacob Harrod 44 pass from Wyatt Ducharme (Harrod kick), interception prospect dropped by Polson secondary.
3Q - Matt Rensvold 45 pass from Ducharme (Harrod kick), Polson receiver unable to reel in potential TD pass from Ducharme inside 10 yd ln, another drop of potential interception of Havre.
4Q - Bridger Rowley 24 run (Harrod kick)
RUSH (30-155) - Rowley 11-47, Danny DiGiallonardo 4-44, Joe Gallatin 6-30, Jacob Clairmont 7-27, Rensvold 2-7. PASS - Wyatt Ducharme 5-15-144. REC (5-144) - Harrod 4-99, Rensvold 1-45. PNTRET - DiGiallonardo 2-8. KORET - DiGiallonardo 4-55. PNT - Harrod 5-201. FMBRCV - Clairmont. FMBCAUSE - Clairmont, Corrigan. SCK - Corrigan 2, Gallatin. HARASS - Gallatin, Jonah Burke. TIP - Harrod, Rensvold, Cadis Chowning, Walter Wood. DEF TKL/ASST - Rensvold 13t5a, Gallatin 8t3a, Wood 9t, Tim Russell 6t1a, Chowning 5t2a, Mike Corrigan 5t1a, Nick Marquardt 4t2a, Andrew Curley 4t, Harrod 4t, Kaleb Auld 3t2a, Burke 3t1a, Clairmont 3t1a, Wit Sampson 2t, Nathan Young 1t1a, Justin Young 1t, Kyle Druyvestein 1t, DiGiallonardo 1t, Cameron Brown 1t, Jacob Wall-Wilbert 1a, Trevor Corley 1a, Russell Matt 1a.(fr17Oct14fb)