George Ferguson
Havre Daily News Sports
gferguson@havredailynews.com
Chinook head football coach Matt Molyneaux said before Friday night's important Northern C clash with the Chester/J-I Hawks in Chester that this game would be a measuring stick for where his team fits into the divisional playoff hunt.
Friday night Molyneaux found out that his team measures up very nicely, thank you very much, as the Beeters clobbered the Hawks 44-12. It was the Beeters' first road game and first test against a traditional Class C powerhouse. The win pushed their record to 3-0.
"The kids played very well," Molyneaux said. "There is no doubt about that.
"I feel like now we really are right in the thick of things as far as our conference is concerned," he added. "There are still a lot of football games left this season, but right now I really like our chances this season."
The Beeters scored on their first drive of the game when quarterback Adam Hayes busted off a 46-yard touchdown run to put Chinook ahead 6-0.
The Hawks answered immediately, as quarterback Derek Fraser scored from 3-yards out to tie the score at six apiece. That is when Molyneaux made an offensive adjustment that the Hawks never rebounded from.
"We decided to go to the air a little more often after Chester scored," he said. "Adam Hayes made some great throws and our receivers did a great job catching the ball. It was an adjustment that really worked to our advantage."
Indeed, the Beeters scored 38 unanswered points as the stunned Hawks defense did not have an answer the rest of the night.
Hayes threw TD passes of 23, 18 and 22 yards while adding a 19-yard scoring run late in the games to cap off a huge night for the senior. Two of Hayes' TD passes went to wide receiver Tad Darrah, and running back Casey Barber also hauled in a 23-yard pass for a score. Chad Beck also scored twice for the Beeters on runs of 10 and 13 yards.
"This was a very satisfying win for us," Molyneaux said. "We played really well on both sides of the ball, and it is always nice to go on the road and play that well."
Chinook (3-0) will be back in action on Friday night when it visits another Northern C powerhouse in Sunburst. Chester/J-I (1-2) will travel to Rocky Boy on Saturday afternoon.
Chi - Adam Hayes 46 run (pass failed)
C/J-I - Derek Fraser 3 run (run failed)
Chi - Chad Beck 10 run (run failed)
Chi - Casey Barber 23 pass from Hayes (pass failed)
Chi - Tad Darrah 18 pass from Hayes (run failed)
Chi - Beck 13 run (Barber from Hayes)
Chi - Darrah 22 pass from Hayes (run failed)
Chi - Hayes 19 run (run failed)
C/J-I - Tyler Han 38 pass from Fraser (run failed)
Big Sandy 70, Heart Butte 0
In Big Sandy, the Big Sandy Pioneers were hard at work proving that they might be the team to beat in the Northern C race this season. For the third week in a row, the Pioneers defense pitched a shutout as they blanked Heart Butte 70-0 on Friday.
The Pioneers got their offense going early and often, scoring 42 points in the first quarter and rolling to a 56-0 halftime lead.
Running back Lawrence Jappe had a big night for the Pioneers, scoring on runs of 19 and 11 yards. He also scored on a 20-yard punt return. Kyle Danreuther also hit paydirt multiple times. He scored on a 1-yard run and also returned an interception 25 yards for another TD.
Big Sandy is now a perfect 3-0 on the season as it prepares to take on Hays-Lodge Pole at home on Friday night.
Heart-Butte 0 0 0 0 - 0
Big Sandy 42 14 8 6 - 0
BS - Justin Willis 24 run (Kyle Danreuther run)
BS - Ryan Pokorny 15 pass from Justin Willis (kick failed)
BS - Lawrence Jappe 19 run (kick failed)
BS - Jappe 20 punt return (Danreuther kick)
BS - Danreuther 1 run (Danreuther kick)
BS - Jappe 11 run (Danreuther run)
BS - Danreuther 25 interception return (kick failed)
BS - Nick Briese 4 run (Jappe run)
BS - Ryne LaBuda 6 run (LaBuda run)
BS - Castin Heppner 6 pass from Darren Ray (kick failed)
Sunburst 61, Rocky Boy 0
On Friday night, the Rocky Boy Stars' difficult start to the 2005 season continued as they were hammered by the Sunburst Refiners 61-0. It was the second straight week that the Stars were shut out.
Sunburst quarterback Mitch Diegel threw three touchdown passes in the first 24 minutes of the game as the Refiners all but put the Stars away by halftime, leading 39-0.
The Stars (1-2) will now host Chester-J-I on Saturday afternoon.
Rocky Boy 0 0 0 0 - 0
Sunburst 32 7 14 8 - 61
SB - Matt Tomscheck 2 run (Craig Cook from Mitch Diegel)
SB - Reece Clark 3 run (Diegel run)
SB - Tomscheck 43 pass from Diegel (John Hovland pass from Diegel)
SB - Cook 5 pass from Diegel (pass failed)
SB - Safety
SB - Tim Williams 17 pass from Diegel (Cook kick)
SB - Safety
SB - Dae Han Choi 15 run (pass failed)
SB - Dakoda Simmes 6 run (run failed)
SB - Chris Suta 6 run (Hovland run)
North Star 47, Hays-Lodge Pole 0
On Saturday, the North Star Knights managed to rebound from a difficult loss to Power-Dutton-Brady by thrashing the Hays-Lodge Pole Thunderbirds 47-0 in Hays.
The Knights got a huge effort from running back Mudd Hackford to pace them in the win.
Hackford scored four touchdowns on the day and had over 200 yards rushing. The Knights also got three touchdowns from Cody Donoven as well as one by quarterback Cody Jurenka.
North Star (2-1) will now prepare to travel to Northern C powerhouse Belt on Saturday afternoon. The Thunderbirds (0-3) will visit Big Sandy on Friday night.
