Hi-Line Football Roundup: Knights, Hawks suffer playoff losses

It was a tough ending for the two local prep football teams that made it into the postseason. Both the Chester/J-I Hawks and the North Star Knights lost close, first-round games on the road Saturday.

The Six-Man North Star Knights, who had a very impressive 2013, after a less than memorable 2012, by finishing the season 6-2, and as a No. 3 seed out of the North. The Knights earned a spot in the playoffs for the first time in two years. And Facing the No. 2 Westby-Grenora Thunder (7-1) on Saturday in Grenora, N.D. the Knights were narrowly outdone in an old fashioned shootout.

Saturday's first round meeting between the Knights and Thunder was a back and forth battle, but when the dust settled, it was the Thunder who came away with the 64-56 win.

"We just ran out of time," North Star head coach Steve Simonson said. "That was basically what it was. And we didn't execute as well as we should have at the end when we really needed to. But we played well overall, we only punted the ball once all day, so we were marching up and down the field, but we made some crucial mistakes when we shouldn't have."

And North Star was prepared to put a damper on the Thunder running game, but Westby-Grenora came out firing through the air.

And while it was North Star who came out firing first, they just couldn't hold on. Cooper Olson, a standout quarterback for the Thunder, threw for seven touchdowns against the Knights' defense. The biggest scores of the game came in the fourth quarter as the Thunder outscored the Knights 18-6, overtaking the Knights who led 34-32 at the half and 50-46 after three complete quarters. Olson connected with Dalton Holecek on a two-yard scoring toss and with Thayne Ekness on a one-yard scoring toss in the fourth quarter to help propel the Thunder past the Knights who put up a very good fight.

The Knights came out and took an 13-8 first quarter lead. They went on to add 21 points in the second and 16 more in the third. But finding the end zone just once in the final frame, the Knights couldn't quite come up with the upset win.

Cooper Spicher emerged as one of the top running backs in Six-Man football this season, and managed to cap off a senior season with a career type performance. Spicher helped carry the load by having a hand in all eight of the Knights' touchdowns. In the first quarter, Spicher connected with Jaxon Simonson on a four-yard pass and a 10-yard pass for scores. And in the second quarter, Spicher had rushing scores from 59 and 43 yards out, while also connecting with Quinn Spinler on a 57-yard scoring pass. In the third frame, Spicher added 38 and 21-yard rushing scores, and followed with a final score in the fourth, this time an eight-yard pass to Simonson.

It was a tough loss in North Dakota, but the Knights still exit the season on a high note. They were competitive right down to the wire, but also turned in the best season the program has had in several years.

"We played excellent this season," Simonson said. "I am very proud of the kids, they played way above any expectations. But we get five starters returning and a top freshman next year, so we should be pretty salty again."

Thunder 64, Knights 56

North Star 13 21 16 6 - 56

Westby-Grenora 8 24 14 18 - 64

North Star - Jaxon Simonson 4 pass from Cooper Spicher (pass failed); Jaxon Simonson 10 pass from Cooper Spicher (Simonson pass); Cooper Spicher 59 run (kick good); Cooper Spicher 43 run (kick good); Quinn Spinler 57 pass from Cooper Spicher (kick failed); Cooper Spicher 38 run (kick good); Cooper Spicher 21 run (kick good); Jaxon Simonson 8 pass from Cooper Spicher (kick failed).

Westby-Grenora - Thomas Field 19 pass from Cooper Olson (Lucas Willette kick); Thomas Filed 10 pass from Cooper Olson (kick failed); Cooper Olson 22 run (kick failed); Thomas Field 1 run (kick failed); Thayne Ekness 40 pass from Cooper Olson (Thayne Ekness pass from Cooper Olson); Walker Wilson 14 pass from Cooper Olson (Thayne Ekness pass from Cooper Olson); Dalton Holecek 2 pass from Cooper Olson (Willette kick); Safety; Thayne Ekness 1 pass from Cooper Olson (Lucas Willette kick).

Culbertson-Bainville 46, Chester/J-I 26

The story was slightly different for the 8-Man Chester/J-I Hawks over the weekend.

The Hawks have been a frequent competitor in the Class C state playoffs in recent years, but couldn't sneak past their first-round opponent for the second straight season. C/J-I entered the postseason 7-2 and as the No. 8 ranked Class C squad in the state. But waiting for the Hawks in Culbertson was the 7-1 Culbertson-Bainville Cowboys, the No. 7 ranked team in the state.

Culbertson-Bainville defeated Chester/J-I 46-26, giving the Cowboys their first playoff win in 40 years.

"All in all," Chester/J-I head coach Jim Vinson said. "I was very proud of our guys with the season they had. They weren't expected by a lot of people to do much this year, but they put in a lot of hard work and were dedicated to becoming a good team. And we were a good team, in all of our losses we were competitive and had our opportunities to win."

The Hawks have been explosive this season, but a slow start, and a big finish by the Cowboys did them in.

After a scoreless first quarter, the Hawks scored 20 points in the second, but still trailed 24-20 at the break. The Hawks did take a 26-24 lead through three quarters of play after a nine-yard rushing score by Justin May, but the Cowboys literally ran away with the contest in the fourth and final quarter of play.

Shayne Cochran finished the afternoon with four rushing scores, but three of those scoring plunges came in the fourth quarter as the Cowboys put the finishing touches on the visiting Hawks. Cochran scored from eight, four, and 61 yards out in the final frame.

"Physically they were a much bigger team than us," Vinson said. "And when they got a hold of the lead they controlled the ball very well. And we also had some very costly turnovers, and they ended up scoring on those turnovers. We knew going in we had to take care of the football and it was just something that we didn't do. They really turned out to be costly for us."

C/J-I did have a nice stretch in the second quarter, as the Hawks scored three unanswered times to remain in contention.

"We got the passing game going," Vinson said. "And that really opened up the running game for us. We put some points on the board and actually went up in the game. But they came back and scored, then we had a ball intercepted in the red zone and it proved costly. We had a tough time coming back from that, and while we still drove the ball down the field after that, we just couldn't find the end zone when we needed to."

If the high powered offense could have played with more consistency, the end result may have leaned in the Hawks' favor. Tim Stokes found the end zone on an 18-yard pass from Dell Harmon, while Kody Ramberg scored on an eight-yard rush. Steven May also got in the end zone, this time on a 20-yard reception from Justin May. Unfortunately the Cowboys' defense stiffened up in the second half, making it a difficult outing for the Hawks, as their season came to an end.

Chester/J-I 0 20 6 0 - 26

Culbertson 16 8 0 22 - 46

CB - Tony Williams 15 run (run failed)

CB - Safety, Rhett Harmon tackled ball carrier in end zone

CB - Shayne Cochran 28 run (Taylor Bridges run)

CB - Shayne Cochran 17 run (Taylor Bridges run)

C/J-I - Tim Stokes 18 pass from Dell Harmon (run failed)

C/J-I - Kody Ramberg 8 run (kick good)

C/J-I - Steven May 20 pass from Justin May (Justin May run)

C-J-I - Justin May 9 run (PAT failed)

CB - Shayne Cochran 8 run (Cameron Lambert run)

CB - Shayne Cochran 4 run (run failed)

CB - Shayne Cochran 61 run (Taylor Bridges run)