Hi-Line Football Roundup: Hawks run wild against Mustangs

On the first weekend of October, the chase for the Montana high school football playoffs heated up along the Hi-Line as a number of teams had crucial games to win.

Chief among the teams that needed a win this past weekend was Chester/J-I. The Hawks played host to unbeaten Great Falls Central last Friday night in a battle between playoff hopefuls in the Northern C Division of 8-man football. The Hawks, who came into the game 2-2, knocked off the seventh-ranked Mustangs in impressive fashion 74-36.

All-State running back Justin May led the way for C/J-I and turned in a legendary performance with 288 yards rushing and six rushing touchdowns. He also caught a 40-yard touchdown pass that pushed him well over 300 total yards for the game.

Things started slowly for the Hawks as GFC took control early with a 46-yard touchdown run by Nolan Donisthorpe to go ahead 8-0. C/J-I answered with a May touchdown run to get within 8-6 but back-to-back touchdowns by the Mustangs made the score 22-6 at the end of the first quarter.

That’s when the Hawks went to work.

In an impressive display of offensive firepower, C/J-I scored three straight touchdowns starting with a 10-yard touchdown run by quarterback Brandon Richter. Then May found pay dirt again and, shortly after, Richter connected with Brett Henke on a 54-yard touchdown pass to help the Hawks take a 34-28 into halftime.

When the third quarter started, the onslaught continued. Richter and May hooked up for a 40-yard touchdown, which was followed by May’s third and fourth rushing touchdowns of the night and by the end of the third, C/J-I had a 50-36 lead.

In the fourth, Richter scored again before May scored on a 60-yard rushing touchdown and a 42-yard rushing touchdown for good measure to give the Hawks the 74-36 win.

In addition to May’s 288 yards rushing, Richter also had a huge game with 250 rushing yards and two touchdowns as well as going three-for-three for 97 yards and two touchdowns through the air. In all, C/J-I had an astounding 578 yards rushing in the victory.

The win improved the Hawks record to 3-2 and has them tied for third place in the Northern C and right in the thick of the playoff hunt with three games to go. C/J-I will host Cascade this Friday night on homecoming night in Chester.

GFC 22 6 8 0 – 36

Chester/J-I 6 28 16 24 – 74

GFC—Nolan Donisthorpe 46 run (Reid Nelson run)

C/J-I—Justin May 5 run (pass failed)

GFC—Donisthorpe 59 run (run failed)

GFC—Nelson 3 run (Nelson run)

C/J-I—Brandon Richter 10 run (run failed)

C/J-I—May 2 run (May run)

C/J-I—Brett Henke 54 pass from Richter (run failed)

GFC—Donisthorpe 1 run (run failed)

C/J-I—May 40 pass from Richter (Richter run)

C/J-I—May 11 run (Richter run)

C/J-I—May 3 run (May run)

GFC—Donisthorpe 25 run (Nelson run)

C/J-I—Richter 2 run (May run)

C/J-I—May 60 run (Richter run)

C/J-I—May 42 run (May run)

Chinook 52, Centerville 12

Rather than give up their homecoming game due to Fort Benton having to forfeit, the Chinook Sugarbeeters played Centerville for the second time this season and defeated the Miners soundly again Friday night in Chinook 52-12, in a game that will not count in the Northern C standings.

Chinook took control of the game early with a 32-point first quarter that included a 46-yard touchdown pass from Ian McIntosh to Thomas Reid, a 34-yard touchdown run and then a 40-yard punt return for a touchdown by running back Gavin Gunderson. Then, McIntosh hit Lane Seymour for a 39-yard touchdown pass to close out the scoring in the opening quarter.

In the second quarter, Derek Bell got in on the act with a 47-yard touchdown run, which was followed by a pair of Kade Friede touchdown passes to Wade Schneider and Kenny Pruttis, giving Chinook a 52-0 lead en route to the dominating win.

The No. 10 Beeters are now 4-1 overall and 4-1 in the Northern C, which leaves them tied with Great Falls Central for first place. Chinook will be back in action this Friday when Belt welcomes the Beeters to town for a Northern C matchup.

Centerville 0 0 6 6 – 12

Chinook 32 20 0 0 – 52

CHI—Thomas Reid 46 pass from Ian McIntosh (McIntosh run)

CHI—Gavin Gunderson 34 run (Lane Seymour pass from McIntosh)

CHI—Gunderson 40 punt return (Tate Niederegger run)

CHI—Seymour 39 pass from McIntosh (Reid run)

CHI—Derek Bell 47 run (run failed)

CHI—Wade Schneider 10 pass from Kade Friede (J.J. Colby run)

CHI—Kenny Pruttis 15 pass from Friede (pass failed)

CV—Kevin McGee 2 run (run failed)

CV—Chance Kind 15 pass from McGee (pass failed)

Big Sandy 39, Sunburst 13

Desperately in need of a win in the North Division of Class C Six-Man football, the Big Sandy Pioneers traveled to Sunburst Friday night and got a much needed 39-13 win.

Kyle Strutz opened the scoring for the Pioneers with a 25-yard touchdown run to make it 8-0. Then, following a safety, Struz found the endzone again on a 15-yard touchdown run. Cody Bailey would later score on a 27-yard touchdown run and it was 22-0 Pioneers at the end of one quarter.

Sunburst scored in the second quarter to get within 16 points at 22-6, but Big Sandy answered with another touchdown by Strutz, this time on a 33-yard scamper to take a 28-6 halftime lead.

Big Sandy would score touchdowns in the second half on a Strutz touchdown pass to Bailey that covered seven yards and a 48-yard interception return for a touchdown by Laramie Long to seal the win.

In all, Strutz had four total touchdowns on the night, three rushing and one pass, while Bailey added two.

Big Sandy improved to 3-3 on year with the win. The Pioneers will get a break from the rough and tumble North division when they travel to Hot Springs for nonconference contest this Friday night.

Big Sandy 21 6 6 6 – 39

Sunburst 0 6 0 7 – 13

BS—Kyle Strutz 25 run (Cody Bailey pass from Jacob Schuster)

BS—Safety, ball snapped out of end zone.

BS—Strutz 15 run (kick failed)

BS—Bailey 27 run (kick failed)

SUN—Tyler Tharp 10 run (kick failed)

BS—Strutz 33 run (kick failed)

BS—Bailey 7 pass from Strutz (run failed)

BS—Laramie Long 48 interception return (run failed)

SUN—Tharp 13 run (Tyler Pickering pass from Tharp)

Wolf Point 43, Harlem 8

The Harlem Wildcats' search for their win of the season continues as they fell to District 2B rival Wolf Point 43-8 in 11-man action Friday night in Harlem.

Dalton Haffner had five total touchdowns in the win for Wolf Point. The only score of the night for the Wildcats came in the fourth quarter when Tevin Messerly connected with Tristan Billmayer on a 47-yard touchdown pass.

The Wildcats dropped to 0-5 on the season with loss and are now 0-2 in conference play. They will take the field again this Friday on the road against Plentywood in a conference 2B matchup.

Wolf Point 7 16 0 20 – 43

Harlem 0 0 0 8 – 8

WP—Tyson Bridges 55 pass from Dalton Haffner (Jeremiah Paine kick)

WP—Safety, ball snapped out of end zone

WP—Bridges 6 pass from Haffner (Paine kick)

WP—Haffner 3 run (Paine kick)

WP—Cameron Quincy 2 run (Paine kick)

WP—Bridges 10 pass from Haffner (Paine kick)

WP—Morty Manning 47 inception return (kick failed)

HAR—Tristan Billmayer 47 pass from Tevin Messerly (Corbin Brockie pass from Messerly)

D-G-S 44, North Star 7

In a battle of six-man playoff teams from a season ago, No. 1 Denton-Geyser-Stanford dominated the North Star Knights from start to finish Saturday in a North Division game, coming away with the easy 44-7 victory.

The Knights, who won a week ago in Augusta fell to 3-2 overall and 3-2 in conference play with the loss. They are now in a three-way tie for third place and with only four teams making for the playoffs out of the North division, the Knights can’t afford any more losses. They will play a critical conference game this Saturday when they host Heart Butte.

No stats reported

Fairview 86, Hays Lodge-Pole 14

It was another difficult outing for the Hays-Lodge Pole Thunderbirds as they played host to 8-man powerhouse Fairview Saturday and were dominated in every facet of the game in an 86-14 loss.

The T-Birds remain winless on the season as the loss dropped them to 0-6 overall and 0-5 in the Eastern Division of six-man football. This Saturday, the T-Birds will look for their first win of the season when they travel to Circle to take on their conference rival.

No stats reported