Hi-Line Football Roundup

It was a light opening weekend for area high school football, but one Hi-Line team certainly made a big splash.

In their season-opening game, the Chinook Sugarbeeters served notice that they are going to be a force to be reckoned with this fall.

In a Northern C showdown Saturday afternoon, the Beeters went on the road and crushed perennial Northern C powerhouse, the Centerville Miners. The Beeters routed the Miners 47-16.

Chinook feel behind 8-0 in the first quarter, but the Beeters then ran off 24 unanswered points and never looked back.

Tyler Molyneaux opened the scoring with a 50-yard touchdown run, one of four scores for Molyneaux on the day. He added 1-yard plunge, which was followed by a Robby Klingaman 3-yard run, which put the Beeters up 24-8 after the first period.

Molyneaux also broke free for a 40-yard scoring scamper just before halftime as Chinook led 32-16, and he tacked on a 6-yard TD run in the third quarter. Klingman capped the Chinook scoring with his second touchdown of the day in the fourth stanza.

Molyneaux went over 150 yards on the ground and the Beeters rolled up almost 300 yards of total offense as they got off to a 1-0 start to the season. The Chinook defense held the Miners scoreless in the second half.

Next up for Chinook is a trip to Sunburst on Sept. 10.

Chinook 47, Centerville 16

Chinook 24 8 8 7 — 47

Centerville 8 8 0 0 — 16

CEN — Mayernik 4 run (Romanchuk pass from Mayernik)

CHI — Molyneaux 50 run (Klingaman pass from Schmitt)

CHI — Molyneaux 1 run (Klingaman pass from Schmitt)

CHI — Klingaman 3 run (Stroh run)

CEN — Frank 70 pass from Mayernik (rutherford run)

CHI — Molyneaux 40 run (Molyneaux run)

CHI — Molyneaux 6 run (Stroh run)

CHI — Klingaman 4 run (Huestis kick)

Fort Benton 34, Chester/J-I 28

Saturday wasn't as kind to the Chester/J-I Hawks. In their season-opening game at Northern C rival Fort Benton, the Hawks lost a heartbreaker in the fourth quarter as the Longhorns scored 18 points to overtake the Hawks 34-28.

C/J-I led by four points midway through the final period when Brandon Graff intercepted a pass and scored to give the Hawks a comfortable lead.

But a safety would cost the Hawks two points, and on Fort Benton's next series, Jackson Bramlette scored from 21 yards out. The play proved to be the game winner for the Longhorns.

Graff had a big day for C/J-I. He scored three touchdowns, including two 1-yard runs. He also threw for a TD to go with his score on defense.

The Hawks built a 20-8 halftime lead on a 24-yard scoring strike from Graff to Bryant Ceynar. But the Longhorns, the favorite to capture the Northern C crown this year, had some late-game heroics.

The Hawks (0-1) are at home to take on Simms on Thursday night.

Fort Benton 8 0 8 18 — 34

C/J-I 6 14 0 8 — 28

Fort Benton — Derek Kittredge 65 run (Kittredge run). Riley Shaw 38 run (Shawn run). Jackson Bramlette 30 run (Anders Andreason pass from Kittredge). Safety, Ernie Fultz made tackle in endzone. Jackson 21 run (Nathan Maughan run).

Chester/J-I — Brandon Graff 1 run (conversion failed). Bryant Ceynar 24 pass from Graff (conversion failed). Graff 1 run (Graff run). Graff interception return (conversion good).