Hi-Line Football: Pioneers, Knights win Six-Man openers

The opening week of high school football is always exciting and this past weekend, local football fans soaked in all the action as their favorite teams returned to the gridiron.

One team that was supposed to be playing on the road was Big Sandy. However, after the air quality became an issue in Sunburst, the game between the Pioneers and Refiners was moved to Big Sandy Saturday and in a contest of potential playoff teams, the Pioneers rolled to a 41-25 victory.

Sunburst grabbed an early 6-0 edge with a touchdown in the first quarter but Kade Strutz answered with a one-yard touchdown run. Parker Proulx then found Clint Darlington for a 15-yard touchdown that put the Pioneers in front 12-6 at the half. In the second half, Big Sandy poured it on. Strutz scored four rushing touchdowns and finished the game with 274 yards on the ground as Big Sandy scored four second-half touchdowns to win the game going away.

"Sunburst is a really good team," Big Sandy head coach Chuck Terry said, "so this was a big win for us. I am really proud of this team. Sunburst started all seniors and we started one. The kids really stepped up. This win was huge for us."

The Pioneers (1-0) will go on the road this week to take on North Star Saturday in Rudyard in a battle between two teams from the Six-Man North Division.

Sunburst 6 0 7 12 - 25

Big Sandy 0 12 8 21 - 41

Sunburst - 18 yard rush TD

Big Sandy - Kade Strutz one-yard run

Big Sandy - Clint Darlington 15 pass from Parker Proulx

Sunburst - 20 rush TD

Sunburst - 3 yard touchdown pass

Big Sandy - Sturtz five-yard run (PAT good)

Big Sandy - Strutz four-yard run (conversion good)

Big Sandy - Brady Pleninger eight pass from Proulx

Sunburst - 46 yard touchdown pass

Big Sandy - Strutz 10 yard rush (conversion good)

Sunburst - 42-yard touchdown pass

Big Sandy - Strutz 23 run (conversion good)

North Star 44, Heart Butte 17

Elsewhere in the Six-Man North, the North Star Knights opened their season at home against Heart Butte and despite dressing just eight players, the Knights rolled to an easy 44-7 victory.

Caden Retting put on a show as the Knights quarterback, although he split snaps with Bailey Spicher. But whether Rettig was running the football or throwing it, he was impressive. As a passer, he completed 7-of-11 passes for 122 yards and three touchdowns, while throwing just one interception. But as a runner, he was even better, carrying the ball 16 times for 203 yards and scoring three more touchdowns.

Spicher also had a stellar day as he completed a pass for 27 yards, ran nine times for 70 yards and caught two passes for 58 yards. He also scored three total touchdowns, catching two scores and running in another. Daniel Nerat was also solid, hauling in five receptions for 56 yards and finding the end zone one.

The Knights, who will play at home against Big Sandy this Saturday, built a 25-0 lead at the half and pushed the advantage to 37 points by the fourth quarter.

Heart Butte 0 7 0 0 - 7

North Star 13 12 7 12 - 44

NS - Bailey Spicher 2 yard rush (conversion good)

NS - Caden Retting 13 yard rush (conversion no good)

NS - Spicher 12 pass from Rettig (conversion no good)

NS - Rettig 35 rush

HB - Cody Aimsback 24 rush (conversion good)

NS - Spicher 46 pass from Rettig (conversion good)

NS - Daniel Nerat 1 pass from Retting (conversion no good)

NS - Rettig 15 rush (conversion no good)

While there was plenty of action within the Six-Man North, teams within the Northern C of 8-Man football also had a busy weekend as just about every team within the league played last weekend, including Chinook, which opened its season against Shelby, the Class B runner-up a season ago. It was the Coyotes first game in 8-Man football and the game was a rout as Sugarbeeters were defeated 48-6 at Hoon Field Saturday night. Chinook (0-1) will play at Cascade Friday night.

Chester-Joplin-Inverness also opened its season last Friday and was one of the few teams from along the Hi-Line to score a win as the Hawks downed Absarokee 28-14. The Hawks, who are hoping to get back into the playoffs after going 3-5 last season, will face a crucial game Friday night with Choteau coming to Chester for a critical Northern C battle.

The Fort Benton Longhorns saw their season get off to a rough start as they dropped their opening game on the road to Tri-Cities 55-22. The Longhorns will host Centerville this Friday in the hopes of evening their record to 1-1. It will be their first conference game of the season. Box Elder also took part in a non-conference game Saturday and fell to Lone Peak 58-30. The Bears (0-1) will host Belt, the defending Northern C champion Saturday afternoon.

Another Northern C team that played a non-conference game over the weekend was Hays-Lodge Pole. The Thunderbirds, under the direction of head coach Josh Werk played host to Harloton Saturday and were defeated soundly 42-0. The T-Birds (0-1) will visit Great Falls Central Saturday.

Also in the Northern C, the Rocky Boy football team was whalloped at home last Saturday night by Centerville 66-0. The Stars (0-1) will try again for their first win of the season Saturday at home against Simms.