Dillon, Fairfield cruise to state titles

The 2011 high school football season is now over. Saturday was the last day of games for the season, and the champions have been crowned.

Friday night in Class AA action, the No. 2 Helena Capital Bruins defeated No. 1 Billings West Golden Bears 39-14 on Wendy's Field at Daylis Stadium in Billings. The state title is the seventh title since 1999 and the 11th overall since 1979 for the Bruins.

The Bruins fell behind 7-0 early, but took a 13-7 lead into the half. And after outscoring the opposition 26-7 in the second half, the Bruins rolled to an easy victory.

Gunnar Brekke had 190-yards rushing for the Bruins, and added three scores from 42, five and 39-yards. Brice Burton had 97-yards and two scores for the Bruins. Helena Capital had 330 rushing yards on 48 carries in the win.

The Bruins put together seven straight wins since their only loss of the season. That loss came against Billings West. The Bruins finished with a 12-1 record while the Golden Bears finished 11-2.

Capital 0 13 13 13 — 39

West 7 0 7 0 — 14

West — Trace Alkire 35 pass from Brady Gustafson (Bailey Lehenbauer kick), 4:21.

Capital — Brice Burton 2 run (Caleb Sparks kick), 7:06.

Capital — Gunnar Brekke 42 run (run failed), 1:46.

Capital — Gunnar Brekke 5 run (Caleb Sparks kick), 8:47.

West — Jayc Van Zee 8 pass from Brady Gustafson (Bailey Lehenbauer kick), 6:53.

Capital — Gunnar Brekke 39 run (run failed), 2:08.

Capital — Reece Miller 25 pass from Riley Sampson (Sparks kick), 5:42.

Capital — Brice Burton 1 run (kick failed), 3:58.

Dillon 44, Billings Central 10

In Class A action, the Dillon Beavers continued their run of dominancy on Saturday.

Playing at Vigilante Field in Dillon, the No. 1 Beavers defeated the No. 2 Billings Central Rams 44-10. The state championship is the first for the Beavers since 2006, but they also won it all in 2000, 2003 and 2005.

The Beavers never trailed in the title game. And after scoring just five plays into the game, the Beavers wound up putting up 28 points in the first half, 14 in the first quarter and 14 in the second. They also added seven in the third and nine in the fourth, while the Rams had just three first quarter points and seven in the fourth quarter.

A well balanced offense was key once again for the Beavers. Dillon quarterback J.T. Linder was 10-of-16 for 186 yards and had two TD's in the air. Rushing, the Beavers carried the ball 48 times for 168 yards. Linder had 79 yards and two rushing scores, while Dilan Starkel had 12 carries for 112 yards and one TD to help lead the way.

The Beavers' defense held the Rams to 226 total yards in the win, as the Beavers finished the season 11-0.

Billings Central 3 0 0 7 – 10

Dillon 14 14 7 9 - 44

DIL – Kyle Cox 5 run (Wes Knox kick), 9:54

BC – Luke Daly 40 field goal, 6:51

DIL – Austin Carver 62 pass from J.T. Linder (Wes Knox kick), 2:41

DIL – Wes Knox 50 pass from J.T. Linder (Wes Knox kick), 9:53

DIL – Dilan Starkel 7 run (Knox kick), 3:56

DIL – J.T. Linder 1 run (Wes Knox kick), 5:09

DIL – Wes Knox 18 field goal, 10:46

BC – Jacob Stanton 31 pass from Ryan Burke (Daly kick), 9:24

DIL – J.T. Linder 1 run (kick failed), 4:41

Fairfield 53, Malta 13

Fairfield also earned a convincing championship win on Saturday, when they captured the Class B title at home.

The No. 1 Fairfield Eagles have played in the chipper for five straight seasons. But this title win was the first for Fairfield since 1982, as the Eagles defeated the Malta Mustangs 53-13. The Eagles finished the season 12-0.

The Eagles got off to a hot start, scoring on each of their six first half possessions. The Eagles went up 21-0 in the first quarter and stretched the lead to 40-7 at the half. The Eagles also grabbed 13 points in the fourth quarter, while the Mustangs put up a score in the second and third quarter.

Trace Brady was a huge reason for the Eagles success. He had four touchdown passes, three of which going to Collin Allen. Allen had eight catches for 204 yards. His TD catches came from 66, 45 and 15 yards out. Brady was 16-of-22 for 302 yards passing.

Chad Barrett ran for 145 yards on 10 carries, with touchdown runs of 43 and 71 yards. Brady also hurt the Mustangs on the ground, rushing for 120 yards on 19 carries and a score.

Malta 0 7 6 0 — 13

Fairfield 21 19 0 13 — 53

FAI — Chad Barrett 14 pass from Trace Brady (Collin Allen kick), 8:32.

FAI — Chad Barrett 43 run (Collin Allen kick), 6:17.

FAI — Collin Allen 66 pass from Trace Brady (Collin Allen kick), 0:47.

FAI — Trace Brady 39 run (kick failed), 8:19.

FAI — Tucker Meyer 31 pass from Trace Brady (run failed), 3:04.

MAL — Jade Olson 14 run (Dalton Brookie kick), 2:21

FAI — Collin Allen 45 pass from Trace Brady (Collin Allen kick), 0:36.

MAL — Reid Robinson 33 run (kick failed), 4:26.

FAI — Collin Allen 15 pass from Trace Brady (run failed), 11:02.

FAI — Chad Barrett 71 run (Collin Allen kick), 7:16.

Twin Bridges 44, Fairview 28

Playing in Fairview, it wasn't the home team who came away with the win in Class C 8-Man football. But as the domination trend continued, the Twin Bridges Falcons found a way to find a dominating win.

Saturday on Starr Field, the Falcons defeated the Fairview Warriors 44-28. It was a big win for the Falcons and it is only the second state championship for Twin Bridges since 1952. And for the Warriors, their fairy-tale season came to an end. They have only three post-season wins in school history, all of which came this season.

Twin Bridges held just a six-point lead after the first quarter, and at the half they led 22-14. And after both teams went scoreless through the third quarter, the Falcons found a way to outscore the Warriors 22-14 in the final frame to earn the win.

Quarterback Tyler Lott had a huge game for Twin Bridges. He threw for 279 yards and accounted for all six of the Falcons scores. Lott had three in the air and rushed for three as well. In the air, Lott's TD passes came from 54, 48 and 28 yards. And on the ground, Lott totaled 91 yards and scored on jaunts from one, four and 11 yards out.

Wide out Cody Pierson reeled in 10 passes and racked up 252 yards for the Falcons. He also grabbed scoring passes from 54, 48 and 28 yards.

Twin Bridges 15 7 0 22 – 44

Fairview 8 6 0 14 – 28

TB - Tyler Lott 1 run (kick good), 5:49

FAI - Scott Andreasen 50 pass from Brock Schriver (run good), 2:22

TB - Cody Pierson 54 pass from Tyler Lott (pass good), 1:53

TB – Cody Pierson 48 pass from Tyler Lott (kick good), 8:57

FAI - Tim Hurley 12 pass from Brock Schriver (run failed), 1:50

TB – Tyler Lott 4 run (pass good), 9:23

FAI - Cody Vitt 17 run (run good), 8:54

TB – Cody Pierson 28 pass from Tyler Lott (run good), 6:33

TB – Tyler Lott 11 run (pass failed), 2:14

FAI – Cody Vitt 19 pass from Brock Schriver (pass failed), :47.3.

Denton 72, Savage 30

In Class C 6-Man football, Denton put up 72 points in their championship win on Saturday.

Playing in Denton, the Trojans handled the Savage Warriors with great ease. The Trojans earned the 72-30 win and captured their second straight 6-Man state title in the mean time. Last season the Trojans finished 12-0, and did so again this season. And over the last two years, the Trojans have also outscored opponents by an average of 57.5 to 15.1.

Cole Jelinek had a career day for the Trojans. Jelinek rushed for 398 yards on 22 carries and scored eight touchdowns. Seven of those TD's came on the ground and one came in the air, but Jelinek also had a ninth, as he also had a TD pass in the victory.

Jelinek's rushing scores came on runs of 65, 33, 51, 15, 49, 54 and 45 yards. And his receiving score came from three-yards out, while he also tossed a 29-yard TD pass to Jarryd Lahr.

Denton finished the season 10-2, both losses coming from Savage this season.

Savage 6 6 18 0 — 30

Denton 12 24 30 6 — 72

DEN — Cole Jelinek 65 run (kick failed).

DEN — Jarryd Lahr 29 pass from Cole Jelinek (kick failed).

SAV — Braden Ler 14 pass from Shad Stanford (kick failed).

SAV — Chris Reynolds 24 pass from Shad Stanford (kick failed).

DEN — Cole Jelinek 33 run (Mitch Ward kick).

DEN — Cole Jelinek 51 run (Mitch Ward kick).

DEN — Cole Jelinek 15 run (Mitch Ward kick).

DEN — Julius Frehse 41 interception return (Mitch Ward kick).

SAV — Chris Reynolds 10 pass from Stanford (kick failed).

SAV — Cole Jelinek 3 pass from Ward (Mitch Ward kick).

SAV — Ler 55 pass from Stanford (kick failed).

DEN — Cole Jelinek 49 run (kick failed).

SAV — Chris Reynolds 5 run (kick failed).

DEN — Cole Jelinek 54 run (Mitch Ward kick).

DEN — Cole Jelinek 45 run (kick failed).