Hi-Line Football Roundup

The final regular season football games were played on the Hi-Line over the weekend, and with a handful of local teams making the postseason, some state playoff seedings were finalized.

On Friday, the Chester/J-I Hawks were looking for a Northern C 8-Man championship, but came up short in a shootout. The newly renovated Simms Tigers defeated the Hawks 66-56 in Chester, improving to 8-1, while dropping the Hawks to 7-2. The Hawks had a shot at a No. 2 finish but will finish as a three seed heading into the first round of the playoffs.

The Hawks were well in control of Friday’s matchup, but somehow saw a talented Zeb Bloom take away C/J-I’s 56-20 halftime lead. The Hawks posted 26 points in the first quarter and 30 more in the second, but were shutout in the final two frames of the contest. Bloom led the Tigers with three rushing scores and four passing scores and combined 398 total yards.

Justin May did have another great game for the Hawks as he gained 210 yards on 23 carries, and grabbing four more scores on the season. May’s scores came on a couple of two-yard runs, a 39-yard run, and on a 14-yard run. Unfortunately the first half efforts weren’t enough, as the Tigers scored six unanswered times to overtake the Hawks.

The Hawks will play in the first round of the state playoffs on Saturday, when they travel to No. 2 Culbertson/Bainville out of the East.

Simms 14 6 16 30 - 66

C/J-I 26 30 0 0 - 56

C/J-I - Tim Stokes 73 kickoff return (Stokes pass from Brandon Richter)

SIM - Zeb Bloom 53 run (run failed)

C/J-I - Justin May 2 run (pass failed)

SIM - Noah Clark 55 run (Noah Clark run)

C/J-I - Cody Ramberg 22 pass from Dell Harmon (pass failed)

C/J-I – Justin May 49 run (pass failed)

C/J-I – Justin May 14 run (Time Stokes pass from Brandon Richter)

C/J-I – Justin May 2 run (pass failed)

C/J-I – Cody Ramberg 49 pass from Dell Harmon (pass failed)

SIM - Erik Pschernik pass from Zeb Bloom (pass failed)

C/J-I – Brandon Richter 7 pass from Dell Harmon (Justin May pass from Dell Harmon)

SIM - Pschernik 9 pass from Z. Bloom (Devin Goode run)

SIM - Pschernik 11 pass from Z. Bloom (Noah Clark run)

SIM - Brandon Bulik-Chism 31 pass from Zeb Bloom (Devin Goode pass from Zeb Bloom)

SIM - Zeb Bloom 16 run (Zeb Bloom run)

SIM - Zeb Bloom 14 run (Jake Bloom pass from Zeb Bloom)

SIM – Noah Clark 33 run (run failed)

Power-Dutton-Brady 48, Chinook 8

The Chinook Sugarbeeters were also in 8-Man action on Friday night in Dutton, and the Beeters were playing for their playoff lives. But missing out on the state playoffs for the first time in a long time, Power-Dutton-Brady defeated Chinook 48-8.

With the loss the Beeters fell out of contention, ended their season at 5-4 overall.

Chinook was unable to stop the passing attack by the Titans, as Kyle Schmidt had 259 passing yards and six passing scores to pace the offense. The Chinook offense struggled, and found just one score in the fourth quarter on a Lane Seymour reception from Ian McIntosh.

Chinook 0 0 0 6 — 6

PDB 27 0 14 7 — 48

PDB—Isaiah Dunk 48 pass from Kyle Schmidt (kick failed)

PDB—Drew Carlsson 10 pass from Kyle Schmidt (Terran Lee kick)

PDB—Daniel Wahl 4 pass from Kyle Schmidt (Lee kick)

PDB—Isiah Dunk 51 pass from Kyle Schmidt (Lee kick)

PDB—Ryan Gunderson 4 pass from Kyle Schmidt (kick failed)

PDB—Matt Hitchcock 5 pass from Kyle Schmidt (Ryan Gunderson pass from Seth Kitchin)

PDB—Chase Rossmiller 72 interception return (Nils Berhert kick)

CHN—Lane Seymour 45 pass from Ian McIntosh (pass failed)

Geraldine-Highwood 65, Big Sandy 40

On Saturday, the Six-Man Big Sandy Pioneers also ended their season with a loss, and will also have a rare absence from the state playoffs.

A year ago the Pioneers found themselves in the state championship game in Hot Springs. But on Saturday, playing on the road, Geraldine-Highwood defeated the Pioneers 65-40, dropping the Pioneers to 3-5 overall.

Big Sandy struggled from the first quarter on, as the Pioneers quickly fell behind 26-7, and 34-7 at the half. But adding 33 points in the second half, the Pioneers at least made a run for a win. Unfortunately the Pioneers couldn’t stop the passing attack as Darren Malek posted 343 yards and six touchdowns on the Pioneers.

The Pioneers did get scores from Zach Works on a fumble recovery and Jacob Schuster on a 23-yard run and a 65-yard kick return, but Josh Solf led the scoring attack with a one-yard run, five-yard run, and 12-yard run.

Big Sandy 7 0 27 6 — 40

GHW 26 8 31 0 — 65

GH - Jake Malek 4 run (Darren Malek kick)

GH - Wyatt McKinlay 55 run (kick failed)

GH - Wyatt McKinlay 64 pass from Darren Malek (kick failed)

BS - Zach Works fumble recovery in end zone (Jacob Schuster run)

GH - Jake Malek 46 pass from Darren Malek (kick failed)

GH - Sam Bronec 61 pass from Darren Malek (Darren Malek kick)

GH - Jordan LaFontaine 55 pass from Darren Malek (run failed)

BS - Josh Solf 1 run (Cody Bailey pass from Tanner Works)

GH - McKinlay 68 pass from D. Malek (run failed)

BS - Solf 5 run (pass failed)

GH - Jake Malek 70 kickoff return (Dallas Lepore pass from Levin Leistiko)

BS - Jacob Schuster 23 run (Eric Swarzbach pass from Tanner Works)

GH - Bronec 20 pass from Darren Malek (pass failed)

BS - Jacob Schuster 65 kickoff return (Eric Swarzbach pass from Tanner Works)

GH - Jordan LaFontaine 75 kickoff return (run failed)

BS - Josh Solf 12 run (pass failed)

North Star 72, Valier 38

The North Star Knights had already punched their ticket into the Six-Man playoffs with their best season in the last couple of years, but they also ended the regular season with an exclamation point.

Hosting the Valier Panthers in Rudyard on Saturday, the Knights ended the regular season with a 72-38 win. The win boosted the Knights to 6-2 this season, sending them into the playoffs as the No. 3 seed out of the North.

Cooper Spicher has been a key player for the Knights all season long, and that continued on Saturday. Spicher finished with 312 rushing yards, and found pay dirt seven different times. Spicher’s efforts helped the Knights grab a 27-20 halftime lead before running away with 45 more points in the second half.

Spicher scored on a 15-yard run, 46-yard punt return, a 60-yard run, a 20-yard run, a 32-yard run, a 27-yard run, and on a 37-yard run.

North Star will look for Spicher to continue his dominating play on Saturday when the Knights travel to Westby/Grenora, the No. 2 team out of the East in the first round of the state playoffs.

North Star 0 27 20 25 — 72

Valier 6 14 6 12 — 38

VAL - Wade Culver 7 pass from Darin Habel (PAT failed)

NS - Cooper Spicher 15 run (Cooper Spicher run)

NS – Cooper Spicher 46 punt return (PAT failed)

VAL - Keegan Widhalm 1 run (PAT failed)

NS - Thatcher Smith 11 pass from Matt Helmbrecht (Cooper Spicher run)

VAL - Sean Brownell 24 run (Cooper Hawke kick)

NS – Cooper Spicher 60 run (Matt Helmbrecht pass reception)

NS – Cooper Spicher 20 run (PAT fail)

NS – Cooper Spicher 32 run (Jaxon Simonson reception)

NS – Cooper Spicher 27 run (Payton Peterson reception)

VAL – Cooper Hawke 32 pass from Darin Habel (PAT fail)

NS – Cooper Spicher 37 run (PAT fail)

NS - Quinn Spinler 2 run (PAT fail)

NS – Cooper Spinler 10 run (PAT fail)

Val - Tristan O'Neal 57 pass from Darin Habel (PAT fail)

NS – Jimmy Snow 0 run (Jimmy Snow 3 run)

VAL – Darin Habel 70 run (PAT fail)

Malta 32, Harlem 0

The Class B Harlem Wildcats ended their season on Friday, and it was a rough 2013. After Malta defeated the Wildcats 32-0, Harlem finished the season with just a 1-7 record. And playing in Malta, the Wildcats failed to get into the end zone, while the Mustangs scored five times in the lopsided loss.

Harlem 0 0 0 0 – 0

Malta 7 12 7 6 – 32

MAL – Quintan Boos 2 run (Gerome Lamb kick)

MAL – Quintan Boos 1 run (kick failed)

MAL – Quintan Boos 36 run (kick failed)

MAL – Quintan Boos 11 run (Gerome Lamb kick)

MAL – Allen Williamson 90 fumble return (kick failed)

Box Elder 63, Heart Butte 41

The Box Elder Bears wrapped up their best season in a long time Saturday, defeating the Heart Butte Warriors 63-41. The Bears finished the year 3-5 and in the middle of the tough Six-Man North Division.

Brandon The Boy had a great game for the Bears as he passed for six touchdowns. Will Ketchum also had a big day, as he combined for three Box Elder scores.

Box Elder’s three wins come just two years removed from not fielding a football program.

No scoring or statistics were available.