Quarterfinals: Big games for Hi-Line teams

Last week, Chinook, Chester/J-I and Box Elder all cruised to easy wins in the opening round of the Class C 8-Man and Six-Man playoffs. This week however, all three teams face new foes and much greater challenges.

While C/J-I and Box Elder, which each finished second in their conference, will be on the road this week as the Hawks travel to Twin Bridges and the Bears head to Custer-Hysham Saturday, Chinook, the champions of the Northern C, will enjoy another home playoff game at Hoon Field as the Sugarbeeters host Ennis. Kickoff in all three games is set for 1 p.m.

“Every week in the playoffs things get tougher and tougher,” Chinook head coach Scott Friede said. “And this week we will have another tough opponent coming in. Ennis is a tough football team and it should be a good challenge for us.”

Last week in the opening round of the 8-Man playoffs, Chinook destroyed Culbertson-Bainville by the score of 80-16. At the end of the first quarter, the score was 44-0. And even though the Beeters may be favored to win at home again this week, the Mustangs should provide a much sterner test.

Even though it’s a new opponent, the formula for winning will be the same for Chinook, which consists of a smash-mouth running game and a hard-hitting defense that has beaten opponents into submission.

The Beeters (9-0) come into the game with an offense that averages 56 points a game thanks to the two-headed rushing duo of Tate Niederegger and Derek Bell, as well as the passing of senior quarterback Ian McIntosh. On the defensive side of the ball, Chinook, which allows an average of just 9.5 points per game to opposing offenses, will look to slow down an Ennis team that averaged 54 points a game this season.

Despite Chinook’s gaudy stats, the Mustangs should come into the quarterfinal matchup with plenty of confidence seeing that they lost just once this season 35-30 to Twin Bridges, which, like Chinook, is undefeated. Ennis is also fresh off a 52-14 drubbing of Drummond.

“We need to take it one game at a time,” Friede said. “Ennis will present some different challenges. They have good balance on offense and fly around on defense. They are a physical team as well, so we are going to have to block and execute even better than we did last week to keep our running game going.”

Chinook may have the advantage of staying at home Saturday, but C/J-I will not. And not only are the Hawks playing on the road, they have to make the long trek to Twin Bridges to take on the undefeated Falcons, the champion of the Southern C.

Just like the Hawks, who pounded Broadus 62-6, the Falcons won easily over Victor 34-8 to earn their way into the quarterfinals. And just like the Hawks have a talented running back in Justin May, the Falcons have a talented runner of their own in Bill Yeager, who scored three touchdowns on the ground last week.

Twin Bridges does indeed possess one of the better offenses in 8-Man football with an average of more than 51 points per game, but falls short of the 60.3 points per game C/J-I scores. And outside of the Hawks opening game of the year against Fort Benton, which was called early due to smoke and the Chinook game, C/J-I has scored at least 60 points in every game.

A big reason for the offensive dominance of the Hawks is May, who had over 200 total yards and three touchdowns last week. But quarterback Brandon Richter has also been a big factor in C/J-I’s success and last week he was responsible for four total touchdowns, three passing and one rushing in the win over Broadus.

“Brandon has played really well for us all year,” C/J-I head coach Jim Vinson said. “He has completed over 70 percent of his passes and that’s hard to do in high school football. He has played great and that’s a big key in the playoffs.

“But it’s a long trip down there and they (Falcons) are a good football team,” he added. “We know that we are going to be on the road from here on out, and we just need keep doing the things we have done all year to be successful.”

If the Hawks win, they will be on the road against either Arlee or Wibaux for the state semifinals. If Chinook wins, the Beeters will also be on the road to face the winner of Fairview and Charlo.

In the Class C Six-Man playoffs, Box Elder is out to keep its historic playoff run afloat and to do that, the Bears will need to take down Custer-Hysham, the champion of the South Division.

Both teams come into the showdown with just one loss on their resume. The Bears are 9-1, while Custer-Hysham enters the game 8-1, with its only loss coming to Savage by the score of 44-18 back on Sept. 4.

Following its 54-28 win over West Yellowstone last week in the first round of the playoffs, Custer-Hysham welcomes a Box Elder team onto its home field that is as talented as any in the state.

The Bears are led by a dynamic offense that averages more than 56 points per game and boasts an All-State signal caller in Brandon The Boy, who threw four touchdowns in the 64-32 win over Jordan last week.

Yet, the Bears offense features a number of playmakers including receiver Jerrod Four Colors, who caught three touchdowns as well as running backs Shane Ketchum and Bodis Duran, who each rushed for two scores in Box Elder’s opening-round victory.

Four Colors, Ketchum, Duran and The Boy are also key members of a defensive unit that has allowed just 17.9 points per game, which is a solid number in Six-Man football.

“We are preparing for a battle,” Box Elder head coach Neil Rosette Jr. said. “We know they have some big backs and a physical team, but we are just going to keep the same grind and do what we have done all season. We are going to be ready for whatever they throw at us.”

If the Bears are victorious over Custer-Hysham, they would advance to the Six-Man semifinals where they would play either at Hot Springs or home against Valier.

The Beeters, Hawks and Bears, who are each gunning for the semifinals in their respective classifications, will play Saturday at 1 p.m.