Hi-Line Football Roundup: CJI, Fort Benton roll to Northern C victories

Another weekend of high school football is in the books, but maybe the biggest story this past weekend was the teams that didn't play, instead of those that did.

Two area 8-Man football teams, Rocky Boy and Box Elder each forfeited their respective games over the weekend. Box Elder was supposed to play Great Falls Central and Rocky Boy was scheduled to play Chinook, so both Chinook and Great Falls Central will get a win within the Northern C. For the Stars and the Bears, it's unclear when they will be on the field again. Chinook, which is 3-2 after getting the win over Rocky Boy, will take on Simms Friday at home.

In terms of teams that were on the field this past weekend and in the past few weeks, no one is hotter than the Chester-Joplin-Inverness Hawks, who went on the road to Hays Friday and knocked off Hays-Lodge Pole 64-24. The Hawks scored 38 first-quarter points in the win and got touchdowns on eight of their 10 offensive possessions as they tallied 402 yards of total offense.

Spencer Richter put together a solid performance, completing 6-of-7 passes for 63 yards and two touchdowns, while also running six times for 87 and two rushing touchdowns. Lane Fischer also had a big day on the ground, carrying the ball nine times for 143 yards and two scores of his own.

CJI finished with six total rushing touchdowns, as Jackson Diemert had five carries for 42 yards and a touchdown, while Kealy Haaland also added six runs for 28 yards and a score. Evan Dahinden also caught a touchdown pass and returned an interception for a touchdown. The other touchdown reception was thrown to Andrew Woods.

Kyle Young threw a pair of touchdown passes in the loss for the Thunderbirds, who also got touchdown catches from Kenneth Blackcrow and Jeremy Pretty Paint. Estevan Granados also was a bright spot for HLP, returning a kickoff 74 yards for a touchdown in the opening stanza.

CJI (4-1, 2-1) is tied for second in the A Division of the Northern C and will host first-place and undefeated Great Falls Central Friday night in Chester. Hays-Lodge Pole will travel to Belt on Friday.

"This is going to be a huge game for us," CJI head coach Jim Vinson said. "Great Falls Central is a really good team and you never know what can happen in 8-Man football but if we beat them by two we should get second and if we can beat them by 15, we should take first. So it's just a huge game. It's going to be really fun."

CJI 38 8 12 6 - 64

HLP 8 0 0 16 - 34

CJI - Lane Fischer 27 run (Conversion good)

CJI - Spencer Richter 4 run (Conversion good)

HLP - Estevan Granados 74 kickoff return (Conversion good)

CJI - Evan Dahinden 7 pass from Richter (Conversion good)

CJI - Andrew Woods 4 pass from Richter (Conversion failed)

CJI - Dahinden 22 interception return (Conversion good)

CJI - Jackson Diemert 4 run (Conversion good)

CJI - Richter 36 run (Conversion failed)

CJI - Fisher 27 run (Conversion failed)

HLP - Jeremy Pretty Paint 27 pass from Kyle Young (Conversion good)

CJI - Kealy Haaland 8 run (Conversion faild)

HLP - Kenneth Black Crow 9 pass from Young (Conversion good)

Big Sandy 63, Heart Butte 0

Another local team that has been playing well lately, despite a couple of recent losses, is the Big Sandy Pioneers. And last Friday night, the Pioneers continued to play winning football and in the process, steamrolled Heart Butte 63-0.

Kade Strutz had another big game for the Pioneers, scoring three rushing touchdowns, as well as adding touchdowns on a kick return that covered 42 yards and also on a punt return. Ryan Roth also tossed two touchdown passes for Big Sandy in the win, with both scoring plays going to Clint Darlington. Big Sandy (3-2, 3-1) will have a bye this week. The Pioneers were supposed to play Augusta, but they did a co-op with Fairfield.

Heart Butte Warriors 0 0 0 0 - 0

Big Sandy Pioneers 37 13 0 13 - 63

BSP: Interception Brock Proux 24 yd Return (TD) 0-6

BSP: Kade Strutz 3 yd Rush (CNV) 0-7

BSP: (SAFETY) 0-9

BSP: Kade Strutz 42 yd Kickoff Return (TD) 0-15

BSP: Kade Strutz 3 yd Rush (CNV) 0-16

BSP: Clint Darlington 21 yd Pass from Ryan Roth (CNV) 0-22

BSP: Kade Strutz 3 yd Rush (CNV) 0-23

BSP: Kade Strutz 3 yd Punt Return (TD) 0-29

BSP: Interception Kade Strutz 37 yd Return (TD) 0-35

BSP: Brock Proux (PAT) 0-37

BSP: Kade Strutz 46 yd Rush (TD) 0-43

BSP: Brock Proux 16 yd Rush (TD) 0-49

BSP: Evert Sipler 3 yd Rush (CNV) 0-50

BSP: Ryan Roth 33 yd Punt Return (TD) 0-56

BSP: Cam Scwartzbach 3 yd Rush (CNV) 0-57

BSP: Clint Darlington 25 yd Pass from Ryan Roth (CNV) 0-63

DGS 60, North Star 0

The North Star Knights are another team that has forfeited a game this season but the Knights have continued to battle through and this past weekend, they hosted Denton-Geyser-Stanford, yet were defeated soundly by the Bearcats 60-0.

The Knights, who have lost three games in a row, will look to get back into the win column on the road against Power-Dutton-Brady Saturday.

DGS 18 20 14 8 - 60

North Star 0 0 0 0 - 0

DGS - Arik Ayers 21 interception (kick failed)

DGS - Arik Ayers 16 run (kick failed)

DGS - Zack Solomon 35 pass from Jake Solomon (kick failed)

DGS - Zack Solomon 10 run (Kyle Lee kick)

DGS - Dylan Taylor 60 pass from Zack Solomon (kick failed)

DGS - Kyle Lee 31 run (pass failed)

DGS - Kyle Lee 16 run (kick failed)

DGS - Stephen VIncent run (Kyle Lee kick)

DGS - Jacob Pollari 43 run (Kyle Lee kick)

Fort Benton 66, Simms 26

The Fort Benton Longhorns were one win away from the playoffs last season, but this year, it took the Longhorns a few games to find a win column. However, after an 0-3 start, Fort Benton got its first win last Friday, defeating Simms 66-26.

The home win came on senior night for the Longhorns, who will travel to Cascade Friday to take on the Badgers.

Wolf Point 40, Harlem 26

The Harlem Wildcats came close to getting their first win of the season Friday at home against Wolf Point. Yet the Wildcats still came up short by the score of 40-26. Harlem will hit the road this Friday to take on Roundup in a non-conference matchup.