Hi-Line Football Roundup: Beeters, Longhorns roll to key wins

The last time the Chinook Sugarbeeters played in an 8-Man playoff game was the 2015 state championship game. But after winning their fourth game of the season last Friday against Simms, the Beeters moved a lot closer to earning their first playoff berth in three years.

Chinook, which hosted Simms at Hoon Field last Friday night, got an early safety and a 35-yard touchdown pass from Trajan Hannum to Karson Powell. That gave Chinook a 9-0 lead at the end of the first quarter, but the Beeters would add 18 points in the second and 23 more in the third quarter to eventually win 56-6.

When the game was finished, Hannum wound up tossing four touchdown passes, two to Powell, one to Isaac Bell and another to Brenden Edwards. Edwards also returned a fumble for a touchdown on defense. James Christensen, Sam Dumas and Favion Couturier all added touchdown runs in the win for Chinook.

The Beeters (4-2, 4-2) will travel Great Falls Central in a nondivision matchup this Saturday. Chinook will then take on Choteau next week, with the winner advancing to the 8-Man playoffs. If Chinook losses that game, it will be another shot at a play-in game the following week.

Simms 0 0 0 6 - 6

Chinook 9 18 23 6 - 56

CHK - Team safety

CHK - Karson Powell 35 pass from Trajan Hannum (Isaac Bell kick)

CHK - James Christensen 2 run (run failed)

CHK - Isaac Bell 23 pass from Trajan Hannum (kick failed)

CHK - Karson Powell 27 pass from Trajan Hannum (pass failed)

CHK - Brenden Edwards 7 pass from Trajan Hannum ( run)

CHK - Brenden Edwards fumble return (Ty Mitchell pass from Isaac Bell)

CHK - Sam Dumas 17 run (Sam Dumas kick)

CHK - Favion Couturier 27 run (kick failed)

SIM - Mikey Leach 37 run (kick failed)

Great Falls Central 42, Chester-Joplin-Inverness 6

The Chester-Joplin-Inverness Hawks welcomed Great Falls Central into Chester last Friday with the hopes of upsetting the Mustangs and giving them a chance to finish first in their division within the Northern C. Unfortunately, CJI simply didn't have an answer for Great Falls Central quarterback Noah Ambuehl.

Ambuehl, who is a University of Montana commit, has an impressive arm, however, in Chester Friday, he tormented the Hawks with his legs, too, scoring three rushing touchdowns as the Mustangs knocked off CJI 42-6. Ambuehl scored all three of his touchdowns in the first half, making it 21-0 at the break in favor of Great Falls Central. But in the second half, things didn't change much. Shane Girres added two more rushing touchdowns, which solidified the final margin. One of the few bright spots for CJI was a 70-yard kickoff return for a touchdown by Evan Dahinden. CJI (4-2, 3-2) can clinch a spot in a play-in just like Chinook this weekend with a win over Box Elder. The Bears have forfeited the last two weeks and it's not clear if they will play or not.

GFC 14 7 7 14 - 42

CJI 0 0 0 6 - 6

GFCC - Noah Ambuehl 24 run ( kick)

GFCC - Noah Ambuehl 8 run (Logan Warren kick)

GFCC - Noah Ambuehl 1 run ( kick)

GFCC - Shane Girres 12 run ( kick)

GFCC - Riley Dickinson 1 run ( kick)

CJI - Evan Dahinden 90 kickoff return (pass failed)

GFCC - Girres 56 run ( kick)

Belt 58, Hays-Lodge Pole 22

The Hays-Lodge Pole Thunderbirds attempted to get their first win of the season last Friday night at Belt in a battle of Northern C teams, however, after a solid start, the T-Birds fell to the Huskies 58-22.

Jeremy Pretty Paint scored on a 66-yard touchdown pass from Kyle Young in the second quarter and at that point, it was 8-8. Pretty Paint scored again in the third quarter, this time on a 70-yard pass from Young, which kept the T-Birds within a couple scores. Eventually, Belt pulled away and went on to win by 36. Moke Cliff got the other touchdown for HLP in the loss.

HLP 0 8 8 6 - 22

Belt 8 16 20 14 - 58

BLT - Kaimen Evans 11 run ( run)

HLP - Jeremy Pretty Paint 66 pass from Kyle Young Jr. (Kenneth Blackcrow Jr. pass from Kyle

Young Jr.)

BLT - Adam Langston 58 interception (TJ Hennes pass from Kaimen Evans)

BLT - TJ Hennes 41 pass from Kaimen Evans (Matt Dollenger pass from Kaimen Evans)

BLT - Brandon Wall 55 pass from Kaimen Evans ( run)

HLP - Pretty Paint 70 pass from Young ( run)

BLT - Kaimen Evans 8 run (kick failed)

BLT - Kaimen Evans 15 run (kick failed)

BLT - Dollenger 17 pass from Kaimen Evans (Dollenger pass from )

HLP - Moke Cliff 35 run (run failed)

BLT - Kaiden Marquis 2 pass from Kaimen Evans (pass failed)

Fort Benton 42, Cascade 12

The Fort Benton Longhorns certainly didn't start the season the way it wanted to, but the Longhorns sure are finishing strong as they won a second straight game last Friday over Cascade 42-12. The Longhorns, who are now 2-4 on the season, don't have any chance of making the playoffs but will have a chance to finish 4-4 by winning the next two games. Fort Benton is set to play Rocky Boy Friday, but it's unclear if the Stars will play or not.

Roundup 64, Harlem 12

Elsewhere along the Hi-Line Friday night, the Harlem Wildcats paid a visit to Roundup in a non-conference Class B matchup. Playing away from home, the Wildcats allowed 38 points in the first quarter and were routed 64-12. Andrew Rasmussen and Lane Allen each added touchdown runs in the loss for Harlem, which will travel to Fairfield Friday night.

Harlem 0 0 12 0 0 - 12

Roundup 32 8 8 16 - 64.

RUP - Brody Grebe kickoff return ( run)

RUP - Brody Grebe kickoff return ( run)

RUP - Rider Hampton pass from Brody Grebe (Tyler Kombol run)

RUP - Brody Grebe run ( run)

RUP - Ian Flanscha run (Tyler Kombol pass from Brody Grebe)

RUP - Tyler Kombol run (Brody Grebe run)

HRM - Andrew Rasmussen run (run failed)

RUP- Tyler Kombol run ( run)

HRM - Lane Allen run (run failed)

RUP - Ian Flanscha run (Skyler Quenzer run)

RUP - Skyler Quenzer run (Tyler Kombol run)

PDB 50, North Star 18

The North Star Knights traveled to Power Friday night to take on Power-Dutton-Brady and with just five players for most of the game due to injury, North Star lost to PDB 50-18. Power scored 31 points in the first quarter of the game between Six-Man North Division teams and cruised to the 32-point win.

Knights quarterback Caden Rettig was one of the few bright spots for North Star, as he scored three total touchdowns. He threw a touchdown pass to Brody Wendland in the first quarter, but also returned a kickoff for a touchdown in the second quarter that encompassed 65 yards, as well as scoring on a 56-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter.

According to North Star athletic director Brian Campbell, the Knights will not play this week against Valier due to having just five healthy players.

"North Star will be forfeiting its high school 6-Man football game this Friday to the Valier Panthers," Campbell said in a statement. "North Star currently does not have six healthy student-athletes to start the game. North Star appreciates the understanding of the Valier school district and wishes them good luck for the remainder of the season. We also appreciate the great sportsmanship that has been shown to our team by other member teams of the 6-Man community as we try to weather this difficult season."