Hi-Line Football: They're off: Football returns to the Hi-Line

High school football in the COVID-19 era on the Hi-Line has begun.

After falling to the Park City Panthers in the 2019 season, the Chinook High football team was ready to get some revenge and start off the 2020 year right. That's exactly what the Beeters did, pulling away with the win over the Panthers 30-24 in Park City for a great start to the season.

Park City did start off the game strong, though, as the Panthers battled to put up two touchdowns in the first quarter, with Tucker Johnstone a part of both, while Chinook drove forward to score their first touchdown of the year, as Benton Elliot connected with Tyler Schoen for a 23-yard pass-and-score. The Beeters then rallied in the second quarter, putting up 16 points thanks to a Drake Berreth 29-yard receiving touchdown and a 10-yard connection to Hunter Molyneaux, to Park City's six from Johnstone, giving Chinook the lead 22-18 at halftime.

Scoring would be more scarce in the second half, but the Beeters boosted their lead with a successful passing touchdown to Berreth and two-point-conversion to stay the course. But, the Panthers scored in the fourth quarter on a Johnstone pick-six to draw to game to a one-score showdown. From there, Park City pushed to score to either tie the game or take the lead, but the Chinook defense saved the game for the Beeters with a last-second interception by Damon Hannum, sealing the game and getting the win.

Chinook (1-0) will play the Shelby Coyotes Friday at 7 p.m. in Shelby next.

Chinook 30, Park City 24

CHK – 6 16 8 0 – 30

PKC – 12 6 0 6 – 24

PKC – Tucker Johnstone 10 run (CNV no good)

CHK – Tyler Schoen 23 pass from Benton Elliot (CNV no good)

PKC - Johnstone 10 pass from Jacob Gauthier (CNV no good)

CNK – Drake Berreth 29 pass from Elliot (CNV good)

PKC - Johnstone 3 run (CNV no good)

CNK – Hunter Molyneaux 10 pass from Elliot (CNV good)

CHK – Berreth 39 pass from Elliot (CNV good)

PKC - Johnstone 47 pick-six (CNV no good)

Fort Benton 48, Ennis 0

The Fort Benton High football team secured a win over the weekend, as well, shutting out the Ennis Mustangs on the road 48-0, which is another great start for the strong Longhorns squad.

Receiver Colter Ball and quarterback William Ullery started off the game versus the Mustangs on a high note, connecting for two touchdowns, one for 56-yards and the other for 23-yards. Running back Hayden Axtman added on another touchdown by rushing 11 yards. The Fort Benton offense kept trucking in the second quarter, with Jace Thompson rushing for 47 yards to score, Andrew Ballantyne catching a 27-yard pass from Ullery for another and Ullery keeping it himself for a touchdown to cap off the first half with a 41-0 lead over Ennis.

With the Mustangs unable to gain any traction against the Longhorns, no touchdown were scored the entire game for Ennis, but Fort Benton saw Cade Ball make his way to the endzone for a three-yard rushing touchdown to finish off the Mustangs and grab the first win of the season.

Ullery had an excellent night as the quarterback, completing four-out-of-five passes, passing for 108 yards and throwing three touchdowns. Thompson led the rushing attack with 80 yards in nine attempts and one touchdown.

Fort Benton (1-0) will face Cascade (1-0) Friday at 7 p.m. in Cascade next.

Fort Benton 48, Ennis 0

FTB – 20 21 0 7 – 48

ENN – 0 0 0 0 – 0

FTB – Colter Ball 56 pass from William Ullery (CNV good)

FTB – Hayden Axtman 11 run (PAT no good)

FTB – Colter Ball 23 pass from William Ullery (PAT no good)

FTB – Jace Thompson 47 run (PAT good)

FTB – Andrew Ballantyne 27 pass from William Ullery (PAT good)

FTB – William Ullery 3 run (PAT good)

FTB – Cade Ball 3 run (PAT good)

Big Sandy 47, Valier 6

The Big Sandy High football team had their season and home-opener Friday against the Valier Panthers, where the Pioneers routed the Panthers 47-6 to kick off what looks to be another strong season for Big Sandy.

All-state running back Kade Strutz set the tone quite early, rushing 17 yards for the first touchdown of the game, as well as the only score in the first quarter. But the Pioneers went into overdrive in the second quarter, with Parker Proulx catching a nine-yard pass from Kody Strutz for a touchdown, Kade Strutz connecting to Dillin Geyer for a three-yard score, Kody Strutz scoring on a 25-yard run and Kade Strutz scoring again with a three-yard run to give Big Sandy a shutout lead 29-0 at halftime.

That pace kept up in the third quarter, where Kade Strutz found the endzone on a 25-yard run and then snagging the ball defensively for a 56-yard pick-six. Kade Strutz scored on a 33-yard rushing touchdown in the fourth quarter, too, while the Panthers saw Cam Stoltz connect with Brett Stoltz for a 17-yard touchdown reception to avoid a shutout, while Big Sandy came away with the win.

Kade Strutz had a big night using his legs against Valier, rushing 117 yards in 11 attempts and scoring four touchdowns, while younger brother Kody Strutz led the Pioneers in passing with eight completions out of 11 attempts, passing for 102 yards and scoring one touchdown.

Big Sandy (1-0) will go against North Star (0-1) Saturday at 7 p.m. in Rudyard next.

Big Sandy 47, Valier 6

BSY – 6 23 12 6 – 47

VAL – 0 0 0 6 – 6

BSY – Kade Strutz 17 run (PAT no good)

BSY – Parker Proulx 9 pass from Kody Strutz (CNV good)

BSY – Dillin Geyer 3 pass from Kade Strutz (CNV good)

BSY – Kody Strutz 25 run (CNV good)

BSY – Kade Strutz 3 run (PAT no good)

BSY – Kade Strutz 56 pick-six (PAT no good)

BSY – Kade Strutz 33 run (PAT no good)

VAL – Brett Stoltz 17 pass from Cam Stoltz (CNV good)

Power-Dutton-Brady 35, North Star 7

Meanwhile, the North Star High football team saw struggles against the Power-Dutton-Brady Titans Saturday, with the Knights falling 35-7 on the road in Power. The loss is tough and is not the ideal start for North Star, but it is still early-on in the year.

Power-Dutton-Brady wasted no time in scoring, putting up 15 points in the first quarter, followed by another touchdown in the second quarter, while the Titans defense held the Knights scoreless, as North Star fell behind 21-0 at halftime.

Power-Dutton-Brady kept up the pace in the third quarter, adding on two more touchdowns and making sure the Knights stayed out of the endzone. But North Star did manage to put some points on the board with a touchdown and successful extra-point kick to avoid a shutout. Even so, the Titans walked away with the win in the end.

North Star (0-1) will play Big Sandy (1-0) Saturday at 1 p.m. in Rudyard for a home showdown next.

Power-Dutton-Brady 35, North Star 7

PDB – 15 6 14 0 – 35

NST – 0 0 0 7 – 7

PDB – Kellen Doheny 1 pass from Nick Widhalm

PDB – Tyler Ellsworth safety

PDB – Widhalm 5 run

PDB – Doheny 12 pass from Widhalm

PDB – Spencer Lehnerz 10 pass from Widhalm

PDB – Mike Berg 2 run

Cascade 34, Chester-Joplin-Inverness 6

The Chester-Joplin-Inverness High football team suffered a tough loss, as well, with the Cascade Badgers beating the Hawks 34-6 in Cascade, which is a rough start for CJI. The Badgers stayed the course throughout the entire game, adding touchdown after touchdown to stay ahead in the game. The Hawks were only able to find the endzone once throughout the game against the Cascade defense, which played a big part in getting the win and handing CJI the loss.

CJI (0-1) will face Hays Lodge-Pole (0-0) Sept. 12 at 4 p.m. in Hays next, looking for its first win of the season.