Hi-Line Football: Pioneer Power, Longhorn Stampede

The 2020 Class C State Six-man playoffs has been trucking along, with plenty of teams proving their prowess on the field and power among some of the best in the state. One of those teams is the Big Sandy High football team, who is once again on a campaign to come home with a state title. But Big Sandy would have to face a tough team in the quarterfinals on Halloween to keep their season going.

And the Pioneers will be making their way back to the semifinal round after beating the Bridger Scouts 36-12 Saturday in Big Sandy.

The win keeps the Pioneers in the undefeated column, but they will face another undefeated opponent in the Froid-Medicine Lake Red Hawks this Saturday at 1 p.m. in Medicine Lake for the semifinals.

Once again, senior running back Kade Strutz kicked off the afternoon Halloween matchup with the first score of the game, as he punched one in from four yards out to take the lead early. The Scouts would retaliate not long after with a quick six yard passing touchdown to tie it up, but Kody Strutz returned in kind by completing an eight-yard touchdown pass to Braydon Cline to put the Pioneers up 12-6 at the end of the first.

There would only be one score in the second quarter, but it was Kade Strutz once more, using his legs to drive in for a two-yard rushing touchdown, on top of a successful run-in for the two-point conversion to notch on eight more points to the scoreboard, giving Big Sandy a good 20-6 lead over Bridger going into halftime.

Coming out of the break, both offenses had troubles finding the endzone, but the Scouts defense capitalized on an interception by returning it for 1 72-yard pick six to bring the score closer. The Pioneers now had to lock in with the fourth quarter starting up.

And lock in they did, as Kade Strutz would add on two more touchdowns and two-point conversions in the fourth quarter. Both touchdown runs were from nine yards out and Kade Strutz came in clutch with a double-dose of two-point conversions to seal another strong win for Big Sandy. Kade Strutz would end the night with four rushing touchdowns to continue his strong career as a great running back for the Pioneers.

Kade Strutz finished the game with 272 yards rushing, while Braydon Cline added 58 yards.

Next up, Big Sandy (7-0) heads down to Medicine Lake (9-0) Saturday at 1 p.m. to play the Froid-Medicine Lake Red Hawks for its first road-game of the postseason for the semifinals of the 2020 Six-Man playoffs, for a shot at making it to the championship game.

Big Sandy 12 8 0 16 – 36

Bridger 6 0 6 0 – 12

BGS – Kade Strutz 4 run (PAT no good)

BRI – Zentner 6 pass from Goltz (PAT no good)

BGS – Kody Strutz 8 pass from Braydon Cline (PAT no good)

BGS – Kade Strutz 2 run (CNV good)

BRI – Zentner 72 interception return (PAT no good)

BGS – Kade Strutz 9 run (CNV good)

BGS – Kade Strutz 9 run (CNV good)

Fort Benton 61, St. Ignatius 6

The Fort Benton Longhorns hadn't played a game in three weeks prior to their opening-round Class C tilt with St. Ignatius Saturday in Fort Benton.

But any worries about being rusty were quickly put to rest as the top-ranked Longhorns blew out the St. Ignatius Bulldogs 61-6 in the first round of the 8-Man playoffs. The win pushed Fort Benton into the quarterfinals, where the Longhorns will be back any home next Saturday.

Getting to the quarterfinals proved to be a breeze for Fort Benton, too. Billy Ullery threw a touchdown pass to Hayden Diekhans early on, then scored on a 28 yard quarterback keeper to put the Horns up 12-0 at the end of the first. Ullery however, was just getting starting.

The Fort Benton senior picked off four passes in the first half alone, and also threw a TD pass to Jace Thompson, as well as returned a kickoff 75 yards for a TD as the Longhorns scored 32 points in the second quarter. Thompson also returned an INT for a score as Fort Benton led 44-6 at halftime, and never looked back.

In all, Ullery accounted for over 200 yards of offense, throwing three TD passes, including a 40-yard strike to Hayden Axtmen in the third quarter. Defensively, he also had 13 tackles to go with his four picks, while the Longhorns forced seven turnovers in all on their way to a rousing victory.

Fort Benton (7-0), which reached the Class C semifinals a year ago, will now be back at home this Saturday to host (7-1) Joilet for a spot on the semifinals. The Hawks edged Westby-Grenora 28-18 Saturday. The other 8-Man quarterfinals will have Fairview traveling to Flint Creek, Shelby visiting Park City and Thompson Falls taking on Scobey.

Mission 0 6 0 0 - 6

Fort Benton 12 32 8 9 - 61

FB - Diekhans 32 pass from Ullery

FB - Ullery 28 run

FB - Thompson 29 pass from Ullery

FB - Thompson INT return

SI - Umphrey 1 run

FB - Ullery 75 KO return

FB - Axtman 40 pass from Ullery

FB - Thompson 18 run

FB - Byle FG

FB - Morgan Axtman 5 run