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News you can use
Fort Benton's Jace Thompson steps into the endzone during Saturday's Class C 8-Man playoff game against Joilet in Fort Benton. Thompson scored three first-half touchdowns to lead Fort Benton to a rousing 64-14 win over the Hawks. The Longhorns are now into the semifinals. For more photos, go to www.havredailynews.com.
Billy Ullery hands the ball to Hayden Axtman during Saturday's playoff game in Fort Benton.
Hayden Diekhans catches a pass during Saturday's playoff game in Fort Benton.
Andrew Ballantyne catches a TD during Saturday's playoff game in Fort Benton.
The Fort Benton defense makes a play during Saturday's playoff game in Fort Benton.
FORT BENTON - Usually, the deeper you go in the playoffs, the tougher things get. That wasn't the case Saturday in Fort Benton.
In the Class C 8-Man quarterfinals, the top-ranked Longhorns blasted the Joilet Hawks 64-14 to advance to the semifinals for the second=straight year. The Longhorns amassed over 500 yards of total offense en route to their second straight playoff win with running clock the entire second half.
But it wasn't just Fort Benton's offense that sparked the victory. Just like last week in the opening round of the playoffs, the Fort Benton defense got things started with interceptions on back-to-back Joilet drives. Those turnovers led to 14 points as Fort Benton raced out to a 20-0 lead.
The Longhorns were just getting started, too. Hayden Diekhans caught a 28-yard touchdown pass to start the second stanza, while Andrew Ballantyne and Billy Ullery scored before the half to send Fort Benton into the locker room with a 42-0 lead. Any chance the Hawks had of mounting a comeback was gone quickly, too, as Ullery returned the opening kickoff of the second half 65 yards for a touchdown to put Fort Benton up 50-0 and catapult them into the semifinals for the second straight year.
Once again, Fort Benton's balanced offense was key. Ullery was catalyst, throwing for a pair of scores and scoring with his legs as well. Jace Thompson and Hayden Axtman also got into the endzone as well, with Thompson scoring the Longhorn's first three touchdowns, while Fort Benton's defense allowed less than 150 yards of offense to the Hawks.
Saturday's win pushed Fort Benton to 8-0 on the year, but, more importantly, moved them to two home wins from the coveted state championship. The next step for the Longhorns will be a semifinal showdown with Flint Creek (Drummond-Phillipsburgh) this Saturday in Fort Benton. The Titans (8-0) crushed defending state champion Fairview in the quarterfinals Saturday. On the other side of the bracket, Shelby will host Thompson Falls.
Joilet 0 0 0 14 - 14
Fort Benton 20 22 15 7 - 64
FB - Thompson 1 run
FB - Thompson 6 run
FB - Thompson 30 pass from Ullery
FB - Diekhans 23 pass from Ullery
FB - Ballantyne 21 pass from Ullery
FB - Ullery 25 run
FB - Ullery 65 kickoff return
FB - Axtman 9 run
JOL - Lond 70 kickoff return
FB - Byle 1 run
JOL - Graeber 56 run
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