Hi-Line Football: Fort Benton Longhorns remain undefeated

Since a previous game was postponed, the Fort Benton and Rocky Boy 8-man football teams had to play two games each over the course of last week. The Longhorns and the Stars first faced off last Monday which the Longhorns won, 74-24.

Fort Benton then returned home for a Friday-night game against Choteau. Even though they played earlier in the week, the Longhorns showed no signs of slowing down as they defeated Choteau, 47-26.

The Longhorns got their running game going early with Andrew Ballytine leading the charge. In the first two quarters, Ballyntine scored three touchdowns on the ground to give Fort Benton a 21-0 lead. Jackson Schmele also scored on the ground for the Longhorns to push their lead to 28-6 at halftime.

Choteau managed to get their offense going in the second half, but the Fort Benton ground game continued to dominate. Ballyntine scored twice more in the second half to make it five touchdowns for the game.

At 5-0, Fort Benton will look to remain undefeated when they head on the road to play Simms this Friday night.

CHO - 0 6 6 14 - 26

FB - 14 14 12 7 - 47

FB - Andrew Ballyntine 4 run

FB - Ballyntine 11 run (Colter Ball run)

FB - Ballyntine 1 run (Mateo Socorro De LaFuente kick)

CHO - Colesworthy 41 run

FB - Jackson Schmele 4 run (Socorro De LaFuente kick)

FB - Ballyntine 65 run

CHO - Carter Morgan 47 run

FB - Ball 1 run

CHO - Morgan 1 run

FB - Ballyntine 48 run

CHO - Morgan 1 run (Morgan run)

Belt 64, Rocky Boy 26

Not only did Rocky Boy play two games last week, but they had to face two tough teams. After they started the week with a loss to Fort Benton at home, the Stars had to play Belt last Friday. Even though they got to remain at home, Rocky Boy lost to Belt, 64-26.

The loss dropped Rocky Boy to 1-4 on the season. They will try to snap their losing streak when they host Chester-Joplin-Inverness this Friday night.

Simms 34, Chinook 24

Through their first five games of the season, the Chinook 8-man football team had dominated for an undefeated record. However, the Sugarbeeters could not maintain their dominance on Saturday when they lost to Simms, 34-24, on the road.

Chinook fell behind early when they fumbled the ball and Simms returned it for the score. In the second quarter, Simms got their ground game going to build themselves a 20-0 lead at the half. Chinook finally got going in the second half thanks to Toby Niederegger. In the third quarter, he returned a punt 40 yards for the score. In the fourth quarter, he caught a touchdown from quarterback Levi Jensen. However, it was not enough as Simms held on for the win.

At 5-1, Chinook will try to get back in the win column when they head on the road to play Choteau on Friday night.

CHI - 0 0 12 12 - 24

SIM - 6 14 0 14 - 34

SIM - Michael Leach fumble return (Hudson Rohrer run)

SIM - Leach 73 run (Rohrer run)

SIM - Rohrer 3 run

CHI - Drake Berreth 20 pass from Levi Jensen

CHI - Toby Niederegger 40 punt return

SIM - Leach 59 run (Leach run)

CHI - Niederegger 4 pass from Jensen (Niederegger pass from Berreth)

SIM - Rohrer 5 run (Rohrer pass)

CHI - Okskar Pula 39 pass from Berreth

Big Sandy 62, Box Elder 0

After an 0-2 start to the season, the Big Sandy six-man football team has been rolling over the past few weeks. Even on the road at Box Elder this past Saturday, the Pioneers continued to play well as they defeated Box Elder, 62-0.

In the first quarter, both the Big Sandy offense and defense came out hot to build a sizable lead. Quarterback Braydon Cline started the game hot for the Pioneers with two touchdown passes to start the game. The Pioneer defense then made some plays with an interception and a fumble return for a touchdown. To end the opening quarter, Cline threw a 48-yard touchdown to Rusty Gasvoda for his third touchdown pass of the day and a 36-0 lead.

With a 4-2 record, the Big Sandy football team will next play at home against North Star this Friday night. Box Elder is now 1-4 and will try to pick up a win when they head on the road to play Power-Dutton-Brady this Saturday.

BS - 36 6 13 7 - 62

BE - 0 0 0 0 - 0

BS - Kody Strutz 18 pass from Braydon Cline (Cline kick)

BS - Cooper Taylor 17 pass from Cline (Kick failed)

BS - Taylor interception return (Cline kick)

BS - Strutz fumble return (Cline kick)

BS - Rusty Gasvoda 48 pass from Cline (Kick failed)

BS - Cline 7 run (Kick failed)

BS - Lane Demontiney 32 pass from Cline (Kick failed)

BS - Sam Cox 2 run (Demontiney pass from Strutz)

BS - Gasvoda 6 pass from Jake Darlington (Gasvoda pass from Strutz)

Shelby 72, CJI 46

The past few weeks have been rough for the Chester-Joplin-Inverness six-man football team as they have lost three straight games. Things did not get much better at home Friday night as CJI lost to Shelby, 72-46.

Shelby was able to jump on the Hawks early for a 14-8 lead after the first quarter. However, CJI was able to get their offense going in the second quarter to keep pace with Shelby who only led 32-22 at the half.

The CJI offense exploded in the third quarter with 24 points to get back in the game. Heading into the fourth, the Hawks only trailed 50-46. However, Shelby's defense stiffened up and did not allow any points to CJI in the final quarter. The Shelby offense also had their best quarter of the game with 22 points.

CJI is now 2-4 this season and will try to snap their losing streak when they head on the road to play Rocky Boy this Friday night.

SHE 14 18 18 22 - 72

CJI 8 14 24 0 - 46

Sunburst 42, North Star 28

After they were not able to play for nearly a month, the North Star six-man football team finally got the chance to play this past Saturday at home. Unfortunately, their return to the field saw them lose to Sunburst, 42-28.

After a slow start on offense, the Knights managed to get things going to cut their deficit to 30-20 heading to the fourth quarter. Unfortunately, they could not slow down Sunburst as they scored 12 points in the final 12 minutes to close out the game.

North Star is now 1-4 on the season and will next play at home against Power-Dutton-Brady this Saturday.

SUN - 12 12 6 12 - 42

NS - 0 6 14 8 - 28

Harlem 54, Hays-Lodgepole 14

The HLP 8-man football team has had trouble getting on the field this season because of COVID-19 issues. This past Saturday, however, they got the chance to host Harlem for a game. But it was the Wildcats that made the most of it as they defeated HLP, 54-14.

Harlem is 2-4 this season and will next play at home against Great Falls Central this Friday night. HLP is now 0-3 and will next play at home against Cascade on Saturday.