Hi-Line Football: Longhorns, Pioneers tumble in semifnals

FORT BENTON - The 2021 season has been one to remember for the Fort Benton Longhorns. Along with a 6-1 record, the Longhorns won their first two playoff games to reach the semifinals this past Saturday. Unfortunately for them, the road came to an end as they lost to Drummond-Philipsburg, 38-22, at home.

While the loss resulted in the end of their season, Fort Benton head coach Jory Thompson was proud of his team's efforts.

"They did a great job today. They work super hard. It just didn't work out the way we wanted it to," Thompson said.

It was the second straight year where the Longhorns' season ended because of the Titans after a 48-18 loss in last year's 8-Man semifinals.

Early in Saturday's game, it looked like the Longhorns would get their vengeance. On their opening possession, the Fort Benton offense ran the ball on all 13 plays of the drive. At the Titans' three-yard line, Colter Ball ran it in for the score to give the Longhorns a 6-0 lead with 5:06 left in the first quarter.

The Titans got their own offense rolling on their first drive of the game. The Titans drove deep into Fort Benton territory, but their run on fourth and seven failed to get close to the first-down marker. With the ball back, the Longhorns used a big run from Ball and a pair of Titan penalties to reach their opponents' 10-yard line. Ball then ran it in for his second touchdown of the day. He then ran it in for the two-point conversion to give Fort Benton a 14-0 lead with 17 seconds left in the first quarter.

Once they got the ball back, the Titans made another drive and did not let it go to waste this time. In Fort Benton territory, quarterback Andrew Tallon scrambled for a 32-yard run to reach the Fort Benton two-yard line. Chase Goldade then ran it in for the score to cut the Titans' deficit to 14-6 with 10:29 left in the first half.

The Longhorns looked to hold onto momentum but could not hold onto the ball. On their next possession, Ball fumbled and the Titans recovered the ball. The Titans then marched down to the Fort Benton one-yard line. On fourth and goal, Tyler Burden carried it in for the score to make it a costly turnover for the Longhorns.

"We had a couple turnovers early on and it kind of took a toll on us and that's my fault as a coach," Thompson said.

After a Longhorn punt, the Titans continued to roll on offense. After Avery Metesh took a pass from Tallon into Fort Benton territory, he capped off the drive with a 33-yard touchdown run to give the Titans a 18-12 lead with 4:20 left in the half. Neither team was able to score again as the Longhorns went into halftime trailing after leading, 14-0, to start the game.

On their opening drive of the second half, the Titans continued to roll on offense as they again drove deep into Fort Benton territory. However, they failed to convert on fourth and goal when Tallon's pass to the end zone was broken up by Ball. The Longhorns could not convert that stop into momentum as they punted the ball back to the Titans.

On the opening play of the fourth quarter, Metesh broke free for a 52-yard touchdown run to extend the Titans' lead to 24-14. The Longhorns responded with a drive of their own to the red zone. On fourth and goal at the 10-yard line, Cade Ball scrambled and found Brock Hanford in the left end zone for the touchdown. They then converted the two-point conversion to cut their deficit to 24-22 with 6:31 left in the game.

The Longhorns could not make a stand on defense as the Titans scored again to make their lead, 32-22, with 4:46 left. On the ensuing drive, the Longhorns failed to convert on fourth down in Titan territory. The Titans then went down and scored again to put the game away and punch their ticket to the state championship game.

With the loss, the Longhorns finished their season with an overall record of 8-2. After a strong season that saw the Longhorns strong arm most of their opponents, Thompson saw the year as a success.

"(It was) an amazing season. They played super hard," Thompson said. "Just kind of took people by storm and imposed their will on people all year. They did a great job."

DP - 0 18 0 20 - 38

FB - 14 0 0 8 - 22

FB - Colter Ball 3 yd run (Run failed)

FB - Ball 10 yd run (Ball run)

DP - Chase Goldade 2 yd run (Run failed)

DP - Tyler Burden 1 yd run (Run failed)

DP - Avery Metesh 33 yd run (Run failed)

DP - Metesh 52 yd run (Run failed)

FB - Brock Hanford 10 pass from Cade Ball (Colter Ball run)

DP - Andrew Tallon 9 yd run (Goldade run)

DP - Tallon 22 yd run (Goldade run)

Froid-Lake 24, Big Sandy 20

The Big Sandy Pioneers were the other Hi-Line football team this Saturday competing in the postseason. They were playing in the Six-Man semifinals for a chance at the state title game next weekend. However, their season came to an end with a 24-20 loss to Froid-Lake on the road.

The Redhawks took an early advantage with an 11-yard touchdown pass from Mason Dethman to Jovonne Nesbit. However, the Pioneers responded when Braydone Cline connected with Lane Demontiney for an 11-yard touchdown pass to tie the game, 6-6.

Over the next few quarters, the Redhawks took momentum to take control of the game. The Redhawks retook the lead in the first quarter with a one-yard touchdown from Brett Stentoft. In the second quarter, Dethman threw his second touchdown of the game when he connected with Ashdyn Hobbs to make the score, 18-8. In the third quarter, Dethman made it three touchdown passes with a 31-yard connection with Quinn Abar to make the score 24-8.

Despite the hole, the Pioneers fought back to keep their season alive. In the third quarter, Cline completed a seven-yard touchdown throw to Kody Strutz to cut their deficit to 24-12. In the fourth quarter, Cline then connected with Demontiney again for a score to make it 24-20. However, the Pioneers could not find one more touchdown drive within themselves as their season came to an end.

While the season ended with disappointment, the Pioneers have plenty to celebrate. After starting the season 0-2, the Pioneers won six of their next seven games heading into the postseason. They then won two postseason games on the road to reach the semifinals.

BS - 8 0 6 6 - 20

FL - 12 6 6 0 0 24

FL - Jovonne Nesbit 11 pass from Mason Dethman (Pass failed)

BS - Lane Demontiney 28 pass from Braydon Cline (Kick good)

FL - Brett Stentoft 1 yd run (Pass failed)

FL - Ashdyn Hobbs 27 pass from Dethman (Pass failed)

FL - Quinn Abar 31 pass from Dethman (Pass failed)

BS - Kody Strutz 7 pass from Cline (Kick failed)

BS - Demontiney 3 pass from Cline (Kick failed)