Hi-Line Football: Big Sandy continues to roll, Hawks survive thriller

With another weekend came another exciting week of high school football on the Hi-Line. Over in Chester, the Chester-Joplin-Inverness Hawks survived a shootout at home against Highwood as the Hawks pulled out the 44-43 victory Friday night.

The Hawks struck first in the first quarter with a 38-yard touchdown run from Nate Nelson for an 8-0 lead. But the Mountaineers got on a roll with a pair of scores in the first quarter to take a 16-8 lead.

In the second quarter, the Hawks responded with a 29-yard touchdown run from Nelson. But the Mountaineers continued to run the ball well as they scored another pair of touchdowns on the ground. Before the end of the half, CJI's Braden Mattson threw a 15-yard touchdown pass to Blake Harmon to cut the Hawks' deficit to 29-23.

The Mountaineers opened the second half with another touchdown to extend the lead even further. Nelson helped the Hawks keep pace as he ran for a 31-yard score to cut the deficit to 37-29.

The Hawks opened the fourth quarter with Nelson throwing a 36-yard touchdown to Mattson to further cut the deficit to 37-35. The Mountaineers tried to hold onto their lead as they scored a touchdown to stretch the lead to 43-35. But with the game on the line, the Hawks came up clutch with Mattson throwing a 39-yard touchdown to Nelson to give the Hawks a 44-43 lead that they held onto for the win.

At quarterback, Mattson went 8-for-12 through the air for 106 yards and two touchdowns. On his lone pass of the game, Nelson completed it for 39 yards and a score. Nelson's biggest impact in the game came on the ground where he ran for 108 yards and three touchdowns. As a whole, the CJI offense had a balanced game with 172 passing yards and 151 yards against the Mountaineers.

With the thrilling win, the Hawks improved to 4-1 on the season. The CJI six-man football team will next play this Friday on the road against Hobson-Moore-Judith Gap.

HIG - 16 13 8 6 - 43

CJI - 8 15 6 15 - 44

CJI - Nelson 38 run (Harmon kick)

HIG - Bahnmiller 2 pass from Noble (Bahnmiller kick)

HIG - Bowman 1 run (Bahnmiller kick)

CJI - Nelson 29 run (St. John pass from Harmon)

HIG - Bowman 7 run (kick failed)

HIG - Bowman 10 run (Ryder Zanto pass from Tinklenberg)

CJI - Harmon 15 pass from Mattson (Harmon kick)

HIG - Conner Zanto 10 pass from Noble (Bahnmiller kick)

CJI - Nelson 31 run (kick failed)

CJI - Mattson 36 pass from Nelson (kick failed)

HIG - Mortensen 72 pass from Noble (kick failed)

CJI - Nelson 39 pass from Mattson (Harmon pass from Mattson)

Big Sandy 52, North Star 6

On Saturday afternoon in Rud-yard, a pair of Hi-Line six-man football teams met on the field. In the matchup between the Big Sandy Pioneers and the North Star Knights, the Pioneers demonstrated how good they are this season with a 52-6 victory over the Knights.

The Pioneers wasted little time setting the tone as they drove right down the field on their opening drive. Even on fourth and long, the Pioneers converted with a strong run from Kody Strutz. Two plays later, Strutz ran it in from three yards out to give Big Sandy an 8-0 lead.

After a North Star punt, it took the Pioneers just one play to add to their lead. On the first play of the drive, Strutz ran the ball 25 yards for a touchdown to stretch the lead to 16-0. After another stop by the defense, the Pioneers once again moved the ball down the field to end the first quarter. On the opening play of the second quarter, Braydon Cline found Strutz in the left corner of the end zone for the nine-yard score to make it 24-0.

The Pioneers could not be slowed down as they scored again when they got the ball back. From 52 yards out, Lane Demontiney took the rock all the way to the end zone to stretch the lead to 32-0. After another defensive stop, the Pioneers put together a strong drive to end the half. After working their way to the North Star three-yard line, Cline connected with Demontiney for the score to make it 38-0 heading to halftime.

After North Star punted to open the second half, the Pioneers got right back to business. On a third and long at the North Star 42-yard line, Cline kept the ball himself and ran it all the way for the score to make it 44-0.

The Pioneers scored again in the fourth quarter with a seven-yard pass from Cline to Strutz to make it 52-0. With their pride on the line, the Knights scored on the last play of the game with a three-yard touchdown pass from Gavin Spicher to Gavin Clawson to make the final score 52-6.

The Pioneers finished the game with 356 total yards of offense, including 204 on the ground. Demontiney led the Pioneers on the ground with 103 yards and a score on six carries. Strutz led the team with two rushing touchdowns on 48 yards. He also led the team receiving with 36 yards and two touchdown catches. Through the air, Cline went 7-for-11 for 75 yards and three touchdowns.

The Knights finished the game with 134 yards of offense. Spicher went 8-for-11 for 69 yards and a touchdown through the air. Michael Berg led the team with 32 rushing yards while Sebastien Mansfield was the leading receiver with four catches for 52 yards.

The Pioneers remain undefeated as they move to 5-0 on the season. The Big Sandy six-man football team will next play this Friday at home against Box Elder. The North Star six-man football team falls to 1-3 on the year and will next play on the road against Sunburst this Friday.

BS 16 22 6 8 - 52

NS - 0 0 0 6 - 6

BS - Strutz 3 run (Terry kick)

BS - Strutz 25 run (Cline kick)

BS - Strutz 9 pass from Cline (Cline kick)

BS - Demontiney 52 run (Cline kick)

BS - Demontiney 3 pass from Cline (kick failed)

BS - Cline 42 run (kick failed)

BS - Strutz 7 pass from Cline (Terry kick)

NS - Clawson 3 pass from Spicher (pass failed)

Chinook 24, Fort Benton 12

Another Hi-Line matchup took place Friday night with the Fort Benton and the Chinook 8-man football teams going at it. Even though they were on the road, the Chinook Sugarbeeters came out with a 24-12 victory over the Longhorns.

The Sugarbeeters struck first in the first quarter as they scored to take a 6-0 lead. Then in the second quarter, the Sugarbeeters and Longhorns exchanged scores. When the game went to halftime, the Sugarbeeters still had the advantage as they led 18-12.

After halftime, both defenses took over to slow down the game. The Sugarbeeters were able to score in the third quarter to stretch the lead to 24-12, but that was also all that the offense could produce in the second half. But the Chinook defense held strong as it held the Longhorns scoreless in the last two quarters to secure the win.

The Chinook 8-man football team remains undefeated with a 5-0 record on the season and is scheduled to play Hays-Lodge Pole this Friday at home. Fort Benton falls to 2-2 on the year and will next play at Harlem this Friday.

CHI - 6 12 6 0 - 24

FB - 0 12 0 0 - 12

Power-Dutton-Brady 67, Box Elder 26

On Saturday at home this past weekend, the Box Elder six-man football team played against the Power-Dutton-Brady Titans. While the Bears found some rhythm on offense, they could not keep up as Box Elder lost 67-26. Box Elder falls to 0-3 on the year and will next play on the road against Big Sandy this Friday.

Broadus 38, Harlem 14

The Harlem 8-man football team went on the road this past Saturday with a game against Broadus. The Wildcats could not keep up as they lost 38-14. While the Wildcats lost, they originally had a game scheduled against Hays-Lodge Pole for this past weekend. Since the Thunderbirds forfeited the game, the Wildcats picked up the win. So the Wildcats leave the weekend with a 3-3 record. The Harlem 8-man football team will next play this Friday at home against Fort Benton.