With the post-season playoffs in full swing now, the two remaining football teams will hit the road this week for second round action. In Class A, Hamilton will travel to Belgrade, while Victor will make the long trip to Wibaux.
Hamilton took on Butte Central in a wildcard game on Saturday in Hamilton. The two had played just two weeks ago with Hamilton coming out the winner. The Broncs won this game, 39-22.
“It’s exciting to get a home playoff win,” said coach Travis Blome. “We went through some adversity and kept fighting and it paid off.”
Hamilton scored first when freshman quarterback Carson Rostad hit Camron Rothie from 26 yards out for a touchdown. But then Butte Central went to town and scored twice. The first one was a 47-yard run by Blake Burton and Ryan Moodry kicked the PAT. A few minutes later, Moodry caught a 25-yard pass from Tanner Kump for a touchdown. Moodry kicked the PAT.
But Hamilton had a game plan and they stuck with it. Blome said he was proud of the patience the players showed and the trust in each other to stick with the game plan. Hamilton didn’t score in the second quarter but broke loose and scored three times in the third quarter and once more in the fourth to seal the win and advance.
Hamilton’s first touchdown of the third quarter was a seven-yard pass from Rostad to Manny Rivera. The Broncs went for a two-point conversion with Rostad completing the pass to Rothie. Rostad went to the air again for the next touchdown and hit Bridger Bauder from 43 yards out. It was Rothie again for the third touchdown when Rostad hit him from 18 yards out. Hamilton’s final score of the game was in the fourth quarter when Rivera broke loose and rushed eight yards for the score. Bauder split the uprights for the PAT.
“Our quarterback really came through, and Cam Rothie had one of his best games of the year,” said Blome. “And Bauder really had a great game. He ran the ball a lot more than he has all year.”
Blome said Belgrade is a very well coached team that is loaded at all of the skill positions. They were the champions of the Central A conference and have a record of 6-2 overall and 4-0 in conference play. The game will be in Belgrade at 1pm.
Victor rolled over Great Falls Central, 52-0, in first-round action in Class C. Great Falls Central was the No. 3 seed from the North. First-year coach Lance Pearson said Victor played their game, and played good, sound, fundamental defense.
“We knew they liked to pass from a spot, so we wanted to put a good pass rush on and get them off that spot,” he said.
Colt Neville opened up the scoring for Victor with a 65-yard run in the first quarter. Eli Rosen made the two-point conversion. In the second quarter, Neville broke loose for a six yard run and Rosen again made the conversion. Then it was Rosen on a two-yard run. Quarterback Jesse Pearson went to the air and hit Logan McKinley on a 30-yard pass for the final TD of the second quarter. It was Neville once again in the third quarter, this time with a 53 yard run to the end zone. Rosen took the ball for the next Pirate touchdown and raced 25 yards. The final score of the game came when Bob Hotchkiss ran 20 yards for the score and JD Kay scored the two-point conversion.
Pearson said that because the offensive line did their job, the rushing game did very well. Rosen, who has not played at the tailback spot all year, finished with 145 yards. Daven Woodard, Jayce Allred, and McKinley all did their job. He also said that Waylon Barta and Garritt Gleason helped hold the line.
Wibaux is the No. 1 seed from the East. They defeated Park City, 48-1. Pearson said that Wibaux likes “to run the ball right at you. “They have an offense that tends to rely mostly on the run and they have some size.” He said he’s seen a lot of video on the team, thanks to the Internet. One issue the Pirates will have to contain will be running back Shawn Schaefferkotter, who is one of the best in the state.