It was a heated battle in Columbia Falls on Saturday at the Class A state championship football game. The Hamilton Broncs had only lost one game this season, to Columbia Falls on September 1, in a 23-20 game. The Broncs had hopes of avenging that game but it was not to be. Columbia Falls defeated Hamilton, 26-14.
Columbia Falls controlled the tempo of the game for the most part and only allowed 269 total rushing yards for the Broncs. In the air, Hamilton’s Cameron Rothie had 103 yards on eight carries.
Tyler Chouinard improved his record-breaking reception record with 71 yards. He finished his football career with 1,333 yards which is the second best for 11-man football in the state, according to the MHSA. Last week he surpassed Marc Mariani’s record. Mariani was a star receiver for the University of Montana Grizzlies and then went on to play seven years in the NFL.
Columbia Falls put points on the board two times in the first quarter. After controlling the ball for over four minutes, the Wildcats had to settle for a field goal when Hamilton stopped their drive to the end zone at the four-yard line. Auguste Emond hit the uprights from 22 yards out for the field goal. Just a few minutes later, Ben Windauer caught a three-yard pass from Austin Green. The Emond kick was good and Columbia Falls was up, 10-0.
Hamilton’s defense had a great game and made several stops on the Wildcats, keeping them out of the end zone and forcing field goals. Emond kicked two in the second quarter, one from 29 yards and another from 32 yards. Kyle Anderson and Tucker Jones made several key stops for the Broncs.
Hamilton got on the board in the second quarter when Carson Rostad hit Chouinard from five yards out. Bridger Bauder kicked the PAT and the score was 10-7, Columbia Falls. But Columbia Falls held the Broncs to only that one score in the second and third quarters. But the D-line for Hamilton was also doing their job and held Columbia Falls to only a 26-yard field goal. They also missed two attempts.
Hamilton scored once more on a five-yard pass that was thrown laterally across the field to Bauder. Bauder’s PAT was good and Hamilton was only down five points. Hamilton had a couple chances to score again but fell short each time when their fourth down conversions failed. Columbia Falls scored once more on a 42-yard pass from Green to Windauer. Emond’s PAT was good and the Wildcats were the champs.