What a difference a week makes! From blowing and drifting snow last week to sunshine and 60 degrees for the Class A quarterfinal football game at Hamilton Athletic Center. The No. 1 seed from the West, the Hamilton Broncs, with a 9-0 record, took on the Sidney Eagles, the No. 4 seed from the East.
The tone of the game was set early in the game when Sidney, who kicked off, forced Hamilton to punt on their first possession. That was the first time all season that Hamilton had to punt on the first possession.
Although Hamilton’s defense was strong and forced a punt by Sidney in the next possession, the Bronc offense took a while to get going.
“We knew it was going to be a war today,” said Hamilton coach Bryce Carver. “Sidney was a physical football team. They are tough, hard-nosed kids.”
The two teams battled back and forth with Rostad mixing up running plays and passing. He had some trouble getting his passing game going. A tough hit by an Eagle defender laid Rostad out and he wasn’t as crisp as he normally is for a few plays. But he came back.
“I think that hit shook him straight,” said Carver. “Sometimes that is what football is. Sometimes you just have to get hit in the month to get going.”
By the end of the first quarter, Rostad, Ben Rooney, Ben Tack, and Liam O’Connell were beginning to gel and the Hamilton offense was getting ready to attack. The Bronc defense had kept Sidney out of the red zone and was beginning to block the lanes to shut the Sidney rushers down.
That attack came four seconds into the second quarter when Rostad pushed through from a yard out to put the Broncs on the board. Austin Drake’s PAT was good and Hamilton was up, 7-1. Hamilton made it into the red zone after a march down the field from their own 17 yard line. However, attempts by Hamilton to make it into the end zone were stymied and Hamilton settled for a short field goal by Drake. He went three-for-three in the day for point after touchdown attempts.
The field goal gave the Broncs a bit of breathing room and allowed their confidence to come back. A couple of key penalties held the Broncs from scoring any more in the first half.
“When you play teams you’re not used to playing, you have to feel each other out,” said Carver. “It’s tough playoff football. There’s only 7-8 teams left in the state. Everybody is good and it just took us a little bit to find our rhythm. I thought we did a good job.”
The Hamilton defense kept the pressure on the Eagles. Sidney never made it into the red zone until midway through the third quarter. And while the Hamilton defense was stopping Sidney, the offense chipped away at the Sidney defense. While a couple of penalties moved the Broncs back, they didn’t lose their cool. They marched 91 yards down the field with senior Ben Rooney bracketing the plays. He broke loose for a 34 yard run, and then finished off with a 24 yard touchdown scoring run. In between, when it looked like the drive was over, Rostad threw to Liam O’Connell on a 4th down and nine to go for a 14 yard pass to keep the drive alive.
“They are all big guys,” said Rooney of the Sidney defense. “They hit hard. WE had to just trust our ‘O’ line. We had to hit them quick. Our linemen did a good job opening up holes.”
The Rostad to Jaiden Klemundt connection that has been successful all season had one last play in the book. They connected for a 16 yard scoring pass, the last Hamilton touchdown of the game. Sidney had one touchdown in the fourth quarter, but it was Hamilton who won, 24-6.
Hamilton will host Laurel on Saturday at noon in the semi finals. This is the fourth year in a row that the Broncs have made it to the semi finals. Laurel, the No. 2 seed from the East, defeated Frenchtown, 35-13. Billings Central defeated Columbia Falls, 35-8 and will advance to the semi finals. They are the No. 1 seed from the East. Miles City came from behind to defeat Dillon, 26-21 for the final semi final team.