by Scott Sacry
Sometimes things just don’t go your way – it was that kind of day for the Hamilton Broncs. Hamilton was defeated by the Billins Central Rams 6-42 in the Class A semifinals on Saturday, November 12th on a chilly day in Hamilton, thus ending Hamilton’s 21-game winning streak and squashing their chance to repeat as State Champions. Their last loss came on November 7th, 2020 against Laurel in the state semifinals.
A blind look at the stat sheet pointed toward an even game with the Rams outgaining the Broncs by just 344 to 272 in total yards. But play by play, drive by drive, and quarter by quarter, things were just going Central’s way. Hamilton would make a big run, then get a penalty, the Rams took advantage of good field position, a penalty would go against the Broncs, a TD catch would just slip out of the hands of a Bronc receiver. But the biggest issue was that Hamilton wasn’t able to stop Central’s rushing attack consistently.
Much of the momentum for Billings Central was gained in the first quarter. Hamilton stalled on their first two drives, giving Central good field position, which they took advantage of, scoring on their first two drives. Hamilton found themselves down 0-14 with time still left in the first quarter.
Hamilton’s third drive looked to be stalled as penalties forced them back to their 6-yard line, but as was often the case this season, senior receiver Eli Taylor made a play. He caught a Tyson Bauder pass and scampered 94 yards for a touchdown. A missed PAT brought the score to 6-14. Taylor had three catches on the day for 135 yards.
But the celebration was short lived as the Rams scored again on a second quarter drive, increasing their lead to 21-6. Hamilton’s next drive ended in an interception and then it was halftime.
Central took their opening drive of the 3rd quarter and methodically moved down the field and scored, increasing their lead to 27-6. Hamilton answered with a long drive of their own, moving the ball down to the 4 yard line, but couldn’t punch it in and turned it over on downs.
After trading possessions, Central scored with 8:27 to go in the fourth quarter, increasing the lead to 34-6, effectively shutting the door on Hamilton’s chances. A late Rams’ score made the final 42-6. Hamilton finished the year 10-1 and made it to the State semifinals, a successful season by any standards.