The Hamilton Broncs secured a home playoff berth with a 40-21 win over Frenchtown on Friday. The Broncs will play Dillon this weekend for the conference championship and a first round bye in the playoffs. Whomever wins the Dillon game will draw the first round bye but the other team will have a home field advantage.
Hamilton scored first on Friday in the battle of the Broncs when Bridger Bauder pushed through from four yards out for the six points. Bauder kicked the PAT. But Frenchtown came right back with a one yard run by Ty Hoppie. Adam Botkin kicked the PAT and the game was tied. Hamilton scored once more in the quarter when Bauder kicked a 26 yard field goal and Hamilton had the lead.
Frenchtown scored twice in the second quarter. Michael Edwards had a one yard push for a score and then did it again seven minutes later. Botkin kicked both PATs. Hamilton was only able to score another field goal in the second quarter, a 28 yard effort by Bauder with only two-seconds remaining in the half.
But whatever first year coach Bryce Carver told his Hamilton Broncs at half time must have worked. The defense stepped up and limited Frenchtown’s scoring attempts, and the offense went to work. Tyler Barnes caught a 50 yard pass from Carson Rostad, The run failed but Hamilton had the lead. The next recipient of a Rostad pass was Tyler Chouinard who caught an 18 yard pass. The Bauder PAT was good. The last two Hamilton touchdowns were scored by Bauder who had runs of two yards and one yard. Rostad made the two point conversion on the last touchdown for the final score, 40-21.
Hamilton finished with 536 total offensive yards. Rostad went 28 of 45 for 317 yards and two touchdowns. Bauder averaged 4.6 yards rushing with 39 carries and 189 total yards. They have a 4-0 conference record and are 7-1 overall.
Corvallis lost to Dillon, 34-14. Corvallis scored first when Jakob Dalbey rushed 12 yards for the six points. The PAT was missed. Corvallis’ other touchdown was a one yard run by Hunter Pinheiro. He also completed the two point conversion. Corvallis is 0-4 in conference play and 3-4 overall.
Stevensville lost to Butte Central, 34-0. They have a conference record of 1-3 and are 2-4 overall.
Florence is on track to make a post season appearance this year. With a record of 3-2 in conference play, they are currently in fourth place behind defending champion Eureka in first place and Bigfork and Loyola who are tied for second. The Falcons topped Thompson Falls on Friday, 34-14.
Florence came out strongly and quickly built a commanding lead. They went on to sin, 34-14. Jethro Thorne got things going with an 80 yard kickoff return for six points on the opening kickoff. The two point conversion failed. Then quarterback Colby Kohlman went to work. He hit Marcus Zeiler from 40 yards out for a touchdown. Kyler Alm made the two point conversion. Kohlman’s next target was Thorne who made a 70 yard scoring reception. It was Thorne again in the third quarter. He caught a 45 yard pass for the score. The final Falcon touchdown was a five yard rush to the end zone.
Florence will play Loyola in Missoula on Friday night for their final game of the season.
Victor traveled to Arlee for a chance to play in the first round playoffs. Unfortunately for the Pirates, the Warriors exacted revenge from an earlier loss and defeated Victor, 52-6. Victor finished with a 4-4 record for the season.
Darby notched a big win over Troy for their final game of the season. The Tigers won, 57-6. Dylan Parks accounted for five scores for the Tigers. He caught passes of 49 and 43 yards from quarterback Nelson Smith. Parks also had runs of 19 yards, at yards and 16 yards. Garrett Odlin had a safety for Darby. Leanne Kayser recovered a Troy fumble and raced 42 yards for the score. Nick Beiler had a three yard scoring run and Drake Horvath finished off the scoring for Darby with a 16 yard reception from Parks. Darby finished the season with a 3-5 record.