The Hamilton Broncs secured first place in the Southwest A conference and a week’s bye for the first-round playoffs with a 40-0 drubbing of Dillon. This was possibly the last game on Haynes Field in Hamilton as the new complex is almost ready for daytime games.
Hamilton scored just under 90 seconds into the game when Carson Rostad completed a pass to Tucker Jones from 17 yards out for the six points. Cam Rothie set the play up with a 40 yard kick off return and Hamilton easily moved the chains twice before the touchdown pass.
Dillon was knocking at the door with the ball on the 21 yard line when Cam Rothie picked off a Peterson pass to give the ball back to the Broncs. That interception was the first of four for Hamilton. Quarterback Carson Rostad drove his team up the field with a pass to Michael Golden, a runs by Tyler Barnes, Rostad, and Golden. At the 5:46 mark, Rostad hit Rothie from 10 yards out for the score. During the PAT, the ball hit the upright and bounced out. But the Broncs were up, 12-0 with three and a quarter quarters to go.
“The kids came out to play,” said coach Bryce Carver. “Dillon is a well coached team but it was everyone on our side who contributed.
During Dillon’s possession this time, it was Rostad that snagged the Beaver pass on the Dillon 31 yard line. With third down and four to go, Rostad darted through the line for nine yards and the score. A pass from Rostad to Rothie made the two-point conversion good.
Hamilton’s defense stopped Dillon at the Hamilton 14 yard line on a fourth down attempt. The offense again took to the field and methodically marched down the field with short passes and rushing. Michael Golden pushed through from one yard out for the final score of the half. Golden also pushed through on the two-point conversion.
Although Hamilton kicked off at the beginning of the third quarter, they got the ball right back as Dillon didn’t move the ball up the field. Hamilton took over on the 39 yard line and moved the ball methodically to the goal line. The drive included 33 yard pass to Barns. Rostad found Jones in the end zone for the four yard score. The PAT was not good. Hamilton scored once more with Barnes receiving a Rostad pass from 14 yards out.
Hamilton ran 82 plays compared to Dillon’s 42. Rostad completed 22 of 30 passes for 237 yards. Hamilton had 34 first downs, Dillon had nine. Golden had 144 yards rushing on 27 carries.
Golden said he was proud of his offensive linemen. “They did a good job up front. We watched a lot of film getting ready for the game.”
Hamilton will have a first round bye and then will meet the winner of the Belgrade, Miles City game on Saturday, November 3rd in Hamilton. Belgrade is the No. 4 seed from the East and Miles City (Custer County) is the No. 5 seed from the East.
Corvallis defeated Butte Central, 52-32, and secured a playoff berth. Butte Central scored two touchdowns in the first quarter without the Blue Devils scoring anything. But they shook loose in the second quarter and put up 30 points. Hunter Pinheiro put the first points on the board with a one yard push into the end zone. He also completed the two-point conversion. Butte Central extended their lead but the Blue Devils answered when quarterback Liang Liedle called his own number and found the hole in the Maroons line for a one yard scoring run but the conversion failed.
Corvallis scored the next three touchdowns. Liedle had a 10 yard run and then ran in the two point conversion too. It was Pinheiro who took the ball in for the score next. He had a two yard run. Rory Jessop caught the pass for the two point conversion. Liedle then had a 19 yard run and Jessop then ran the conversion in. After one more Maroon touchdown, Corvallis’s Pinheiro had another one yard plunge and Liedle finished with a 15 yard run.
Corvallis will play Frenchtown on Friday night for the first round playoff game. Corvallis is the No. 6 team in the West, Frenchtown is seeded No. 3 in the West.
Florence lost to Loyola, 43-27, in their final regular season game. Loyola came out playing tough and quickly put points on the scoreboard. Florence’s first touchdown occurred when quarterback Colby Kohlman drove his team down the field and then called his own number for three yard push and six points.
Florence didn’t score again until the third quarter when Kohlman rushed 35 yards for the score. He then threw a 76 yard pass to Levi Posey for the longest scoring drive of the game. Eli Christianson had the final score of the game for the Falcons. Florence will play the No. 1 seed of the South, Big Timber in the first round of the playoffs. That game will be in Big Timber.
Darby defeats St. Ignatius, 56-28. With the win, Darby will advance to the playoffs where they will meet Shelby in Shelby on Saturday. Shelby is the No. 1 seed from the Northwest. This is the first time Darby has made the playoffs since they dropped from Class B to Class C.