by Scott Sacry
The Hamilton Broncs hosted the Billings Central Rams on Friday, Nov. 6, in the quarterfinal round of the Class A State football playoffs. Hamilton came in as the No. 1 seed for the Southwest conference, while Billings Central was the No. 2 seed from the East. The game was a defensive battle between two heavyweight Class A football programs. Hamilton made more key plays, fewer mistakes and won 16-0.
The two teams traded punts to start the game, then Hamilton sustained a long first-quarter drive that ended in a 29-yard field goal by Josh Pfister, and Hamilton led 3-0 after the first quarter. In the second quarter, Billings Central went on an impressive eight-minute drive and moved the ball all the way down the field and threatened to score.
Then came the play of the game.
Billings Central had a third and nine on Hamilton’s 11-yard line with a minute to play in the half. Billings Central passed the ball into the end zone and it was intercepted by Hamilton’s Josh Pfister. Pfister caught the ball in the back of the end zone and could have taken a knee, but instead he bolted out and rumbled all the way to Billings Central’s 35-yard line with 46 seconds left in the half. Then a nice Jude Widmer run set up a 7-yard touchdown pass from QB Cooper Weston to WR Easton Hollis, and Hamilton led 10-0 at halftime. Pfister’s interception changed the game; instead of trailing 3-7, Hamilton took a 10-0 advantage into halftime.
After halftime, both defenses dominated in the third quarter. Then, with 10 minutes left in the game, Hamilton’s Cooper Weston took a quarterback keeper up the middle and scored on a 43-yard run. The PAT was no good and Hamilton led 16-0.
Like they had all game, Hamilton’s defense then stepped up and shut down the Rams. A Luke McCarthy interception late in the 4th quarter sealed the game, and Hamilton won 16-0.
Individually for Hamilton, RB Jude Widmer had 14 carries for 110 yards, and QB Cooper Weston had 13 carries for 49 yards and a touchdown. Weston completed 8 of 14 passes for 77 yards and a touchdown. And Kaeden Gum had three catches for 52 yards.
The win vaults Hamilton into the Class A state semifinals where they play East Helena in Hamilton on Friday, Nov. 13, at 7 p.m. East Helena, the Central’s No. 1 seed, is 8-1 on the season. East Helena’s only defeat was a 35-38 loss to Columbia Falls on Sept. 11. East Helena defeated Whitefish 41-20 last week in the quarterfinal round.
Sidney hosts Columbia Falls in the other Class A state semifinal game.
Click here for the Class A state playoff bracket:
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