With big Alex Sabo leading the way, Victor's Eric Taylor finds a hole in the D-line of Philipsburg Saturday. Taylor led the way to a 66-0 victory over the Prospectors. Jean Schurman photo.

Although a range of mountains and a valley separates the two schools, there is quite a rivalry between Philipsburg and Victor. When the two teams meet, the emotions are always running high. So when Victor’s Eric Taylor crossed the goal line just 38 seconds into the game for the first score of the game, the Pirate faithful were cheering. And, when Chris Mai scored the final touchdown in the last few minutes of the game, the Pirate faithful were still grinning.

Victor rolled over the Granite County High School Prospectors, 66-0, and along the way gathered a little of the confidence they lost last weekend against Drummond.

"We expected them to come in and give us a game," said Taylor, a senior. "They always play us tough every year."

But what the Prospectors didn’t count on was a hard hitting offensive line that opened up holes for Taylor and company to run through. Taylor finished with 195 yards rushing and four touchdown runs of 37 yards, 32 yards, 25 yards and four yards.

"(Eric) Taylor did a great job," said Victor coach Eric Schaefer. "Our offensive line has really stepped up. I think Eric should really thank them. They did a great job for him."

Also scoring for Victor was Eric Bissett who caught two touchdown passes from quarterback Gatlin Lamb of eight yards and 26 yards. Bissett also caught a pass for a two-point conversion. Ronan transfer Xavier Morigeau had a five-yard touchdown run and Cody Burdett had a six-yard scoring run.

Schaefer said his team has six returning starters on defense including Tyler Swanson who applied pressure to the Granite backfield all day. He also said coach Zane Warnken put together a great defense. Taylor added that the team is hitting hard and they are expected to hit hard.

With the mercy rule in effect which allows the clock to run except for time-outs after a 35-point spread after halftime, Victor had a chance to put in younger players. Schaefer was excited to see how well the younger players did.

"I think that when we can go from our varsity to our junior varsity and the junior varsity is able to go right in there and not mess up on any of the executions, I was very proud of them."

Taylor summed up the game by saying, "We didn’t feel like we played that well at Drummond. A win like this, yeah, it gives us a lot of confidence."

Ryan Turley (22) was no match for the Ronan defense on Friday. Hamilton cruised to a 50-7 non conference victory over the Chiefs. Jean Schurman photo.

Hamilton also had a runaway game. The Broncs scored 30 points in the first quarter, courtesy of senior running back Ryan Turley. They went on to roll over Ronan, 50-7.

Not even a minute after the opening kickoff, the Hamilton cannon boomed as Turley put points on the board. He plowed through for a four-yard TD and then made the two-point conversion. Next it was a 21-yard run and another Turley conversion. Turley again, from three yards out. Kyle Crowley caught the two-point conversion pass from Jason Schallenberger. Then it was Turley from eight yards and then a 12-yard pass to Turley from Schallenberger.

But it wasn’t just offense for the Broncs. The Hamilton defense kept pressure on the Chiefs all night and created numerous turnovers. Brock Anderson scored from 14 yards out and then it was Turley once more with a 65-yard run to complete the scoring. The Broncs now have a 2-0 record.

Stevensville defeated Bigfork, 37-6. Ethan Pateman scored first on a 13 yard run. Richie Brushia had a 27 yard interception return for the next ‘Jacket TD. Brushia scored again from 14 yards out. Brushia hit Ridge Brown from 30 yards out for the next TD. Drew Zeiler had the final touchdown for Stevensville with a 21-yard pass from Brushia. Stevensville also had a safety.

Corvallis fell to Polson, 37-14. Matt Smith and Rodee Anderson each scored for the Blue Devils.

Florence fell to Thompson Falls, 38-0.

Young Lady Falcons soar

Kayla Schmid of Florence has worked for a year and a half on her jump serves. That worked paid off with Schmid serving 18 aces against Seeley-Swan. Erin Hollern photo.

The Lady Falcons of Florence are a young team with only two seniors on the team. On top of that, one of those seniors didn’t see a lot of action last year on the volleyball court. But what the Lady Falcons lack in experience, they make up for in enthusiasm and a willingness to work.

That work paid off on Thursday night when Florence topped Seeley-Swan, 3-0, in 7B conference play. The match was closer than the score indicated, with Seeley playing strong and Florence adjusting to a new offense.

Junior setter Kayla Daniels injured her thumb on Tuesday and was not able to set. Kayla Schmid, who also is a setter, stepped it up and ran the 5-1 offense for the Lady Falcons. Schmid kept the offense moving not only by setting 17 assists but also hitting a career high and possibly state high 18 aces. Five of those aces came in her last serving session of the game where she served up five aces and 11 points to end the match.

"I’ve been working really hard at practices," said Schmid. "I’ve been working on that (the jump serve) for the past year and a half and it finally paid off."

Schmid said Seeley played hard and she was impressed with their game. "They had us a couple of times and we came back. My team is young but they are amazing."

Coach Kelly Daniels was grinning from ear to ear after the game. "That was fun. We had a whole group of really young girls that are really, really scrappy and love to play ball."

It was evident the Lady Falcons were having a good time on the court. Juniors Katie Niemeir and Lindsey Bauck kept pressure on at the net while sophomore Amanda Heffner had five digs in the back row.

"Lindsey Buck can move the ball around out there," said coach Daniels. "I don’t care if it doesn’t have G Force behind it. As long as the ball touches the floor and we get the point. She has the uncanny ability to see the other side of that court and put it wherever she needs to put it."

Saturday, the Lady Falcons took on Eureka in Eureka. It was Schmid again as the leader, serving up 12 aces and making 25 assists. Niemeir had 10 kills and freshman Brittany Heinz had nine digs.

Florence def. Seeley-Swan 26-24, 25-23, 25-5

Kills - Florence 23 (Katie Niemeir 8); Seeley-Swan 17. Blocks - Florence 4 (Lindsey Bauck 2); Seeley-Swan 4. Digs - Florence 20 (Amanda Heffner 5); Seeley-Swan 30. Assists - Florence 20 (Kayla Schmid 17); Seeley-Swan 13. Aces - Florence 24 (Schmid 18); Seeley-Swan 5.

Florence def. Eureka 25-11, 23-25, 22-25, 25-20, 15-12

Kills - Florence 40 (Niemeir 10); Eureka 40. Blocks - Florence 3; Eureka 9. Digs - Florence 40 (Brittany Heinz 9); Eureka 49. Assists - Florence 31 (Schmid 25); Eureka 38. Aces - Florence 21 (Schmid 12); Eureka 16.

Victor def. St. Regis 20-25, 25-23, 16-25, 26-24, 15-11

Kills - Victor 33 (Shawna Holt 9); St. Regis 45. Blocks - Victor 7 (Brittany Mitcham 3); St. Regis 2. Digs - Victor 35 (Bre Vierya 10); St. Regis 38. Assists - Victor 35 (Katie McCormick 25); St. Regis 30. Aces - Victor 12 Tiffany Zundel 5); St. Regis 12.

Loyola def. Darby 25-12, 25-18, 25-19

Kills - Loyola 232; Darby 7 (Mariah Cress 3). Blocks - Loyola 7; Darby 8 (Cress 3, Missy DeWalt 3). Digs - Loyola 13; Darby 17 (Kasey Blue 4, Cress 4). Assists - Loyola 12; Darby 5 (Hannah Honey 5). Aces - Loyola 12; Darby 4 (DeWalt 3).

Tip Off tourney

The Class A volleyball teams were involved in the Tip Off Tournament here in the valley. Teams from the Southwest A competed against the Northwest A teams in pool play on Friday and Saturday. Stevensville was the only valley team to make it to the championship bracket where they met up with powerhouse Whitefish. The Bulldogs defeated Stevi, 21-15, 21-7, and went on to lose to eventual champion Libby. Hamilton lost to Columbia Falls, 21-12, 21-19 and Corvallis defeated Ronan, 17-21, 21-18, 18-1 in consolation play.

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