Sanders County Ledger - Your Best Source For Sanders County News

by John Hamilton

No October surprise from the Troy Trojans this year.

Always on the lookout for the unexpected when they travel to Troy, the Thompson Falls Blue Hawks took no chances with the Trojans this time, repeatedly scoring at will on the Lincoln County boys on the way to a lopsided 75-0 win in Troy Friday.

Now 7-0 with five shutout wins, the Hawks will host Charlo, one of the teams still in the hunt for a Western Conference 8-Man playoff berth, Thursday at 7 p.m. Originally set for Friday, the game was moved to Thursday due to a shortage of officials this season.

The Vikings were ranked in the state’s top 10 for several weeks before falling out of the poll recently. The Hawks are currently ranked No. 3 in the state in the 406mtsports.com poll, behind Fort Benton and Flint Creek, which are both 6-0.

Since the Hawks and Flint Creek do not play this year, and Flint Creek appears to hold the tiebreaker advantage, the Hawks will be looking to hold on to their No. 2 spot against Charlo.

“This will be our biggest test of the season, without a doubt,” coach Jared Koskela said, “and it’s nice that we are getting it right before the playoffs. We are looking forward to this game.”

No one seems to be looking forward to playing the Hawks this year; the Falls boys have been heck-on-wheels to any team willing to take the field

against them.

The Troy Trojans must certainly be happy to be done with the Hawks. Thompson Falls took control early in Friday’s game in Lincoln County, and never let their foot off the accelerator.

Trae Thilmony opened the scoring floodgates for the Hawks with a 32-yard run for the game’s first touchdown. Then Roman Sparks threw a 20-yard scoring pass to Lucas Andersen. Before the first quarter ended, Kade Pardee had scored on a six-yard run and the rout was on.

Before it was over, Pardee had rushed the ball nine times for 105 yards and scored three touchdowns, in addition to completing a seven-yard pass to Sparks for another TD.

Andersen ended up with two touchdowns receiving for 79 yards total, Sparks gained 79 yards rushing and added a touchdown, Thilmony gained 63 yards on five totes with a touchdown, Jordy Fisher had three carries for 26 yards and a score and Nick Tessier one carry on a 16-yard touchdown run.

Elijah Ratliff picked up 25 yards on only three carries but was one of the few Hawks to not score a touchdown in Troy.

Sparks completed three of three passes for 103 yards and two touchdowns, and Pardee completed his one pass attempt to Sparks for a touchdown.

On the defensive side of things where the Hawks have been downright nasty all season, Thilmony again led the charge with nine tackles, including three quarterback sacks. Dane Chojnacky had another six stops with three for a loss.

Derek Andersen added six tackles including two for a loss and Lucas Andersen matched his brother with six stops, with one for a loss.

Sparks, Pardee and Erik Strom had four tackles each. Will McPherson had two tackles for a loss and freshman Hayden Hanks one.

Derek Andersen came up with an interception and a fumble recovery, and Ratliff and Lance Palmer also pulled down interceptions.