MOVING ON UP

Hawks blast past Belt in quarterfinal game

 

November 11, 2021

Annie Wooden

ONE AGAINST THREE - Senior Ryan Bucher plows through a pack of Belt Huskies during Saturday's game.

The Blue Hawks have broken the spell on the "quarterfinal curse." The third time was the charm for the Hawks as they won their eight-man quarterfinal playoff game Saturday at Previs Field, beating Belt 31-10.

The previous two years, the Hawks had lost quarterfinal matches to Fairview in 2019 and Scobey in 2020. The Hawks weren't going to let their season end in the quarterfinal round again, and literally hit their home field running Saturday against Belt, with senior Ryan Bucher bringing the opening kickoff from Belt 77 yards for a Hawk touchdown.

"That kickoff return really set the tone for the first quarter," Coach Jared Koskela said. "That gave us momentum."

The Blue Hawks didn't let up in the first quarter, with Thompson's defense scoring the next two touchdowns. Bucher recovered a fumble for another 66-yard touchdown, then senior Jordan Fisher intercepted a Belt pass and ran the ball 13 yards into the end zone, putting the Hawks up 18-0. They weren't done, however, and Hawk junior Elijah Ratliff intercepted yet another Huskies pass on Thompson's one yard line. Belt held the Hawks and scored their only points of the first half, a safety.

But the first-quarter action wasn't over. Josh Wilhite recovered a Belt fumble, but the Hawks were forced to punt. The Huskies couldn't move the ball and the Hawks got another possession. Senior Trae Thilmony took the ball 65 yards for a Hawk touchdown. A good kick from classmate Nathan Schraeder made it 25-2 Blue Hawks to end the first quarter.

"It's the first time I've had 50 pass attempts against me," said Koskela. "Their coach is super intelligent and it showed."

Both defenses kept each other scoreless in the second quarter and went to the locker rooms at halftime still 25-2. Belt finally was able to score against the Hawks with a 25-yard pass leading to a touchdown with 4 minutes left in the third quarter, but the Hawks were still up 25-10. Thilmony added a final score in the fourth on an 11-yard run and the Hawks led 31-10 for the rest of the game. The Hawk senior led the team in rushing with 101 yards, followed by Bucher with 52, Ratliff with 29, Hayden Hanks with three yards and Schraeder one. Thompson's defense held strong throughout the game, with a notable interception of a Belt pass from junior Breck Ferris. The Hawks would nearly intercept the ball three more times before the game was over. "Defense wins championships," Koskela said. Thilmony also led the team in tackles with nine, Schraeder had eight, Wilhite six, and Ratliff, Bucher, Ferris and Erik Strom five each for a team total of 43. Max Hannum led the Hawks in the passing game with 26 yards.

The teams battled cold temperatures and rain that made for a muddy field in the second half. Koskela said his team took advantage of that and those moments when Belt was slipping and falling. The Hawks rolled with what Belt threw at them, which is exactly what their coach told them to do. "I told those guys the game would ebb and flow. I told them to bend, not break. That's my philosophy and we went off of that," he noted.

The Hawks have had home-field advantage in the eight-man playoffs, which also probably contributes to their winning ways. In 2019, the trip to Fairview was more than 700 miles – one way – and the 2020 quarterfinal match in Scobey was more than 600 miles away. Thompson has earned another home playoff game and will host the Park City Panthers in the semifinal Saturday, November 13, with kickoff at 1 p.m. The Panthers beat Scobey in their quarterfinal matchup 32-20. Park City is still recovering from the death of teammate Jed Hoffman, who passed away earlier this month at a Billings hospital after collapsing during a practice. Thompson Falls will honor the Panthers' fallen teammate by wearing a sticker on their helmets with Hoffman's jersey number, 17, as a show of support for Park City.

Annie Wooden

HOW IT'S DONE - Senior Nathan Schraeder (above) goes in for a tackle as teammate Breck Ferris looks on.

Koskela said he'll be making a few adjustments to his philosophy this weekend, getting more diverse and adding some variations. "Park City runs a simple offense that they are really good at," Koskela said, adding that the conditions for Saturday's game in Thompson Falls will probably again be cold and muddy.

Should Thompson Falls win this weekend and move on to their first state championship match in more than 40 years, they will face the winner of the matchup between Fort Benton and Drummond/Granite. Those two teams also play at 1 p.m. on Saturday with Fort Benton, the No. 1 team from the North, having home-field advantage.

The state championship game will be played Saturday, November 20.

Though this is the first time in recent history that the Hawks have been in a semifinal playoff game, "we're treating it like just another game. We're just going to play the game, just can't take anybody for granted," Koskela noted. "We're 2-0 [in the playoffs], let's go another 2-0."

 

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