No. 3 Savage Heat blast Sunburst

Now that Sunburst’s bubble has been burst, it’s time to take aim at the Rebels.

The Hot Springs Savage Heat burned Sunburst 52-6 in Sunburst Friday and will take their 2-0 non-conference record into battle this week with the likewise 2-0 Shields Valley Rebels in Hot Springs Friday night.

For argument’s sake, the Savage Heat were ranked No. 3 among all Montana high school 6-Man teams in the most recent 406mtsports.com football rankings while Shields Valley checked in at No. 9. Which clearly makes this marquee matchup a key early season game for both teams.

The Rebels have Savage Heat coach Jim Lawson’s full attention.

“A lot of people are thinking that Shields will win the Southern division,” Lawson said. “They have some really good athletes, we are expecting a tough test with this team.” The Rebels have been impressive so far, ripping Sheridan 51-8 Aug. 30 and taking out Valley Christian 55-6 last week.

Interestingly, Valley was the No. 9 ranked team in the state heading into that game with Shields last week.

The Savage Heat did not receive much of a test in on-again/off-again rain in Sunburst last Friday night.

The Heat streaked out to a lead of 16-0 after one quarter, built the lead up to 28-6 by halftime, set the clock in continuous motion by extending the advantage to 44-6 by the end of the third quarter, and finished off the homestanding Refiners with an 8-0 win of the fourth quarter.

Nominated for western Montana athlete of the week for his gridiron heroics, sophomore Jack McAllister pulled down four touchdown receptions to lead Hot Springs in Sunburst. Hampered by a bulky brace protecting his broken right thumb, McAllister put on a pass-catching show against the Refiners.

“He made some great grabs, I mean they were circus catches,” Lawson said. “It was pretty amazing to see him be able to do that with the brace and all.”

McAllister finished the game with five catches for 71 yards, scoring touchdowns on passes of 12, 14, 9 and 5 yards from quarterback Brandon Knudsen.

Knudsen was also effective, completing 12 of 15 passes for 146 yards, rushing for another 72 yards and scoring one touchdown.

Luke Waterbury led Hot Springs’ punishing ground attack with 107 yards and touchdown runs of 10 and six yards.

Kyle Lawson added 30 rushing yards and caught four passes for another 48 yards.

On the defensive side of things, Knudsen pulled down a team-high nine tackles for the Heat and McAllister had eight.