View from the Sidelines

This is not about travelling over 700 miles one way to lose. This is about winning the next big game and proving the skeptics wrong.

As the team bus to Fairview rolls off later this week, coach Jared Koskela and his hungry Blue Hawks are not looking at this trip being over any time soon; they will gladly keep on riding if it means getting a shot at Thompson Falls’ first State championship since way back in 1975, when the Hawks won the second of two straight Class B titles in the 11-Man game.

One year after moving into the 8-Man ranks after several seasons of struggles at the 11-Man level, the Hawks are on the precipice of something very special, and are very confident of their place in the 8-Man game.

Although the 700-plus mile bus ride to Fairview this week for Saturday’s quarterfinal game is daunting, Koskela thinks his boys are more than up to the challenge.

He says the team bus will depart Thompson Falls on Thursday, that the Hawks will stay in Bozeman that night and practice in Terry the next day before bedding down in Glendive Friday night. Then it’s on to Fairview and perhaps beyond in the coming weeks.

“We’ll play the game Saturday, win, and stay in Billings that night,” Koskela confidently said. “People might not think we have much of a chance in this game, Fairview has been building up towards this season for several years now and they are probably the favorites.

“But they have not faced an opponent like Thompson Falls and we think we will be tough for them to handle,” he added. “Seven hundred miles is a long ways to go to lose and we don’t plan on doing that.”

Koskela thinks the Hawks match up well with Fairview in the skill positions, and that Thompson Falls may have the advantage with their offensive line, which has earned the nickname of the “Road Graders” from Western Conference 8-Man coaches.

“They pave the way for us, have been doing a great job all season,” he said. “The Flint Creek coach called them the Road Graders at the all-conference meeting and it fits us. Guys like Jack (Jacobson), Brad (Lantz), Justin (Miller), Dakota (Irvine) and Lucas (Andersen) have been our bread-and-butter, the ones that have made our offense go.”

Koskela says looking at the Warriors on film is almost like looking at the Hawks.

“They are the mirror image of us,” he offered. “They have a good quarterback that runs and a good running back, and they like to establish their ground game, just like we have been doing.”

The key to dealing with the Warriors will be to stay on task.

“We have to play good assignment football,” Koskela said. “If everyone does their job I think we have a really good chance in this game.”

Quarterback Alex Schriver and running back Cody Asbeck are Fairview’s alter egos to the Hawks’ Trey Fisher and Nate Wilhite, and will be the Warriors to watch for the Falls defense Saturday.

Schriver threw for three touchdowns and ran for two others in Fairview’s 70-8 win over Choteau last week while Asbeck scored two rushing touchdowns and another on a kickoff return.

Sanders County teams are involved in the two longest road trips of the weekend as, in addition to the Hawks traveling to Fairview for the 8-Man playoffs, the Hot Springs Savage Heat will host Westby-Grenora in the quarterfinals of 6-Man playoffs.

Westby-Grenora, also referred to as Mon-Dak, is a cooperative between the Montana and North Dakota schools nicknamed the Thunder. The Thunder will also have to travel over 600 miles – 645 to be precise – to arrive in Hot Springs Saturday.

As unfair as this may seem to the folks of Westby and Grenora, the Heat know what it’s like to have the shoe on the other foot as they traveled all the way to Plentywood to play in and win the 2016 State championship game from Mon-Dak.

Their No. 1 fan is their No. 1 coach.

Hot Springs volleyball coach Alisha Pablo is one happy fan/coach right now, but she seems to be having a little trouble separating those two duties in her mind. Earning a rare berth into the Western C divisional tournament only makes those mixed feelings stronger.

“I can’t stop hugging them because I am just so proud of what they have accomplished,” she said. “They are smart players, they work very well together, and they just love everything about the game.”

The Savage Heat girls did not just settle for second place at the conference tourney in Noxon, they made eventual champion Charlo work very hard for the 14C title. Hot Springs in fact, handed the Vikings their only loss of the season to another Class C team in Noxon. The Heat also knocked off Plains, another team that has given them psychotic palpations in the past, in the semifinals.

“They have proven to me that they can do whatever they put minds to if they do it TOGETHER,” Pablo said. “Being their No. 1 fan is one of the most amazing feelings in the world and I just want to be able to support them until the ride is done, giving them whatever they need to be successful.”

The Savage Heat will open the Western C playing Manhattan Christian at 11:30 a.m. in Churchill Thursday. Please see story on page 13 for more on last week’s 14C tournament in Noxon.

Throwback…

Twelve years ago this fall at hallowed Previs Field, the Thompson Falls Blue Hawks stormed back from a 19-7 deficit to shock the Loyola Rams 27-19 in the first round of the 2007 State B football playoffs.

Thompson Falls senior Erik Gilbert sparked the rally for coach Curt Kegel’s Hawks by returning a kickoff 81 yards for a touchdown early in the fourth quarter to reduce Loyola’s lead to 19-14.

On Loyola’s next drive, as the Rams threatened to score again and put the game out of reach, Gilbert came up with another huge play, fighting off the Loyola receiver in the end zone for the interception, giving the ball back to the Hawks at their own 20-yard line.

Making a game-saving drive after that, quarterback Brandon Damaskos found Brian Schenavar with a 55-yard scoring pass to give the Hawks their go-ahead, stay-ahead points and a 20-19 lead.

Blue Hawk Linebacker Jason Flemming salted the win away with an interception and 45-yard return for a touchdown in the closing minutes.

The Blue Hawks went on to lose 38-7 to eventual State B champion Fairfield in Fairfield the next week and completed play with an 8-2 record. The Falls football program was on a roll in that era, as the ’07 playoff appearance was the Blue Hawks’ 11th in 12 years at that time.