Blue Hawks blast past Horsemen

Relentless, intense, hard-hitting, blankety-blank good... The Thompson Falls Blue Hawks have been called a lot of things this fall but remember these important things they are called above all else – coach Jared Koskela and his boys are unbeaten and No. 3 ranked, leaving the Hawks in prime playoff position for the rapidly approaching Montana 8-Man football post-season.

The barely bruised Blue Hawks won the 2020 Black and Blue game from Plains 51-6 on the friendly confines of Previs Field Friday in Thompson Falls' homecoming game, battering the Horsemen with a withering offensive assault and another physical defensive effort.

Now 6-0 and having an inside track on one of the top two seeds from the 8-Man Western Conference, the Hawks travel to winless Troy Friday. The Trojans lost 70-52 to previously winless Victor Saturday and are 0-6. Koskela refuses to look past the Trojans, especially after suffering a catastrophic loss there i 2015, which represents Troy's last football win.

"They shouldn't have beat us that year but one player (Sean Opland) was able to lead them to that win," he said. "Strange things happen in Troy, we can't let our guard down."

Things went down well for the Hawks against Plains as Thompson Falls romped out to a 29-0 lead after one quarter, extended the advantage to 45-0 by halftime, and went to their bench freely in the second half.

Falls quarterback Roman Sparks scored the Hawks' first two touchdowns on runs of one and 30 yards, and Kade Pardee scored the next three Thompson Falls TDs on runs of five, two and four yards.

Before halftime, Pardee took some snaps at quarterback and delivered a spot-on, 25-yard scoring strike to Derek Andersen, with Andersen making a great catch, fully extended in the end zone for the final scoring of the first half.

The Hawks scored once more on a 49-yard pass from Sparks to Pardee in the third quarter.

Plains scored a touchdown in the fourth quarter marking the first points the Thompson Falls defense has allowed since way back in August against St. Ignatius.

Sparks and Pardee, Thompson Falls' gold-dust twins in the backfield, again led the Hawks offensively. Pardee picked up 97 yards rushing and completed three of three passes for another 70 yards, while Sparks had 73 yards rushing and also completed three of three passes for 95 yards.

Jordy Fisher added 30 yards rushing, Trae Thilmony 10 and Elijah Ratliff six.

Pardee caught two passes for 86 yards, Derek Andersen two for 34, Sparks one for 25 and Lucas Andersen one for 20.

On the defensive side of things, Thilmony was the great disruptor from his middle linebacker position, pulling down an amazing 17 tackles, nine of which were unassisted. Dane Chojnacky, who was also crowned homecoming king at halftime, was a beast for the Hawks on the line, pulling down eight tackles, including two quarterback sacks.

Lucas Andersen added 10 tackles, twin brother Derek seven, Pardee and Ratliff six each, and Sparks four.

Derek Andersen grabbed an interception for the Hawks' only forced turnover in the game.

Koskela said the key to the Hawks' future success is to not get complacent. Thompson Falls will wrap up regular season play hosting Charlo, currently the No. 9 ranked team in Montana, Oct. 16.

"We need to get tested," he said. "We have to try to get better every day because, in 2020, you never know what is going to happen tomorrow."