Local grid stars shine in Cleverly Classic

by John Hamilton

A game to remind everyone of what football is supposed to be – a whole lot of fun.

Five Thompson Falls Blue Hawks – Cody Burk, Roman Sparks, Kade Pardee, Lucas Andersen and Will McPherson – and one Plains Horsemen – Tucker Foster – received the chance to play one more high school football game at the Bob Clevery Class C 8-Man All-Star game in Butte Saturday and had a blast with it, undoubtedly leaving all six Sanders County senior gridders glad that they played this one last game.

With each of the six local grid stars playing important roles at various times, and Thompson Falls head coach Jared Koskela acting as co-defensive coordinator for the Red team, the Red defeated the Blue 34-28 in the 37th edition of the all-star classic played at Bob Green Field on the campus of Montana Tech.

It was the first "Clev," as the 8-Man all-star game is affectionately referred to, since 2019 due to COVID-19 restrictions forcing cancellation of the game last year.

"It was a great experience for these kids, one last chance to just go out and play," Koskela said. "Getting the chance to meet these other guys that you competed so hard against and finding out that they are not much different than you is a pretty cool thing.

"I am sure some lifelong friendships were made," he added.

Burk ended up making the most lasting impression of any local player, eventually winning a $1,000 scholarship in an essay/interview process from the coaches for both teams.

"Kids were asked to write an essay about what the game meant to them," Koskela said, "and then they were interviewed. The coaches picked the one that talked about sportsmanship and success in the classroom, about on and off the field being a role model.

"It was decided that he best represented what the game was all about this year and earned the award based on his essay and interview," Koskela added. "This is quite an honor for Cody and a great reflection on our program."

This year, the game featured 8-Man all-stars from the Western and Eastern divisions forming the Red team facing off against their brethren from the Northern and Southern divisions for the Blue.

The Sanders County six all played vital roles in the Red team's win. In a game of stars, those six all had their turns in the spotlight in Butte Saturday.

Building a 6-0 lead early after recovering an onside kick to start the game, the Blue team recovered another fumble deep in Red territory after that and appeared poised to break the game wide open early.

Pardee made his first big contribution at that point, recovering a Blue fumble on the first play after that to set up the Red's first scoring drive.

Capping that drive, Sparks pitched a four-yard touchdown pass to Foster on a guard-eligible play, and Sparks ran in the two-point conversion to put the Red ahead 8-6.

Please turn to page 11

In the second quarter, with the Blue now leading 22-14, Pardee scored on a wide open 57-yard touchdown pass from Clark Fork's Bryan Mask to draw the Red within two at 22-20.

The Red team managed to take a 34-22 lead by midway through the fourth quarter before the Blue squad rallied.

In the closing minutes, with the Red clinging to a 34-28 lead, Andersen went up high to pull down a clutch catch from Scobey quarterback Jayce Tande for the first down, and the Red ran out the clock from there.

Although the Hawks lost a hotly contested 8-Man State semifinal game at Scobey last fall, one that left some hard feelings on both sides, the Clev game helped those players from Thompson Falls and Scobey make amends in Butte.

"It was kind of ironic that the game-clinching play was on a connection between Scobey and us," Koskela said. "I think this game really helped bring down the temperature some from our meeting in the playoffs. Becoming teammates will do that to you."

Andersen finished the game with five pass catches for 29 yards and Pardee caught seven balls for 129 yards and the touchdown. Koskela said Pardee also made several big, game-changing plays from his defensive back position.

The leading rusher for the Red from the quarterback position, Sparks picked up 40 yards running the ball. Sparks also saw a lot of action at defensive back.

In spite of drawing double-team blocking most of the game on defense, Burk still had two quarterback sacks and was effective on the offensive line. McPherson had two tackles behind the line of scrimmage on defense and some "pancake blocks," according to Koskela, from his offensive line position.

Foster also played tough on both sides of the ball and scored the touchdown on the pass from Sparks.