Savage Heat vanquish Valier Panthers

Just another day at the office for the powerful Hot Springs Savage Heat.

Coach Jim Lawson and his hard-hitting Heat opened the 2021 Montana 6-Man football season with a 47-0 road win over Valier Friday night.

Now 1-0 in non-conference action, the Heat open their home schedule Friday with another non-conference game against Big Sandy.

Savage Heat fans may remember the Pioneers from the 2012 State 6-Man championship game in Hot Springs, one that the Heat won easily, but that game seems a lifetime away now.

Big Sandy opened season play with a close loss to White Sulphur Springs last week and impressed Lawson with their effort in that game.

“White Sulphur lost the 6-Man championship game and have been picked to contend for the title again this fall,” Lawson said. “Big Sandy surprised me with how tough they played them last week.”

Led by senior captains Kyle Lawson and Jack McAllister, the Heat also look to contend for State 6-Man honors later on this season.

In the meantime, they looked completely on top of their game in Valier Friday.

McAllister completed 10 of 14 passes for 120 yards and three touchdowns. Kyle Lawson caught four of those throws for 30 yards and a touchdown, besides rushing for another 98 yards on 10 carries and scoring two touchdowns on the ground.

Quincy Styles-DePoe caught four passes for 48 yards and a touchdown, Benedict Waterbury caught one pass for a 27-yard touchdown and Johnny Waterbury ran the ball three times for 27 yards scoring another TD.

McAllister led the defense with two interceptions, one of which was a pick-six, and Kyle Lawson added an interception and a fumble recovery.

Coach Lawson and his hungry gridders look forward to the season, especially coming off the debacle campaign of 2020 when they were able to play only a handful of regular season games.

“We are looking forward to a more normal season,” he said. “There are a lot of good teams in the Western Conference, a lot of competition out there. It looks like everyone has a chance, we just want to put ourselves in the best possible position and see what we can do in the end.”