Blue Hawks win state title

It was a chilly day at Previs Field last Saturday, but the Thompson Falls Blue Hawks were on fire as they dominated their way through a Montana 8-Player State Championship.

Coach Jared Koskela and his Hawks defeated defending state champions Flint Creek 40-8, finishing the season 13-0 and winning the first state title for the school since 1975.

"I'm speechless, it's incredible," Hawk senior Nathan Schraeder said Saturday. He added that the Hawks felt pretty confident "when we got up three possessions, but we weren't satisfied until the game was over. We just pounded them."

In the first possession of the game, the Hawks fumbled but recovered the ball. After a big run by senior Trae Thilmony, classmate Ryan Bucher ran the ball 15 yards for a touchdown, followed by Thilmony completing the two-point conversion to bring the Hawks up 8-0. The Titans and Hawks spent the first quarter reading their opponents and figuring out what would work for their respective teams. Koskela said his team was well prepared. "Flint Creek stopped us for a while, but we know how to stop them on defense," he noted. "We had some unfortunate stops in the red zone, but we kept our cool. I think the game planning all week was what soothed the kids down instead of going into panic mode." The coach noted that his team knew how the Titans were going to line up and knew what they would come out with on the Hawks' home field.

Koskela commended his Hawks for their accountability and how they were able to fix their game to beat the Titans, adding that accountability is one of the team's core values. He noted that the championship game was "a whole team effort," and that while Bucher had big breaks and Thilmony had more carries, "everyone was dialed in to doing what we had to do. It was a close game for a while, but I think they were shell shocked of us stopping their offense with our defense."

The Hawk defense shined on Saturday, keeping the Titans to just one score. "The funnest part was the defense working together and letting each other take care of their own responsibility and being successful," Koskela said. "That's way more satisfying than 40 points on the board."

In the second quarter, Hawk junior Elijah Ratliff caught a Titan pass out of bounds, nearly intercepting the ball. After changing possessions and the Hawks again taking over the ball on downs, Bucher completed a 40-yard run for another six points and the Hawks led 14-0. The Hawks again stopped Flint Creek on downs but were unable to convert the turnover into points. In the final possession of the half, Flint Creek took multiple timeouts trying to work through the Hawks defense. The Titans were successful and scored their only touchdown of the game on a five-yard run by Chase Goldade with 25 seconds left in the half.

The second half of the game was all about the Hawks. Ratliff ran the ball in for a touchdown, putting the Hawks up 20-8. In the next possession for the Hawks, Bucher took off for a 52-yard touchdown run. Ratliff was once again all over the Titan offense and intercepted a Titan pass before the third quarter ended. With that buzzer sounding, Koskela and his team each held up four fingers signaling the fourth quarter. Throughout the season, the Hawks have said that one of Koskela's goals is to win the fourth quarter, and the team met their goal once again on Saturday.

The Hawks started the fourth quarter with another Bucher touchdown that was called back after a penalty, but they weren't done getting in the end zone. Hayden Hanks punched in for six on a two-yard run and the Hawks led 32-8. On the next possession, the Titans fumbled the ball and Schraeder scooped it up and ran 17 yards back into the endzone. Schraeder then put the icing on the cake for the Hawks as he completed the two-point conversion. Thompson was up 40-8 and that would seal the deal on the school's state championship.

Koskela said the game plan for the Hawk offense was to run the ball. "We tried throwing a few times but that wasn't working," he noted. The Hawks garnered 329 yards rushing on Saturday and just seven in passing.

On the sidelines with his dad all season has been Coach Jared Koskela's son Michael, who served as team ball boy. After the championship, Michael was just as excited as the rest of the team. "This is pretty cool," he said. "This is such a good team." Michael, 13, said he learned a lot through the season. Coach Koskela expects the state championship will be huge for his program. "I've already had kids come up and say they intend to go out for football next year," he said. On the sidelines Saturday were dozens of future Hawks watching history.

"We worked for it," Hawk senior Jordan Fisher said after Saturday's game. "It's nice to win at home for the school, community, and for the guys who won it 46 years ago."

Bucher led the Hawks in rushing with 164 yards on 20 carries while Thilmony added an impressive 142 yards on 25 carries. Ratliff ran 16 yards for the Hawks, Scrhaeder five and Hanks two. Eric Strom had the only reception for the Hawks' passing game, taking a seven-yard pass from Ratliff. On the other side of the ball, Thilmony led the team with 10 tackles, Hanks with five, and Strom and Bucher three each. Ratliff, Schraeder and Josh Wilhite had two tackles apiece and Jordan Fisher and Breck Ferris each racked up one tackle.

On Sunday, Coach Koskela was still recovering from the excitement of the game. "It felt like just another game," he stated. "We had more people there, but the calm, cool, collected is what's going to win the game. It was a good one." He's already looking forward to next year and would like to get more kids in his program. "I want to be good in all classifications we play at," he noted, as the Hawks will move back to 11-player Class B football next year. "We're going to build off this championship and be a force anywhere, not just in 8-man."

Koskela thanked the community for the support of the program throughout the year and said he couldn't have done it without his assistant coaches, Ray Brown and Ray Buchanan. All three of the coaches played Blue Hawk football, and Buchanan actually played for Coach Koskela. "They have been really great to work with and the more they are in this program, they keep adding to it," he said.