Hawks battle in final non-conference game

The Thompson Falls Blue Hawks lost their last non-conference game of the season, leaving their record 0-4. The Hawks traveled to Fairfield to play the Eagles on their homecoming night, losing to the Eagles 0-12. Although suffering their fourth loss, the Hawks are still optimistic about the rest of their season. “If we continue to drill as we have, keep getting better and better, it’ll be fun to see where we end up with conference and playoffs,” said senior captain Breck Ferris.

The Hawks started the game off by throwing an interception on the first play of the game. The Eagles were able to use this to score a touchdown on their first run starting the game off, 0-6. After a back-and-forth battle, the Hawks were about to punt on a fourth down but an offsides penalty on the Eagles set the Hawks at a fourth and two. The Hawks used this opportunity to drive a strong run up the middle and force the first down. However, on the same drive, the Hawks threw an interception at the end of the first quarter. “It was hard to work on your passing game and timing when we had to practice indoors all week and your opponent got to practice outdoors with their wind. Our play on the field suffered because of that. We were able to again adjust to a completely new offense than what we saw on film and that shows how well these guys are now working together,” said the Bluehawks head coach Jared Koskela.

In the second quarter, the Eagles had a promising drive with only 30 yards to the endzone, but senior captain Elijah Ratliff caught an interception in the back of the endzone, calling a touchback. Later in the quarter, the Eagles had possession of the ball with only seconds left on the clock. After a long goal-line stand, the Eagles were on the 15-yard line with only .2 seconds left before halftime. The Eagles attempted to throw a long ball towards the front of the endzone, but it was intercepted by Kaiden Robins of the Hawks, leaving the score 0-6 at halftime. “I think our defense is definitely the highlight of our performance today. I know that we can do a lot better on both sides of the ball, but I’m very proud of what our defense accomplished tonight,” said Ferris.

Midway into the third quarter, after a long defensive battle, the Eagles had possession. The Eagles threw a short pass that turned into a breakaway run, scoring a touchdown on a 50-yard play. At the end of the third quarter, the score was 0-12.

On the Hawks’ last drive of the game, quarterback Bryson LeCoure threw a deep 30-yard pass, caught by Ratliff. The Eagles defense was able to disrupt the next few passes, stopping them on fourth down. The Eagles used this to try to run down the clock. After getting one more first down the game was sealed at 0-12. “Going into conference play this week and I honestly believe that this conference is the toughest in the state and it won’t be easy,” said Koskela.