Hawks fight hard against state champion Falcons

The Thompson Falls Blue Hawks lost their matchup against the Florence Falcons with a score of 8-49. While the Hawks did lose this matchup, they had a promising early game against the former 11-man state champions. “We did well in the first half, completing passes and we were playing as a team. Energy was high,” says sophomore quarterback Bryson LeCoure.

The Hawks started the game with an early interception. Quickly recovering, a fumble in the Falcon’s backfield was recovered by the Hawks and carried to the endzone for a Blue Hawk touchdown, starting the game off strong with a score of 8-0. Later in the quarter, the Falcons were able to respond with a breakaway run touchdown bringing the score back to 8-6.

Early in the second quarter, the Hawks were stopped short on a fourth down after a fumble on the snap. The Falcons used their drive to score another touchdown on a quarterback breakaway, stealing the lead 8-14. The Hawks’ next drive was a promising one. A series of penalties and a long pass from LeCoure was able to place the Hawks within the 15-yard line. Despite this, the Falcon’s defense was able to hold their own and stop them on a fourth down. The Falcons had a series of long passes to clear the field for another touchdown to extend their lead up to 8-21. Towards the end of the half, with less than a minute on the clock, the Falcons were within 20-yards of the endzone. After an intense goal line stand, the Hawks were able to stop the Falcons short before halftime.

The Falcons started the third quarter off with a bang, scoring an early touchdown to bring the score up to 8-28. With the Hawks unable to respond, the Falcons used their next drive to score yet again, leaving the score at 8-35. On the Hawks' next drive, they had a fumble within their 20-yard line, putting the Falcons in an easy position to score to bring their lead up to 8-42. After a back-and-forth defensive battle for the rest of the game, the Falcons scored one more touchdown before the game ended with a score of 8-49. “Second half came around and things started to go downhill. Seemed like everyone was happy but we need to improve on some things and learn how to finish out the game and we’ll be good for the rest of the season,” says LeCoure.