Hawks 'came out fighting'

It was a long road to Malta and a long road home as the football season came to an end Saturday for the Thompson Falls Blue Hawks in the first round of the Class B playoffs.

The Hawks would fall 45-8 in their last game of the season, but the Hawks had much to celebrate during the season, especially for the 10 seniors. Thompson Falls ended the season with three wins and seven losses, garnering victories over Conrad, Anaconda and Whitehall.

"These boys played with heart and came out fighting. While it might not look like it on paper, these boys had a smile on their faces after the game," Coach Jared Koskela said of the playoff game.

The Mustangs came out and were able to break down the Hawk defense and quickly scored a touchdown. While the Hawks were unable to answer with their own touchdown, they would hold Malta from scoring again.

In the second quarter the Mustangs were able to break past the Hawk defense once more to gain another touchdown. The Hawks tried to get past the Malta defenses but were unable to, and once more the Mustangs found the end zone, putting them ahead 21-0. The Mustangs would be able to find the end zone twice more before halftime.

Coming back from the half, it would be Malta who would score first, but this time the Hawks were able to answer with a massive 34 yard pass touchdown, putting them on the board. Malta would hold the Hawks from scoring any more touchdowns. Malta would score one more touchdown in the final quarter, securing the lead and the win.

"It will be hard losing the seniors we have. Tthey are leaving behind a legacy," said Koskela. "But we made our goal of going to the playoffs again this year, going 13th out of 28 teams. I'll take it."

Kaiden Robins led with 67 yards passing, while Bryson LeCoure led the Hawks with 17 yards rushing, and nine tackles. Sam Burgess and Ian Myers had five tackles for the Hawks, while teammates Gabe Hutton and Bryson McCormick had four each.