Hawks score but drop 7-28 to undefeated Loyola
Jason Shueh/Valley Press Bluehawk Richard Lyons pushes past the Loyola Rams defense for a four-yard rush into the end zone. It was the only touchdown of the night for the Bluehawks.
Two unstoppable forces crashed Friday night as two undefeated teams, the Thompson Falls Bluehawks and the Loyola Rams, clashed for the first time during the season.
Despite a valiant effort by the Bluehawks, the Rams, ranked fifth in the state, stormed through Thompson Falls defensive linemen for 326 yards during the night. Runningback Richard Lyons, a junior, was the only Bluehawk to make a touchdown for the night.
In the first quarter, Lyons made a four-yard rush into the end zone and came out of the night with a team high of 52 yards rushing through 17 carries. The Rams, however, were quick to make up the difference and came back to score a touchdown that same quarter. They added two more touchdowns in the third quarter and one final one in the fourth to win the game 28-7.
The Rams star player for the night was Joe Mitzel who rushed 211 yards on 23 carries. Defensive Coordinator Chadd Laws of the Bluehawks said that it was definitely a game that challenged the players, but said that he felt that the team played to the best of their abilities.
“We played to the level of our competition tonight and we were very proud of how we competed in a big game with kids that were less experienced,” Laws said.
Though Bluehawk Coach Doug Padden also thought that his team’s effort was commendable against the tough challenge. He didn’t mince words with should of’s or could of’s and was already critiquing himself as coach for ways to improve.
“I could have called a much better game, I came out with a double tight set and I was basically trying to run it down the field,” Padden said, speaking about the team’s offensive strategy. Defensively, Padden thought the team’s tackling skills were the biggest problem during the night.
“We did not tackle well and that’s something we’ve really got to focus on in practice,” Padden said. Before the Bluehawks conference game next week, Padden said that he’d have the team do more tackling drills to refine their technique a little more.
Padden said that he’d also be studying film a lot during the course of the week to see how he can better help his team progress and to again prepare themselves to go up against Plains. “Our kids really get up for Plains and likewise Plains gets up for playing us,” Padden said.
While the loss isn’t something that Padden likes seeing. He said that looking at it from the lens of a whole season, it really isn’t that significant to him.
“I put very little weight on this game. It’s a non-conference game and it doesn’t mean anything to me but pride. It’s a pride thing with Loyola,” Padden said.