Thompson Falls loses shot at playoffs

It was tough Friday night for the Bluehawks Football team as they battled Troy for a spot in the Playoffs.

The game, 22-14 Troy, was marked with moments of great intensity and hopes only a hair away from being realized. Troy had scored 14 points in the first half with a 25-yard pass from quarterback Aaron Palmer to Troy’s runningback Steph Jones in the first quarter. And in the second quarter a 13-yard-touchdown run from runningback Jacob Alexander brought the score to 14.

Not wanting to be out done, Thompson Falls fired back with a nine-yard run into the end zone by quarterback Will Dalby. Then in the third quarter, still not content, the Bluehawks pushed further and saw Hayden Cristaldi tie it up 14-14 with an unstoppable play-of-the-night 60-yard touchdown rush.

The third quarter was a tug-of-war match between the two teams neither making a successful drive down the field. Eventually, everything came down to the fourth quarter. It was here where the Bluehawks succumbed to the high-powered arm of Palmer as he made a few devastating passes and then rushed seven yards for touchdown and to set Troy up for another two point conversion. The 22-14 shake up left more than a few players walking off the field holding back the tears.

Bluehawks Coach Doug Padden had one last team huddle that night to end the season. He congratulated the team on their hard efforts and for a strong season. “Keep you chins up, remember this game, there is always a lesson in life to learn,” Padden counseled his players and complemented his Seniors especially for all the work they had done.

Reflecting on the season after the game, Padden said he couldn’t be more proud of what the team had accomplished during the season (2-2, 5-3).

“I think we get more out of our kids than most teams do and I really believe that,” he said. “They’re dedicated, they take the game to heart, they take the coaches to heart and it will be tough to lose them at the end of the season.”

During the night Dalby passed for 109 yards and was 7-for-21. Steven Block tallied three catches for a total 63 yards. Palmer totaled 161 yards passing and had made 10 carries for 80 yards.

“What it boiled down to is that they got a great athlete out there with Palmer and they used him very well,” Defensive Coordinator Chadd Laws said afterward.

Thinking about the overall outcome of the game he said that he of course would have preferred a win but, like Padden, appreciated the work the team had done.

“I’d like to think that our defense played a great year,” Laws said. “To have those kids play as well as they did defensively I think was a great deal.”

Next year he said he looks forward to the new crop of Thompson Falls Juniors that will be stepping up to the plate to fill their starting line. ”Hopefully the weight room becomes contagious,” Laws said.

Troy 6 8 0 8 - 22

T. Falls 0 7 7 0 - 14