Plains-Hot Springs 7 Thompson Falls 6

Matt Unrau

It wasn’t pretty, but the cup that has belonged to Thompson Falls for the last 13 years is finally heading back to Plains after a 7-6 victory for the Savage Horsemen at Thompson Falls.It was definitely a grind as the game only saw two touchdowns during the game with the difference for Plains coming in a successful extra point by Junior Carson Lilja in the second quarter.

It was at the beginning of the second quarter and the second drive Plains-Hot Springs when they struck first with quarterback Winebrenner taking the ball himself across the goal line for a 1-yard run.Then little could anyone in the stands guess that Lilja followed the play with the game-winning kick that went straight down the middle of the uprights.”It’s not that important at the time, but when it comes down to it that was the game,” says Lilja who has been the starting kicker for the Savage Horsemen since his freshmen season.

“That’s probably the best field goal I’ve ever had,” says Lilja.

Following the score by Plains-Hot Springs, Thompson Falls took the ball down the field and was only eventually stopped as Quarterback Will Dalby slipped in the backfield to put his knee down on fourth down and short. It was the second turnover on downs for Thompson Falls in the first half as the referee crew mysteriously chose not to measure the first turnover on downs by Thompson Falls.

In the first half Thompson Falls usually known for the short passing game especially between Dalby and Wide Receiver Stephen Block switched up their offensive scheme and exclusively ran the ball. The move proved effective as the team was able to move the ball down the field, but Plains-Hot Springs was able to keep them out of the end zone.

After halftime Dalby began throwing the ball and was able to throw a beautiful fade pass to Brandon Wakefield for a 14-yard touchdown. However, on the extra point the kick wobbled short of the posts leaving the Bluehawks one point short for the rest of the game.

The fourth quarter was the real grind for both teams, as the defense stepped up and Plains was able to get into the redzone, but had three turnovers on downs where the referees also decided not to bring out the sticks and take a measurement.

It was a frustrating time for the normally potent Savage Horsemen offense as Senior Mike Holland says “nothing was working” crediting the Bluehawks for being well prepared for their offense and knowing exactly what Plains-Hot Springs wanted to do with the ball.

Thompson Falls on the flip side was unable to achieve a first down until the last drive of the game where they made it to midfield, but then was stopped short to end the game.

Coach Seth Pettit says the decision to keep the offense on the field for the fourth downs stemmed from the cold weather and the fact that all of the field goals would have been 35 yards or longer. The low on Friday was 27 degrees, which was a surprise for both teams that had been enjoying unusally hot weather throughout the month of September.

Despite the grind of the game and the lack of any last-minute heroics the Savage Horsemen ran off the field at the whistle yelling in triumph having finally defeated their archrivals and taken the cup back to Plains. Lilja says that although the Eureka game was a much bigger game for the Savage Horsemen “this was the game we set up for at the beginning of the season.” “It’s pretty exciting to make history,” agrees Holland.