Thursday, March 28, 2024
39.0°F

Football season comes to end for Noxon

| October 28, 2020 12:00 AM

By CHUCK BANDEL

Valley Press

Sanders County will have no more 6-man football this year.

That sad statement puts a cap on what has been a scheduling nightmare amid cancellations and postponements due to the Covid outbreak and dense smoke from regional wildfires.

That dire possibility became a reality Saturday when the Noxon Red Devils lost 38-14 to the Harlowton-Ryegate Engineers in a Montana high school 6-man football game played in Harlowton.

The Noxon loss, coupled with the ouster of county 6-man rival Hot Springs on the same day, means the end of the line for the two schools’ playoff hopes.

Harlowton-Ryegate got on the board first midway through the opening quarter when Engineer quarterback Colter Wolstad threw a 13-yard touchdown pass that was hauled in by Johnny Mysse. A missed point after touchdown try gave the Engineers a 6-0 lead with 4:40 to go in the initial stanza.

Heading into the second quarter, the Noxon offense continued to be held in check by the host team, who tacked a pair of touchdowns onto the scoreboard.

Wolstad, who wound up throwing four first-half touchdown passes, got the Engineers on the scoreboard a second time at the 5:28 mark of the second quarter when he hooked up with receiver Ryan Finley on a 27-yard scoring strike. A successful PAT attempt boosted Harlowton to a 13-0 advantage.

The Engineers added another touchdown later in the second quarter when Wolstad and Finley connected again, this time from 40 yards away with 2:24 to go in the first half.

The half ended with the hosts ahead 20-0.

Less than a minute into the third quarter, Colstad completed his touchdown throwing performance with another scoring toss to Mysse, good for 20 yards. Another failed PAT gave the Engineers a 26-0 lead in the cold and snow of central Montana.

Noxon got on the scoreboard on its next possession when, after getting the ball on the Harlowton 39 following a short kickoff, Josh Baldwin broke free on a 39-yard scoring romp with 8:19 remaining in the third quarter. The score, coupled with an unsuccessful PAT, left the Engineer lead at 26-6.

Both teams held the other at bay until the Engineers Cole Blatter turned a Red Devil fumble into a touchdown with 40 seconds to go in the quarter, pushing Harlowton’s lead back to 32-6.

Noxon struck back quickly in the opening minute of the fourth quarter when Baldwin hauled in a 19-yard touchdown pass from Derreck Christensen at the 9:34 mark of the final quarter.

With the score standing at 32-12, Harlowton-Ryegate scored one more time as the clocked ran out, this one a one-yard plunge by Jason Toddhunter.

The loss dropped Noxon to 2-3 overall on the schedule shortened season. With the win, Harlowton-Ryegate moved its season record to 6-1 and advanced to the second round of the state playoffs.

Recent Headlines