Area Fans Are Ready For State Championship Game

The communities of Froid and Medicine Lake are ready for this weekend. The Froid/ Lake Red Hawks will host White Sulphur Springs at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 14, in Medicine Lake to decide the Class C state six-man football championship.

This is the best that the undefeated Red Hawks have achieved in their six-man coop program. The squad didn’t even qualify for the playoffs last year.

“Every game we keep making history,” LeAnn Johnson, a parent of one of the team’s seniors, said.

Every since the playoffs started, the Froid/Lake fan base has been fired up. Helping the atmosphere has been music played by the Jeff Nelson Sound Machine throughout the games. The music has been sponsored by Community Oil Company of Reserve.

Chris Ator said the community is definitely excited about the contest. “We might tailgate all week,” Ator laughed.

Stacey Krumwiede McNally, an alumnus of Medicine Lake, added, “Rallying behind six-man football is great.”

Ator has a solid history of playing and supporting high school football in the area. The Red Hawks’ 42-28 semi-final victory over Big Sandy on Saturday, Nov. 7, reminded him of another score. The Medicine Lake Honkers defeated Arlee, 42-28, in the state semi-final round in 1985.

“That’s the first thing I saw,” Ator said of the final scores.

Don “Bear” Delorme also remembered previous games while watching Saturday’s victory. He was one of the coaches when Medicine Lake lost a tough championship game in Wibaux back in 2000. That was the first time a football squad from the area made it that far.

Delorme remembers that it was extremely cold. The Honkers got off to a strong start but then lost momentum. He’s looking for better results this time around.

“It means everything to us,” Delorme said of this year’s team. “And I think it will help us this basketball season too.”

Delorme has been impressed with senior Colt Miller’s impact on the squad. “Colt has really become a leader.”

After experiencing weather extremes throughout the playoffs, the Froid/Lake fan base will certainly be ready for this Saturday. Crowds are limited because of COVID concerns, but one parent jokes that fans will be sneaking in through the trees for the title game.

“We will be digging in like it’s the first game of the year,” Ator said regarding of how the team and fans will prepare for the contest.