Red Hawks Advance To State Title Game
After having their backs against the wall midway into the second period, the Froid-Lake gained control for the rest of the half and captured a 42-26 semi-final round playoff victory over Big Sandy in Medicine Lake on Saturday, Nov. 7.
The Red Hawks will now face White Sulphur Springs at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 14, in Medicine Lake to decide the state championship.
“I’m so proud of these boys,” Froid/Lake coach Michael Ritter said after the hard-fought win over Big Sandy. “Once we quit having turnovers and then followed our game plan, we were OK.”
Senior Issac Johnson added, “It was a tough game. We played the game of our lives. There were times that we showed some weaknesses, but we stayed in it. Big Sandy is a championship caliber team every year.”
The Red Hawks trailed 14-8 midway into the second quarter, and the explosive Pioneers had possession of the football. After defensive plays by Brett Stentoft forced Big Sandy into a fourth-and-10 situation, the Red Hawks got the ball back on an interception by Mason Dethman.
Two plays later, Dethman raced down the left sideline for a 51-yard touchdown run. Walker Ator kicked the conversion for a 16-14 lead withe 3:12 remaining in the half.
Froid/Lake soon came up with another huge play when Quinn Abar tackled Kody Strutz for a two-yard loss on a fourth-and-15 play.
Taking over on their own 34, the Red Hawks used a swing pass from Dethman to Ashdyn Hobbs for a first down at the Big Sandy 28.
Dethman, a freshman quarterback, broke away on the next play for a 28-yard touchdown run to put the margin at 22-14 with 1:13 left in the half.
But the Red Hawks weren’t done yet in the half. Abar, a 204-pound sophomore, recovered a fumble at the Big Sandy 28. After Dethman and Stentoft connected on a slant pass to the 12, the Red Hawks moved inside the 10 on a run by Hobbs.
On second down from the eight, Froid/Lake scored on a pass from Dethman to Stentoft for a 28-14 lead with seven seconds remaining in the half.
The Pioneers proved very early in the second half that they weren’t backing down in the semi-final showdown. On their second play from scrimmage on the half, standout fullback Kade Strutz went 41 yards for a touchdown to pull to 28-20.
Big Sandy then put together a 78-yard scoring drive together. Strutz, a 230-pound senior, scored on a two-yard smash to open the fourth quarter. Froid/Lake’s Colt Miller blocked the kick attempt, so the Red Hawks remained ahead 28-26.
The Red Hawks responded with a long drive of their own. Passes from Dethman to Stentoft and Hobbs moved the ball inside Big Sandy territory.
Facing second-and-five from the 23, the Red Hawks reached the end zone on a run by Dethman for a 34-26 advantage with 6:32 remaining.
On Big Sandy’s next possession, the Pioneers moved to close to midfield until defensive plays by Abar, Johnson and Landen Kelm ended the threat.
Taking over at the Big Sandy 37, Froid/Lake put the contest away when Stentoft broke through the line with 2:54 remaining. Ator added the kick for a 42-26 lead. The play came as a bit of a surprise since Stentoft didn’t carry the ball much in the game and was recently came off the field limping.
“They were pulling to our reverse play hard, and Brett just ran hard,” Reiter said of the play. “He’s played so well this year. Defensively, he was right there all game.”
The game started with the Pioneers scoring on a fouryard run by Strutz with 5:07 left in the opening quarter. Miller blocked the conversion kick attempt.
The Red Hawks got into scoring position late in the quarter on passes from Dethman to Miller and Hobbs. Froid/Lake reached the end zone on an 11-yard run by Dethman. Ator kicked the conversion for an 8-6 lead with nine minutes left in the half.
Big Sandy gained a 14-8 lead when Strutz scored on an 18yard run with 7:08 remaining.
