Badgers football looks strong in close game loss
EUREKA, MONT. — Badgers lose in a close game against Lincoln County High School 14-13 on Aug. 27 but are excited about the performance and look forward to a strong season.
It was exciting for the Badgers to test their might in the season’s first game against a competitive Montana team.
Eureka shut out Badgers last year 14-0 and are consistently Montana state champions in their division and won in 2018 and 2019.
“We know they are a great program and it would be a good game for us,” Head Coach Travis Hinthorn said.
Eureka scored on their opening possession with a 15 play, 64-yard drive; with quarterback Caleb Utter scoring on a 15-yard keeper, Badgers responded by tightening up the defense.
Utter found his tight end for an 8-yard touchdown in the third quarter with five minutes left. Charles Henslee responded, returning an 84-yard kickoff putting the Badgers on the board at 7-14.
The Eureka Lions pushed a late drive in the fourth quarter, trying to put the game away, but Sky Reinhardt intercepted a pass from Utter to give the ball back to the Badgers with 4:48 left on the clock.
According to Hinthorn, the final drive was full of big plays, with a 15-yard scramble by Tiegan Banning and an 18-yard screen pass to Wilson Newell.
Blake Rice had two significant receptions, the second play being a 15-yard touchdown pass from Banning with just under two minutes left in the game.
The Lions blocked the extra point putting an end to the Badger comeback. However, the onside kick didn't reach 10 yards, and the Lions ran out the clock for the victory.
"We are fun to watch on defense. Our kids are flying around and making good things happen, “ Hinthorn said. “Offensively we looked good on the last possionsion, we need to have that urgency earlier in the game.”
Even with a close loss, Hinthorn is proud of the performance of the varsity team and how competitive the game was for both teams.
According to MaxPreps, Badgers recorded 36 plays with 7 first downs, significantly less than the Lions, who logged 68 plays with 20 first downs.
Defensively, the Badgers were led by Travis Petersen, who had recorded 11 tackles, including two quarterback sacks.
Eli Richards recorded 11 tackles, with Reinhardt and Newell each recording an interception.
Badgers play Grangeville on Sept. 3 for a non-conference home game; Grangeville is another good program that missed many games last year.
“We are excited about where we are and are looking forward to Grangeville who is also a good team and are hungry to play,” Hinthorn said.
