Hawk Football Finishes Season With A Win

As football season wound towards its finale, Hawk football faced one final test this season, against Poplar on Friday night. The Hawks hosted the game in Broadus, with conditions hovering in the low 40s with a light breeze for the evening game. Poplar won one game this season, via forfeit from Wibaux, but were otherwise in the same boat as Broadus, who had yet to win a game. That meant that at the end of the night, one team would have their first win by playing a game – and Broadus would ultimately take that accomplishment as their own, with a resounding 60-14 win.

The game started off with an inadvertent onside kick from Broadus, which seemed to surprise everyone on the field including the Hawks, and which Broadus recovered to go on offense.

Poplar would recover a fumble from Broadus at the 1 yard line, and drive the ball 99 yards down the field to score in the second quarter, pushing the score close to 20-14.

That's as close as the game would get, as Raiden Aurand recovered an attempted onside kick by Poplar. Broadus took time off the clock to drive the ball down to score with two seconds left in the half.

In the second half, Broadus continued to drive and hold Poplar's offense, putting up a total of 22 points in the third quarter and adding 6 in the 4th quarter. Broadus eventually won the game and capped off the season and career of six seniors on the Hawk team, including Duke Blankenship, Jackson Knapp, Jayce Schroeder, Kail Irish, Raiden Aurand, and Isaiah McMullan, who had been sidelined by concussion earlier in the season.

The Hawks finish the season with an 1-8 record, and look forward to some major potential changes coming next season, as Broadus may move from 8 man to 6 man football.

The east has 3 teams ranked in the top 10 statewide. Fairview, at 9-0, is ranked second in the state, behind Belt. Culbertson is ranked 6th in the state, and Circle is ranked 9th.

Considering the number of injuries throughout the season, Broadus managed to keep their season going and finish strong, with just enough players to make a team. Coach Brett Emmons commented: "Those guys played through a lot – many players had injuries and kept going. I didn't hear any complaints. That shows dedication; they didn't want to let their teammates down."

Coach Emmons wanted to thank the chain gang, his assistant coaches and managers, and the fans who came out to watch the team, on what would prove to be a tough season for the Hawks – despite the losses they kept going, playing for each other and for the team.