Blackhawks swatted by Mountain Cats

SEELEY LAKE – The Seeley-Swan Blackhawks hosted the Clark Fork Co-op Mountain Cats Sept. 25 in front of their biggest home field crowd of the season. The Missoula City-County Health Department backed off on some of the attendance restrictions just hours before kickoff making it possible for 200 fans to attend.

The Blackhawks stopped the Cats' opening drive at the 26-yard line but were unable to move the ball forward offensively. They got pushed back to their own 11-yard line before running out of downs and setting the Cats up for their first touchdown. It would be the first of two touchdowns for the Cats in the first quarter.

The Blackhawks gave up one more touchdown in the second quarter but came up with a big stop at the end of the half pushing the Cats out of the red zone back to the 16. With just one second on the clock the Cats managed to get the ball into the end zone but used a bit too much trickery to do so with an illegal pass in the backfield.

The second half opened with the Cats recovering their kickoff and scoring on the subsequent drive setting the tone for the rest of the game. The Blackhawks were able to hold them to just one more touchdown in the third quarter and one in the fourth but could put no points on the board for themselves. The final score was 0-40.

Eric Lorentz led the Blackhawks in rushing yards with 101 on 20 carries with a long of 18 yards. Sawyer Shelmerdine had three receptions for 43 yards with his longest being 18 yards while Ben Haley pulled down two passes for 20 yards.

Kaden Thornsberry was credited with 8 solo tackles followed by Cannon Hawkinson with 6. Hawkinson and Owen Hoag each snagged an interception.

The Blackhawks are back on the road this week taking on Flint Creek with kickoff at 7 p.m. Oct. 2. As of press time fans were welcome. Check the Seeley-Swan High School Activities Facebook page for updates.