Titans’ ground game subdues Powell County

DEER LODGE – Even George Patton would have been proud of the Titans Friday night.

Flint Creek did what it does best in beating Powell County 58-26 Friday night in Deer Lodge, mounting a sustained ground offensive that the Wardens had to answer for.

In other South Division action Ennis lost to Belt 54-12 in a non-divisional game, Manhattan Christian blew out Park City 62-8, Twin Bridges defeated Lame Deer 54-20, Sheridan will play at Lodge Grass Saturday, and St. Labre played Lone Peak (no score).

The Titans are 3-0 in divisional play (4-0 overall) and are tied with Eagles who are 4-0. The two squads will meet October 12 in Manhattan for a Saturday affair. Before then Flint Creek must face Sheridan September 27 (Homecoming) and Ennis October 4, both at Drummond.

Flint Creek started as one might expect, taking the opening kickoff and marching the ball down to the two before Austin Knoeller punched it in for the score. Logan Hauptman added the conversion, and the Titans were up 8-0.

The two squads exchanged possessions before Flint Creek found the end zone again, this time with Wyatt Daniels running it in from five yards out. Hauptman added another two points and the lead at the end of one period was 16-0.

But it seemed apparent that Powell County was not going to go quietly into that good night. Coached by Drummond and MSU alumni Mac Bignell, the Wardens struck back with a 35-yard touchdown pass play from Orin Hansen to Shawn Lombardi that cut the margin to 16-6.

Flint Creek responded with another sustained series, capped off by Hauptman’s 28-yard run. The Titans stopped Powell County on their next series and were attacking again when Hauptman threw a pass to the left side only to have it picked off by Lombardi. The junior defensive back returned the pick 75 yards for the score and cut the lead back down to 24-12 with 4:22 to play in the period.

It almost seemed like interception insulted Hauptman and his teammates, as they scored twice more before intermission. With 1:53 to go Hauptman dove in from a yard out and followed it a minute and a half later with a 37-yard scoring run to make it 38-12 at halftime.

When play resumed, Cayman Herrick took the opening kickoff for the Wardens and returned it 67 yards for a score. The play sent electricity into the Powell County sidelines and fans as the score closed to 38-18.

“A lot of it was just technique stuff that we can do a little better. (We’ve got to) put the ball on the ground a little less,” said Flint Creek Head Coach Jason Ostler of his team’s miscues. “It’s just gonna take more time with our young kids working together and to align with the varsity a little more.

“It’s tough to clean up. We got everything we wanted on the ground and we just have to be a little sharper.”

And sharper they got for the remainder of the third period.

The Titans went back to the ground and pound offense that is their bread and butter, getting rushing touchdowns from Knoeller, Hauptman and reserve QB Michael Goettle. The quarter ended with Flint Creek leading 58-18 and Powell County facing a running clock.

The Wardens added one final score when freshman lineman Gage Micu scooped up a Titan fumbled and returned it 40 yards.

Flint creek finished with 448 yards on the ground, 228 of those going to Hauptman on 27 carries.

With the season now about halfway over, Flint Creek looks toward a significantly tougher second half schedule. They face Sheridan September 27th for Homecoming and the Ennis October 4, both in Drummond. They then head out on the road October 12 to play Manhattan Christian and Twin Bridges October 18. They return home October 25 to close out the season in Philipsburg against Lone Peak.

“I think we’re getting better every week,” observed Ostler. “Our offensive line is getting more aggressive and nasty every single day. They’re big and fast and when they get ‘push’ good things happen for us.”

NOTEBOOK – Flint Creek’s win Friday is the third time they’ve defeated Powell County since the Wardens reestablished their program in 2022. … Powell County’s 26 points is the most they’ve scored against Flint Creek in those three match ups. … The interception return by Shawn Lombardi, the kickoff return by Cayman Herrick, and the fumble recovery and return by Gage Micu were the first defensive and special teams scores allowed by Flint this year and ever to the Wardens. … Senior running back Logan Hauptman entered the 2024 season ranked fifth on the Titans’ all-time rushing list. He moved up in the team’s all-time standings with his carries Friday. Hauptman is now 4th in career yardage with 2,411, 489 yards behind Colby Manley at 2,900. He is fourth in carries at 354, 55 behind Tyler Burden, and he has 39 touchdowns, 5th behind Andrew Tallon at 45. … Now in his fourth season as head coach, Jason Ostler secured his 30th victory with Friday’s win. He is 30-6 overall through 3-1/2 seasons. … Ostler ranks second on the Titan’s Coaching Victory List behind the Mike Cutler/JC Holland squads of 2017-2020 that went 44-4 and ahead of the Jim Oberweiser/Mike Cutler teams of 2014-2016 that finished 18-8. … Friday’s game against the Wardens was the 110th game in Flint Creek’s 10-1/2 years. They are 92-18 overall. … Flint Creek has a 61.3 percentage on touchdown conversions. They are 19-for-31 overall, 12-for-19 on runs and 7-for12 on passes.

SCORING

Flint Creek – 16/22/20/0 – 58

Powell County – 0/12/6/8 – 26

FIRST QUARTER

9:43 FC Knoeller 2 yd run TD. Hauptman run.

0:22 FC Daniels 5 yd run TD. Hauptman run.

SECOND QUARTER

10:37 PC Hansen 35 yd pas to Lombardi TD. Pass failed.

6:43 FC Hauptman 28 yd run TD. Dauenhauer pass to Fluharty.

4:22 PC Lombardi 65 yd interception return TD. Beck run.

1:53 FC Hauptman 3 yd run TD. Run failed.

0:18 FC Hauptman 37 yd run TD. Dauenhauer pass to Fluharty.