Titans punch postseason ticket with big win over Victor

DRUMMOND – It was the simplest of outcomes and just what the Titans needed to close out regular season play.

The 70-6 win over the visiting Victor Pirates gave Flint Creek a 5-3 record in Montana’s 8-Man Western Conference and a fourth-place finish on the year. They will enter the 16-team postseason bracket Nov. 2 on the road, presumably against West Yellowstone. The bracket will be finalized by the MHSA this weekend.

For Titan Head Coach Mike Cutler, he and his team got exactly what they wanted Friday night.

“The seniors had some fun, we got a ‘W’ and we don’t have any injuries,” Cutler observed.

After stopping the Pirates on their first drive, Flint Creek went to work. The first score of the game came when Kade Cutler scampered 13 yards for a touchdown and a 6-0 lead. Two minutes later Cutler added a 53-yard punt return for a score and followed it up with an 18-yard pass to senior Daniel Brabender to give Flint Creek a 20-0 margin at the end of the first quarter.

Victor got its lone score of the game when senior Cameron Moore took the ball on a reverse and scored on a 56-yard run on the first play of the second period.

But the Titans weren’t about to let the Pirates get off the deck. Cutler hit Brabender with a pair of scoring passes and Preston Metesh with a third in just under four minutes. Reserve running back Tyler Burden added a fourth score before halftime and the locals led 50-6.

Flint Creek added three more scores in the second half a 12-yard pass from Andrew Tallon to Doug Anderson and a pair of rushing scores by Tallon and Burden as the clock ran out.

“It’s pretty bittersweet,” reflected Titan lineman Wyatt Rigby, who scored a two-point conversion in the win. “I’m happy to be going into the real world, but it’s heartbreaking. It’s been four years I’ve played with these boys and some of them I’ve played with since my fifth grade year. It just means a lot to me to play here on this field. What was once the Trojans playing here and doing so well. I watched them as a kid and now it being my last day … It’s pretty crazy.”

Flint Creek will now turn its sights to the Wolverines of West Yellowstone who are a perfect 5-0 in the Southern Conference, 8-0 overall. They finish their season Saturday against Lone Peak.

When looking ahead to their first-round playoff game, Coach Cutler, Rigby and the other Flint Creek players are all on the same page.

“Four seeds beat one seeds all the time,” said Brabender. “We just hope that with our hard work and determination that we can go in there and get the job done.”

Brabender, Rigby and teammate Conley Wagner were all honored as the seniors on the team in a pregame ceremony.

NOTES – The Titans have now run their streak of consecutive home wins to 20 consecutive home games dating back to September 30, 2016 when they beat the Pirates 44-36. … Since the creation of the Flint Creek Co-op in 2014, the Titans have beaten Victor in all six matchups. … With just over seven minutes to play in the game #37 for Victor (not identified on roster) was injured on the kickoff return, getting hit while attempting to block on the play. The game was delayed for some 15 minutes while he was kept stationary and eventually left the field via the Drummond Ambulance Service. … The playoff matchup with West Yellowstone will be the first time that they have lined up opposite Flint Creek.