Titans tame Chinook, head to semifinals at Belt

PHILIPSBURG – Any time a team upsets a No. 1 seed, you must treat them as a very dangerous team.

The Flint Creek Titans (10-1) did just that as they took on the North’s No. 4 seed Chinook (7-4), beating them 28-6 in the quarterfinals of the MHSA 8-Man Football playoffs Saturday. The game was played on Mungas Field at Granite High School in Philipsburg.

It was the first-ever meeting of the two schools on the grid iron, and they spent most of the first half testi9ng each other like two well-seasoned boxers. It was a scoreless game until just 1L18 remained in the first half when Titans quarterback Jake Dauenhauer hit Logan Fluharty on a five-yard scoring pass across the middle. Dauenhauer hit Eric Pitcher with the conversion pass and Flint Creek went up 8-0.

A good kickoff by Wyatt Daniels put the Sugarbeeters at their own 10-yard line, and four plays later they quick-kicked it from their 15 to the 35 where the Titans took over.

A few plays later Flint Creek was back in the end zone with Dauenhauer hitting Fluharty again, this time with a 30-yard pass with 18 seconds on the clock. A missed conversion still left the locals up 14-0 at halftime.

When played resumed in the third, Dauenhauer threw his third TD pass of the night, a short screen to Logan Hauptman who caught it and dodged several Chinook defenders on his way to a 50-yard touchdown. Dauenhauer hit Michael James with the conversion and the lead ballooned to 22-0.

Dauenhauer finished the game 8-for-16 for 127 yards and the three scores. Fluharty had three catches for 63 yards.

The Sugarbeeters managed their only score of the game later in the fourth, as senior Landon Beck punched the ball in from three yards out to culminate a drive. The conversion failed and cut the Titans’ lead to 22-6.

But Flint Creek had a statement to make, and junior Austin Knoeller put the exclamation point on it, plowing in from four yards out for the game’s final score.

Knoeller had 38 yards on eight carries but made an even bigger impact on defense. For the second straight game he finished in double figures in tackles, collecting a total of 14 stops. Two of them were for loss and he had one fumble recovery.

Daniels was also in double figures in tackles, combining five solos and eight assists for 13 total.

Hauptman had 98 yards on 25 carries.

The victory puts the Titans into the semifinals on the road November 16 at Belt. The Huskies are the No. 1 team from the North Division and the 2022 state champions. The Huskies beat Culbertson in their quarterfinal match up 48-12. Other quarterfinal games included No. 1 € Fairview defeating No. 3 (N) Choteau 48-0 and No. 4 (E) Scobey upsetting No. 2 (N) Fort Benton 36-24.

If Flint Creek can win their semifinal and Scobey can post its third straight upset, the Titans would host the 8-Man Football Championship in Drummond November 23. Fairview beat Scobey during the regular season 28-20 at home.

SCORING

Chinook – 0/0/0/6 – 6

Flint Creek – 0/14/8/6 – 28

FIRST QUARTER

No scoring

SECOND QUARTER

1:18 FC Dauenhauer 5 yd pass to Fluharty TD. Dauenhauer pass to Pitcher.

0:18 FC Dauenhauer 30 yard pass to Fluharty TD. Run failed.

THIRD QUARTER

9:11 FC Dauenhauer 50 yard pass to Hauptman TD. Dauenhauer pass to James.

FOURTH QUARTER

3:53 CH Beck 3 yard run TD.  Run failed.

1:13 FC Knoeller 4 yard run TD. Pass failed.

NOTEBOOK – This being the first-ever meeting between Flint Creek and Chinook, the Sugarbeeters are now one of just seven teams that the Titans have only faced a single time. The other six include West Yellowstone, Shelby, Lodge Grass, Forsythe, Fairview, and Culbertson. … The victory is the 98th in team history for Flint Creek and marks the sixth time in 11 seasons that the Titans have had 10-or-more wins. … The 10-win season also marks the third time in four years that Flint Creek Head Coach Jason Ostler has hit that mark. … The semifinal game at Belt will mark the fifth time in 11 seasons that the Titans have reached that level of the postseason. It is the second time under Coach Ostler. … Flint Creek is 1-2 against the Huskies, having last played them in 2022 in Philipsburg in a second -round loss. … Hauptman’s near 100-yard day leaves him at 3,198 for his career and just 253 behind No. 2 Tyler Burden at 3,451.

NOTE - Edited to correct Belt's team history.