Big Sandy and Broadview-Lavina seemed to be on a title-game collision course, and now they’ll meet for the 6-Man championship next week.
Big Sandy cruised to a 40-8 semifinal win over Bridger on Saturday while Broadview-Lavina escaped with a 35-34 win in a thriller over two-time reigning champion Froid-Lake.
The Pioneers (12-0) and Pirates (11-0) bring unbeaten records into the title game, which will be played next Saturday in Big Sandy.
Bridger closed its final season under coach Jim Goltz with a 9-3 record. Froid-Lake, which came alive in the second half of the year, ended 8-4.
Big Sandy 40, Bridger 8
BIG SANDY – Braydon Cline accounted for four touchdowns as Big Sandy built a huge lead en route to a championship-game berth.
Cline put the Pioneers ahead in the first quarter with a 10-yard TD run, then hit Cooper Taylor with a 57-yard scoring pass to make it 14-0 at the outset.
Cline found Wylee Snapp on a 7-yard touchdown throw in the second, which came after a 3-yard touchdown run by Rusty Gasvoda, and Big Sandy led 28-0 at halftime.
Cline connected with Cooper Taylor on a 25-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter, and Gasvoda added a 5-yard scoring run in the fourth as the lead grew to 40-0.
Gage Goltz scored Bridger’s only touchdown late in the fourth quarter on a 27-yard run.
Broadview-Lavina 35, Froid-Lake 34
LAVINA – Broadview-Lavina erased a two-score halftime deficit to advance to its first-ever state championship football game.
The Pirates began to claw back in the third quarter when Hank Tuszynski caught a 20-yard touchdown pass to cut the deficit to 28-22. They then recovered muffed kickoff and tied the game on a TD catch by Jace Jensen.
Froid-Lake retook the lead 34-28 in the fourth quarter when Austen Hobbs scored his fifth touchdown of the game, but the extra-point try was missed. After the teams traded possessions, Broadview-Lavina got in the end zone with 35 seconds remaining as Kade Erickson found William Sanguins with a quick TD pass to make it 35-34.
The Pirates then held on Froid-Lake’s final possession to secure an historic victory.
