BELT — The Huskies' quest for back-to-back state titles is just one step away from being competed. Belt will host the Fairview Warriors in a rematch of the season opener where the Huskies dropped their first and only game in the past two seasons, losing 21-20.
The Huskies are amped about the opportunity to redeem themselves from that game, but they have a bigger motivation this time around. For the first time in the history of the program, Belt will be hosting the state championship game.
“It means everything,” said Belt senior Ethan Triplett. “We’re not content until we have that title, but for this to be in Belt and for our community, this is huge.”
“It’s going to be amazing. The state title has never been played in Belt, and we sure feel grateful that it’s going to be here. It’s going to be an amazing event,” said head coach Matt Triplett.
The Huskies have made their playoff road to this point look easy, outscoring their opponents 174-12 over the span of three games. Belt’s offense has scored an absurd amount of points across the entire season, but it is the defense that keeps the Huskies separated from the pack. Throughout the regular season, they allowed only 26 points.
“Honestly, coach Trip has just been talking about a lot of poise,” said senior Reese Paulson. “Anytime they get a big play on us, we just come back level-headed and ready to make a stop.”
“The defensive line is extremely disciplined. They do their job and they believe the guy next to them is going to do theirs,” said coach Triplett.
“We’ve got four or five guys that are pushing 200 pounds and we’re all fairly tough,” said senior Lane Waldner. “We work really good together. We all call ourselves the power rangers. We’re like brothers, we stick together and stop the ball at the line.”
After their early season loss to the Warriors, Belt became less of of a favorite to win or even get back to the big game. Matt Triplett credits his team for tuning out the noise and focusing on themselves in order to achieve what they set out to do.
“I’m just really proud of the guys," he said. "There was a lot of talk of them not being able to make it back because of what they lost last year in the seven seniors, but this is just a great group. They put in the time working hard and just believed they can get there, so we’re proud of them.”
The game is scheduled to kick off in Belt on Saturday at 1 p.m.
