BILLINGS — Jake CasaGranda threw three touchdown passes on Thursday night at Daylis Stadium to help his visiting Bozeman Hawks (3-2, 3-0) take down Billings Skyview 49-7 and remain unbeaten in Eastern AA play.
CasaGranda's night started with an odd interception when his pass on the game's second play bounced off a receiver's foot and into the arms of Skyview's Hunter Sherner. Skyview's ensuing field goal attempt, though, was blocked by Bozeman and recovered by Cordell Holzer, who raced back the other way to put the Hawks up 7-0.
Payton Sanders took the kick back inside the 1-yard line for Skyview, as Dylan Goodell cashed in for the Falcons, but CasaGranda and the Bozeman offense wouldn't look back from there.
Jase Applebee gave Bozeman the lead with just under a minute to play in the first quarter on a 35-yard scoring scamper and the Hawks never trailed again. CasaGranda's first touchdown pass of the game came midway through the second quarter on a 4-yard strike to Bryson Zanto. CasaGranda faked a handoff to Applebee, rolled right and hit Zanto in stride just in front of the pylon.
CasaGranda's younger brother, Brady, got in on the scoring action in the first half when he took a hand off 17 yards through the teeth of the Skyview defense to put Bozeman up 28-7 at halftime.
Jake CasaGranda tacked on two touchdown passes in the second half -- and 80-yard bomb to Luke Smith and a 24-yard swing pass to Applebee - to give Bozeman a 42-7 advantage. A Malloy Mayer touchdown run enacted a running clock as Bozeman kept its perfect Eastern AA record intact.
Bozeman will play Billings Senior on Oct. 1, while Billings Skyview (1-4, 0-3) will play Billings West the same evening.
