Eureka Wins Title with Last-Second Hail Mary; Hot Springs Victorious
Lions claim first football championship in exciting fashion; Savage Heat defeat Mon-Dak
By Dillon Tabish
An unforgettable football season in Eureka ended in an unforgettable way.
The Lions were trailing 28-25 with eight seconds remaining when quarterback Garrett Graves threw a 38-yard Hail Mary that ended up in the arms of teammate Austyn Sherwood, who scored the game-winning touchdown in the Class B championship in Missoula.
Eureka defeated Loyola 31-28 on Nov. 19 to win its first state championship.
Graves finished 10-of-24 for 163 yards and three touchdown passes through the air and also rushed for a TD. Senior running back Cannan Smith had 22 carries for 135 yards and two TDs along with 41 yards receiving. James Dunn had four catches for 41 yards and a TD. The Lions piled up 421 yards of offense.
In the Class C six-man title game, Hot Springs defeated Mon-Dak 54-20 last weekend in Plentywood. The victory completed an undefeated 13-0 season for the Savage Heat and marked the team’s second state title and first since 2012.
Senior Trevor Paro ended his remarkable prep career with 396 yards from scrimmage and five touchdowns, along with seven tackles and a safety on defense. He finished his unprecedented career with 135 touchdowns, the most in Montana history for any classification, according to the Montana High School Association. Quarterback Marco Degel completed eight of 12 passes for 189 yards and one touchdown. Degel also had seven tackles on defense. Running back Kane Lawson had 34 yards and a TD and Tyler Knudsen added 29 yards and another score. Blaine Carr had 56 yards receiving and eight tackles and four sacks on defense.
In the Class AA state championship game, the Billings Senior Broncs completed a perfect season with a 33-21 win over the Glacier Wolfpack in Billings.
The Broncs finished their season 13-0 and won their first state championship since 1979. Glacier finished 11-2 after appearing in their third state title game in four years.
The Wolfpack led 7-6 after the first quarter but the Broncs jumped ahead 19-7 at halftime and 26-7 after three quarters.
Glacier quarterback Tadan Gilman passed for two touchdowns and rushed for another. Scout Willcut had two TD catches.
In the Class C eight-man title game, Ennis defeated Charlo in overtime, 30-24.
In the Class A title game, Dillon defeated Columbia Falls. Billings Senior beat Glacier in the Class AA title contest.