Hettinger-Scranton and Mott-Regent-New England bow out of 9-man playoffs
Oct. 24—There were a pair of 9-man playoff games Saturday afternoon, with the Hettinger-Scranton Night Hawks hosting Grant/County Flasher after a bye week, and Mott-Regent-New England travelling to New Salem to take on the Holsteins after their big win over Napoleon last week.
Grant County-Flasher 30, Hettinger-Scranton 0
These two met each other back on Sept. 10, with the Night Hawks prevailing 44-22. This time around, it was the Storm who took control of the game and ended Hettinger-Scranton's season. It was by far the Night Hawks' lowest point total of the season as they could not generate any offense.
"They came out and won the line of scrimmage," Hettinger/Scranton head coach Jason LeFebre said. "They're a super physical football team, well disciplined. They made tackles, I didn't see too many missed ones, credit to their kids and coaching staff. They did a good job and they're one tough football team."
Grant County/Flasher held a 16-0 lead and balanced it out with two more touchdowns in the second half. It was a disappointing finish to Hettinger/Scranton's season, one that saw them enjoy success for the first time in quite a while.
"It's not the storybook ending we want," Lefebre said. "We've preached all week about legacy and leaving it behind. Our seven seniors have a lot to be proud of. At the end there were tears in the huddle, they left it all out there... from going to no wins to one win to this season, there's nothing to hang their head on."
The Storm will take on LaMoure/LML next week.
New Salem-Almont 42, Mott-Regent-New England 14
It was always going to be tough for the Wildfire to repeat their offensive output from last week, where they hung 66 on Napoleon. They went up against one of the top teams in North Dakota 9-man football in New Salem-Almont, the No. 2 overall seed in the playoffs.
Mott-Regent-New England held strong and were only down 12-6 at the half, but scored on their first two possessions of the second half to make it 28-6 and to put pressure on the Wildfire.
But the visitors never got back into the game and fell to the Holsteins for the second time in four weeks. Their playoff run ends in the second round, while New Salem-Almont advances to the quarterfinals to take on Divide County.
