PREP FOOTBALL: Redhawks finish second straight unbeaten season with title rout of Titans
DUTTON - This was not the way Tom Tranmer and the Power-Dutton-Brady Titans drew this game up on the whiteboard.
Defending Six-Man state champion Froid-Medicine Lake generated 372 yards of offensive firepower behind sophomore quarterback Mason Dethman while keeping the Titans to just 72 total yards as the Redhawks made it back-to-back undefeated seasons with a 43-0 blanking of the Titans in the state championship game Saturday at Dutton School.
The Redhawks, who finished 12-0 for the second straight year, had 263 rushing yards. Senior Ashdyn Hobbs had the bulk of the totes, carrying the rock 13 times for a game-high 120 yards and one score.
Dethman was 7-for-13 up top for 109 yards, two scores and one interception, and ran a half dozen times for 62 yards.
The Titans, who finished 10-2 with both losses coming at the hands of the Redhawks, couldn't get their ground game going, with a minus-six yards on four attempts.
Historic Six-Man chipper: Titans seek to avenge only loss to Redhawks
PLAYER OF THE GAME
One thing Mason Dethman knows how to do is win. And he has yet to lose in his high school career.
Need I remind you that Dethman is only a sophomore? A 6-foot-5, 182-pound sophomore who is 24-0 at QB. He is also a safety, the punter, and the place kicker.
"It's an indescribable feeling; it feels awesome to go back-to-back," Dethman said after the game, the fifth consecutive time a school from the Eastern Six-Man Division has claimed the crown - Westby-Grenora in 2017, Wibaux County a year later, and Jordan in 2019 preceded the Redhawks.
"We didn't underestimate (the Titans), we took them seriously, and the final score showed that we were the better team," Dethman added. "Our defense; this is the best we've ever played, and I'm glad it came in the state championship."
Dethman, of course, is not a one-man show. There were five seniors playing in this game. Four of them scored:
Ashdyn Hobbs (5-7, 162 RB) scored the Redhawks' first points on a 31-yard stroll from scrimmage;
Brent Stantoft (6-1 202 FB/E) powered over a short run in the second stanza;
Connor Huft (5-7, 152 RB) hauled in an 11-yard toss from Dethman, one of Dethman's two TD throws; and
Javonne Nesbit (6-4, 198 WR/S) caught the other on a 24-yard pass play, but he put the final stamp on the game when he ripped a ball out of Jacob Feldman's hands at the Redhawks two-yard line, and ran it back 78 yards on the final play of the game.
For the record, Austen Hobbs - yes, Ashdyn's brother - had a 27-yard romp in the first. He was the only other scorer.
Froid-Lake's only other senior was Bode Miller, a 5-11, 215-pound running back.
TURNING POINT
I have to admit that I arrived at the field in between the Hobbs' brothers scoring, but I did get the chance to talk to Austen after the final gun.
"We came out, and we were dialed in," the 5-10, 155-pound junior said. "We were ready to go.
"We knew what we had to do. We had to do our jobs like our coaches taught us how to do, and we just had to play with everything we've got and put it all on the line."
For head coach Mike Reiter, the end is not in sight, at least in the foreseeable future. On the 20 players on the Redhawks' roster, 15 of them will be back.
"Yes, we have a lot coming back," Reiter confirmed, "We're going to miss these seniors; this year was all about them, but the future is very bright for us."
Of their 21 rostered players. the Titans are losing six seniors, including their quarterback Kellan Doheny and OE/LB Spencer Lehnerz.
"I'm very proud of our guys, but you've got to tip your hat to (the Redhawks); they came to play today," the Titan's veteran mentor Tranmer said. "It was their day, and they did all the right things.
"Our boys tried, but we just couldn't seem to get going, and that's a tribute to their defense. They're just a great team."
QUOTABLES
"Yes, we have a lot coming back. We're going to miss these seniors; this year was all about them, but the future is very bright for us." - Redhawks head coach Mike Reiter.
"We knew what we had to do. We had to do our jobs like our coaches taught us how to do, and we just had to play with everything we've got and put it all on the line." - Redhawks RB Austen Hobbs.
"It's an indescribable feeling; it feels awesome to go back-to-back." - Redhawks QB Mason Dethman.
TAKEAWAYS/THE END OF AN ERA
The biggest takeaway is one of history. Saturday's game marked the first time either Power, Dutton or Brady hosted a varsity championship contest.
It also marked the end of an era. Veteran Geraldine-Highwood coach Rodney Tweet has said it's the end of the line after 40 years in Geraldine, following the three-year start of his career in Brady.
REDHAWKS 43, TITANS 0
Froid-Lake 14 15 0 14 - 43
PDB 0 0 0 0 - 0
First quarter
FML-Ashdyn Hobbs 31 run (kick failed)
FML-Austen Hobbs 27 run (Mason Dethman kick)
Second quarter
FML-Brent Stentoft 1 run (Dethman kick)
FML-Javonne Nesbit 24 pass from Dethman (Nesbit pass from Dethman)
Fourth quarter
FML-Connor Huft 11 pass from Dethman (Dethman kick)
FML-Nesbit 78 fumble return (no try; time expired)
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING-Froid-Lake, Ashdyn Hobbs 13-120, Mason Dethman 6-62, Austen Hobbs 11-78, Brent Stentoft 4-7, Caden Kelm 1-1. PDB, Kellan Doheny 1-(minus 4), Jacob Feldman 3-(minus 2).
PASSING-Froid-Lake, Dethman 7-13-1—109. PDB, Doheny 18-29-2—63, TEAM 2-2-0—15.
RECEIVING-Froid-Lake, Stentoft 3-59, Nesbit 3-39, Huft 1-11. PDB, Feldman 5-20, John Baringer 7-22, Spencer Lehnerz 3-19, Tyler Ellsworth 2-2, Doheny 2-44.
Lee Vernoy covers sports and much more for the Tribune. Email him at lvernoy@greatfallstribune.com or tribsports@greatfallstribune.com, and follow him on Twitter @GFTrib_LVernoy.
This article originally appeared on Great Falls Tribune: Redhawks finish second straight unbeaten season in rout of Titans
