The Big Sandy Pioneer Football team made its return to the Montana Class C Six-man football playoffs a successful one with 55-32 victory over the Richey/Lambert Fusion this past Saturday.
With the win, the Pioneers advance to the quarterfinal round of the playoffs against the Bridger Scouts next Saturday in Bridger.
The Pioneers were playing their first playoff game since 2012 and found themselves down early after the Fusion scored with 5:56 remaining in the opening quarter to take a 6-0 lead.
Big Sandy responded, just a minute into the second quarter, when senior Weston Allderdice scored from 1 yard out to even a game at 6-6.
Just seconds later the Richey/Lambert Fusion regained the lead 12-6 but the Pioneers once again would have an answer.
A 6-yard run by freshman Kade Strutz and a conversion pass from senior Bryant Jones to Parker Proulx gave Big Sandy a 13-12 lead with 5:59 left in the first half.
Just :52 seconds later the Fusion would find the end zone again and following a point-after kick retake the lead 20-13.
With just over a minute left in the first half Big Sandy's Tanner Allderdice scored on a 5-yard touchdown. Following a successful kick by senior Duke Darlington the Pioneers had regained the lead 21-20.
In a what was a back-and-forth first half, that saw the lead change five times it was the Fusion scoring with :13 seconds left in the first half, that took a 26-21 lead into the halftime locker room.
The second half was a different story altogether, as has been the case for the Pioneers all season long.
Several of the Pioneers eight wins have saw the team come from behind or break a close game wide open with a strong second-half performance and Saturday's first round playoff game was no different.
Just a minute and six seconds into the third quarter Strutz again found the end zone, this time from six yards out to give the Big Sandy Pioneers a 27-26 lead that they would never relinquish.
With 4:42 left in the third quarter, Strutz scored again, this time from 15 yards out. Darlington converted another extra point kick extending Big Sandy's advantage to 35-26.
Just three minutes later, senior Weston Allderdice scored on a 4-yard touchdown run to push the lead to 41-26.
The Fusion did score the final touchdown of the third quarter to cut the deficit to 41-32 entering the 4th quarter.
Big Sandy wasn't done on the offense of side of the ball as Allderdice scored from 5 yards out and Strutz scored his fifth touchdown of the game on a 1-yard plunge as Big Sandy coasted down the stretch to a 55-32 win over the Fusion.
The scoreboard showed Big Sandy and the Fusion in an offense of shootout but the stats show a game dominated by the Pioneer running game which controlled the flow of the contest start to finish.
Strutz gained 331 yards on 36 carries to lead a Pioneer rushing attack that amassed 470 yards total. Allderdice added 83 yards and Duke Darlington 51.
The Pioneers out gained the Fusion 516-322 in the contest while running 68 plays to the Fusions 38 and possessing the ball for nearly 33 minutes to Richey/Lambert's 17. Big Sandy recorded 23 first downs to the Fusions 12 and forced 4 turnover while giving up one in controlling the game.
Next up for Big Sandy will be a road trip to Bridger to face the Scouts in a quarterfinal contest. Kickoff is set for 7:00 p.m Friday and can be heard on KRYK FM 101.3
Big Sandy Pioneers 55
Richey/Lambert Fusion 32
Richey/Lambert - 6 20 6 0 - 32
Big Sandy - 0 21 20 14 - 55
1st Quarter
Rich/Lam - Gabe Gonsioroski 24 yard pass to Tyler Thiessen (PAT Blocked)
2nd Quarter
Big Sandy - Weston Allderdice 1 yard run (PAT No Good)
Rich/Lam - Jeff Scholla 3 Yard Run (PAT No Good)
Big Sandy - Kade Strutz 6 yard run (Bryant Jones pass to Parker Proulx)
Rich/Lam - Gabe Gonsioroski 49 yard pass to Tyler Thiessen (PAT Kick Good)
Big Sandy - Tanner Allderdice 5 yard run (Duke Darlington Kick Good)
Rich/Lam - Seth Prevost 3 yard run (PAT No Good)
3rd Quarter
Big Sandy - Kade Strutz 6 yard run (PAT No Good)
Big Sandy - Kade Strutz 15 yard run (Duke Darlington Kick Good)
Big Sandy - Weston Allderdice 4 yard run (PAT No Good)
Rich/Lam - Gabe Gonsioroski 66 yard pass to Bryce Reitz (PAT Blocked)
4th Quarter
Big Sandy - Weston Allderdice 5 yard run (Duke Darlington Kick Good)
Big Sandy - Kade Strutz 1 yard run (PAT No Good)
